Chapter 1190 A Beginning

In just three or four days, Gao Wen realized that the understanding and presentation of different venues, as well as the attributes and colors of different venues, are all different.

It is true that one trick can conquer the world, and relying on advanced equipment technology and newer genetic attributes, the younger generation's playing styles are becoming more and more similar; however, it is difficult to go further, and often as time goes by, their path becomes narrower and narrower, and they themselves destroy potential possibilities.

Then, Gao Wen began to try to understand and adjust, and even achieved initial results when facing the "King of Clay" Nadal.

Even if it was just a training match, this was already amazing. After all, Gao Wen had just stepped on clay for the first time four days ago.

Roig couldn't help but think of Gawain's performance against Isner in his first appearance in Flushing Meath. At that time, did anyone expect the quality of this dark horse?

Looking at the court, Roig thought that perhaps Gawain's coming to Mallorca for training would also be a good thing for Nadal.

Originally, Uncle Tony thought that since Nadal was ready to set up a tennis school, it would be a good thing to be able to use Gawain's popularity to open up the market. Moreover, Uncle Tony admired Gawain's training attitude and his complete interpretation of professionalism, so he took the initiative to extend the invitation.

But now, in Roig's view, Gawain can bring something new, which should have a positive impact on Nadal's improvement.

Just like when facing the other Big Three, Nadal is always able to draw experience from those challenges and confrontations and keep improving.

Unconsciously, Gawain has acquired different attributes and status in Roig's eyes.

So, what exactly is Gawain thinking at this moment?

Red clay understands.

Graf once said that Nadal's understanding of clay is unparalleled in the world and can be said to be the best in history. This is also the key to Nadal's ability to widen the gap on clay courts.

Likewise, Gawain tried to understand the red soil, hoping to find his own answer -

Standing on the hard ground, from basic skills to daily training to growth, it seems to have become a habit that you can be completely good at without understanding.

It feels like my mother tongue.

The mother tongue is so deeply imprinted in the soul that when foreigners ask themselves, "Why is it said like this here?", "What's going on with this grammar?", "Is there any rule behind this usage?", they cannot tell a reason. Everything is too natural and does not need to be understood.

However, this is not the case when learning a second or third language. From grammar to vocabulary, from etymology to culture, everything needs to be understood slowly and in depth.

That's the case with red clay and grass.

When a student knows nothing and starts from scratch, he should humbly ask the teacher for advice and absorb knowledge.

This is also an important goal of today's training match, to learn from the real masters of clay court.

But slowly, Gao Wen realized that he should adjust his study plan slightly.

For Nadal, clay is like his mother tongue. Everything is in his genes and he can't explain why. It seems that this is how he should do it.

Therefore, all the information conveyed by Nadal when standing on the red clay was natural, but in Gawain's eyes, they were all codes that could not be deciphered.

If you want to learn "grammar", you should consult professional teachers. Maybe these teachers are not geniuses, and their language may not be as fluent as their mother tongue, but their theoretical knowledge can help students lay a good foundation and framework when learning other languages.

Here, I am referring specifically to Agassi and Graf - of course, their level on clay may be slightly inferior to Nadal; but compared to other players, they are still at the master level.

So, what should Gawain learn from Nadal?

"Sense of language".

When learning a new language, teachers constantly emphasize "language sense", which is actually the rhythm, habits, colors, culture, etc. of a language. Through daily communication with ordinary people who speak the language, you can slowly cultivate this feeling and experience the hidden feelings with your soul.

Obviously, Nadal has a unique advantage in "clay sense".

Gao Wen is not Nadal and cannot become Nadal, because there is only one Nadal, and because everyone has a different understanding of the court and tennis.

Ultimately, you still need to explore on your own and finally interpret your own colors.

So, Gao Wen began to observe Nadal and immersed himself in the game to experience it carefully, including hitting, tactics, layout, conception and so on.

Understanding red clay is a complex and difficult subject. Gao Wen did not intend to complete it in a short period of time. Anyway, it was impossible within this week.

However, Gawain began to try and explore, from movement to rotation to hitting, from offense to defense to layout, step by step.

It wasn't until the end of the first set that Gao Wen finally figured out something.

The first point, from the baseline layout to the small ball victory.

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This shows that it is not impossible to play variations on clay courts, but the variations must be more sophisticated and must be combined with changes in lines and rotations; more importantly, the entire three-dimensional sense of space on clay courts is different.

On the one hand, the ball speed slows down, giving players more time to arrange their positions; on the other hand, due to venue reasons, the starting speed and movement efficiency are reduced.

After adding one and subtracting one, how to make full use of the venue space is a whole new topic, which is obviously different from hard court. If you continue to stick to the hard court hitting lines and tactical layout, it is not impossible, but it will definitely be counterproductive, and the most likely result is that you will drag yourself down.

Small ball, this is the use of the depth of the court. Although there are similar tactics on hard courts, the effect on clay courts should be better.

The second point, from controlling the landing point to following the ball to the net.

In fact, this is also an extension of the variation. By suddenly going to the net, the rhythm of the entire round is increased, forcing the opponent to feel direct pressure.

However, the characteristics of clay courts mean that the opponent may have more reaction time, and the party who chooses to go to the net needs more preparation.

On the one hand, more requirements are placed on the players' offensive layout, and the quality of the shots needs to be guaranteed, so that they can gain an advantage at the net.

On the other hand, this is an option to enrich the means of attacking and scoring points. The characteristics of clay courts bring more possibilities, and players need to open their minds. If they stick to the baseline and play a tug-of-war, the means of scoring will become fewer and narrower, and finally it will turn into a war of attrition.

Of course, this was only Gao Wen’s first official training match, and the things he had figured out were just a beginning, and needed to be further verified and improved.

However, "everything is difficult at the beginning", at least Gao Wen has taken the first step.

Although clay and hard courts are two completely different things, Gao Wen found that the new venue and new content have enriched tennis again, and it is interesting to explore the different aspects and possibilities of this sport again.

It’s really interesting!

So, in the case of "30:0", should we try something new in the next point? (End of this chapter)