Chapter 1170 Cow on Ice
Rub. Rub.
Gao Wen rubbed the court with the sole of his shoe twice, feeling the texture of the entire court. Obviously, this was a completely different surface from the hard court.
The whole feeling is completely different. On the one hand, there is a slightly loose and sliding sand texture, but it is not obvious. On the other hand, the sticky and thick soil texture is very obvious. If you walk a few times, the soil will be embedded in the gaps in the soles of the shoes, and then the whole friction is different.
It is for this reason that tennis shoes are regarded as the only part of tennis equipment that requires professional skills.
Look at the sponsors of jerseys and shorts. There are countless brands that you may have heard of or not, which is dizzying. However, this is not the case with tennis shoes.
Nike, Adidas, New Balance, etc., only a few top brands produce professional tennis shoes, and they still dominate the market.
In the tour, many players wear clothing from other sponsors, but still choose Nike or Adidas shoes. This combination is very common.
This is the case for both Djokovic and Murray. They continued to wear Adidas sneakers for a long time after leaving Adidas. Federer is no exception. After leaving Nike and switching to Uniqlo in 2018, he continued to wear Nike sneakers to compete.
Of course, tennis is different from football, rugby, etc. after all. It is not as professional and exclusive. If players insist on wearing non-professional tennis shoes to participate in the competition, that is also a choice. There is nothing wrong with it, but they just need to take the risk themselves.
Like Kyrgios, he has played in his "AJ" basketball shoes many times. They are just a little slippery, but he himself does not mind the risk of injury and sports injuries, and there is no need for others to worry about him.
Generally speaking, tennis shoes are divided into three categories: hard court, grass court, and clay court.
For hard-court tennis shoes, the grooves on the soles are inverted trapezoidal grooves, which increase friction and grip.
For clay tennis shoes, the grooves on the soles are all wavy and "V"-shaped, so that the mud attached to the edges can be quickly shaken off; of course, clay tennis shoes can also be worn on hard courts, but the grooves will soon be worn out because, overall, the soles of clay shoes are softer.
The most special thing about lawn tennis shoes is that they have no grooves on the soles, but instead have fine granular patterns, which increase friction to the extreme and prevent slipping.
Essentially, the principles of tennis shoes are the same as those of F1 racing tires. They are adjusted according to different weather conditions. The ultimate goal of different designs and materials is to increase friction and grip, increase control during sudden turns and stops, and improve performance.
Therefore, in clay court matches, you can often see players hitting their shoes with rackets during breaks in the game to knock out the red clay in the grooves and ensure the friction and grip of the soles.
At the same time, in grass court games, players are often seen changing their shoes because the soles of their shoes are worn out and the friction is lost, making it very easy to slip and fall. This is the type of surface that wears out the most shoes. From surface maintenance to equipment requirements, grass is obviously not the most user-friendly surface.
The differences between different venues are already apparent from the moment you move your feet.
In 2007, Sharapova made a famous quote after losing a clay court match. She said,
“I move like a cow on ice.”
Sharapova's famous words apply to all players if they cannot effectively control their steps, cannot stop and turn suddenly, cannot brake urgently, and cannot start again.
Stand on tiptoe and jump.
Leg press, stretch.
Sprint, brake.
Gao Wen stepped into the clay court and used a series of basic movements to feel the changes on the court, carefully feeling the particles of the clay with the soles of his feet.
Everything is fresh.
Freshness actually also means unfamiliarity. The Gao Wen in front of him looked like a baby who was learning to walk unsteadily, with clumsy movements.
A voice with a faint smile came from behind.
"How long has it been since you last went on clay?"
Turning around, Gawain saw Graf in tennis gear and her signature headband, which was very different from her usual demure appearance. Now one could see some of the temperament of a female warrior, but compared to when she was young, her edge had been restrained and she was not as flamboyant.
Only now was my memory awakened. The lady in front of me was still the strongest candidate for the best tennis player in history.
Not only has she won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, but as of 2015 she is still the strongest player in history, surpassing all male and female singles players.
He is also the only player in history to achieve the annual Grand Slam. In 1988, he won all four Grand Slams and the Olympic Championship, demonstrating his top dominance.
Behind them, Sampras and Agassi had also entered the court and were chatting. They seemed very relaxed because the initiative had been passed to Graf.
Even Pelt was no exception. He followed Graf not too far away, did some simple warm-ups, and was ready to obey Graf's orders at any time.
Exactly four hours after arriving in Mallorca, Gawain was already on the training ground.
Today, we will not conduct high-intensity training, but instead conduct simple field adaptation training and a slight warm-up to prepare for subsequent training.
Gao Wen thought about it carefully and said, "More than a year."
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
All NCAA competitions are held on hard courts, and you never see clay courts on a normal day; so the last time I trained on clay courts was in high school.
Graf was not surprised at all. Without turning her head, she pointed at the two people behind her and said, "Like them, if it weren't for the Paris competition, they might not step on clay even once a year."
Sampras and Agassi said the knees were shattered.
Graf looked at Gawain and pondered for a moment.
"Gawain, you are a smart kid. Do you know what people talk about the most when they talk about Nadal's performance on clay?"
In fact, throughout the long history, there has been more than one "King of Red Soil".
For example, Argentine legendary star Vilas still holds the historical record of 681 clay court wins, which is almost an unbreakable record, even for Nadal. Especially as the number of clay court events has decreased sharply in the tour, Nadal has been forced to slow down his pace in catching up with Vilas.
For example, Austrian star Thomas-Muster has won 44 titles in his career, 40 of which were all on clay.
For example, Brazilian star Gustavo Kuerten, the three-time French Open champion, remained a unique favorite in the hearts of Parisian audiences even after his retirement.
And so on and so forth.
Of course, after Nadal emerged, the definition and standards of the "King of Clay" have been raised to a whole new level, completely changing history.
So, what is the reason?
Clay wins? Clay win percentage? Clay titles? French Open titles? Or clay dominance? Obviously, wins and titles are important metrics, but Graf's question is definitely not about Gawain's memory.
In his mind, a light flashed, and Gao Wen thought of the answer, "Understanding of red soil?"
(End of this chapter)