In the world of competitive sports, leaving personal strength aside, every player may enter a super-god state in a certain game or at a certain stage. He is perfect and unstoppable. He can make all kinds of magical shots and then completely dominate the game without giving the opponent any chance.
The difference is:
Some players appear more frequently, while others appear less frequently; after entering the super god state, some players' duration is longer, while others' is shorter; in addition, after entering the super god state, some players' control and layout are stronger, while others' are weaker.
In the Grand Slam tournaments, the best-of-five format requires players to maintain their top form for a longer period of time. For some dark horses, even if they enter a super-god state, they need to maintain it for a long time, otherwise once their form declines, strong opponents will be able to reverse the situation.
At this point, some fans may be curious, since Istomin played so well, not only leading by two sets, but also getting match points, does this mean that he has entered a super god state, with no flaws, all attack and defense, and god-level performance? Gao Wen disagreed with this.
First of all, it must be admitted that Istomin's performance was indeed excellent, very, very excellent, this is beyond doubt and deserves applause, but was there no flaw?
not necessarily.
From a calm and objective perspective, Istomin's shortcomings are very obvious.
Tactical combination.
It's not just this game. Looking at Istomin's entire career, his batting line combinations and tactical arrangement changes are all shortcomings, which are also the root cause that restricts him from making further progress. The fact that his highest world ranking has never been able to break into the top 30 is the most intuitive proof of this.
This game is no exception.
In terms of tactical layout, Istomin really lacks novelty, and his batting lines and landing points are often relatively conservative. But in this game, his batting feel and offensive and defensive state are indeed excellent. You can feel it at a glance that he has continued the excellent feeling of Nottingham to Wimbledon.
Relying on the excellent hitting quality on both offense and defense, and constantly exerting pressure, he largely covered up his own tactical shortcomings.
At the same time, Gao Wen's baseline shots always lacked inspiration in terms of ball feel and touch, resulting in mediocre shot quality and failing to bring enough pressure.
After a few interactions, they finally arrived here, proving once again that tennis is a game of confrontation and gaming in which one side gains and the other loses.
Tactical layout is Istomin’s weakness, but it is Gawain’s strength.
Look, at such a crucial point, Gawain once again chose to press the ball to the net, but Istomin actually chose the same hitting tactics again, trying to copy and paste, waiting for Gawain's mistakes to ruin the game -
Apparently, Istomin didn’t know Gawain well enough.
Game intelligence is not just about tactical layout, but also about on-the-spot adjustments, interpretation of the battle situation, summary and analysis, etc. The brain must be constantly working.
The games played today are the best database. The same key scores, how the opponent arranges tactics, how to choose your own tactics, which tactics score points, which tactics lose points, which shots encounter counterattacks, and which shots create trouble...all are in the mind.
After all, they are no longer college students in the NCAA, right? If Istomin wanted to use the same trick twice in the same serve, then he really misjudged Gao Wen. Of course, it may not be impossible to succeed, but there are only two possibilities for success:
One is that Gawain was in really bad shape, very, very bad shape. Although his brain was tense, he was unable to adjust his touch when faced with the same situation in a short period of time. As a result, he made the same mistake twice and gave up the victory.
One possibility is that Gawain's emotions had completely collapsed and he had lost his mind. At the crucial point of the match, his mind was occupied by anger, impatience, anxiety and tension, which broke his balance. He made mistakes out of impulse and simply and rudely put a regrettable end to the game.
Simply put, it's actually a mentality of relying on luck.
Victory was within reach, and Istomin's mentality began to fluctuate. He expected Gawain to make a mistake and easily win the victory.
However, this kind of mentality of taking chances may just become a loophole that could overturn the situation.
——Tennis ball, hitting head-on.
Gawain's footsteps were indeed squeezed.
Because Istomin was basically trying to hit the ball by aiming at his position, the 193-centimeter tall guy standing in front of the half-court net was equivalent to a close-range target, and it was a surprise that Istomin's return failed to hit the target.
However, Gao Wen not only did not panic, but became calmer.
At the first moment, from this shot, Gawain smelled the tension, which also meant that Istomin was tight and the tactical routines would become more and more conservative.
Since he couldn't get out of the way completely, Gao Wen simply leaned his upper body back and did a sideways movement, freeing up half of his body, holding the racket with one hand, and imitating Federer's classic net handling technique, all relying on his wrist.
Everything, one block——
Unload force.
Backspin.
The tennis ball, with a strong spin, hit the ground like a meteor, and then aimed at Istomin's backhand again, repeating the landing point.
And, deep area.
But the difference this time is that the racket face was not controlled so hard, the ultimate landing point was not pursued, and a certain amount of space for returning the ball was left.
bass.
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From the not-so-crisp sound of the ball, it can be heard that Gao Wen did not exert any force, but instead used rotation to provide some insurance; and the landing point was also a bit conservative.
Obviously, Gao Wen also knows that he does not have a good feel for the ball and is still in the process of running in. If he exerts all his strength, he will not be able to catch the ball, and he will have poor control and make mistakes easily.
So Gao Wen simply left some space.
Then, the tennis ball fell back behind Istomin, light and agile, like a swan.
"Ugh!"
Istomin exclaimed, and his steps were a little slow.
This is grass, and there is no way to stop or turn suddenly. There is insufficient friction between the soles of the feet and the grass. If you push off the ground forcefully, you will slip easily, and you may fall if you are not careful. From the perspective of emergency braking control, it is even more difficult than on clay. Even the "King of Grass" Federer often falls.
In the previous shot, Istomin had already moved towards the forehand position, because in the previous point, Gawain pushed the ball into the gap, but it went out of bounds by a hair's breadth.
So, reflexively, Istomin prepared to defend his forehand, but just as he started, his center of gravity had already shifted, and Gawain's return ball had already returned -
Fast-paced, low-bounce, typical grass court volley.
The only thing to be thankful for was that Gao Wen did not cut the short line, but the long line.
With a startled groan, Istomin's steps were cut back, but he was already too slow to hit the ball, so he simply slid out, split his legs, and formed a straight "one" shape. He backhanded the ball at the extreme extension of his body, barely completing the contact with the racket head.
"Almost, just a little bit, just a little bit..."
This was the only thought in Istomin's mind. His palms seemed to be able to touch the temperature of victory, so hot that his fingertips couldn't help but curl up.
The body was stretched to the extreme, and the head was gently wrapped around it.
Hit the ball, done!