Chapter 1197 Basic Training
"Although I missed the opportunity to land on Nadal's private yacht, I can be satisfied with a dinner opportunity. I can show off to my children and grandchildren in the future."
Gawain was still the same Gawain. With just one sentence, he made the atmosphere cheerful again. Even Nadal couldn't help laughing.
So, after the training, both teams took a rare day off to enjoy a leisurely evening and temporarily put tennis and training behind them.
It was a cozy family restaurant with almost no tourists visiting. You could tell at a glance that it was an old restaurant that Nadal and his family often visited.
The traditional Spanish cuisine actually made Gao Wen taste some of the flavor of his hometown food——
The use of olive oil, the combination of salt and seasonings, the taste of cooking over high heat, and of course, Gawain's favorite seafood, although the styles are completely different, the taste is very suitable for Gawain's appetite.
This was a little unexpected discovery.
Uncle Tony was a little surprised when he saw Gao Wen taking photos. "If you want to take photos, shouldn't you do it earlier? The plates are almost empty now."
Gao Wen looked at his phone and smiled. "No, I just took a photo and sent it to my mother. She was always worried that I wouldn't be used to the food when eating out. I told her that I found that Spanish cuisine can taste the flavor of my hometown, and I should bring her to Mallorca next time."
I see!
Nadal smiled slightly, as if he was touched. "So, when I go to other countries to compete, I always like to go to the market to buy vegetables and then come back to cook, because my mother is worried that the food will not suit my taste. I also like to get together with everyone."
Gao Wen was a little surprised, "You cook for yourself? Using this muscle?" As he said this, Gao Wen raised his left hand and pointed at the position of his biceps.
Gawain did it on purpose—
Nadal hits the ball with his left hand, so the muscles in his left hand are indeed stronger than those in his right hand, which is very visually impactful; but in real life, Nadal is actually right-handed and uses his right hand for all daily actions. This is a well-known legend in the professional tennis world.
Because, in the enlightenment stage, it was Uncle Toni who suggested Nadal to use his left hand to hit the ball, which made Nadal unique in the entire tennis world.
Professionals have speculated more than once: if Nadal had not switched to using his left hand, but was a traditional right-handed player, would he still be able to reach such a height? However, "there is no if", so all tennis fans witnessed a glorious golden age together.
In other words, in daily life, when Nadal cooks, he will definitely use his right hand, and the muscles in his left hand are of little use.
"Haha." Nadal was immediately amused by Gawain. "Occasionally, very, very occasionally. I don't like it getting in the way, so I usually put it in the refrigerator."
Cold joke! As they got to know each other better, Nadal started to joke around.
Sampras picked up the wine glass and took a sip. "I've heard before that a player cut his finger while cooking and had to withdraw from the game. Another player sprained his ankle while cleaning the room and missed the French Open and Wimbledon."
"Gawain, I'm not worried that you might hurt yourself, but I'm worried that you might tear down the kitchen," Sampras complained meaningfully.
All eyes were directed towards Gawain.
What was Sampras hinting at? Gawain wanted to refute, but when he saw everyone's gaze, he changed the subject and said, "Okay, I admit, I am actually Wreck-It Ralph."
Boom! Everyone burst into laughter, including Uncle Tony and Pelt.
The night is just right. In the busy and tight daily training, we can take a short break, relieve stress, relax, regroup and continue on the road.
Then, Saturday.
On this day, Gawain did not train with Nadal for three consecutive days, but welcomed a new training opponent -
Jaume-Munar in 1997.
This young Spanish player reached the final of the French Open junior group last year, but unfortunately lost to Rublev. Although he still signed up for the junior competition this year, Munar has started to participate in challenge tournaments to accumulate experience, slowly entering the professional track and starting his own professional career.
The match against Munar was also a training match, but the whole style and pressure were different. Gao Wen felt it particularly clearly: it was like training with lead blocks tied to his legs, and then suddenly removing the lead blocks, and suddenly he felt as light as a swallow.
From the side, you can once again deeply feel Nadal's uniqueness.
However, Munar's powerful offensive style is different from Nadal's defensive counterattack, which is also a test for Gawain's defense on the clay court.
Munar is a typical clay court player, but he also possesses the daring and fighting style of the younger generation, and should also perform well on hard courts.
“6:4”, “3:3”.
Munar is in front.
Judging from the score, Gawain was still at a disadvantage. The young and energetic Munar played with great vigor and showed Gawain a different kind of clay court attack.
It is obviously different from Nadal, but it is another understanding and reading of clay. The delicacy and complexity of the whole game style are one level higher than that of hard court, and there is a lot of room for interpretation. Just when Gao Wen thought he had entered the primary stage, he realized that he was still getting started.
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Of course, training and competition are two different things. Today's training focuses on defensive layout and touch.
On clay courts, offense and defense are slightly different, but overall, offense is still offense, and its essence is the same as on hard courts, but defense is different. Everything from techniques to methods to strategies are different, showing the unique characteristics of clay in all aspects. This is brand new.
To get started with red clay, you still need to work hard to improve your basic skills.
Uncle Tony was fully aware of this, so when Agassi contacted him to arrange a training partner for Gawain, he invited Munar.
Even without Agassi's special instructions, Uncle Tony had already completed the concept in advance and used his professional knowledge to help Gawain train.
Sampras and Agassi were very satisfied and they even discussed whether they should return to Mallorca next year to prepare for Gawain's clay court season.
During his training in Mallorca, Nadal was indeed a perfect host, impeccable.
In the morning, the two-hour training ended; in the afternoon, Gao Wen had no training scheduled. After lunch, he packed his luggage and went to the airport to prepare to leave.
Tomorrow is Sunday, and the day after tomorrow, Monday, is the official opening day of the Monte Carlo tournament. Whether it is Gawain or Nadal, they should all be ready to go.
After all, there are still two training sessions to be held in Monte Carlo on Sunday to adapt to the venue and the weather.
Nadal and Uncle Tony were still in training, so it was Maribel who came to see them off. To their surprise, they saw another figure at the airport gate.
Perello, who is only known by name but never seen, is Nadal's fiancée.
(End of this chapter)