Chapter 1411 Lose a Game First
Push off the ground and step forward.
Turn around and attack.
Nadal's two-handed backhand was solid and steady. He unsheathed his long sword and struck out with his heavy sword, hitting a straight line into the blind spot on the opposite side of the court.
Although Gawain's speed had been increased to the extreme and he arrived in time, he was still late in hitting the ball. He hit it with his forehand, but unfortunately he was unable to attach enough rotation, and the flying parabola of the tennis ball completely deviated from the track and flew far away towards the audience stands behind Nadal.
"ah!"
Nadal clenched his fists and roared, his fighting spirit burning, sweat dripping, veins bulging, like a god of war, his eyes shining brightly.
“Ahhhh!”
After suppressing himself again and again, burning again and again, Nadal finally released himself completely without reservation, and his ferocious and magnificent aura filled the entire stadium.
"40:AD".
In Gao Wen's serve game, a break point appeared again. This was the fourth break point in this game.
From this small detail, we can see that the game was very, very tough. Although Nadal got the chance, Gawain's performance was no less impressive. The torment and tug-of-war from missing break points in a row made the game become stalemate little by little. Obviously, Nadal also felt tremendous pressure.
The first quarterfinal match of the 2015 French Open men's singles has entered the end of the second set, but the suspense of the outcome is still swinging on the tightrope.
In fact, it’s not just this one round—
From the first point of the game, Nadal could deeply feel Gawain's high morale, and the youth's vigor and passion launched a full-scale attack.
However, Nadal on clay is different, and Nadal at Roland Garros is different again. The nine-time champion of the tournament showed his strong foundation from the beginning of the game, and exerted comprehensive pressure with practical actions, making Gawain clearly realize that this is the Philippe Chatrier Stadium.
In the distant future, Zverev once half-jokingly joked,
"Every year when he comes to Roland Garros, Rafa transforms like a superhero, serving 30% faster, hitting the ball 50% harder, moving 100% faster, he's not the same person at all."
At that time, everyone thought it was a joke, but now Gao Wen finally understood that it was different, indeed different, at least different from when he played in Madrid. The overall improvement of Nadal's strokes could be felt in terms of ball quality, speed, connection, confidence and so on.
First plate.
After a brief adaptation, Nadal suddenly accelerated and launched an attack in Gawain's second service game. The quality of his forehand super topspin shots was fully demonstrated. Although Gawain saved two break points, he was unable to save the third one and fell into a passive situation after being broken.
In men's tennis matches, a break in one game can often determine the outcome of the match, especially on hard courts and grass courts. But even on clay, once a player is broken and falls into a passive position, turning the situation around often requires a double test of physical strength and energy, which is not easy.
In the end, Nadal took advantage of a break point and won the first set.
"6:4".
The stalemate of the game can be deeply felt from the score, and the actual game is even closer and more intense, dancing on a tightrope the whole time.
In the first set, Nadal got a total of nine break points, but only converted one; Gao Wen got four break points, but failed to convert any of them.
There are always opportunities. It just depends on who performs better at the critical moment. After a full 53 minutes of competition, Nadal won.
The competition was completely in line with expectations, and even more exciting and thrilling than expected.
On the one hand, Gao Wen is indeed learning and improving. His understanding of clay, tactical layout, shot selection, return judgment, etc., all these details permeate every aspect of the game, and it can be seen that Gao Wen and clay have not yet achieved a perfect fit.
Especially when standing in front of Nadal, the "King of Clay"'s understanding of the court, tennis, and the game is simply an alien on another level.
No wonder that for a whole decade, Soderling was the only one who could beat Nadal at Roland Garros.
So how did Soderling do it? He attacked from the field.
In fact, Soderling is not a typical clay court master. This violent attacker whose offensive firepower ranks among the top ten in history is a pure offensive player. In that game, from the first point to the last point, he launched an all-out attack with full firepower and performed high-intensity critical strikes for three hours.
In a best-of-five Grand Slam tournament, it is almost a miracle that cannot be replicated.
To put it simply, it means fighting like crazy and like a god.
Even Soderling himself was unable to replicate such a performance. The following year, he met Nadal again at Roland Garros and was defeated in straight sets.
Moreover, 2009 was the lowest point in Nadal's career. Problems with his own game system were also an important reason.
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Similarly, 2015 was the second fatal low point in Nadal's career, which was, in some ways, even worse than his performance in 2009.
It is precisely because of this that the "gap" between Nadal and Gawain was drastically narrowed, which was also the key factor in making this game so stalemate and close.
On the other hand, Nadal's own condition fluctuates.
This year, it is the only time in the past ten years that Nadal has not been able to win any championship trophy in the European clay court season before entering Roland Garros. Coupled with the sluggish performance in the Australian season and the spring hard court season, anyone can see that Nadal is not in good shape.
Of course, Nadal was different when he came to Roland Garros. He won the first four games without any bloodshed, and only lost the first set of this year's French Open when facing Sock in the fourth round. He once again demonstrated his dominance and strength on this court, and no one can underestimate him.
Against Gao Wen, this is undoubtedly Nadal's toughest challenge this year.
If he can beat Gawain, victory is victory, but more importantly, Nadal can regain his form and confidence. In the final stage, the belief and dominance of the King of Clay will enable him to return to the ranks of favorites to win the championship. Therefore, Gawain is the most crucial test.
Nadal also clearly knew the importance of this game and showed 100% concentration from the opening stage.
However, frequent injuries in the past two years, such as wrist injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, etc., have left behind problems that have torn Nadal's on-court state into pieces. After the smoothness and comprehensiveness of the entire game were severely damaged, the stalemate and closeness of the score was a foreseeable result.
In fact, like Federer, he has been criticized as the "king of missing points" in the past two years, and has repeatedly failed to effectively convert break points. This indirectly reflects that his ability to improve his condition and performance at critical moments is declining due to objective factors such as age, physical condition, and injuries, and his control over the game is gradually lost.
Nine break points, only one converted, this is definitely not how Nadal should perform at Roland Garros.
But no matter what, the king of clay is still the king of clay. Nadal still held on to the game and won the first set with his experience and foundation.
(End of this chapter)