Chapter 16 Mini Showdown
The scoring method of tennis matches is the most unique among all ball games, but once you understand it, it is actually not that complicated. You only need to understand three concepts:
a match, a set, and a game.
First, a game.
As the name suggests, it is the final winning condition. In tennis matches, the general system is the best of three sets, but the men's matches in Grand Slam tournaments still continue the long-standing historical tradition and maintain the rule of best of five sets. The concept of "a game" is no different from badminton, table tennis, etc.
Second, a game.
This means that a player wins the game by first winning six games, for example, "6:3" or "6:4"; if the score is deadlocked at "5:5", then one side must win two games in a row to win, that is, "7:5" - and then, if neither side is able to complete such an action and the score further reaches "6:6", the rules are relatively special.
Generally speaking, after "6:6", a "tie-break" will be held, and the side that gets seven points first will win; but if the scores of both sides in the tie-break also reach a "6:6" tie, one side must win by two points to win the "tie-break", such as "9:7" or "8:6".
The rules of the "tie-break" can be extended to different situations. Doubles matches, Grand Slam matches, etc. are all different, but the basic rules are the same.
Finally, the game - this is also the most special part.
There are a total of four points in a game, but the scoring rule is not the Arabic numerals "1, 2, 3, 4", but "15, 30, 40, wins".
Simply put, if the serving party wins his first point, then it is "15:0"; if the serving party goes on to win the second point, then it is "30:0"; at this time, if the receiving party wins a point, the score will be recorded as "30:15", and so on.
If both sides win three points, forming a "40:40" score, this is also called a "deuce". If either side wants to win the game, they must win two points in a row. After a deuce, if either side wins one point, it is called "taking the lead"; winning two points in a row is the way to "win the game".
Therefore, in a fierce competition, a game may often take more than ten minutes to determine the winner. The two sides keep going back and forth between "taking the lead" and "equal", and neither side can win two points in a row.
Volleyball and badminton in the 1980s also had similar rules. The first player to win a point only won the right to serve. After getting the right to serve, he had to win another consecutive point to be counted as having won a point. Otherwise, if he lost the next point after getting the right to serve, it would be equivalent to losing the right to serve.
There is no doubt that the scoring rules for each game in tennis are very, very special. So what is going on? Tennis originated in France in the 13th century, and the scoring rules came from the 15th century, referring to the sextant in astronomy. The sextant is the same as one-sixth of a circle, with a total of 60 degrees, and each degree is divided into 60 minutes. So at that time, tennis games were scored according to the "60-minute" scale -
Each game has four points, and each point is "fifteen degrees". Every time a player wins a point, he will turn the clock-like scale forward fifteen degrees, so the score becomes 15, 30, 45, and win.
Now, the scoring has evolved from "45" to "40", and there are two theories.
One view is that "40 (forty)" is an abbreviation of "45 (forty-five)"; another view is that when the referee announced the score, he thought "40 (forty)" was more convenient because 15 and 30 are pronounced in two syllables, while 45 is pronounced in three syllables, so the referee shortened it to the two-syllable 40.
In addition, in tennis matches, "0" is called "love". For example, when the score is "15:0", it is "fifteen: love". If the opponent does not score any points in a game, it is a "love-game".
There is a reason for this as well. In the 16th century, tennis spread from France to Britain. Many French influences can be seen in professional terminology, and the pronunciation of zero is one of them. In French, zero is announced as "l'oeuf", which literally means egg. The pronunciation sounds very close to the English "love", so the British continued to use it.
Apart from the special scoring rules, tennis matches are actually not that complicated. A game is won by winning four points, a set is won by winning six sets, and a match is played in a best-of-three format. If there is a tie or a draw, then you need to win two points/sets in a row to win.
Simplified, that's about it.
In addition, there is one more concept you need to understand in tennis: serve and receive.
As the name suggests, it is a game of serving.
For the serving party, it is a serving game, and all they need to do is "hold serve"; for the receiving party, it is naturally a receiving game, and all they need to do is "break the opponent's serve".
In a tennis match, both sides take turns to serve. For example, in the match between Gawain and Giron, Giron serves first. In this game, if Giron gets four points first, he will keep his serve. If Gawain gets four points first, he will break Giron's serve. The game ends, and then it is Gawain's serve.
This cycle continues until one side wins six games first, and then wins the set.
It can also be understood in this way that a tennis match is a contest of "holding serve" and "breaking serve".
However, Coach Martin just mentioned the mini duel. In a regular match, the side that wins six games first wins a set, but in a mini duel, the side that wins three games first wins. There is no such thing as a best-of-three game, after all, it's just a practice match.
In other words, in a mini duel, each player has a maximum of three chances to serve. Once broken, they may lose the victory of the practice match. The tolerance rate is lower, which also requires each player to improve their concentration.
The tennis court was cleared, and Gao Wen and Ji Long were already standing on both sides of the court.
Jilong chose to receive the serve first.
Logically speaking, the party that serves first can have some advantages, especially in men's competitions. This is because male players with powerful serves tend to have more solid serve games and a lower chance of breaking serve, so they can always maintain a leading advantage in the score during the competition.
In the mini match, the advantage of serving first will be further magnified.
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But neither Jilong nor Gao Wen are the type with strong serves, so their advantage in serving games is not that obvious; at the same time, Jilong is more confident in his ability to receive serves, and does not mind Gao Wen's advantage of serving first.
Jilong's confidence can be seen from such small details.
Gao Wen didn't mind, because he was now in the position of a challenger. He had to fight with all his might to attack Jilong, so what if he had a little psychological advantage?
Standing behind the service line, Gao Wen was hitting the tennis ball and looked up to observe Jilong's position.
That is a typical hard court tennis stance, slightly closer to the baseline, trying to get to the rising point of the tennis ball as soon as possible, quickly completing the return of the ball, and compressing the server's return time.
Moreover, Giron subconsciously moved slightly closer to his backhand position, that is, to protect the weak side, because his forehand is obviously stronger than his backhand.
Observing the opponent's position is definitely not a waste of time, but a necessary process for interpreting the game.
The game of chess begins before the serve, and this is also what Gao Wen is best at.
(End of this chapter)