Chapter 1046 No Way Out
"ah!"
“Ahhh…”
"oh……"
"Jesus Christ……"
At the ABS stadium, the battle was in full swing. From cheering to exclamations, there was a sharp turn and all the audience fell silent. All their eyes were focused on Zhang Ze with concern.
In the players' rest area, Gao Wen and the others all stood up, their eyes filled with worry, holding their breath, their hearts stopping, as they watched Zhang Ze fall to the ground.
Li Zhe, who was completely focused on the game, stood in front of the net, waiting for the next shot. He was half a beat late to realize the situation. He turned around and looked in the direction of his opponents and teammates. He saw Zhang Ze at the baseline, supporting himself on the ground with one hand, and his racket was thrown aside.
What's going on?
Li Zhe trotted over, his heart stuck in his throat and he couldn't make a sound. Then he saw Zhang Ze raising his right hand and waving it, indicating that he was fine.
Li Zhe stretched out his hands, pulled Zhang Ze to stand up, and helped Zhang Ze pick up the racket that was thrown aside. His brows were furrowed, and he still didn't relax.
Zhang Ze could also feel the tension and worry emanating from Li Zhe, and took the initiative to explain:
"I just didn't push off the ground well and slipped a bit."
"fine."
"I reacted in time, dropped the racket, and protected myself. I didn't have any sprains or strains after the fall. Everything is fine."
In order to prove himself, Zhang Ze jumped twice on the spot, shaking his hands and feet and relaxing his limbs, just like a puppy learning to walk unsteadily.
Li Zhe was speechless for a while, and couldn't help laughing.
On the edge of the court.
Wu Di also breathed a sigh of relief. The most important thing was to avoid getting injured.
In the Davis Cup, if an injury occurs during the game, player substitution is not allowed and the only option is to withdraw from the game. Moreover, once Zhang Ze is injured, the impact on the rest of the season will be obvious, and the second quarter of this year's competition has just begun.
When he looked up, Wu Di noticed Gao Wen's furrowed brows. In terms of age, he was four years older than Gao Wen, so it was obvious that he should be the older brother.
"It shouldn't be a big deal, don't worry." Wu Di comforted.
Gao Wen smiled and nodded, "Well, not getting hurt is the most important thing."
But Wu Di realized that Gao Wen's worries were still there. "What's wrong? Worried about the game?"
Originally, Gao Wen didn't plan to say much, but he quickly glanced at Wu Di and noticed Wu Di's worry, and Wang Chuhan's face was also full of worry.
Think about it.
Gao Wen still spoke up, "I'm worried about my physical condition. Now is the time to pay more attention."
Mainly Zhang Ze.
In the first singles match, Zhang Ze fought for three and a half hours, until the long set final. Such a match is a test for any player.
In the middle, Gao Wen fought quickly and finished it in less than two hours. Then, he had to board the third doubles match.
Doubles, as expected, is a battleground for both teams. New Zealand has its own calculations, and China also has its own calculations.
Gawain is an objective variable, but for China, if they want to defeat New Zealand, they need three wins to achieve their goal.
Although China has a ranking advantage in both Zhang Ze and Wu Di's singles matches, the players know their own business. Zhang Ze and Wu Di's recent form has been average, which can be seen from their entanglement and struggle in the first game today. This also means that they should try their best to win the doubles to avoid accidents.
What's more, New Zealand does have an advantage in doubles, and this is a game New Zealand must win.
Marcus-Daniell, ranked 85th in the world in doubles.
Artem-Sitak, ranked 50th in the world in doubles.
Moreover, these two are players who specialize in doubles. Both players have won Challenger Doubles titles and have won many games in ATP-level events.
On the other hand, Zhang Ze's doubles world ranking is 352nd and Li Zhe's doubles world ranking is 273rd.
The gap is obvious.
Of course, as in singles and doubles, there is a certain gap between the top 100 and the top 300 in the world, but the gap is not as huge as imagined.
Compared to singles, doubles requires more tacit understanding and cooperation. What the world ranking shows is not so much strength as the time and results of doubles competition. Just like Gawain and Nadal, their doubles world rankings are not worth mentioning at all, but they still won the championship in Doha.
However, the fact that Daniel and Steck are among the top 100 in the world doubles rankings shows that they have real talent.
The outcome of the game is unpredictable.
The high-spirited Huaxia combination showed their determination to win, winning both the first two sets and two tie-breaks.
"7:6(3)", "7:6(4)".
There is only one game left before advancing to the next round.
However, the New Zealand pair also refused to surrender.
"6:7(1)".
The third set was still a tiebreak. This time, the New Zealand combination was far ahead in the tiebreak, winning easily and taking back a set.
In the fourth set, one could already feel the obvious fluctuations in Zhang Ze's physical strength.
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"3:6".
The New Zealand pair won another set amid the cheers of the home fans, and the two sides had to enter the deciding set.
At this time, it was already 9:30 p.m. local time in Auckland, and the doubles match had been going on for more than two hours, but it was still not over.
For Zhang Ze, the physical test has indeed reached its limit.
Although Gao Wen emphasized that it is the mind that really makes the game of tennis change, it is undeniable that physical ability is the foundation.
Physical fitness is of paramount importance.
A group of players including Zhang Ze and Wu Di have been training their physical fitness for the Grand Slam's best-of-five format, but judging by the current results, it is still not enough.
At the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, after Zhang Ze defeated Hewitt in the first round, he showed signs of fatigue in the second round and lost to Germany's Benjamin Becker without much struggle.
The same is true now.
Entering the deciding set, the game between the two sides remained stalemate and the gap between them never widened.
At this time, the score was deadlocked at "4:4".
Both sides still refused to give in.
Zhang Ze and Li Zhe faced challenges again in their own service games, but at the critical moment, their physical strength could not keep up. Zhang Ze's knees became weak and he obviously did not have the strength to push off the ground to support himself, so that when he exerted force, his feet slipped and he fell directly, causing him to miss the return ball.
Then, a fatal break point was given.
"40:AD".
It can be seen from the situation in the first three sets that it is extremely difficult for both sides to break the serve. Once they are broken, they may lose the entire game.
It’s not a match point, but it’s better than a match point.
New Zealand has a hope of taking advantage of Zhang Ze's extreme physical strength to end the game in one go and recover one point.
There is no doubt that this is New Zealand's lifeline. They are already standing on the edge of the cliff, so they urgently need this doubles victory.
Falling behind by two sets, but catching up by two sets? Does this story sound familiar?
New Zealand's morale and form reached a new peak, and the cheers of the home audience swept in with overwhelming force.
Both Zhang Ze and Li Zhe were inevitably a little nervous, as the whole situation was indeed not in their favor.
Subconsciously, both of them looked towards the dugout, and then they could see——
"fighting!"
Gawain was shouting with his fists clenched, his eyes were so bright and shining, his firm belief was burning.
(End of this chapter)