Chapter 1215 Reading Comprehension
"In the game, Puy is leading, 3:0."
Another game is over.
Although Gao Wen scored two points in this game, Pouille still stood firm at the critical moment, successfully held his serve, and officially established a break lead.
Gao Wen stood there, raised his chin slightly, took a look at the landing point of his return ball, and shook his head slightly. He was not satisfied with his tactical layout.
First of all, official competitions and training matches are indeed two different things.
Secondly, a short week of adaptation time is still not enough.
From the start, Gao Wen's tactical layout lacked a clear idea. He did not have the ease and variety that he had on hard courts. The pressure and impact created by the return ball were obviously insufficient.
In sharp contrast, Pouille, who has been trained on clay since childhood, was obviously more comfortable and relaxed. In addition, this was his second singles match, so he was very stable and strong at the beginning.
In fact, objectively speaking, for the new generation born in the 1990s and 1995s, the differences between different venues are becoming smaller and smaller, and there are almost no major changes in tactics. The same playing style and similar tactics can be applied to different types of venues, and there seems to be no problem.
After actually stepping onto the court, Gao Wen realized that he had the same problem. After all, he had lived two lives, but this was his first time playing on clay.
But the key is that Gao Wen's understanding of the court comes from Graf and Agassi, which is a more retro, traditional and classic understanding. They still firmly believe that "understanding the type of court" is the foundation, and technical and tactical adjustments can help players go further on different courts.
After three games, Gao Wen thought he needed to calm down, be humble, start from the basics, and not think about soaring before he has even learned to walk.
Game 4.
At the beginning, Gao Wen tried to adjust the distribution of the return ball's landing point. He did not press deeper into the court like he did on hard court to avoid being torn into a faster and heavier return ball by Puy's quick drive. Instead, he pulled back a little and let the return ball land near the baseline of the service area, giving as much space as possible for the return ball to release its rotation.
Inspiration comes from Nadal.
If you watch Nadal's clay court matches carefully, you will notice that his returns often land near the midfield, which is a big taboo for ordinary players.
Because once the return ball lands shallowly, the opponent may immediately enter the court to put pressure and seize the initiative; but Nadal's situation is slightly different. The shallow landing of the return ball is a tactic that allows his super topspin to be fully released, leaving enough space for the tennis ball to rebound.
But soon, Gawain realized that he needed to choose his tactics carefully.
First of all, Gawain's ball rotation is still not comparable to Nadal's.
Secondly, Puy's return is very distinctive, which is somewhat similar to and different from Kei Nishikori. He does not need to frequently enter the baseline to grab the rising point. It is enough to stand at the baseline. Because his own strength is better than Kei Nishikori, he can occasionally grab the point and occasionally exert force, and he can match and combine them at will.
In this way, Pouille does not need to trouble himself with adjusting his footwork. Standing on the baseline, he can attack or defend without having to run around like Kei Nishikori. But at the same time, Pouille can still increase his batting rhythm by grabbing points or exerting force, thereby increasing the overall speed of the round.
It was also because of this that Pouille was able to narrowly beat Nadal in the final set tiebreak at the 2018 US Open.
but!
This does not mean that the tactics are wrong, but that the tactical combinations need to be more flexible, more varied and more sophisticated, so as to break the balance through changes.
Pugh's batting line selection is generally quite conventional, aiming for the open space.
At the same time, Puy is very persistent in improving his batting rhythm, that is, playing fast with fast, and he always tries to increase the speed every time he returns the ball.
Of course, this is also the reason why the batting line is chosen conventionally. There is no time to think carefully and plan, so just shoot when you see an opening.
At least, that's still the case with the 2015 version of Puy.
So, what is the revelation?
Spin!
The essence of clay is rotation. What if we can cleverly use rotation to create different effects by distributing the points of impact? For Gao Wen, clay is still new, so he doesn't know the result either. He must practice in competitions to accumulate more experience.
"AD: 40", after a tie, Gao Wen used a serve from the outside corner to successfully hold his serve and launched an attack in the next game.
Game 5.
"…Deuce."
In Pouille's serve, Gao Wen saved the game point for the second time in a row and the two sides returned to a tie again.
The air was slightly hot.
It can be seen that in this round, Gao Wen, who gradually gained a foothold, began to fight back, and the cheers from the fans at the scene became lively.
Area 1.
Puyi looked up at Gawain, his eyes glowing slightly, igniting his high morale.
There is no doubt that as the hottest new star of the younger generation, any young player is full of fighting spirit when facing Gao Wen. They need to prove themselves, they are eager to fight, they look forward to becoming famous in one battle, and their blood is always boiling.
So, having just defeated last year's US Open round of 16 player Thiem, why can't he go one step further and defeat Gao Wen today?
Taking a deep breath, Puy prepared to serve.
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One shot, inside corner.
189 kilometers per hour.
Bang! Light and agile.
But this is clay, and the speed and power of the tennis ball are absorbed in the short time it takes for the tennis ball to hit the ground and bounce back. By the time it flies across the court to the opponent's position, most of its energy has been lost. This also gives the opponent more time to react and adjust, especially in the short time of receiving the serve.
Push off the ground!
extend!
Swing!
It can be seen that Gao Wen only took two big steps to adjust, threw his body directly, and hit the tennis ball back with both hands, successfully hitting it back quickly.
Small diagonal line! In a limited space, Gao Wen controlled the ball with his wrist and sent the tennis ball to Pouille's backhand. Although the angle was not torn, the line was laid out.
Puy's footsteps returned to the position quickly, without panic. He raised his hands to directly hold the backhand and grabbed a rising point. His body spun at high speed along with the swinging movement. One could even clearly feel the centrifugal force dragging the sweat away from his forehead, exploding under the golden sunlight, and power burst out instantly.
Slash!
Diagonal!
Make an effort!
Pouille made full use of his serve advantage. Although Gawain successfully touched the ball, he had limited time and space to swing the racket, so he was unable to exert force. This also gave Pouille the opportunity to attack continuously, and he swept the ball directly with his backhand.
However! Pouille is a typical player with a strong forehand and a weak backhand. His backhand can block, cut, and push, and of course he can actively exert force, but the combined force is always lacking, so it is difficult to release 100% of the backhand power, so that the backhand attack is soft and powerless, and it looks like a transition even though it is a force attack.
Then, Gawain appeared.
In a flash, Gao Wen's figure had already appeared accurately at the backhand position. He showed no sign of panic at all and directly raised his backhand with both hands.
(End of this chapter)