Chapter 1367: The Limit of Flexibility
Accident! Accident! Accident!
At the critical moment, Thiem broke the conventional routine and faced a high-pressure offensive opportunity from the baseline, but chose a forehand backhand diagonal shot, completely breaking expectations.
Whether it was the timing of hitting the ball in the first shot after serving, or Gao Wen's choice of the moon ball in the deep area of the baseline to give the opponent an attacking opportunity; whether it was the forehand shot, or the choice of the backlash line, every link and every detail were all unexpected, and then, it ignited the whole audience.
Buzz buzz buzz...
There was a great commotion.
The heat is boiling.
Gao Wen had to admit that this time, Tim's calculations were ahead of his own. His predictions and plans all failed, and he was pushed to the edge of the cliff in an instant.
And it's not the edge of a cliff, but he is hanging on the cliff with one hand, in a life-or-death situation, with little hope.
But think about it carefully: Is it really that unexpected? Does this shot selection fit Thiem's style? In 2019, Chilean legendary player Nicolas-Massu joined Thiem's coaching team, which became a key turning point in the victory or defeat.
As a professional player, Ma Su's career record is not brilliant. Although her highest world ranking was once ninth, her best Grand Slam result was only the fourth round of the 2005 US Open. Apart from that, she has only reached the third round of Grand Slams five times.
Blue-collar player, this is the best adjective to describe Masu. Among Chilean players, "Cannon" Gonzalez is much more famous -
However, in the 2004 Athens Olympics, Ma Su unexpectedly won both the singles and doubles gold medals, becoming the first male tennis player in Olympic history to win both singles and doubles gold medals. This also became the highlight of Ma Su's career and a brilliant achievement.
After retiring, Masu stayed away from the public eye for many years until 2019, when he joined Thiem's coaching team, and under his guidance, Thiem was reborn.
There are two changes that the Chileans have brought to Thiem: First, the richness and three-dimensionality of tactics have completely changed Thiem's game mode of relying entirely on strength.
Second, the tenacity of the game. Everyone knows that being too tough will lead to failure. In the past, Tim just fought hard throughout the whole game, but Ma Su changed this situation.
It was also under Ma Su's guidance that Thiem transformed from a master to a top master.
If it was Thiem after 2019 who made different choices and bold changes at critical moments, it would be understandable, because this is the chemistry that Masu injected into Thiem's game; but at the moment in 2015, Thiem did not have such ability, this was not his style.
Therefore, this time, it was not that Tim suddenly got the idea at the tactical level and broke Gawain's prediction; it was -
Red clay understands.
This point shows Thiem's talent on clay. His reading, understanding and interpretation of clay have already shown his talent early on.
Perhaps, Thiem did not have a clear understanding on the tactical level, but just an intuition and an impulse. He thought he needed to do this so that he could make the best use of the clay and maximize his strengths and advantages; so he did it.
Judging from the results, Thiem is indeed slightly better than Gao Wen in understanding and using clay.
Because Gawain didn't expect it, totally didn't expect it, and was caught off guard. At this point, it can be seen that Gawain is still a hard court player.
Red soil?
Even if you are not just getting started, you should be at the beginner level.
But tracing the source is no longer important. What is important is that Tim chose the small ball and Gawain fell into crisis.
run.
drift.
Sprint.
Slide.
Gao Wen's footsteps were smooth and seamless. In the blink of an eye, he had already reached the midfield from the baseline and rode the wind and waves.
However……
The crisis is still there! Thiem stood at the baseline, facing Gawain's moon ball, and used a forehand slice to easily unload the force. The entire return ball parabola was very finely controlled, light and shallow, and the soft and light feel wrapped around the tennis ball, which was about to cross the net and fall like a feather.
Huh! Everybody, hold your breath.
Because of the surprise and also because of the shock.
From all aspects, Gao Wen has no chance. Thiem is about to save the fourth break point with a short ball, and the first game of the fourth set will continue to be entangled.
However, Gawain did not give up. To be more precise—
Refuse to give up.
Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, Gawain is doing his best.
His body was burning, at the extreme state of physical strength, and the last bit of energy had been squeezed out, but Gawain did not feel tired at all.
In a state of full concentration, fatigue and pain have become numbed, and the only thing in my mind and eyes is the rapidly falling tennis ball.
If there is one flaw in Thiem's net shots, it's the spin.
Gawain's baseline moon ball still created some interference, so Thiem had to be more precise and cautious. In order to avoid mistakes that caused the ball to fail to cross the net, Thiem's backspin cutting arc was slightly higher.
After the tennis ball landed, it bounced high up, and the bounce height actually jumped back onto the net. It was not so much that the force was not completely unloaded, but rather that Thiem added too much rotation as insurance.
Therefore, this also gave Gao Wen space——
A little bit, just a little bit.
Gao Wen had already rushed out with a sliding step, but he knew that this little bit of space was not enough. Even with the sliding step, it was still not enough. After all, his explosive power and acceleration had weakened, and the movement effect could not be compared with the first three sets, so he needed to make slight adjustments based on his physical condition.
Lean forward.
extend.
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Slide and lean forward at the same time.
His entire upper body was almost parallel to the ground, his legs were split, and his lunge was gradually evolving into a split, showing Gawain's body flexibility to the fullest.
It is really hard to imagine that a person with a height of 193 cm can have such flexibility and ductility.
"Well……"
The power that erupted from deep within the Dantian was not an instantaneous release, but a continuous drag, stretching the body to the extreme.
Almost.
Just a little bit.
"Ugh!"
A forward charge.
A light pick.
Just as he was about to shoot, he glanced at Tim's position out of the corner of his eye, then lightly lifted and rubbed his wrist, and the tennis ball flew back.
Got it! Thiem:! An exclamation mark appeared in his mind. Thiem immediately noticed Gao Wen's handling of the net. He actually rubbed a small ball back, which was comparable to a badminton net battle.
A kick and a rush.
Thiem rushed out like an arrow from a bow, and at this moment we could see the difference between the 2015 version of Thiem and the 2019 version: insufficient follow-up preparation.
Obviously, Thiem did not make any tactical arrangements today, but relied entirely on instinct and intuition, so there was no follow-up connection and his steps still remained at the baseline.
As a result, Gao Wen seized the opportunity and played a small ball back.
Tim ran at full speed, his feet on the Hot Wheels, raising a cloud of dust.
However--
Gao Wen's small ball amazed everyone.
Light and soft.
It was like a feather falling on quicksand, landing lightly without disturbing any grain of sand.
Falling onto the net.
The delicate and exquisite touch controls the flying parabola of the tennis ball to the limit, just like drawing it with a paintbrush. The tennis ball passes over the net and falls quickly, but no force or rotation is detected. Everything disappears in the wrapping of the wrist and returns to its most original state.
It had just touched the ground, bounced up a little, and then fell again, making two jumps and landing among the dust particles without even rolling.
Tim, there's nothing you can do about it.
(End of this chapter)