Viktor-Troicki.
This is Gao Wen's opponent in the third round of Wimbledon. It will be a real challenge and a real test. Compared with the first two rounds, it will be difficult to improve further.
Although his record and fame are far inferior to his Serbian fellow Djokovic, Troicki is undoubtedly a dangerous opponent.
This player, born in 1986, is of the same generation as Djokovic. His highest career ranking was 12th in 2010.
His playing style is sharp and tough, more fierce than delicate. His powerful serve and solid backhand are his weapons to gain a foothold in the tour, while his forehand is a little unstable.
In fact, Troicki has very strong offensive ability, but his forehand shots often lack coverage and stability, which leads to many unnecessary active mistakes. Even a game or even a game may have ups and downs like a roller coaster, and his offensive feel is sometimes there and sometimes not.
What's worse, his rough technique and psychological fluctuations made it difficult for him to make adjustments quickly.
Because of this, Troicki’s games often lacked consistency.
When facing lower-ranked players, Troicki is always at ease and at ease, but he always lacks a breath in front of the real top players. Not to mention the Big Four, when facing the top 30 players in the world, Troicki's game may have many unstable variables.
Therefore, in the four Grand Slams, Troicki's best result is the fourth round, twice each at the French Open and Wimbledon, and the rest of the time is basically the third round.
In other words, it stopped at the top of the first week of the Grand Slam.
In Tokyo in 2010, against Nadal, Troicki had two match points but was overturned; in Roland Garros in 2011, against Murray, he won the first two sets but was counterattacked by Murray, and then led in the deciding set "5:2" and in the match point game "30:0", but still lost.
Violence, energy, and continuous attack, Troyki has all these abilities, but he lacks continuity and stability.
His impact is unquestionable.
In 2013, Troicki did not participate in the post-match blood test after the first round of the Monte Carlo event and was banned for 18 months. The ban was later reduced to 12 months through appeal, but he still missed the entire 2014 season and did not return until the beginning of this year.
Judging from his performance in the first half of the year, Troicki, who is in his prime, has regained some of his touch. In the Sydney event at the beginning of the year, he won five games in a row and won the championship. This is also the second championship trophy in his career. It has been five years since the first championship, which shows his fighting spirit.
After experiencing a decline in the clay court season, her form fully recovered in the grass court season, with outstanding performances in a series of warm-up matches.
In Stuttgart, he reached the final but lost to Nadal; in Queen's Cup, he reached the semi-finals but lost to Murray; in Nottingham, he lost the first match due to physical fluctuations caused by continuous battles. However, Troicki is still one of the most outstanding players in this year's grass season, defeating many players ranked in the top 20 in the world.
By the time he arrived at Wimbledon, Troicki's immediate world ranking had risen to 24th.
At Wimbledon, Troicki had good luck in the draw, winning the first two rounds against two unseeded players in four sets, earning himself the opportunity to challenge Gawain.
In the last round, Serbian rising star Krajinovic missed the chance to challenge Gao Wen; in this round, Troicki finally realized his dream.
Although no one discussed the topic of "Serbia VS China", it is undeniable that in the first half of the year, the media continued to bombard the grievances between Gao Wen and Djokovic. Players such as Krajinovic and Troicki are good friends of Djokovic, and their mentality is bound to change.
Imagine if they were facing Gao Wen across the net, their belief in winning would undoubtedly be further fueled.
For Gawain, Troyki was a test, a severe test.
Facts also prove this -
"6:4".
Troicki won the first set.
From the first point on the court, Troicki's serve and attack were excellent. He quickly got into the game and showed his proficiency and ease in grass court games.
Of course, there is also the belief in victory and the determination to attack.
After a back-and-forth duel, Troicki finally broke the serve with a straight backhand shot. This was the only break in the first set and determined the outcome of the first set. This is also a typical feature of grass court matches, where a break can often determine the outcome of a set.
The overall score is “1:0”, Troicki is leading.
Despite losing the first set, Gao Wen was neither flustered nor angry. This match was different from the first round match against Istomin:
In the first round, Gao Wen was constantly adapting to the court and trying to find his touch. Many times, his ball returns were not able to complete the tactical layout according to his own ideas. The losses in the first and second sets were mostly due to a state of helplessness.
In this match, Gawain was still adapting to the court and still trying to find his touch, but after two games of running-in, Gawain's control over the game has been significantly improved. The reason for losing the first set was not so much that Gawain himself did not perform well, but rather that Troicki performed better at the critical moment.
So, there is no need to panic.
Don't forget that Troicki's world ranking is already close to the top 20, and he is also one of the top players. Such a state and such performance are completely expected.
What Gawain needs to do next is to continue to put pressure on Troyki, constantly try to break the balance, and finally disrupt Troyki's state.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
——Gawain, did it.
"7:5".
The second set victory belonged to Gao Wen.
After the game entered a tense state, Troicki's number of active errors rose sharply. On the one hand, he felt the pressure of Gawain's attack and batting, and on the other hand, the score confrontation and the progress of the game brought him his own pressure. The two influences intertwined, and his batting accuracy fluctuated.
The old problem has come back again.
Once he falls into the vicious circle of mistakes, Troicki doesn't have many options. The only thing he can do is to keep exerting his strength and continue attacking, hoping to regain his touch through the mistakes.
It's like a fight.
Occasionally it will succeed and rebound briefly; but most of the time it is ineffective, with an ups and downs performance curve, the gap between highs and lows is getting bigger and bigger, and fluctuations are becoming more and more frequent.
"6:2", Gao Wen won another set and reversed the score.
"6:0", Gao Wen successfully cleared the game and won his second donut in this Wimbledon after the first round.
In the end, after losing the first set, he fought back three sets, withstood the attack from his opponent, reversed and defeated Troicki, advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon, and secured a place in the top 16.
Who would have thought that Gao Wen, who had only one win and one loss in grass court tournaments in his career, would have a new breakthrough at Wimbledon, winning consecutive games on the grass court for the first time, and winning three games in a row for the first time, and successfully entering the second week of the tournament in his first Wimbledon competition.
But…this is Gawain, the miracle worker.