Today I had a strange thought: Why players copying greatness don't become great themselves?

The thought came while watching Gregor Dimitrov play against Roger Federer. Dimitrov has studied Roger Federer's game and reproduced his strokes. But is that enough to make him as great as Federer? The answer is NO but it sure can help you reach your best level of play.

But it is not just their mechanics that we need to copy, we also need to reproduce their work ethic and their mental strength.

Here are 5 reasons great players are great (and why you should copy them to reach your full potential):

1. They Hate Losing. After announcing his retirement, Pete Sampras told CBC Sports what he learned from being upset by Stefan Edberg in the 1992 U.S. Open. "It made me hate to lose," said Sampras. Who likes losing? Nobody but the great ones despise it. Federer, who has won 20 Grand Slam so far, wept "God, it's killing me" after losing the 2009 Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal.
2. They are resilient. Their resilience is very often seen as being perfectionist. Legendary tennis coach Nick Bollettieri once said of Steffi Graf that she is a perfectionist who would never be content being No. 3. The great ones always seem to be chasing perfection: they fail again and again . They always believe that the outcome of every match rests on their racket. Often their pursuit of perfection can be misinterpreted as arrogance (Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic...).
3. They Are confident. It's easy to claim you have confidence. But the greatest truly believe they can pull through anything. They make battling back from match points a habit. They fire aces on second serves. Great players weather mid-match slumps. The great ones outsmart their opponents and remain mentally tough. 
4. They look for excellence. Great players, those who win multiple Slams, are multidimensional. Sometimes you will have a big server wins at Wimbledon or strong aggressive baseliner wins at Roland Garros but they cannot reproduce this win because they are a one trick poney. The true greats keep their opponents guessing with a multitude of weapons or by being the absolute best at what they are great at. And most of all they are always willing to adapt and improve their game. Their constant search for improvement and excellence drives them further than the other players.
5. They are brave. The great ones play big points bigger than their opponents. It is easy to do when you have nothing to lose but it takes bravery to do so in important points. In 2012, Serena Williams was down 3-5 in the decisive third set against Victoria Azarenka. She battled back to take her 15th Grand Slam title. The great ones seem to relish the big matches, they seize the moment and rule the play.

They are other attributes to look at but if you would like to separate yourself from the rest of your club, adopt the 5 mental attributes mentioned above. With a champions mentality you will see some real improvments.