"...Center of gravity, pay attention to the center of gravity, bend your knees, lower your center of gravity, hold steady, keep your body balanced, tiptoes... snap! snap! snap! Move your toes..."

Sampras' voice echoed over the training ground, over and over again, the familiar words kept repeating, with absolutely no novelty.

Under the scorching sun, everyone was sweating profusely and looked as if they had been fished out of the water. However, no one was distracted or complained of being tired. They were still concentrating on training and enjoyed the boring basic training, building up muscle memory bit by bit.

There is no shortcut to training. The only way is to repeat, repeat, and repeat again. Keep running and sweating and then continue.

Sampras knew Gawain's ability. In fact, Gawain's greatest talent was wisdom, his interpretation of the game, his understanding of the venue, his tactical layout, etc. He was always able to keenly capture the atmosphere of the game, find the right combination, and then take the initiative in the game.

Sampras is not worried about Gao Wen's ability to adapt to grass, especially after experiencing the clay court season, his confidence is even stronger.

Now, Sampras has many expectations for Gao Wen's grass season, and all the enthusiasm, excitement and joy have returned to his body.

Even after retiring for many years, grass still holds a special place in Sampras' heart. The memories of June have reawakened his dormant champion heart. If he had just coached Gawain, it would be fine as they needed to get used to each other. But after more than half a year of cooperation, Sampras' confidence has grown and his expectations have naturally risen. After the surprise of Roland Garros, his ambition has burned uncontrollably.

On the first night in Eastbourne, Agassi talked to Sampras alone:

"You need to calm down."

Gao Wen has been under a lot of pressure, from the craze of "Big Four vs. Challengers" to the heated discussion of "World No. 1 Competition", to the recovery and adjustment after the Grand Slam winning streak ended. All kinds of pressure continue to accumulate, and now there is also the heavy attention brought by the title of "Sampras' disciple" -

After all, before Federer, Sampras was the undisputed king of grass courts, so how about Gawain, as Sampras's disciple? "Peter, you know, and I know, we all hope to pass on our enthusiasm and passion through this child, and continue to climb to the top; but he does not need to be responsible for our daydreams, he is himself, he has his own life, he has his own future, he does not need to bear our unfinished dreams."

"I know you're eager to step onto court No. 1 again, but it's not possible now, but I want to remind you that you shouldn't expect this kid to do it for you."

In the face of Agassi's accusations, Sampras denied them. Not only did he deny them, but he also issued a strong protest and even had an argument with Agassi.

Sampras thought Agassi was worrying too much and placing groundless accusations on himself. He expressed his dissatisfaction with this and argued without hesitation. The two argued until they were red in the face and finally parted unhappily, so that the training atmosphere in the past two days was a little tense.

However, looking at Gawain who was concentrating on training, Sampras was a little uncertain.

His ambition was indeed growing little by little, and the news headline "Sampras' disciple topped Wimbledon" popped up in his mind inadvertently.

That idea was like a seed. Once it took root and sprouted, it could no longer be stopped. In the blink of an eye, it grew vigorously and spread wildly.

This is not a good thing.

For Gao Wen, the biggest shortcoming when switching from the clay court season to the grass court season is experience.

For this young man, the world of tennis is still fresh and full of countless unknowns and adventures. He needs to stay positive and keep exploring.

However, there should be a balance between the strong desire for knowledge and the strong desire to win, otherwise, ambition may backfire and destroy the entire game.

Looking back, Gao Wen was able to make a breakthrough in Roland Garros. Patience and concentration were the key.

They did not set goals, not because of a lack of confidence, but to give Gao Wen enough space to explore, to make mistakes, to take risks, and to grow.

Throughout the clay court season, both Agassi and Sampras maintained a humble attitude and slowly worked with Gao Wen to get along with him. From doubles to singles, from victory to defeat, they carefully summarized every game and then made partial adjustments to the details based on the actual situation.

Two months later, when they arrived at Roland Garros, they had reached a certain state of coordination, which led to their explosion and breakthrough.

Now it's the grass court season, and even before basic training is over, Sampras' confidence has already swelled. The image of winning the championship is lingering in his mind, and then he realizes that Agassi is right. He has lost his composure, patience and concentration.

Maybe, Gawain can indeed make a breakthrough at Wimbledon, maybe not, but what is certain is that he needs to give Gawain room to grow.

But……

The theory is not difficult, but the actual implementation is very, very difficult. After all, this is Wimbledon.

Closing his eyes, the past glory and honor surged before his eyes, passing by quickly frame by frame. Although blurry, they were still vivid. The applause, cheers and carnival surged deep in his mind, and now, he would go back there and join the competition once again.

Sampras' mind was full of thoughts. He glanced at Agassi across the court with a confused look in his eyes, then took a deep breath and tried to regain his focus.

"... the hitting action should be continuous, and the turning action needs to be adjusted according to the center of gravity..."

Sampras, no answer.

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But at least, at this moment, he should focus on the present.

Watching Gao Wen diligently and meticulously completing basic training, adjusting his footwork, movement and batting habits starting from the basics, and still enjoying the boring and repetitive training, his concentration and devotion, his enthusiasm and excitement, are the best sedatives.

In general, the tactical system for grass courts does not require drastic changes. Slight adjustments based on hard courts are enough, but the foundation of the entire tactical system is footwork and center of gravity.

Players need to have a deep muscle memory of grass shots to ensure that they can react correctly when faced with low-bouncing returns.

Otherwise, on the grass, it is easy to reduce the quality of the return ball due to the deviation of the hitting point, which will further put you in a passive position in the round.

What's worse is missing the hitting point and making a direct mistake, just like Federer, who habitually rushes to hit the ball on grass, but in a fast-paced round on grass, this requires very, very precision, so he often misses the shot.

It is also because of this that Gao Wen devoted himself to basic batting training. There was nothing fancy, just basic forehand and backhand. He got used to the rebound of the grass through basic batting again and again, and then adjusted his batting habits locally and adjusted his batting choices according to such conditions.

Again and again.

Once, and again.

Suddenly, I seemed to be back to the time when I first started learning tennis.