On the second court, everything was quiet, and everyone stared with bated breath——
"40:40".
The crisis has not been resolved yet.
Area 1.
Gawain was ready, he patted the tennis ball, looked up at Istomin to make sure his opponent was also ready, and then continued to pat the ball.
White clothes, green land, and bright sunshine, every serve has a sense of solemn ceremony, just like the greeting before a knight duel.
Long sword, unsheathed.
Gawain threw the ball, pushed off the ground, bent his knees, stretched his body, and stretched it out like a bow and arrow. The accumulated power was released instantly with the swing of the racket. The swing of his arms concentrated the body's energy and poured it all into the moment of touching the tennis ball. His white clothes were whiter than snow, and he had a unique and elegant charm.
Bang! The crisp sound of the ball hitting the ground was like thunder.
The tennis ball drew a long trajectory like an arrow shot from a bow, accurately hitting the T-point position, splashing a cloud of white ash and grass clippings.
Inside corner, backhand.
Istomin started moving instantly, moving to his left side, his body fully stretched out, but -
Too slow.
It's still too slow after all.
Before he could swing the racket, the racket was still behind him, but the tennis ball had already shot out and hit the dark green baffle at the back of the court with a dull sound.
Bang! The dark green curtain fluttered and flew up.
ACE, 208 km/h.
Pa! Pa! Pa! In an instant, the whole audience burst into thunderous applause.
At the critical moment, Gao Wen delivered the fifth ACE of the game, which was also the fastest ACE of the game. He ended the battle in the simplest and most efficient way, broke the balance, and brought out the game point again.
It can be seen from the speed of the ball that Gao Wen has increased his speed——
The previous point slowed down, this point speeds up.
Gao Wen is also adapting to the grass in his own way. The serve and the layout of the first three shots are particularly important on grass and must be varied.
In the players' box, Sampras once again clenched his fists, raised his arms and cheered.
Obviously, Sampras is very clear about the characteristics of grass. It is good news that Gawain can find his serve at the critical moment.
"AD:40".
After wasting three consecutive game points and saving a break point and match point, Gao Wen once again had the opportunity to save his serve.
District 2.
Don't forget that the double fault that put Gao Wen in trouble in this game was made in the second zone. Now that he has finally regained the lead, the serve layout in the second zone becomes more and more important.
So, this time, how should Gao Wen serve?
Snap, snap.
Gawain was dribbling the ball, his concentration completely focused.
Obviously, Gao Wen was thinking about his serve; similarly, Istomin was trying to predict his serve.
In the past two points, Gao Wen chose to suppress Istomin's backhand twice in a row and directly attacked Istomin's strongest weapon. His slow and fast serves achieved very good results and slightly broke the balance of confrontation between the two sides. So what about the next point?
Could it be... three consecutive suppression backhands?
Push off the ground.
Stretch.
Swing the racket.
——Inside corner, T-spot, assault forehand.
Istomin was fully focused and did not get distracted. His reflexes were very fast and as soon as he kicked his foot, his body took a step and rushed out sideways.
Then, Istomin realized that Gawain chose to serve with reduced force again!
180 kilometers per hour.
The change in speed from the previous ball to this one was particularly obvious; moreover, Gao Wen found the feel of the inner corner after choosing the T point for two consecutive serves. This time, his serve still hit the T point accurately. Judging from the splashing white powder, it can be determined that it is within bounds without the need for a referee.
But Istomin was ill-prepared.
Or it should be said that Istomin thought he was fully prepared, but his body's conditioned reflexes had not adjusted.
He realized that by slowing down his serve and serving with his forehand, he had an opportunity to attack, so his brain reminded himself that he should attack with his forehand and that he needed to slow down his serve and slow down his racket a little bit so that he could find the exact hitting point, exert full force, and complete the shot.
However, the reality is that the body's conditioned reflex has already rushed out, and the racket is drawn early. The subconscious mind still treats it as a high-speed ball, and the forehand swings the racket quickly to meet it.
The mind thinks one thing, the body does another.
The result is that the racket has been swung, but the tennis ball has not arrived yet, so he needs to wait for a moment - in fact, it is only a millisecond, which is not noticeable to the audience, only the player himself can feel it:
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
The ball hit a little earlier.
Firstly, I failed to hit the sweet spot; secondly, my body was reminding me that I needed to add some topspin to pull the tennis ball up to avoid it going directly into the net.
In other words, the entire tactical strategy of receiving and serving was completely disrupted and it was completely chaotic.
In the end, the tennis ball flew over smoothly, but the landing point and trajectory were a bit... awkward.
It is neither high nor low, neither fast nor slow, neither turning nor rushing, floating around in an unpredictable manner. It is really hard to describe.
Of course, looking at the positive side, even Istomin himself couldn't figure out the effect of the shot, so it's understandable that Gawain was also full of questions.
On the other side, Gao Wen was fully focused, taking small steps to adjust and keep up in time, standing on the baseline, constantly adjusting his position waiting for the return of the ball.
——Here it comes! Gao Wen also noticed the erratic return of the ball immediately. He did not hesitate, and took a small step into the baseline, bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and swung his racket directly with his forehand to attack.
Gao Wen did not choose to force the ball because his feel and touch of the ball were not good. If he blindly exerted force, he would not be able to hold the ball and there was a high possibility that the ball would go out of bounds, especially when facing such a floating ball that could not be evenly stressed. Therefore, Gao Wen chose to rush to the rising point and compress the rhythm.
Forehand, a lifting sweep, hitting a diagonal line, flying towards Istomin's forehand baseline.
The force was not great, and at the same time, the line and landing point were not aimed at blind spots; but the connection was close, and the entire rhythm and speed were completely improved.
Across the field, Istomin could be seen running like Sonic the Hedgehog, across the field, his short hair flying in the wind.
In a flash, Istomin had already rushed over, stretched out his body, and followed the inertia and centrifugal force to fight back with his forehand -
Counterattack!
Istomin cleverly used the inertia and strength of his run-up, combining his body weight with his forehand stroke to completely increase the speed of his entire swing.
Not only do you use the opponent's force to attack you, but you also use your force in all aspects, fast, heavy, deep and aggressive.
The situation has been reversed!
It has to be said that Istomin performed very well. Although Gawain's attack failed to exert enough pressure and leave some space for counterattack, what was more important was that Istomin seized these gaps and counterattacked strongly. His courage and determination to fight hard were also key points that could not be ignored.
Therefore, it is not without reason that Istomin is leading by a large margin on the scoreboard at this moment.
The only downside?
There are still no surprises on the line.
Istomin used the strength of his entire body to complete the defensive counterattack, so his route selection was conservative, and he rushed out quickly at a diagonal line.
Tap tap tap…
Tap, tap, tap! A white figure was seen running wildly across the court, leaving behind a trace of afterimage. It seemed that it was on the left side of the court one second ago, and had already reached the right end the next second. The accurate prediction and layout bought Gao Wen precious time, and he even arrived at the position half a step ahead of time, ready to hit the ball.
The key point is, when he doesn't have a good feel for the ball, how should Gao Wen organize the offense?