Chapter 1097: Equally matched
On the sixth break point of the match and the second set point, Gao Wen performed well.
He seized the opportunity of Federer's second serve to exert pressure, and took the lead, suddenly accelerating from his second shot to break his balance, pressing the forehand and backhand.
Although Federer first broke the game with a stunning forehand straight line, he then completed a wonderful backhand shot to further open up the angle.
However, Gao's attacks were like a surging river. With accurate prediction and advance layout, Gao successfully resolved Federer's counterattack. Finally, with a step forward and a two-handed backhand, he stretched the angle of the diagonal line to the extreme, and the flat and fast return shot directly pinned Federer to the spot.
The score is tied!
This was not only the first set Federer lost in Indian Wells this year, but also the first time Federer was broken in this qualifying journey.
Fire of war, ignite!
The 2015 Indian Wells men's singles champion will be decided in the final set, and Gao Wen has demonstrated his desire for the championship with practical actions.
Looking back at the entire second set from the one point in the inventory, we can see that the backhand is still Gao Wen’s breakthrough point.
After all, Federer's forehand attack is absolutely top-notch.
Even in front of classic representatives of violent forehand such as Del Potro, Tsonga, Gonzalez, Safin, etc., he is not inferior.
However, Gawain's strategy is slightly different from Nadal's.
Nadal's tactics against Federer are unique and cannot be replicated in the entire professional tennis world.
Firstly, it is the misalignment duel of left-handed grip; secondly, Nadal's strengths and Federer's weaknesses are in direct confrontation, which creates a clear advantage.
At the beginning of his career, when Nadal played against Federer, he had only one tactic: "Send all the balls to the backhand, even if they are discovered."
Only Nadal can use such tactics. Other players will be easily defeated by Federer.
In fact, even for Nadal himself, as he and Federer played against each other more and more times, his tactics became more and more diverse and complex, and one trick was no longer effective; especially after 2017, Federer's backhand improved significantly under the training of Ljubicic, which was even more so.
Gao Wen chose to break through Federer's backhand, but he did not simply suppress the backhand, but "pressed the forehand and hit the backhand" -
That is to create a stalemate on the forehand and then break through from the backhand.
Federer's forehand is actually somewhat similar to that of Gawain. It is sharp, powerful, and varied, but unstable and prone to off-beats.
Of course, this is a low-probability event. Federer's forehand is unquestionably strong, and a head-on confrontation also requires bearing enormous pressure. Otherwise, before any fluctuation occurs, one might have been unable to withstand it. Or if Federer directly attacks with his forehand to score, then there would be no way to talk about "pressing the forehand and hitting the backhand".
In addition, even if the forehand can withstand the pressure, the sudden backhand shot also requires timing and quality. Otherwise, Federer will show the power of his backhand and let his opponent know that not everyone can suppress his backhand like Nadal, and what the so-called "weakness" is.
Judging from the results, Gao Wen performed well in the second set and his forehand stood the test.
Decisive set.
At the beginning of the game, one could vaguely feel that Federer's physical strength was fluctuating, his forehand errors increased significantly, and the rounds could not be maintained in a stalemate.
In the first game, Gawain won four points in a row to save his serve, which made Gawain smell an opportunity, and he immediately launched an attack on Federer's serve.
But at the same time, Gao Wen himself was also facing a physical test. After ninety minutes of fierce fighting, the consumption of energy and physical strength had reached a critical point.
Moreover, don’t forget that Gawain and Djokovic had a fierce battle in the semi-finals, which consumed more physical energy than Federer.
At the critical moment, Federer relied on his serve to survive, resolve the crisis, avoid two break points, and avoid the dilemma of falling behind at the beginning of the deciding set.
With a turn, Federer immediately launched an attack in Gawain's second serve, trying to reverse the situation and seize the commanding heights of the momentum battle.
When it comes to capturing opportunities and controlling situations, the Big Four are all top-notch among the top, and they know how to change the trajectory of victory.
pity!
Federer also showed some fluctuations. After missing a break point, he ended the game with a forehand error, allowing Gao Wen to hold his serve again.
"2:1".
Gao Wen, who served first in the deciding set, temporarily maintained the lead.
Then--
Gao Wen broke through, and his tireless attacks and attempts finally paid off.
Immediately afterwards, Federer improved his condition, broke the serve and quickly broke back.
You come and I go!
The situation is tense!
The two players' fierce competition reached a new height in the deciding set.
"3:2", each side exchanges a serve and the score remains even.
"4:3", both players successfully held their serve and the score remained deadlocked.
In a blink of an eye!
After seven games, both players successfully got rid of their physical exhaustion and got back on track. However, the stalemate in the deciding set was still not broken.
Gao Wen, who served first, had a slight psychological advantage, which was almost negligible.
Stalemate!
Tight!
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And it continued all the way into the eighth inning.
The tense atmosphere spread in every game and even every point, and as the end of the game approached, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.
"ah!"
At the end of a 17-shot rally, after Federer scored the winning point with a volley at the net, the Swiss king roared passionately.
This point is crucial.
In Federer's serve game, he was trailing at 15:30. If he lost this point, it would be 15:40 and Gao Wen would get two consecutive break points.
Obviously, Gao Wen also realized this, and he focused his attention and mobilized his full strength, and the intensity of the confrontation in the entire round directly rose to a higher level.
In the final moments, Federer was still the better player, once again demonstrating the delicacy and sensitivity of his net technique.
As Federer celebrated with his fists clenched and roaring, Gawain shook his head regretfully. It was indeed a pity that he failed to grab this point.
But it doesn’t matter, there will still be opportunities next.
The blood is boiling.
"30:30".
It's still Federer's serve.
Zone 1.
The entire audience stared with bated breath, and one could even hear the rustling of the wind. Thousands of eyes were focused on Federer and Gawain.
But Federer was completely unmoved. He looked up at Gawain and served the ball in one go.
Outside corner!
180 kilometers per hour.
Surprisingly! It was a deceleration shot.
As mentioned before, the court in Indian Wells is relatively slow, somewhere between hard court and clay, and the phenomenon of consuming power and ball speed is quite obvious.
Precisely because of this, Federer often likes to speed up at critical moments, increase the speed of the entire racket head and shorten the opponent's reaction time; however, now, Federer chooses to slow down unconventionally, breaking common sense at the critical moment, and most importantly, breaking Gao Wen's psychological expectations.
Indeed, Gawain had not expected it.
Moreover, Federer sacrificed speed to choose the landing point, and the outside corner serve directly mobilized Gao Wen's entire body out of the court, proving once again that -
Serving has always been the most important weapon in Federer's arsenal that will never let him down.
(End of this chapter)