Chapter 1188: A brilliant interception
Gawain? Passionate?
How is that possible!
detail.
Everything is about tactical details, just like a chess game.
Gawain has a clear understanding of Nadal's strong defensive ability, especially on clay courts. The slower ball speed and increased rotation give Nadal more time to predict, move and adjust. The Spanish bull's defensive talent is further magnified, and he is like a fish in water here.
Therefore, layout requires patience, wisdom, and secrecy.
Just now, for three consecutive shots, Gawain's control of the landing point was hidden in his edge. He pressed the forehand twice and the backhand once. He not only fully mobilized Nadal, but also kept his attention focused at all times, dealing with Nadal's defense and counterattack, maintaining a delicate balance of confrontation, and then making his shot.
then--
As the ball hits the net, Nadal on the other side of the court is in a state of continuous running and moving. Although moving at a constant speed is not difficult for Nadal, the real point is that Nadal must make judgments, stay alert, and continue to move.
Especially in the last point, Gao Wen just chose to use the small ball tactic to break the balance and enrich his tactical system, and Nadal had to guard against it.
This is the foundation to keep Nadal's brain working.
Finally, Gao Wen chose to hit the ball at the net, and the line and landing point were also chosen very carefully. He repeated the landing point and hit it back to Nadal's forehand.
There are also some details to pay attention to here: Of course, Nadal has strong net-breaking capabilities with both forehand and backhand, and his techniques are varied, including straight line, diagonal, chasing, high, topspin, backspin, etc. Both the forehand and backhand are sharp and stable enough, which is why Nadal can suppress Federer.
According to a statistic, Federer and Nadal have met on clay 16 times, with Nadal leading by a large margin with 14 wins and 2 losses.
In other words, Nadal's ability to break the net is perfectly demonstrated on the clay court.
Despite this, there is still a slight difference between Nadal's forehand and backhand. On the backhand, when Nadal is in a passive position, he can use the opponent's force to hit the opponent, and he can almost use any line; on the forehand, when Nadal tries to counterattack, he mainly uses diagonal lines.
When shooting diagonally, Nadal is not worried about his opponent seeing through his line. Relying on his "super topspin", Nadal can often exert unparalleled pressure through his forehand, forcing his opponent to make mistakes. Even if his opponent completes the interception, the quality of the return ball is not high, and Nadal can just make up for it with another shot.
Therefore, Nadal's forehand does choose diagonal more often.
These are the details.
The previous preparations were intended to interfere with Nadal's hitting and power.
The latter option is to limit Nadal's return route.
Then, Gao Wen went online.
He walked along the center of the court, and in the blink of an eye he appeared in front of the net, his eyes fixed on Nadal's movements.
really!
The return ball slightly restricted Nadal's footsteps. He paused and then started again. At this time, we could see Nadal's simple yet gorgeous footsteps control on the clay. He did not rely on forced movement at all, but a kick and a slide. A sideways slide pushed his body out.
Immediately afterwards, there was no need to make an emergency brake. With just a slight push of the left foot, the body was under control.
Easy and practical.
At the same time, Nadal also caught a glimpse of Gao Wen coming to the net, and immediately made adjustments when he shot with his left hand.
Signature strong topspin.
The complete head-circling action will completely brush the friction, and use the strength of the arms and wrists to swing out a strong tail force, tennis ball, and fly out.
Boom! Slash!
Diagonal!
And topspin! Then, Nadal followed suit. Regardless of whether he succeeded in breaking the net, he was always preparing for the next shot. This was a habit.
Obviously, Nadal was ready to enter the court and engage in a close combat with Gawain, staring at Gawain with burning eyes.
Gawain paused, started, and took a step forward.
All the movements were smooth and seamless, and the start was very light and quick. It can be seen that Nadal's net-breaking route was accurately predicted.
The backhand is held up with both hands, which is not a lead-in action, but a volleying action.
When intercepting, the key is to keep the arm and wrist straight, that is, they must be "hard". Only in this way can the racket face be kept stable and the counterattack against the wall be completed.
The sea breeze blew gently, blowing his hair, and Gawain's face looked focused and devoted.
Here we come!
Nadal's strong topspin came towards him head-on. Gawain straightened his arms and took the initiative to meet the ball, but his left hand loosened slightly when he felt the tennis ball hit the racket strings.
With a slight flick of the wrist, all the rotation and force are wrapped up and dissolved into nothingness.
The racket turns gently, just like a boomerang, to absorb the impact force, pushing and blocking.
The posture was like picking up an embroidery needle and threading it.
Wow...
The soles of my feet glide forward like surfing, sliding sideways on the red soil. The breeze blowing in my face passes under my arms, as if I am flying with wings.
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From footsteps to wrists, the whole body is in perfect coordination.
However, everything happened in a flash. The force was unloaded and the tennis ball was gently rubbed by the wrist, and the reaction force was used to complete the hit.
Lift heavy things as if they were light.
The tennis ball draws a small arc.
For a moment, everyone held their breath.
Lightly, playfully, and cleverly, the tennis ball passed over the net, almost sticking to the net and fell to the other side, then fell vertically.
All the strength was removed, just like a feather falling on a quagmire, floating gently on the water, with water droplets condensing on the feather.
After the tennis ball hit the ground, it had very little power left and the rebound height was barely visible. Soon, it fell to the ground for the second time and then rolled out, dragging a long wave on the clay court.
Perfect!
Almost perfect!
From the timing of the shot to the interception technique to the details, it was impeccable. He successfully intercepted the ball in a perfect manner, putting an end to this point.
Everything went exactly as planned.
In the game and confrontation, Gao Wen had the last laugh in this one.
"30:0".
No wonder Roig looked at Sampras.
The technique of following the ball to the net is the focus of Sampras's attempt to change Gawain's tactical framework. After all, this is Sampras's specialty.
Starting from Melbourne, Gao Wen has been testing this technology from time to time, but after all, there is insufficient training time and the usage ratio is not high enough. The same is true for the subsequent Sunshine Double Crown. Gao Wen mainly stays at the bottom line.
It is widely speculated that both Gawain and Sampras are still in the process of training and honing their skills, and that they will probably have to wait until the grass court season to truly test their skills.
But I didn't expect that in today's training match on the clay court, I saw Gao Wen perform at a top level and even blocked Nadal's break through the net.
Just ask Federer to know how difficult this is. But Gawain's shot just now was impeccable. The volleyed ball pinned Nadal to the spot. Even though Nadal started immediately, he still couldn't catch up. He controlled his body with a sliding brake and gave up the chase.
Wonderful!
It was truly wonderful! It made me want to applaud.
(End of this chapter)