Chapter 1129: Extreme Extension
Push the ground, push!
Swing quickly, speed up!
Straight line, fight!
Return serve ACE.
Gao Wen raised his chin to look at the landing point, then looked at the racket, but did not celebrate. He turned around and walked to the other side to prepare for the next point.
In the opening stage, both good and bad balls are subject to a certain degree of luck and probability. There is no need to be upset because of mistakes, nor is there any need to be excited because of scoring, especially in the serving and receiving stages. We are still in the warm-up stage, and collecting data and testing status are the top priorities.
"40:40".
Next, Zverev, who is still responsible for serving, will take the initiative, unless -
Double fault.
With a dull "pop" sound, the tennis ball collided head-on with the net again, and then returned to Zverev's court.
Two consecutive serves failed to get through the net.
At this moment, one can clearly feel the pressure that Gawain brings to Zverev, not only off the court, but also on the court.
Although Zverev won three points in a row at the beginning, Gao Wen kept trying to make changes in the serve reception. Once he received the first serve to the bottom line, once he received the second serve to score in a straight line, and once he received the first serve to create a high ball with strong topspin. All three serves created different effects.
The pressure just piles up little by little.
Zverev realized that he needed to rely on his first serve, and the quality of the first serve had to be guaranteed. As a result, the first serve hit the net and flew out of bounds. Then, the pressure on the second serve increased exponentially. If the quality was not good enough, he might face another fight from Gawain, but Zverev did not have much room for retreat.
Then, his second serve went into the net, giving away a break point with a double fault.
"40:AD".
To be honest, the first game was not good.
Either the serve scored or the ball was lost due to mistakes. There was no stalemate in the whole round. Everything ended within three shots. The game seemed a bit scattered.
The lack of sufficient intensity in the confrontation is obviously not the situation that the audience wants to see in this "youth storm" showdown.
The atmosphere was also a bit scattered. The players were already distracted and unfocused at the beginning. If the game still couldn't attract their attention, it would be even worse...
Inside the stadium, the noise of rustling continued to surge.
After experiencing the Australian season, when I returned to North America, I almost forgot how "noisy" the North American audience is, which is completely different from the liveliness in Melbourne.
Zverev, who was preparing to serve, paused for a moment, waiting for the referee to maintain order twice before getting ready again.
Huh! Zverev took a deep breath, trying to relax his muscles, stay focused, and get back a very precious serve.
Assuming that this time the first serve can enter the zone, how should he arrange it? Zone 1.
Zverev took a look at Gawain's position and, as usual, he moved slightly closer to his forehand.
Generally speaking, when receiving serves, players tend to stand closer to their stronger side, but they always pay attention to protecting their weaker side.
What is the principle?
It's very simple. If you are on the strong side, you can start the attack at any time and win better attacking opportunities through positioning;
But the weak side is the direction where the opponent may concentrate his attack. The key point is that no matter what the position is, a weak side is a weak side. It is often very difficult to launch a counterattack when receiving the serve, so it is better to give up the position and complete the protection through concentration. Instead, give the position to the stronger side, so that you can counterattack once you get the opportunity.
Of course, this is just "generally speaking".
The specific circumstances vary greatly.
Not to mention between players, even the same player in the same game may change his tactics by adjusting his serving position according to different scores, different numbers of games, and different situations.
After all, tennis is a sport that is always changing and it is very difficult to win the game if you remain unchanged.
Gawain's position did not change, so Zverev couldn't figure out what was going on.
He still needs to continue to stick to his tactics.
Push off the ground!
Throw the ball!
Swing!
Outside corner.
Once again, Zverev chose the outside corner to suppress Gawain's backhand; and, this time, Zverev fought back.
Serve! Obviously, Zverev also knows that he not only needs a serve, but also needs a serve to create a threat, otherwise the opening situation may be even tighter.
So, Zverev tried his best.
At this moment, we can still see the talent and ability of this talented young man. The media is indeed not talking nonsense.
When serving, the ball must be fast and land in the right spot.
A serve at a speed of 210 kilometers per hour landed accurately in the small triangular area of the serving area diagonally opposite, and then flew out with a full rotation.
Judging from the landing point, it was a perfect mirror image of the second serve in the previous point where Gao Wen directly returned an ace, but the difference is that speed and power are two different things.
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This time, Gawain couldn't even connect the ball, let alone try to fight. It was very, very difficult.
"snort."
Gawain groaned. This serve was indeed excellent: if it weren't for the strong topspin after the ball bounced off the ground, which allowed the tennis ball to stay in the air for enough time, Gawain would not have been able to touch the tennis ball at all. It would have been 100% an ace. But now, even if the strong topspin left some time, the situation was not optimistic.
Because when Gao Wen moved his feet into position, the tennis ball had already flown diagonally above his head.
Imagine that Gao Wen is 193 cm tall, and now the tennis ball is on his head, so the vertical height should be more than 230 cm.
In this case, how should Gao Wen swing the racket?
Moreover, it was a two-handed backhand! Gao Wen's body couldn't stretch at all, and his movements were completely restricted by the position of the tennis ball. In the end, he could only let go of his left hand and hold the racket with his right hand, barely rubbing it at the high point.
Literally: a rub.
That's all.
There was not enough time and space for Gao Wen to complete his swing, so the only thing he could do was to use the brief time when the tennis ball and the racket string were in contact, as well as his extended swing and wrist strength to increase friction, and use the reaction force of Zverev's serve to push the ball back.
I hope this rub can get the tennis ball back on the court.
But if it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. You have to admit that your opponent's serve is excellent. This is the importance of serving in men's competitions.
Smash! The tennis ball spun quickly. Gawain cut the ball with a strong downward spin within his ability, cutting it hard from the head. Then he realized that he had lost his position.
His feet were completely pulled outside the doubles line, even more than two meters away from the doubles line.
Sudden stop and turn.
With a push, the power of the left leg pushes the body back forcefully, and with a series of large strides, he sprints sideways, returns to the doubles line, and continues to move sideways.
His sight was searching for his return ball——
What about the tennis ball? It was light and floating, swaying, like a dead leaf shivering in the autumn, teetering in the storm, and seemed to be about to collapse at any moment.
but!
Back to the venue!
Even though there was no line control, no angle control, no power and no rotation, he still made it back to the court! Incredible!
Then, Zverev followed and entered the baseline! (End of this chapter)