Chapter 1010 A Training Session
Huh. Take a deep breath, inhale.
Huh. Take a deep breath and exhale.
Inhale! Exhale! Cilic took a series of deep breaths and regained his sanity and composure. He kept clenching his fists and telling himself that all of this was an illusion!
He cannot lose his composure, he cannot doubt himself, he needs to be firm and focused, he can defeat Gawain and he is ready.
"You can do it, Borna!"
In yesterday's post-match press conference, Coric was sincere in his belief that he could do it, beat Gawain, and prove himself again:
It was just like facing Nadal in Basel last year.
Cilic turned around, with his back to Gao Wen, and kept clenching his fists to cheer himself up, then kept jumping and continuously moving his body.
He needs to be more positive, more positive——
Then, after finally completing the mental preparation, I turned around, stood at the baseline, and prepared to receive the serve, hoping that I could create some waves in Gao Wen's serve.
But……
Where are the people?
The other side of the court was empty, and Gao Wen was nowhere to be found.
Cilic couldn't help but be stunned. The rationality and calmness he had just regained were immediately replaced by a series of question marks. He blinked his eyes, at a loss.
Subconsciously, Cilic looked up at the referee, and then saw the referee's helpless expression.
"Bornare, I have been calling you."
"Break between innings."
Seeing that Cilic still didn't react, the referee repeated it again.
"It's break time now."
Coric: …
It took a whole beat for Cilic to finally come to his senses and figure out what the referee's words meant: after his own serve, there should be a break between games, and ninety seconds later, Gao Wen's serve would begin.
Cilic was so immersed in the game that he forgot about this incident. Even now he hasn't fully reacted and walked towards the dugout in a daze.
Then.
The "disappeared" Gawain reappeared.
Gawain was already sitting in the dugout, eating a banana. Seemingly noticing Cilic's gaze, he raised his head and met his gaze with wide eyes.
As their eyes met, Gao Wen smiled, took another bite of the banana, and chewed it happily:
Baji, Baji.
For some reason, the Minions' "Banana Song" started playing in my mind: Ba ba ba na na.
Ba ba ba na na.
"Wake up! Borna, wake up!"
Cilic quickly shook his head, trying to get rid of the random thoughts in his mind, but he was worried that his wild ideas would be spied on by Gawain.
Coric: I don't want to talk.
So, after Cilic sat down heavily, he covered his head with a sweat towel. He needed some quiet time.
When the two players returned to the court, Cilic had regained his concentration and was completely focused on the game. The young and energetic boy still firmly believed that he could win.
However--
Ideals are full, but reality is skinny.
Facing the increasingly mature Gawain, Coric's weaknesses are all-round. Although Gawain is slowly adjusting his touch after returning from a short vacation, although Coric has demonstrated excellent and solid baseline hitting ability, and although Coric, like a newborn calf who is not afraid of a tiger, does have the belief that he will win.
but.
The lack of weapons on the offensive end prevented them from opening up the situation, while on the defensive end they were at a disadvantage and faced total suppression, and their performance in key points could not keep up with the rhythm.
result--
After successfully holding his serve in the first game, Cilic lost nine games in a row, and was completely defeated. After losing the first set, he still couldn't stop in the second set.
Among them, the worst data is the performance when facing break points: after the first serving game, in the next four serving games, he was broken directly when facing the first break point and was helpless.
Confused and disoriented.
The world was spinning.
The entire game situation was like a derailed train that lost control and then... it went downhill.
Until the fifth service game, which was the fourth game of the second set:
With a miraculous lob, Coric hit the ball over Gawain's head and smoothly into bounds, forcing Gawain to return to the baseline and hit the ball out of bounds in an extremely passive position. This was the first time that Coric saved a break point in the entire game and broke Gawain's 100% perfect break efficiency.
The whole stadium was filled with thunder! At this moment, Cilic finally regained some momentum, and the emotions that had been suppressed for so long were finally released.
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In this game, Cilic saved three break points in total, with great momentum, and took advantage of his confidence and condition to reach the highest point, and finally managed to hold his serve.
This was the second time that Cilic held serve in the entire game, finally stopping the slump of losing nine games in a row and avoiding the disadvantage of falling behind by two break games in the second set.
Gao Wen also did not hesitate to give his applause to praise Cilic -
The serve in this game was indeed a burst of energy from Cilic on the edge of the cliff. His many ball returns were amazing, and he played at the level of the top five shots of the day, which is worthy of admiration.
However, Gawain remained unmoved.
In the next game, Cilic was ready to press on and got the first break point of the game, but at the critical moment, Gawain improved his serve and saved the break point with an ace. He then suppressed Cilic's counterattack, scored three points in a row, reversed the situation and saved his serve, controlling the situation.
At this point, Cilic's upward momentum, which had just emerged, was immediately extinguished before it had time to spread.
At the end of the game, Gao Wen broke the serve again and won three games in a row, ending the game neatly.
“6:1”, “6:1”.
The game is over.
The entire match lasted only fifty-nine minutes, and the winner was already decided! What was amazing was not that Gawain won, nor the score of two straight sets, but the time of the match—
Cilic, Djokovic and Murray all have similar styles and are accustomed to fighting at the baseline. This style of play is destined to mean that no matter who they win or lose, the time spent will definitely not be too short.
However, the game was resolved within an hour, from which we can see that Gao Wen had a good grasp of the rhythm of the entire game.
After the polishing of the Australian season, Gao Wen's game temperament has once again transformed, and he is moving towards becoming a top player in all aspects.
Third in the world, this is just a world ranking, which represents the player's outstanding performance during this period, but it does not represent the strong temperament radiating from the inside out.
Just like Serena Williams.
To her, the world ranking is just a number. Whether she is ranked first or ranked outside the top 300, her championship temperament will not change. As long as she stands on the court with both feet, she has a deterrent power and can win. This is a true strong person.
Obviously, Gao Wen has become an excellent player and a top player now; the next step is to grow into a champion. His performance against challengers, attackers and the new generation is an important criterion! Gao Wen is transforming.
On the match point, Gawain broke the balance with a very sudden and powerful forehand diagonal shot, pinning Cilic to the spot and making him unable to move, and won the game with a decisive point.
The game is over.
Cilic was still a little slow to react. He walked towards the net in a daze and shook hands with Gawain after the game.
By slightly raising his chin, Cilic could see Gao Wen, who was relaxed, with only a few beads of sweat on his forehead, as if he had just finished a training session and ended before he had time to warm up, and he didn't even reach the intensity of his daily training.
Let’s think back to the course of the entire game and the final score…
Cilic's eyes were filled with sadness and he was almost about to cry.
(End of this chapter)