Chapter 1368: A Thousand Miles Down
Light, soft, delicate, ingenious——
He responded to the small ball with a small ball, but his skills were better than his opponent, and he rubbed out a perfect small ball. His sudden and brilliant touch amazed everyone, and the whole audience was silent.
Even if you see it with your own eyes, it is hard to believe your eyes. Your whole brain is instantly plunged into a buzzing surge, and you lose the ability to think.
Tim tried his best but couldn't catch up. His sprint speed slowed down, his knees softened, and his shoulders drooped. He supported his knees with his hands and breathed deeply. His lungs rose and fell like a bellows, and beads of sweat the size of beans kept falling down.
Click.
Click.
The red soil darkened in color, and soon formed a small puddle of water. The raging fire in his chest could not be calmed down and could explode at any time.
A little bit of weakness, a little bit of bitterness, spreading on the tip of the tongue——
He really has burned out without reservation, really.
However, he still lost the point and the game, and was broken again.
He is also an ordinary person, and at this moment he can't help but feel deeply powerless. He needs some time to breathe and some time for his brain to cool down.
It doesn't need to be long, just a short moment will do.
Then.
Taking a deep breath and raising his head, Tim regained his faith, his scattered focus gathered again, and then he saw Gawain.
With a split, Gawain stretched his entire body to the limit. After completing the last shot, he sat down on the ground in a straight line. At the same time, his chest was heaving violently, and a burning flame seemed to be rampaging in his chest, pulling the corners of his mouth slightly upward.
That face, those eyes, were sweating, flushed, and a little embarrassed, but the light of faith was shining brightly, competing with the sun.
Tim couldn't help but smile. Although his steps were so heavy that he could hardly move, he still came to the net.
"Hey man, do you need help?"
Gawain spread his hands, covered his mouth with his left hand, and said to Tim, "Dominic, I'm worried that I may need to change my pants."
Tim was stunned. Could it be that the crotch of his pants was torn?
Subconsciously, Tim turned his head to look at Gawain's dugout, wondering if he should go and get a towel or something, but when he turned around, he saw Gawain's smiling face, and he was a beat too late to react: Gawain was joking.
Tim: …
Puff.
His tense mind relaxed a little, then Tim went around the net and stretched out his right hand towards Gawain, serving as a support point to help Gawain stand up.
"Seeing that you still have the mind to make a joke, I think you should be able to handle it." Tim is an honest man and didn't know how to complain and fight back, but he still complained. After that, the smile on the corner of his mouth bloomed completely. He bumped Gao Wen with his shoulder, and then turned around and went back to his own court.
"Dominic!"
Hearing a call from behind, Tim stopped and turned around, and saw Gawain's smile blooming in the sunshine.
"The game isn't over yet."
After saying that, Gawain took a few steps back while facing Tim. No more words were needed. It could be seen from his light footsteps and jumping posture:
Gao Wen is not going to let his opponent win, and will not show any mercy. The outcome of this match has not yet been decided.
From words to actions, even though Gawain didn't say much, the fighting spirit in Tim's chest was rekindled, and his expression quietly relaxed.
However, after taking two steps, just as Tim was about to turn around, the referee's voice bypassed the microphone and shouted loudly.
"Gawain! Dominic!"
"Exchange venues!"
Gao Wen and Thiem were both stunned for a moment, and then they realized that after the first game of each match, both sides had to exchange courts.
This is so embarrassing. My attempt to show off has failed.
Boom! The Philippe Chatrier Stadium was filled with laughter.
But no matter what, the game continued after the venue was changed.
At the beginning of the fourth set, “1:0”, Gao Wen broke the serve first.
If you just look at the score numbers, people might think, isn't this natural? After all, Gao Wen is the second seed.
Only those who actually watched the game could understand the hardship behind the score. This game alone took eighteen minutes, which was very difficult.
Finally, Gao Wen once again showed his exquisite touch to the world, breaking the serve with a clay sliding step and a small ball return at the net.
"...Dominic still has a chance. Even though he was broken, it was still early. He still has enough time..."
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"We broke serve at the start of the fourth set, but it wasn't the final word. Both Gawain and Dominic faced a severe test of their physical strength..."
"...From this game, we can see that the mistakes made by both players have increased significantly, so the rest of the fourth set will depend on who can find a more appropriate way to continue the game when their physical strength is low..."
"Tim, there is still a chance."
"Don't forget, this is red clay, the test is never that easy."
The commentators are doing their job diligently and conscientiously.
As neutral spectators, the commentators naturally hope that the game can continue. The two players have already presented three hours of high-quality top-level confrontation. If possible, they sincerely hope that the game can enter the deciding set so that everyone can enjoy the strong confrontation for a while longer.
As the commentator said, Thiem still has a chance, but at the same time, physical test is a subject that both players need to face.
This is exactly the reality.
In this long 18-minute game, Tim's physical strength was severely depleted, and his overall hitting accuracy and force intensity showed a significant decline.
For a power-playing style like Thiem's, body/physical fitness is the foundation of everything. Once it can't keep up, the entire tactical system will have problems.
On the other side of the court, Gawain was in direct contrast.
Although Gao Wen also faced physical problems, his tactical layout and shot selection were obviously smarter and more flexible when he was at the peak of his physical strength, showing his control over his serve. This is also an important reason why he can stand out among his peers.
Everyone can play when they are in good shape; the difficult part is how to play when they are not in good shape.
Four points in a row.
Gao Wen completed the serve holding in a "love-game" manner and realized the break advantage, and the balance of the entire game was completely broken.
It's not that Thiem doesn't work hard or strive. He is still trying his best, he is still burning himself out, and he can still hit some wonderful shots, but the problem is that his physical strength can't keep up, his routines and tactics have not changed, so his full-fire attack is sometimes effective and sometimes not.
In the fourth set, the strong continuation that people expected did not appear. On the contrary, the collapse came too quickly and Gao Wen led and was strong all the way.
It was not until near the end that Thiem seized on Gawain's two mistakes and saved his serve, avoiding a bagel, but the game was still beyond redemption.
After saving a match point, Tim's counterattack came to an end powerlessly.
The final score of the fourth set was... "6:1".
(End of this chapter)