——Low bounce, high speed and less friction, these three factors collide together and finally form the characteristics of grass, bringing a new tennis experience.

We have mentioned serve-and-volley players before, with Sampras being the pinnacle representative. They are players who were born for grass.

In fact, the principle is very simple. Make full use of the low bounce characteristics of grass, look for opportunities to get to the net as soon as possible, and further compress the rhythm of the round.

Originally, the low bounce does not leave the players with much time and space to react. If the opponent goes to the net to pressure, on the one hand there is physical squeezing, and on the other hand there is an increase in the rhythm. The back-and-forth rhythm will become faster and faster, and finally the balance will be completely broken, and the outcome will be decided.

Of course, this is not all -

The direct impact of low bounce is the hitting point.

For baseline players, footwork and center of gravity will play an important role.

First, the footwork must be lighter and more delicate.

Low bounce is part of the reason, and another part of the reason is that the grass lacks grip, which makes it easy to lose balance and slip when taking big steps.

People always think that red clay is easy to slip, but this is a wrong perception. Thanks to the strong friction, red clay can grip the ground. This is not the case with grass. There is almost no gripping space between the soles of the shoes and the ground, and the friction is very limited. If you are not careful, you will fall flat on your face.

Therefore, the movement habits on clay must be completely changed on grass.

Second, the center of gravity.

The principle is very simple. Because the refraction angle is low, the hitting point is often below the waist, and the player must lower the center of gravity to find the best hitting position.

Moreover, the overall rhythm is crucial. A slight disconnect may give the opponent a chance to attack and completely disrupt the balance of rhythm.

For various reasons, offensive players and big players can often achieve better results on grass.

Isner, Raonic, Ivanisevic and other serving cannons all have their own shining moments on the grass. Dimitrov, Kyrgios, Auger-Aliassime and other young players who are good at attacking often take the lead in breakthroughs at Wimbledon. The two legends Sampras and Federer have written their glory at Wimbledon.

At this point, some people may ask:

What about Djokovic? He is not a cannon serve or an offensive master, but as of 2022, Djokovic has won seven Wimbledon championship trophies, second only to Federer's eight, ranking second in history.

And what about Murray? His playing style is basically the same as Djokovic, but Murray also achieved the feat of reaching the top twice in 2012 and 2016, which is also the best Grand Slam performance of his career. In addition to the advantage of playing on home soil, there must be other positive factors.

First, offensive players and cannon players can indeed gain advantages on grass and perform well.

Sabine-Lisiki, a German player known as the "Grassland Elf", is the best proof of this. Her biggest highlight in the tennis world is that she is the "French Open champion killer". She may not perform well at other times of the tour every year, but she can shine as long as she enters the grass court season.

With a powerful serve comparable to that of the Williams sisters and a unique and excellent forehand, Lisicki has indeed written a series of miracles at Wimbledon: In 2009, she defeated Svetlana-Kuznetsova, who had just won the French Open, in the third round.

In 2011, she defeated Li Na in the second round, who won the French Open for the first time in her career.

In 2012, she defeated Sharapova in the fourth round, who completed her career Grand Slam at Roland Garros last month.

During these four years, the only player to escape the curse was the 2010 French Open champion, Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone.

That was because Lisicki missed Wimbledon in 2010 due to injury. However, in 2013, Schiavone still couldn't escape the curse. She was swept out in the first round of Wimbledon against Lisicki. Then, the "Grass Elf Curse" of 2013 was successfully continued.

In the fourth round, Lisicki defeated Serena Williams, who had just won her second French Open title at Roland Garros, and advanced to the final.

There is no doubt that Lisicki is the most special and dazzling exception in Wimbledon, not to mention Ivanisevic's miraculous feat of winning Wimbledon in 2001 with a wild card, proving that big-name players can also dominate the Grand Slams and that grass is indeed an offensive court.

But in the final analysis, competitive sports still need to rely on on-the-spot performance and test comprehensive strength. Otherwise, there will be nothing you can do if you have all the strength but cannot use it.

It was also Lisicki who, in 2013, defeated Schiavone, defending champion and latest French Open champion Serena Williams, 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur, 2012 Wimbledon runner-up A-Radwanska and other players to advance to the final.

However, in the final, Lisicki was trapped by her own nervousness. Her hands and feet were shaking, and she even broke down and cried. She was unable to show her strength at all. As a result, she was swept and defeated by French player Bartoli, who won the only Grand Slam honor in her career.

Second, Djokovic and Murray are exceptions, but they also reflect a trend in modern tennis.

Thanks to the advancement of modern technology such as rackets, strings, and sneakers, players' power conversion rates and speed conversion rates have been brought to a new level, just like a sharkskin swimsuit. This has also made the players' playing styles on different venues gradually converge, and they can also stand out by relying on the same tactics and types.

Of course, the prerequisite is that one’s own abilities have reached a certain level.

This is the case with Djokovic and Murray. Their abilities have reached an absolute height. Even if they are not offensive players, they can still play well on the grass.

So, the same is true for Gawain.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Even though I have never played on clay or grass, I can still be competitive after special training and making slight changes based on my own understanding.

What's more, Gawain has a special weapon——

Sampras.

There is no need to hire a coach specifically for grass courts. Gawain's coaching team already has one of the best grass court players in the world. Even removing one of them is no problem. Just like Nadal on clay courts, Sampras' understanding of grass courts has reached a whole new level.

After leaving Paris, Gawain and his companions arrived at the small English town of Eastbourne, where they began preparing for the battle on the grass in this sunny and picturesque town.

Slightly different from clay court, Sampras started training on the most basic and original tennis techniques from the very beginning.

Hit the ball.

Forehand hit, backhand hit.

Then--

Forehand hit, backhand hit.

That's all, there is nothing new, no tricks, simple and boring, so dull that it makes people drowsy, and it keeps repeating itself.

If someone saw Gao Wen training at this time, it would be hard to believe that this was the world's second-ranked player training. Is he sure he was not a beginner who just picked up the racket and started the basic course?