Since my wife Andrea has been passionate about tennis for the past few years, I surprised her with tickets to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells the first weekend in March 2026. I don’t know much about tennis, but watching Novak Djokovic in person turned out to be an incredible experience—and an unexpected lesson about investing.
Although Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, on Saturday he struggled against his opponent, Kamil Majchrzak. Djokovic is much older and appeared to be in pain. After losing several points in a row, he hit a difficult shot into the net and slid onto his back, wallowing in frustration. Things looked bleak for Djokovic. I doubted whether he could pull out of his slump. Maybe things were different now—was he simply past his prime, too old to compete at this level?
But after losing the first set, something changed. Djokovic suddenly came to life and won the next two sets 6–1 and 6–2. I was blown away by his will to win despite his discomfort and discouragement. He didn’t win every point, or even every set, and he didn’t pretend the frustration wasn’t there. But in the long run, he improved his chances of success by sticking to the fundamentals and maintaining his discipline and patience. These and other qualities have driven him to win more Grand Slam singles titles than any other player in history.
Like a high-stakes tennis match, investing can be unpredictable and emotional. When the Dow dropped almost 900 points the day after the we got back (March 9, 2026) and then finished the day up more than 200 points, I thought of Djokovic. How do we react to unwelcome surprises and seemingly insurmountable losses in the market? Do we have the fortitude to stick to the fundamentals of long-term investing when things look bleak and emotions run high? Or do we succumb to the narrative that this time it’s different and the market can no longer outperform “competing” asset classes?
It’s normal to feel frustrated when markets fall. But if we respond by abandoning our plan, we dramatically reduce our chances of success. Yesterday’s market gain hardly makes up for the losses of the past few weeks, and things could get worse before they get better. But when a day starts with a 900-point loss and finishes with a 200-point gain, it reminds us how quickly things can change.
Djokovic knows that success in tennis doesn’t come from winning every point. Likewise, long-term investing success doesn’t come from positive returns every day, every week, or even every year. It comes from having the discipline and patience to stay focused on the fundamentals through the ups and downs.
