Chapter 1176: Using both hands and feet

"Huff huff huff... huff huff..."

Gawain was breathing heavily, using his racket to support his body. He raised his head, the corners of his mouth turned up, and a thin layer of sweat oozed out of his forehead. The sunshine of Mallorca seemed to brighten his whole mood, and his eyes were like the ocean, rippling with ripples.

Graf slid to the front of the net with a small step. You could see her right foot pushing out a thin layer of red clay, but she stopped in front of the net skillfully. There was no need for emergency braking at all. She controlled her position perfectly by relying on the inertia of sliding. She walked leisurely in the garden, and everything was so easy.

"Are you okay?" Graf looked over with concern.

Gao Wen used the racket to steady himself, and stood up straight. He shook his head repeatedly to show that he was fine, and his smile was completely blooming. "No, I still don't feel good."

In the third round of the warm-up game, if we only look at the numbers, Gawain lasted 27 rounds, but in the end Graf's small ball turned it into a dead ball and he couldn't save it. But this is already his best performance so far, a significant improvement over the previous two times.

However, in Gao Wen's opinion, there was no difference from the previous two rounds. There was no improvement in footwork, rotation, control, etc. He still followed the familiar routine, gritting his teeth, concentrating, and launching a strong confrontation. Even though the number of rounds was extended, the content of the confrontation did not change.

In other words, Gawain was clearly aware of his own clumsiness and stiffness. He felt like a headless fly, forcing himself against the wall. Despite hitting the wall everywhere, he still refused to give up and kept hitting his head until it was bleeding. He had all the strength and energy, but was never able to use it on the blade.

Of course, if the confrontation is placed on the entire court, Gawain can still win by relying on his youth, wisdom and layout; the key is that such a laborious and clumsy way of winning and confrontation is doomed to fail in the long run, and will be exposed in front of masters.

"...Now I finally know what it feels like to be a cow on ice."

Gawain made a self-deprecating remark, causing Graf's mouth to curl up.

"Or, Bull on Ice?"

Gawain's subsequent remarks made Graf unable to hold back any longer. She burst out laughing, and her whole mood brightened.

Graf slightly tightened her smile and waved her hand.

"You still have a lot to learn about your footwork, that's true; but it's not that bad, your basic skills are solid and your footwork can be adjusted quickly."

"The problem now is that you don't understand clay at all. You don't even know the basics. You just apply the hard court method mechanically."

You hit the nail on the head.

The master is indeed different. In just three game rounds, he immediately saw through Gawain’s true nature.

Before that, Graf did not explain too much and went straight into the warm-up game. The main reason was that she wanted Gao Wen to experience it for himself.

Only by actually practicing it and feeling the texture of the red clay with your feet can you understand what it is all about. It is so vivid that words cannot describe it.

Now is the time.

"Gao Wen, what I said is not 100% accurate, but it can be understood as an analogy to more vividly describe the difference between clay and hard courts."

"On the hard court, everything is crisp, straight and ever-changing, so we often need to make judgments and choices in a fleeting time. Naturally, sudden turns and stops occur throughout the game."

"On clay, everything changes. Before we finish hitting the ball, not only do our opponents change, but there are also irregular changes brought about by the court. This also means that if we make rash judgments and choices, we are likely to be led by the changes and fall into trouble."

"People always emphasize that clay courts require patience. Patience here is not just about long rounds and multiple shots, but also about judging the incoming balls."

"Before we make a choice to hit or move, we need to be patient and observe, most importantly, the rotation and the position of the opponent."

"On hard courts, everything happens too fast. If you react a little slower, you might miss the shot. But on clay courts, it's not like that. When the ball speed slows down, it gives us more time to observe and the opponent more time to move, so the entire hitting space is extended."

“How to take advantage of this time difference is the difference between a clay court player and a clay court expert.”

The words are a bit confusing and not precise enough.

Graf hesitated for a moment. She was thinking about how she should explain it more accurately.

"... on hard courts, you need to be more decisive and resolute. Even a little hesitation may cause you to miss your shot."

"For clay, you need more accurate judgment because of the characteristics of clay, which allows for a higher rate of error, but that doesn't mean you don't need to be decisive when hitting the ball..."

As she was talking, Graf paused again. She felt like she was getting a little confused.

The main reason is that tennis is, after all, a rapidly changing sport. Even if you move from hard court to clay court, the reaction time of a round may be extended from one second to two seconds, but the lightning-fast reaction in the mind is still calculated in milliseconds, and it is difficult to concretize these changes.

However, Gao Wen still understood.

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"Steffy, did you mean—"

"On hard ground, the trajectory and hitting point of the tennis ball are relatively fixed. At the same time, because of the ground, the accuracy of the footsteps is very high. Coupled with the fast speed and rhythm, everything is crisp and straightforward."

"On clay, firstly, the flight trajectory and hitting point of the tennis ball may change irregularly; secondly, the movement of the footsteps may not be accurate due to the clay, and the speed and rhythm are slowed down, so you need to observe and think before hitting the ball."

"Of course, it's not like you don't need to think when hitting hard courts, but you know what I mean..."

Graf pursed her lips slightly, revealing a faint smile, and then nodded slightly to show her agreement.

"Yes, your understanding is correct."

"On the one hand, the flight trajectory of the return ball may have many variables, so we need to leave some room for adjustment for different strokes, and we need to be prepared to use different strokes. This is why slice and spin play an important role on clay, including small balls."

To be precise, the small ball in front of the net was originally a tactic unique to clay courts. This is because the opponent has no way to stop, turn, or start again suddenly, so the small ball often poses a greater threat. However, with the comprehensive development of tennis, it became common on grass and even hard courts.

Of course, although both are small balls, they play different tactical roles on clay and hard courts, but that’s a story for another time.

"On the other hand, there are always deviations in footsteps, so you need to predict in advance whether this movement can be accurate or whether you should slide. If you choose to slide, when should you start and when should you end? The whole movement is not straight forward."

"That's one of the most obvious and direct differences between hard court and clay."

(End of this chapter)