Chapter 1644: Digging
holes for each other Many players think that cutting is a simple technique, a useless technique. In modern tennis, which is getting faster and heavier, the value of this technique has been gradually weakened. But in fact, the players who really enter the top ranks understand that it is actually an advanced technique.
Because cutting requires control, is delicate, complex, and layered, from rotation to speed to power and finally to landing point, it requires strict hand feel.
Rough cutting is a sign of weakness; advanced cutting is a kind of layout.
On clay courts, players often use cutting to complete defense, or cut and release small balls, making full use of the depth of the court to change the situation.
Therefore, the player's cut should either be deep to create squeezing or shallow to mobilize the opponent, but it is often necessary to avoid the medium-depth landing point. Thanks to the rotation of the clay and the speed of the ball, the opponent can easily catch up, and such a mid-field ball may become an offensive opportunity for the opponent.
Grassland, however, is different.
Firstly, the bounce of grass is low, and after the cutting force is unloaded, the bounce can be even lower.
Secondly, it is more difficult to turn and stop suddenly on grass, and the footwork is not as smooth as on clay.
It is conceivable that the use of cutting can evolve into more tricks on the grass. For example, a half-court ball that is neither deep nor shallow can also break the balance.
At this time, Gao Wen cut a straight half-court ball from the backhand position -
If he was facing Federer or Nadal, Gawain would not cut the ball.
Federer is because he is very active in the net on grass and is always ready to go to the net, so a half-court ball gives him a chance.
Nadal's understanding of rotation and cutting is unparalleled in the world. With such cutting, he can attack with both forehand and backhand.
However, among the four giants, Djokovic and Murray are different.
Relatively speaking, they prefer to stand at the bottom line, and they are experienced enough in cutting but not so aggressive.
Look at Murray's position——
Backhand position, one step behind the baseline.
He was very sure that Gao Wen would choose to hit the ball diagonally with his backhand, so he did not prepare to go to the net, nor did he defend with his forehand.
It was in this situation that Gawain cut a forehand straight line, and it was in the shallow area, leaving Murray with a complex problem:
First, he needs to move across the court to his forehand position.
Secondly, he needs to decide whether to go to the net or retreat back to the baseline.
Finally, while waiting for his steps to be in place, the tennis ball should have fallen a second time, and the bounce height is limited, so he needs to decide whether to go diagonally or in a straight line.
Gao Wen rarely used this cutting shot in the US Open and Australian Open, and he started to use it more slowly during the clay court season.
But on clay, Gawain would most likely cut a small ball to mobilize Murray; and on grass, Gawain also made adjustments based on the characteristics of the grass, deliberately cutting an ambiguous and blurry mid-field ball, which did not look dangerous, but was actually murderous. This is progress.
Gaming, counterattack, digging holes, and responding.
This is the match between Murray and Gawain. Both players have very good calculation and layout abilities, and more energy is required between the game and the counterattack.
Murray was able to take the lead because he understood the grass better.
Gao Wen was able to keep up with the competition because he dared to try and dared to take action.
As for the unknown factor - Murray's shoulder, the impact is objective and does cause some minor limitations on his forehand shots; but it is very limited, especially at this moment in the game, when the players are fully committed to the game and the pain of the injury is temporarily forgotten.
It is currently no longer visible from the tactical layout and batting confrontation.
——Murray is running wildly, rushing towards the forehand position.
Trample!
Grass clippings were flying everywhere, and he was running wildly on his wheels across the court, staring at the tennis ball intently, his brain working quickly: rotation, landing point, bounce, height, line, net... and so on.
There are so many factors to consider when hitting the ball. I have to say that Gawain's cut really made good use of the characteristics of the grass.
With a step, a push, and a raise of the hand, the body is already moving forward to hit the ball.
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Murray believed that if he went to the net, he would be walking into Gawain’s trap, and he needed to hold the line.
So, Murray just took a small step forward, stepped on the baseline, and used his upper body eyes and forehand to pull the ball up from bottom to top.
A pick, a stroke, and a light hit with the forehand.
From a tactical perspective, the cut should have no power or speed, which is an offensive opportunity; but the situation this time was special and Murray did not exert any power.
Murray chose to break the game with cleverness. He did not drive or slice the ball, but instead used topspin to hit the ball lightly, wrapping the tennis ball and pushing it towards the deep area.
This shot is undoubtedly Murray's unique skill. Through the control of his wrist, he can easily send the return ball to the precise position in the forehand position. He completes the layout by controlling the landing point and line, just like an invisible big net, wrapping up all the opponent's attacks.
Slash!
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Deep area!
In this way, Murray can ensure that the return ball passes the net smoothly and he remains at the baseline; at the same time, he pushes the tennis ball to a difficult position to form a counterattack, paving the way for his next attack and defense transition; and, very rarely, Murray aims at Gao Wen's forehand baseline triangle shot.
This is a bit of an adventure.
Normally, Murray seldom chooses to hit the ball in these corners, so there is no need to take risks in his layout; but this is the second match point, and he still has the chance to break and win. In a relatively conservative situation, a hidden attack is also an attempt.
From offense to defense, and from defense to offense—
The game between Gawain and Murray is still at a stalemate.
Murray's shot hit the tape lightly, pushing the problem back to Gao Wen.
The next second, Murray kicked off and sprinted horizontally to the left. The reason he stayed at the baseline was that he was ready to continue attacking. He didn't think that Gawain would drop the ball so easily, so after hitting the ball with this shot, he had already started preparing for the next shot.
The left side rush is not to defend the backhand, but to return to the central area and regain the initiative in the subsequent connecting shots.
Murray's eyes were fixed on Gawain's movements, and then he saw Gawain sprint across the court with all his strength, and he split into two legs with a slip of his feet. With a forehand swing, the speed of his racket head instantly increased, and he grabbed Murray's heart fiercely, and he attacked before Murray could sound the alarm.
Bang! Murray had a bad feeling, and he braked immediately to control his body.
After the cut, Gao Wen started moving towards the forehand position because he knew that Murray would most likely choose the forehand diagonal.
However, even though Gawain had moved in advance, he did not anticipate that Murray would take a rare risk and the ball would land in a blind spot with a strong topspin. The impact after it bounced off the ground would hit Gawain's face head-on, making the difficulty of the shot increase rapidly.
run!
Sprint!
Pay full attention!
It was like the first point of the game. I didn’t think about the match point, I just focused on this point.
However, the hitting point was still a little awkward. Gao Wen was not sure whether he could find a route breakthrough, so he needed to take a risk.
The thought had just come to his mind when he took a step and flew out in a slide.
(End of this chapter)