Chapter 1235: The Needle and the Wheat

On hard courts, Nadal will adjust his serve receiving style according to his own condition and his opponent's serve, especially after Moya took over in 2017.

However, on clay, Nadal's signature serve return style has never changed, and has even become a return style that everyone imitates on the clay court: standing back and using strong topspin.

Nadal's serve returns are always conservative and steady. In this safe way, any serve can be successfully returned to the court, even the serves of big shots like Isner and Karlovic are no exception, and then Nadal will enter the familiar baseline round mode.

However, this way of hitting the ball does not work for everyone, because strong topspin means giving the opponent space to launch an attack; moreover, not everyone can hit the strong topspin like Nadal, and the quality of the return ball is so poor that it is simply inviting the opponent to attack directly.

Now, Gao Wen is trying to return the ball in this way.

Mike tried to limit Gao Wen with powerful flat serves, but Gao Wen used strong topspin to slow down the pace of the round, and his line selection was also very special.

One volume.

A stroke.

Gao Wen used strong topspin to cushion the impact of the serve, and then with a swing and push of his forearm, the return ball flew out along a small diagonal line.

Backslash! In short, Mike and Bob made it difficult for Gawain to open the angle, but Gawain used strong topspin to overcome the difficulty and open the angle.

Although the Bryan brothers quickly adjusted their tactics, Gawain still found a way to respond on the spot and return the ball according to the established tactics.

On the surface, it seemed that Dimitrov was "pressed" in place and unable to move; in fact, this was exactly the tactic of Gawain and Dimitrov. Dimitrov had to keep squatting. Only in this way could Gawain change the angle of his return ball.

Between calculation and counterattack, Gawain once again demonstrated his wisdom——

The tennis ball actually fell near the baseline of the serving area on Mike's side, which is the shallow area.

First, Bob is moving in the opposite direction and cannot possibly hit the ball.

Secondly, Mike had not anticipated this way of returning the ball, and his lateral movement switched to vertical movement, with his entire body being pulled directly out of the doubles area.

The rhythm becomes strange.

Of course, Mike still completed the shot smoothly without any difficulty, but Mike soon realized that Gao Wen's shot was also a layout -

Unfortunately, it's too late.

After Gao Wen's shot landed, he made full use of the characteristics of the clay to release all the strong rotation. When Mike was about to touch the ball, the position of the tennis ball was diagonally above his shoulder, almost parallel to the top of his head.

Moreover, this is a backhand.

Mike hits a two-handed backhand.

At this point, I held the racket with both hands and tried to hit the ball near my head, but the whole movement was stuck, which was very awkward and uncomfortable.

Originally, Mike was a typical North American hard court player with mediocre backhand ability. Most of the time, he relied on cutting and pushing, and his ability to actively exert force was mediocre. Now that his hitting position was restricted, he was helpless with his backhand. In the end, he could only hit the ball at a high point to complete the shot.

Not even cutting.

This also means that there is no way to control the strong topspin of Gawain's ball. If Mike is not careful, his shot may directly turn into a skyrocket.

but!

Is this the extent of the Bryan brothers’ strength?

Of course not.

Mike was a veteran of many battles. Facing such a dilemma, he barely managed to hold the ball back with his backhand. He knew that his backhand shot could not be suppressed at all, so he simply went with the flow.

High ball.

Since it is impossible to exert force with the backhand, and even the trajectory of the ball cannot be controlled, it is better to follow Gao Wen's shot and further slow down the rhythm of the return ball, which is also in line with the characteristics of the clay court.

Then the tennis ball flew high up, drawing a parabola.

Oops!

Mike exclaimed secretly.

This response was a good idea, and it showed Mike's ability to adapt to circumstances on the spot, but the execution was disappointing. The main reason was that Mike's batting technique was simple and crude, and he was unable to "eat" Gawain's strong topspin, so that there was a slight deviation in the parabola control of the high ball.

See the high, not the far.

Ideally, the lob should go over Dimitrov's head and into the back half, dragging Gawain in a see-saw round of shots at the baseline; at the same time, the Bryan brothers gain a breathing time, both go to the net, seize the commanding heights in front of the net, and reverse the situation.

In reality, Dimitrov kept squatting, and Gawain's ball was unexpected. In a split second, Mike's judgment of the court space and his batting technique deviated, and the quality of his lob was unsatisfactory.

Then, the crisis came.

Mike and Bob both realized that the situation was not good when they saw the parabola of the return ball. Who could have thought that Gawain's deliberately slowed down and angled return shot would create such an effect? ​​Mike's tactical execution was obviously not in place, and soon after, Dimitrov stood up.

Originally Dimitrov was pinned to the spot, unable to stand up, but now he took advantage of the time difference and appeared on the return line just in time.

Push off the ground!

Take off!

Pulling onions from dry land!

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Dimitrov's knees were like springs. With the help of the force from standing up straight, he jumped high on the spot and grabbed a rising point for the incoming ball.

Ah! From top to bottom, blocked shot.

Boom! The whole place roared.

Dimitrov was like a swordsman with his sword drawn, his white clothes as white as snow, his hair fluttering, and the high-pressure ball flew out of his chest like a bomb.

Bang! Even on clay, you can still feel the solid combined force of the ball.

The tennis ball exploded into a ball of petals on the ground.

but!

Bob showed up.

When he saw Gawain return the ball, Bob realized the crisis of the situation. He moved in small steps and returned to the center of the court. He predicted in advance and accurately grasped Dimitrov's tactical intention of small diagonal high pressure. He took a big step and cut across the hitting line.

A block.

One.

In the last ball, Bob bravely faced Gawain's shot. He was not afraid of confronting high-pressure volleys or close combat. This is the core of men's doubles. As a result, Gawain used softness to overcome hardness. He used a small ball to lightly and cleverly change the rhythm of the confrontation and scored easily.

In this ball, Dimitrov seized the opportunity to complete a violent high pressure. Bob once again faced the ball head-on without fear. As a left-handed player, he had to hit the ball on his right side and block it with a one-handed backhand. Before his brain even had time to think, his body muscles had already made movements.

incredible!

It's amazing!

Everything happened so fast. Everyone thought that Dimitrov's high-pressure ball would directly become the winning point, but no one expected that Bob would actually complete the interception. Before they could even breathe out, they saw Bob blocking Dimitrov's determined high-pressure ball.

It all depends on on-the-spot reaction.

The charm of the doubles match and the tension of the peak showdown burst out incomparable sparks at this moment, and one can't help but hold his breath.

Immediately afterwards, the tennis ball hit the racket head-on.

It's like Mars hitting the Earth.

(End of this chapter)