Chapter 1269: On the verge of collapse
The mind was shaken a little, a little cracked, and the stability and concentration of the whole state were ushered in by a storm, and everything was different.
Game 1, “40:AD”.
On the break point, Pospisil and Sock finally regained their composure, established an advantage through their serve, and then through Sock's net drive.
The Gao Wen combination fell into a passive position and was firmly pressed on the baseline for passive defense.
Pospisil seized the opportunity, quickly came to the net, and launched a sweeping attack with a straight forehand hammer, aiming at the blind spot at the baseline of Gawain's backhand position and launching a fierce attack.
As a result, Gao Wen, in an extremely passive situation, relied on sliding on the clay to seize a small half-beat opportunity, and forced a straight line with his two-handed backhand to complete the save.
Straight line coming, straight line back——
Pospisil was just about to defend his backhand, but he found that Gawain was aiming at his forehand breakthrough. He started again, stretched his body, and blocked the shot with his right hand. However, he failed to predict the power and speed of Gawain's return, which directly affected his touch and technique.
The tennis ball just flew away.
The game score was “0:1”, and the Gao-Wen combination took the lead by breaking the serve.
The second game, “40:15”.
Despite being behind by a small margin, Sock and Pospisil created opportunities on their opponent's first game point, forming a two-handed combo at the net.
On the opposite side, Gawain and Dimitrov were both standing in the midfield, their positions had been disrupted, and they lost their positions in the opponent's airtight blockade in front of the net. Both of them were standing near the center line, with gaps on both sides. The defensive coverage had become a sieve, comparable to a colander.
In other words, Sok or Pospisil only need to complete a basic shot and aim for the gap to score.
However.
Pospisil's two-handed backhand, aiming for the sideline, tried to find a point to hit the line, and formed a winning point beautifully and elegantly. The result:
Too much joy leads to sorrow.
He was too eager and too complacent, and instead ignored the strong topspin of Gao Wen's return ball. The downward pressure of the racket face was slightly insufficient, and the hitting line deviated from expectations.
Out of bounds.
Moreover, it was not just out of bounds a little bit, it was extremely out of bounds. The landing point of the tennis ball was a huge distance away from the sideline, and five big men could pass through side by side, causing exclamations of astonishment from the audience.
The game score is “0:2”, and the Gao-Wen combination expanded their lead.
Since the end of the first set, Gao Wen and his team have won four games in a row.
The balance was completely broken.
This was clearly not the doubles final that people were expecting.
In fact, objectively speaking, the combination of Sock and Pospisil is indeed in good form. They have reached the finals of three consecutive Masters tournaments and their competitive state is at a high point.
Even though clay is, to a large extent, not suitable for the two players to perform, and it weakens their fighting power, but in this week's event, they reached the final without losing a single set, which was still very convincing, continuing their upward momentum since their cooperation in the new season.
In all aspects, they are indeed one of the best performing doubles combinations in the past two seasons, combining both singles strength and doubles tacit understanding.
Moreover, they are still young and their strength is on the rise. As their cooperation becomes more and more tacit, their dominance in the doubles arena will continue to rise.
But that's what competitive sports are all about—
The game of back and forth, the collision of close combat, the tug of war, the east wind will either prevail over the west wind or the west wind will prevail over the east wind. The turning point of the game and the ups and downs of the state depend not only on oneself, but also on the opponent, and often happen in a short moment.
Sometimes you can see the signs before a winning streak turns into a losing streak, but not always.
What's more! Apart from Pospisil, Sok is not an experienced anchor, he is also young.
When his partner's performance fluctuated and the situation took a turn for the worse, Sock was also confused: What was going on? As a result, Sock's batting feel also fluctuated to a certain extent.
Game 3.
Once Sok's forehand hit the net, and once Pospisil's return was shallow and was caught by Dimitrov, who directly scored the winning point with a forehand straight line. In a blink of an eye, they fell into trouble.
Then, Gawain seized the opportunity of Sock's second serve and suddenly launched a sneak attack. His fast and deep return serve landed directly in the deep area of the baseline, creating pressure, causing Sock's backhand rebound to fail. The tennis ball flew high but failed to cross the net and landed again on his side of the court.
"0:40".
The situation is really confusing.
For a moment, it seemed that everything started to go wrong, from serving to the baseline to the net, from forehand to backhand, everything went wrong.
One can vaguely sense that the fear of a collapse is quietly approaching.
but!
Sok and Pospisil have indeed been in great form in the last three months, not only in terms of the number of wins, but also in terms of handling of key points.
An ace from Sock and a net smash from Pospisil, they saved two break points in quick succession.
"30:40".
The crisis was a wake-up call, and Pospisil regained his focus, while Sok also found his footing in the chaos and returned to the winning mode.
My normal state seems to have returned, especially the attitude of giving it a try with all my might, which makes all the distracting thoughts in my mind disappear.
Critical moment
Gawain, step forward.
On the third break point.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Sock was unable to establish enough advantage through serving, and the two sides entered into a round of balls, followed by a four-player close combat mode in front of the net.
Ping pong.
The back and forth shots were really dazzling, and then Gao Wen took the lead in making a change, flipping the racket face and picking up the short ball in front of the net.
Over the top, bottom line.
This also forced Sock to rush back to the baseline quickly, turn his back to the court, and hit a return shot from Rhino Mochizuki at the shoulder position to pull the tennis ball back.
Same thing, over the top, bottom line.
Sock's return had an amazing effect, forcing Gawain to quickly return to the baseline, turn his back to the court, and complete a stunning crotch shot.
A difference in detail can be seen here. It is both a save near the baseline and both an unconventional shot under extreme conditions, but Gawain's handling is more spiritual.
The inexplicable spirituality——
Gao Wen, unexpectedly, chose a small diagonal line, successfully dribbled past Pospisil who was standing in front of the net to volley, crossed his position, and found a landing point outside the small triangle of his right forehand service area.
This is a very awkward line.
If the angle is too small, Pospisil can step forward to block the ball; if the angle is too large, the ball will either not pass the net or go directly out of bounds.
Everything must be just right in order to find a gap as narrow as a thread through the sky and escape.
Gawain, in the midst of panic, the confusion of footsteps, the clash of bayonets, found it precisely—
It is absolutely a stroke of genius.
Here, Pospisil was already waiting in front of the net, staring at Gao Wen intently, taking small steps to adjust himself, and getting ready to hit the ball.
The moment he saw Gao Wen complete the hook shot, his body had already moved out, taking a step sideways towards his forehand, with his upper body fully extended.
One pounce, one block.
Shoulders, arms, wrists, racket, everything is completely stretched out and staring at the tennis ball.
A little further to the right.
A little further to the right.
Again and again...
The body has been stretched to the limit, but suddenly found that it can't reach it. The arc drawn by the tennis ball actually passed the limit of the racket and rushed out.
Like a rainbow.
(End of this chapter)