Chapter 1691: Faith is Undying
First zone, outside corner, forehand, 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour.
On the match point, Federer showed no mercy. Apparently, he was aware of the potential fluctuations in his key points, so he slowed down a little but not too obviously, controlling the landing point of a line to create suppression. The slightly ambiguous landing point could also limit Gawain's return and pave the way for subsequent attacks.
Gao Wen, pay close attention.
Step.
Gao Wen started it immediately.
There was no advance prediction because Federer's serve is full of variables, especially the key scores. Unless you are intentionally gambling, predicting in advance may affect the reaction time and starting speed; staying focused and immersed, moving according to the body's reaction, can actually save some time.
Push off the ground and stretch.
Everything happened in a flash, and there was only enough time for Gawain to take one step, so he took a big step forward, stretching his upper body completely, finding a delicate balance with the posture of a roc spreading its wings, and the strength of his arms flowed from his shoulders to his fingertips, and his muscles contracted violently.
Like an umbrella being retracted.
The elbow, forearm, and wrist are straightened all the way to create the effect of a baseball swing, and the wrist quickly sweeps across the ball at the moment the bat touches the ball.
Whoosh! The tennis ball disappeared.
The superposition of speed brings the speed of tennis to the extreme. The mustard yellow blends into the gold and emerald green, and the naked eye cannot catch its trace. From Federer's serve to Gawain's return, the short touch and smart handling once again bring the speed of grass tennis to the extreme.
Obviously, at the match point, Gao Wen was not nervous at all. Instead, he relaxed, and his reaction speed and shot quality were at their best.
When he realized that Federer chose to suppress his forehand, Gawain had already decided to give it a try. The whole shot was accompanied by an obvious whipping impact. By leveraging the force of Federer's ball, he turned all of Federer's speed and power into his own counterattack weapon and also launched a direct counterattack when receiving the first serve.
In fact, this is not the first time. In this game, the point that belonged to Gao Wen at "40:15" was an ACE in receiving serve.
Federer, startled——
He was not surprised that Gawain grabbed the serve, because Gawain possessed such courage and ability; but he was surprised by the quality of Gawain's serve, which almost hit the tennis ball directly back against the wall. The serve at a speed of 125 miles per hour flew back at a speed of over 100 miles per hour, which really caught him off guard.
"Well."
Federer groaned, and before he could get back into his serving position he was forced to move in a panic, his steps inevitably looking a little awkward.
Slash.
Forehand.
Federer stared at Gawain's shot intently. The seemingly disappearing tennis ball never escaped his gaze. He immediately moved towards the forehand position. During his continuous large strides horizontally, Federer fell into the same dilemma as when Gawain just received the serve.
The footsteps were not fully in place, but the forehand had to be played.
Otherwise, he will miss the ball, and it will be difficult to control the tennis ball back on the court even if he uses his wrist to lob the ball.
Without any hesitation, Federer launched a forehand attack, relying entirely on his wrist in a terrible situation where his body and footwork could not provide support.
With a twist and a flick, the tennis ball was barely hooked back to the end of the racket.
From Gawain to Federer, it was almost a copy and paste, with both players using similar techniques to complete similar shots on their forehand positions.
Like a mirror image.
Then, the tennis ball flew back diagonally again.
At the same time, Federer further opened up the angle, and his return ball found a spot in the front area of the right side of Gao Wen's service area and flew out in a tricky way.
The two players made full use of the horizontal space of the entire tennis court.
Huh! The whole audience exclaimed in amazement, unable to believe their eyes——
Gawain's imaginative and impactful return serve already amazed everyone, but no one expected that Federer could actually counterattack with his unparalleled touch.
Look, Gawain is in a mess, Federer is in a mess, and Gawain is even more embarrassed.
Gawain's footsteps were returning to their positions. He was not defending the backhand, but returning to the court to prepare for the next shot. However, he did not expect Federer to continue to tear open the diagonal line and utilize the space on the court to the extreme, forcing Gawain to start again and his footsteps directly rushed into the doubles area.
And how should Gao Wen return the ball? Continue to tear the angle? Then in the next shot, the two players may get closer and closer to the net, almost standing in parallel and continue to hit diagonal shots.
Should he change the line to break the deadlock? Because the vertical space was severely shortened, if he wasn't careful, he might go out of bounds. If he was too careful, he would not be able to threaten Federer and give him an opportunity to attack.
Difficult! Harder than ascending to heaven!
But in a flash, without any thought or hesitation, Gao Wen had an idea and stretched out his forehand before his feet were in place.
Everything is cut.
One reason is that the footsteps may not be in place in time, but the more important thing is to break the rhythm through cutting.
Standing in front of Federer for four sets, Gao Wen was learning and growing, and he put what he learned from Federer into use on the spot.
And it was at match point.
But this is Gawain, bold enough, courageous enough, smart enough, and also crazy enough.
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The forehand cut disrupts the speed, power, angle, rhythm, etc., and finally falls into Gao Wen's control, who controls the line by cutting.
The most important thing is the landing point.
Because Gawain cut a straight line.
straight line!
Amid the astonishment and exclamations of the entire audience, you could see the tennis ball passing under the referee's chair, briefly disappearing in the space between the net and the chair, bypassing the ball post, and finally mysteriously appearing in the left area of Federer's side of the court, heading straight for the big triangle at the baseline.
Unbelievable! Indescribable!
On the front foot, Federer made full use of the lateral space on the court.
With the next step, Gao Wen opened up the vertical space of the court.
Moreover, by cutting to control the depth, length and parabolic trajectory, and finally with the backspin, this shot is simply perfect.
The center court was completely silent. No one could make a sound. The continuous wonderful shots made the brain freeze and even made people forget to breathe.
The next second——
Federer, sprinting sideways to the left at full speed.
And Gawain, with his footsteps paused and turned, changed the direction of movement without any pause, and following the pull of centrifugal force, he made a small turn and his footsteps were already moving forward along the vertical axis.
Go online!
This, this, this, this…
Gao Wen once again broke the audience's expectations. After breaking his balance with an incredible forehand slice, he quickly approached the net.
On both sides of the court, one was sprinting sideways and the other was stepping forward vertically, like vehicles approaching each other quickly at a T-junction, the speed of both players had reached the extreme; moreover, starting from different positions, with different routes but similar distances, they arrived at their positions almost one after the other.
Time and space, very, very briefly stopped for a moment——
Federer is observing Gawain.
Gao Wen is observing Federer.
In the midst of the ever-changing situation, both of them had already made their judgments, and then, they attacked! (End of this chapter)