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"That" represents a nightmare. "That" is a moment, or a series of moments during which nothing feels right, no shot lands where one meant to direct it. "That" represents the period of time during which your elbow seems to inflate to the size of a basketball, your throat feels stuck, and your heart races at warp speed.

"That" is called choking.

If you played competitive tennis, you know all about it. If you have not played competitive tennis, and happen to be just a fan of the sport, ask young American Mardy Fish about it. Fish, who was grinding the ATP Challenger Tour just a year ago, had an up-close taste of choking first-hand last week at the Australian Open. He was leading two sets to one and up 4-1 in the third against veteran Wayne Ferreira.

He had chances to go up 5-1 and reach the round of 16 for the first time in a major tournament. Unable to convert those chances, Fish gradually watched Ferreira win game after game while his own confidence and game melted away with each one of those games. Less than an hour later, Fish was heading for the showers, never having won another game the rest of the match, losing the fifth set 6-0.

It has been almost a week since this "choke" incident and I seriously doubt Fish has yet recovered from the pain of those 11 games lost in a row. I feel certain that eventually he will recover. Furthermore, I have no doubts that what happened in that match against Ferreira will have positive long-term effects on his tennis career.

Mardy Fish does not have to take my word for it. Examples of some past "chokers" should suffice.

Does anyone remember the 1996 Wimbledon semifinals? Todd Martin was leading MaliVai Washington 5-1 in the fifth set and serving. On the grassy Centre Court of Wimbledon, a big server like Martin on grass should be able to close the curtains on Washington, right? Wrong.

Not only did Martin double-fault a few times in his next two service games, but simply could not keep the ball inside the court if his life depended on it. Washington broke Martin's serve twice to equal the game count at 5-5, and went on to defeat Martin 10/8 in the fifth set. Martin's quote after the match summed the unpleasant experience: "Choking? It depends on how one defines choking. The way I define it, yes, I choked."

See, Mardy? It even happens to the nicest guys on the tour.

What happened to Martin's career after that horrible fifth set? He reached the semifinals and finals of Grand Slams (mostly U.S. Open) on more than one occasion, and ironically became famous for some of his own comebacks. Most memorable was in the 2000 U.S. Open where Martin came back from two sets down and a match-point in the fourth set to defeat Carlos Moya in the fourth round. He went on to reach the semis that year.

How about Yannick Noah in the 1983 French Open? In the quarterfinals, Noah was up by two sets and 5-2 in the third, coming to the net at every chance, putting numerous volleys away. He seemed to be on course to an easy victory against the most formidable opponent at that time: Ivan Lendl. For the next five games, Noah could not only make his volleys, but only got to the net a few times as he tentatively directed his approach shots in the net, hanging his head, time and time again.

After the match, Noah quickly admitted that he choked during that set. However, having the Roland Garros crowd on his side helped, as Noah quickly got rid of the jitters of those five games and dominated the fourth set, winning it 6-0. Ultimately, Noah won the French Open that year, and became a dominant player in the mid-'80s. Interestingly, the 1983 French Open remained his only career Grand Slam victory, and that third set against Lendl remained the only set that he lost en route to his title.

Another "choke job" episode involved again Ivan Lendl and the bad boy of tennis, John McEnroe. In the 1984 French Open finals, McEnroe played brilliant tennis, attacking the net at every opportunity (on clay courts, mind you) to lead by two sets. Although he lost the third set, McEnroe went up a break in the fourth. Serving at 4-2 and 40-30, McEnroe had an easy forehand volley to go up 5-2. He would explain later that he hesitated between a drop volley and a deep volley, went for the deep volley and floated it long. As he would describe in his book entitled "You Cannot Be Serious," the rest of the match was a "blur" after that terrible miss. He lost to Lendl in five sets.

Did McEnroe recover from the worst loss of his career to a guy he detested? Did he ever? He spent the next 12 months on top of the tennis world, winning Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles. In the U.S. Open finals, he dominated none other than his nemesis, Ivan Lendl, in a quick three sets.

Speaking of Lendl, can anyone remember the "iron" man's famous choke job against Michael Chang in the 1989 French Open? Chang, unable to serve and move effectively due to severe cramps, went as far as serving underhanded and trying unorthodox shots to end the points quickly in the fifth set. Lendl, in total shock of Chang's physical status and his circus shots, lost his focus, whined and moaned, pushed his otherwise fearsome forehand, yelled numerous times in frustration on his way to a sickening defeat at the hands of the 17-year-old American who proved smarter on that day.

Regardless of that day, Lendl is known to be the first of a different breed of player on the tour, one with the physical and mechanical qualities. He is also known as a great champion, and definitely not as a choke artist.

If we were to go back further in time, Henri Cochet, one of the legendary four musketeers, comes to mind in a unique way. In Wimbledon 1927, Henri Cochet took the title, thanks to three choke jobs in a row, two of them by a couple of the best tennis players of that era.

After winning his quarterfinals from two sets down, in the semis, Cochet found himself two sets and 5-1 down against the mighty Bill Tilden. Suddenly unable to hit passing shots against the attacking Frenchman, Bill Tilden lost the next five games and the next two sets to allow Cochet to reach the finals. Cochet, amazingly, was down again by two sets and six match-points against his compatriot -- and another musketeer -- Jean Borotra who seemingly missed a routine open-court volley on one of those match points.

Despite their dark experience of that year's Wimbledon, Bill Tilden and Jean Borotra are in the history books as great champions.

By the way, wasn't Andre Agassi considered a choker in the Grand Slam finals until he won 1993 Wimbledon? Definitely. Would it be fair to say that Agassi's missed chances in the finals of Grand Slams until that Wimbledon title ultimately played a role in him learning how to win several of them, and become one of the only five players in history to win all Grand Slams later in his career? Absolutely.

And last, but not the least on the men's side, I must mention Goran Ivanisevic. Never should wildcard entrant who is outside the top-100 be able to win Wimbledon, unless that player has the bitter experience of reaching the finals three times in the last 10 years only to lose all three, have a legitimate chance to win two of them, and being labeled a "choker" for serving more aces than anyone else, yet losing in three previous finals.

The only example needed on the women's side is perhaps the most vivid memory of choking for tennis fans. After all, only the harshest choke job of the modern era would make a player sob to tears on the shoulders of Duchess of Kent during the trophy presentation of Wimbledon.

It happened to Jana Novotna in 1993. Leading 4-1 in the third set against Steffi Graf, with a chance to go up 5-1, Novotna double-faulted, missed an average-looking forehand, and nailed the overhead directly to the net to lose the game. At 4-3 and serving, Novotna double-faulted three times to get broken again. She would lose the next two games faster than the blink of an eye. It was painful to watch a world-class performer be that fragile. Many speculated Novotna would crumble under the weight of this loss and never reach top-level tennis again. Novotna proved them wrong five years later, winning the 1998 Wimbledon and greeting Duchess of Kent with smiles in redemption.

What does all this prove?

Mardy Fish need not worry. Last week's match against Wayne Ferreira will remain in his mind as a nightmare. However, as all nightmares eventually fade away and lessons to be learned begin to surface, Fish will improve his results. Sometimes in the future, he will look back and realize that last week's experience partially helped him get the results in the long run, or at least helped him learn the ropes of dealing with pressure situations in order to get those better results.

Tennis players at all levels should remember one point about choking: it is the closest you will come to your best performance level. Think about those examples of great champions above. Choking does not occur when your opponent is erasing you of the court in straight sets. It usually occurs when you are about to win a match or getting close to it. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that you must have done something right to get to that point. In fact, you probably played your best tennis to get to that point, as was the case with Novotna in 1993, McEnroe in 1984, and Todd Martin in 1996.

Once you start choking, your best game disappears momentarily due to the games your mind begins playing with you, or the magnitude of the setting. But it is absolutely momentary. You can get back to that top level later in your career like McEnroe did in 1984, or even during that same match like Yannick Noah did in the 1983 French Open.

Mardy Fish and the likes of him must accept that choking is a necessary evil in this profession. Rather than representing the downfall or the ending of a career, it is a helpful mental tool in reaching the next stage of mental toughness on the way to becoming a champion.

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