Chapter 1194 Adjusting the Atmosphere

"Out!"

There was a call from the sidelines.

There was no referee in the training match, and this shout was made by Uncle Tony.

Roig next to him shook his head regretfully, a helpless smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he made a gesture: just a little bit, just a little bit.

Nadal was just a little bit short of hooking the tennis ball back into bounds and completing another incredible defense, but unfortunately he fell just a little short.

Out of bounds means out of bounds.

There was no need for Nadal to ask, as Uncle Toni, a serious and honest man, had already called out the ball as out of bounds, and then applauded the two players.

This also means that Gao Wen won the game point and held his serve with a "love-game" for the first time in today's training match.

Is this a little progress? On the other side of the court, Nadal still controlled his balance and did not fall down after losing his center of gravity, once again showing his clay court steps.

Nadal stood up again, looked up at the landing point of his return, and a smile rose at the corner of his mouth -

Judging from the result, it seemed that Nadal's shot went out of bounds in this point, and unfortunately he was unable to turn defeat into victory, but Nadal knew that this was not the case.

Originally, Nadal had an absolute advantage in forehand attack, but Gawain relied on the changes in his backhand to find a way out.

What does this mean? Although Gao Wen's understanding of clay is still not enough, his shots and tactics still have a distinct hard court style, but progress is indeed happening little by little.

Firstly, Gao Wen has become more patient; secondly, Gao Wen also realized that although both of them require "daring to strike", the way of hitting the ball on hard court and clay court needs to be changed.

Now, Gawain has gradually figured out some things, some are vague and some are shaky, but it is certain that he is quickly adapting to this kind of venue.

Sincerely, Nadal is willing to give a thumbs up to Gawain.

Looking up, Nadal was looking for Gawain on the court. In the last backhand shot, Gawain had thrown his entire center of gravity out.

"Gawain, are you okay?"

Nadal asked loudly.

The next second, Gao Wen could be seen jogging back into view, raising his racket to indicate that he was fine.

But this is not the end.

Gao Wen did not stop, and crossed the entire court, finally coming to the spot where Nadal had just returned the ball, and squatted down, supporting his body with his racket.

A serious look on his face.

He looked like a professional examining a crime scene, looking left and right, analyzing the landing point from different angles.

Nadal didn't understand what was going on, and he wasn't good at joking either. He just stood there in a daze watching Gawain's actions. One could tell from his expression that he was full of question marks.

Finally, Gawain looked up at Nadal, pinched his thumb and index finger together, made a gesture, and said loudly, "Rafa, it was just a hair's breadth away. Sorry."

After saying this, he spread out his hands, shook his head repeatedly, and expressed his regret with a regretful expression.

The vivid expression and movements made Nadal unable to hold back his laughter and he grinned, leading to laughter from the sidelines as well.

Uncle Tony couldn't help laughing and turned to look at the other side, "Is he usually like this?"

Sampras shrugged and rolled his eyes. "If I tell him, he'll still play pranks on us. Do you believe it?"

Uncle Tony: Stunned.

Sampras wiped away the non-existent tears and said, "Alas, this is how we are usually bullied by him."

Graf grumbled speechlessly, "Are you planning to switch to being an actor?"

"Pfft", Roig burst out laughing.

Sampras had an innocent look on his face, pointed at his nose, and looked at Agassi with tears in his eyes.

Agassi looked up at the sky.

Seeing this scene, even Uncle Tony couldn't help but chuckle.

The atmosphere is harmonious.

In fact, the back and forth in the last point really made one feel the intensity of the peak confrontation, so much so that the air in the entire training ground seemed to freeze.

Now, the atmosphere became relaxed again, laughter surged in the air, and Nadal even made a rare joke.

"Gao Wen, take pictures. Remember to take pictures as evidence. I will check them when I get back tonight."

With just one sentence, Gawain stood there, spreading his hands with a sad face. It seemed that one could hear the sound of his heart breaking, and the laughter on the sidelines got louder.

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In fact, "checking ball marks" is the most traditional part of the clay court.

In football, the controversy over goal line and offside decisions has led to years of debate over whether video replay technology should be introduced. The core argument is:

Competitive sports are human sports, from contestants to referees. Misjudgment should also be a part of it. If electronic technology replaces the position of referees, the spirit and ethics of competitive sports will face severe challenges.

The same controversy objectively exists in volleyball, badminton, etc., but in fact, tennis has always been at the forefront of the times in relevant aspects.

In 2001, Hawk-Eye technology was born and used in the broadcast of tennis matches; in 2003, Hawk-Eye technology was officially introduced to tennis matches.

After a long period of controversy and judgment, in 2006, the US Open once again became the first of the four Grand Slams to introduce the Hawk-Eye system.

In each set, players can have three opportunities to challenge the referee's decision. If the match goes into a tie-break, one more opportunity will be added. After a set is over, all opportunities are reset to zero and cannot be accumulated, which also means that the linesmen's work is under more pressure.

Later, the Australian Open also accomplished the same feat; the ancient and traditional Wimbledon was the last one to keep up with the times and introduce Hawk-Eye technology in 2007, despite overwhelming opposition including from Federer, and completed a comprehensive reform.

In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. People have long been accustomed to it, and the Hawkeye Challenge has become the most common and ordinary part of tennis matches.

However, the French Open is the only exception, or to be more precise, all clay court tournaments.

The reason is very simple.

Before the advent of Hawk-Eye technology, clay courts were already capable of "challenging landing points" because, due to the characteristics of clay courts, tennis balls would leave clearly visible ball marks on the soft court.

If the players have objections to the referee's decision, they can make an application, and the referee must leave the referee's chair, go to the landing point to check the ball mark, and then determine whether it is out of bounds - and there is no limit to the number of times, that is, the referee must meet every request of the players.

Of course, there are still errors in the referee's judgment.

For example, I found the wrong ball mark.

For example, the referee's judgment on whether the ball mark has touched the edge is very subjective, and his judgment may deviate from that of the players, but the players cannot appeal. In other words, after the referee comes to check the ball mark and makes a judgment, this is the official judgment, and the players cannot appeal or challenge the referee's decision.

It is also because of this that players and referees can often be seen arguing heatedly over a ball mark on clay courts.

The "ball mark" controversy constitutes a special landscape of clay court events, further amplifying the characteristics of this type of venue and defining clay court like a label.

(End of this chapter)