Chapter 1147: Mentality Adjustment
"6:4".
In the final, the first set victory belonged to Djokovic.
In fact, the score cannot reflect the tense progress of the game. Perhaps we can get some clues from the 57 minutes of game time.
In this game, Gao Wen was the first to break the serve.
At the beginning of the game, Gao Wen took advantage of Djokovic's habitual slow start, broke the serve first, and then held the serve, turning it into a lead in the score.
However, entering the set, Djokovic found his form to turn the situation around, breaking and holding, winning four games in a row. Finally, he saved a break point in the set-winning game, suppressed Gao Wen's counterattack with a strong performance, cashed in his third set point, won the first set, and took a step towards victory.
You come and I go.
A strong confrontation.
There were many long rounds of multi-shot tug-of-war, and many brilliant shots that made people applaud. This final was definitely worth the price of the ticket.
One game took fifty-seven minutes. This is the most intuitive data, which is enough to explain many problems.
So, what happened? How could Gao Wen lose four games in a row after breaking the serve first, giving up the advantage and losing the first set? What happened?
Frequent mistakes? Downturn? Too hasty? Mentality fluctuating? Low energy?
No, no, none of them.
There is only one reason: Djokovic.
It's not that Gawain played badly, but that Djokovic played too well. Obviously, the world's number one was coming in with great momentum and determined to win this match.
Before the game started, Sampras and Agassi had already foreseen that Djokovic would have to make changes at the tactical level to break the balance of the confrontation.
Just look at the confrontation between the Big Four and you will know that they have met each other too many times, at least twenty times, and at most more than forty times.
Tennis is not a team sport, but an individual sport, which means that there is no room for adjustment in the "participating lineup", and it is the same every time:
It was this face last time, and it’s the same face this time, exactly the same.
Naturally, when two players have played against each other a certain number of times, there are basically no secrets between them. It is like an open book with everything public. Especially when the players' styles and techniques mature, the inventory in their arsenal will be clear at a glance.
Strengths and weaknesses, advantages and weaknesses, all are known to you. In fact, your opponent may know all your skills better than you do.
In such a situation, what should the players do? Just trust their own performance?
Of course not.
If they just stand still, the Big Four will not be able to become the Big Four, will not be able to maintain their competitive form in the peak showdown, and will not be able to maintain strong competitiveness in the impact of the next wave. Ten years will be enough to wash them down from the top of the pyramid, and the old will be replaced by the new.
But they did not. Not only were they not eliminated, but they further consolidated their strong position and ushered in a new era.
On the one hand, constantly improve yourself, enrich yourself, make up for your shortcomings, become more comprehensive and stronger as much as possible, and maintain the pace of progress.
On the other hand, the importance of information collection, strategic analysis and tactical formulation must be taken seriously. Every game is a new beginning, so they must analyze and summarize the last game, the key to victory? The reason for failure? Then re-draft tactics to meet the challenge.
Simply put, in every matchup between the Big Four, there must be a little bit of change or something new in every encounter, otherwise the game may be very difficult.
Perhaps, overall, Gawain has not yet reached the level of the Big Four. It has nothing to do with the quality and quantity of championships, but with the length of his career peak. His rise was fast but his time in the spotlight was too short. Therefore, even though the number of Grand Slam championships has tied Murray, he is still not a giant.
However, for Djokovic, a record of one win and four losses says too much, and he must treat it as a top player.
Therefore, changes in tactics are foreseeable and are also the key to breaking the balance of the game.
Djokovic once again demonstrated his world No. 1 status.
In 2015, Djokovic faced Gawain twice, in Melbourne and Indian Wells, and he made some adjustments to his tactics.
However, from the perspective of the overall tactical framework, the core of continuously suppressing Gawain's backhand, or breaking through Gawain's backhand, has not changed.
There are two reasons.
First, Djokovic's reputation as the "world's best backhand" is not in vain. Whether facing Federer or Nadal, he has enough confidence. From 2010 to 2011, Djokovic was able to achieve a seven-game winning streak against Nadal, and his two-handed backhand played a big role in this.
Secondly, Djokovic never adjusted his mindset. He still regarded Gawain as a rising star, a challenger, a new wave of strong rise, rather than a strong enemy on par with the giants. He used "backhand vs. backhand" as a tactical approach, more or less showing a stubbornness of frontal breakthrough.
In other words, "Although this young man is outstanding, he is not strong enough to force me to change my strategy and formulate targeted tactics. It is enough for me to rely on my basic tactical skills to make detailed adjustments. I believe I can break through head-on. After all, countless big waves have come."
Strictly speaking, it is not contempt or disdain, it is just that it has not been given real attention.
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In fact, Djokovic's idea is not completely wrong.
In Melbourne, they won the first two sets and had three consecutive break points in the third set. If they had cashed in on one of them, the outcome might have been different.
In Indian Wells, although we lost the first set, we turned the situation around in the second set. We may still have a chance in the third set, as the victory or defeat was decided by a hair's breadth.
Unfortunately... defeat is defeat.
Even though victory is within reach, if the match point is not converted, it means failure. The world of competitive sports is so simple and yet so cruel.
So Djokovic adjusted his tactics, the first time in six meetings between the two players that he made a tactical framework adjustment, which also means:
Gao Wen finally got the real attention of Djokovic.
Of course, difficulties still exist objectively.
First of all, the time distance from Indian Wells to Miami is too short, and it is not easy to adjust the tactical framework. The entire tactical thinking may also lack consideration, and there are inevitably some loopholes. Whether it can work also needs to be seen and tested through competitions.
Secondly, the two events last for four weeks. Gao Wen is still young and energetic, and his condition recovery and physical reserves are better. Djokovic needs to maintain his hitting success rate while adjusting his tactics, and he also needs to face physical tests. The difficulty can be imagined.
but.
After the unforgettable defeat in Indian Wells, Djokovic has adjusted his mentality and corrected his attitude.
Gao Wen's rise has been unstoppable, not only now, but also throughout the next season and even more seasons to come, it will be the norm.
He should not be distracted by the outcome of a game, but should look at the long-term.
If we can win the final in Miami, that would be the best, but there is no need to be too happy, because there will be many more matches in the future; if we lose, there is no need to be disappointed, because this is the first step to try and change, and the blueprint has just been laid out.
Djokovic thought so and did so, and then things became slightly different.
(End of this chapter)