Chapter 1554: Concentration
Istomin, currently ranked 83rd in the world, has a season record of 14 wins and 17 losses.
Analyzing from any angle, facing such an opponent, Gao Wen should be able to win easily. No one is an exception, including the Chinese media and the Wimbledon Organizing Committee, so everyone says that Gao Wen has good luck in the draw.
but!
In the world of competitive sports, anything is possible——
Now, Istomin not only has the upper hand in all aspects, but also has the match point, and is one point away from creating the biggest upset since the start of Wimbledon in 2015.
A little bit of knowledge: among the Big Four, Nadal is the only one who has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam in his career. The other three giants have lost in the first round of a Grand Slam more than once in the early days of their careers, including on the courts they are best at.
As for Gao Wen, he has been in great momentum since his sudden emergence at the US Open last year and won 19 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. He has never been eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam, let alone the first week of a Grand Slam tournament. But now, after ending his 19-game winning streak at Roland Garros, he is likely to face his first consecutive Grand Slam losses in his career.
The air is burning.
It is really hard to imagine that a month ago, people were still discussing when Gawain would lose the Grand Slam, but in the blink of an eye, they may need to discuss whether Gawain will lose the Grand Slam in a row.
Indeed, in the world of competitive sports, never say "absolutely not possible".
It is precisely because of this that the broadcast signals from all over the world immediately focused on Court No. 2, and even the official Wimbledon signal was no exception.
It just so happened that the broadcast of Kvitova's match had ended, and Federer and Djurghe were warming up for their first-round match, so it didn't matter if the broadcast signal switched.
Match point.
The whole place was completely quiet, with a tense and anxious atmosphere spreading everywhere. One could even hear the sound of one's heart pounding against the chest.
Perhaps, the calmest person in the room at this moment was Gao Wen. He had a stable mentality, was highly focused, had no distractions at all, and was only focused on this one point.
In fact, for Gao Wen, what is really important now is not the match point, but the mentality of this game: from leading "40:0", a little fluctuation and a little distraction, and then he was already in a passive position and had to face the break point. The fast pace of the grass court once again brought a wake-up call.
So, how should he play the next point? Looking back at the whole game, the poor ball feel was indeed the core problem, and it was still serious; in addition, Gao Wen thought his serve was also mediocre.
Firstly, grass courts require speed, so powerful serves can often get a bonus, and players like Querrey and Isner have performed strongly, but the point is that Gawain has never been a cannon. Even after adjusting his serve during the offseason, his serve still requires more combination.
Secondly, Istomin's serve receiving ability is indeed excellent, as evidenced by his victory over Querrey in the Nottingham final last week. His serve receiving technique is somewhat similar to Djokovic's, that is, wrapping, no matter what ball it is, all wrapped and pushed back to ensure that the return ball can return to the court -
On grass courts, many games become practice of serving and receiving, with almost no rounds and all points are scored by serving. But if you can ensure that the serve enters the court like Djokovic, you can break the balance, which is a very important point.
Strictly speaking, Istomin's ball receiving technique and feel are far inferior to Djokovic's, and his wrapping power is not that strong, which leads to a decline in the quality of the return ball. Moreover, the baseline round ball happens to be Gao Wen's strong point and the rhythm of the game that Gao Wen hopes for, but the problem is that Gao Wen did not find the feel of the ball, which affected the quality of the baseline round ball. He could not control the ball and even made mistakes himself. The result can be imagined.
Difficult! Lots of difficulties!
"40:AD".
District 2.
Gawain wiped the sweat off his forehead, slowed down his pace a little, and tried to get his brain working again, trying to get out of the predicament of the situation.
Then he returned to the baseline and prepared to serve.
Gao Wen took a look at Istomin's position, which was neutral and slightly biased towards the forehand. Because Istomin had a strong backhand ability, he often focused on protecting his forehand. If Gao Wen chose to serve with his backhand, Istomin could also gain space through his footwork and hitting techniques.
There was a gentle breeze, and one could vaguely hear the cheers and applause from the outside field, which only served to highlight the tranquility of Court No. 2. The golden sunlight danced lightly over the green grass, dotted with white. The crystal clear sunlight diffused in the air, like an exquisite oil painting. However, it was precisely this elegance that almost broke the tense nerves.
Push off the ground!
The breeze blew up the hem of Gao Wen's white jersey.
Throw the ball!
The body is compressed to the extreme like a full bow and arrow, and then released.
Hit the ball!
First shot, outside corner, 177 km/h -
Reduce the force of the serve!
The tennis ball, wrapped in a ball of golden sunlight, crossed the entire court along a diagonal line, and finally, landed accurately in the blind spot of the small triangle outside the serving area.
Bang! The tennis ball hits the sideline drawn with white powder, splashing a cloud of powder. This is also one of the characteristics of grass. The linesman can often judge whether the ball has crossed the line by the splash of white powder. Both players and spectators can see it, just like a fairy dancing in the grass.
When serving, the ball is not fast, but it lands accurately.
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Istomin was fully focused, moving his feet quickly sideways and getting ready to hit the ball with his two-handed backhand.
Step, step, and step again...
Istomin had realized that Gawain's serve had to land on a certain spot and used a strong side spin to create an angle. His footwork was obviously lacking, so he arrived a little late. His upper body had to be extended, and he barely completed a shot at the limit of his body.
And that’s not all—
With a quick glance, Istomin saw a swordsman in white clothes, with light and graceful steps and a tall and handsome posture. In a flash, he was approaching the net quickly.
Serve and volley!
Facing the match point, Istomin was the more nervous, while Gao Wen had completely relaxed and chose the most classic serve and volley on the grass court.
In today's match, it was not the first time that Gao Wen served and volleyed, but overall, he stayed at the baseline more often, after all, Gao Wen is a baseline player.
Istomin suddenly chose to serve and volley. He was only one step away from victory. He felt the pressure and his hands became tighter. He subconsciously used more conservative touch on the backhand shot and hit it back towards Gawain's position.
Exactly the same——
The tactic is almost the same as the one at "40:30", the difference is that in that point, the ball was served to the net with a forehand attack, while in this point, the ball was served directly to the net.
Istomin tried to squeeze Gawain's swing space with close returns again, and finally caused Gawain to make a mistake in his return.
Istomin braked in time and controlled his body. His eyes followed the flight of the tennis ball and looked towards Gawain. His pupils shrank slightly, and he could see Gawain adjusting his steps to make room for the swing, but judging from the distance, it seemed that he could not adjust.
Could it be that he had it? Istomin's heart was filled with joy and happiness.
(End of this chapter)