Chapter 1737 Self-doubt
Squeezing, colliding, rushing towards us——
Jilong's forehand had no room to swing the racket. Although the alarm sounded, it was too late. His forehand barely made it through the shot, relying entirely on the feel of his hand, but the entire return ball line and parabola had no way to push forward, and the return ball's landing point had no way to push Gao Wen back to the baseline, like hitting a wall.
Gao Wen did not need to cooperate in going to the net. He took a step forward and stood completely within the baseline. He attacked with his forehand from midfield: forehand diagonal, sweeping shot, inside-out.
A standard diagonal attack across the court with full firepower.
Forehand for the third consecutive beat, diagonal for the third consecutive beat, same line and same position, but rhythm, speed, strength and technique are all different.
By contrast, we can clearly see Gawain's control and grasp of the rhythm, which completely opened up the situation in terms of time and space.
In this shot, Gao Wen finally took the initiative to exert force, lightly tore open the angle, and hit the forehand blind spot of Jilong with a forehand diagonal line.
Like a missile.
Jilong didn't have time to move his feet at all, and he still stood at his forehand position.
Generally speaking, this would be considered a perfect wait, and it is worth shouting "well come"; however, this is not the case.
The forehand shot was completely slow and the tennis ball was already coming towards him just as he started to swing the racket. He hurriedly swung the racket, still thinking about how to fight back. Then he realized that he didn't have time to retract the racket and the tennis ball had already turned into a skyrocket.
It can be seen from Jilong's stance that the swing action remains open and there is no way to complete the shot.
This point belongs to Gawain——
The bottom line was deadlocked and ultimately failed to take shape.
After a brief tug of war in the early stages, Gao Wen's sudden change in forehand position adjusted the rhythm without warning or trace, from the depth of the landing point to the change in speed to the use of rotation and power, instantly completing the subversion, and finally ending the point within eight rounds.
And, successfully held the serve.
From the difficult situation of falling behind at 0:30, he won four points in a row and easily held his serve.
The point is!
Everything happened so fast.
Before he could even blink, Gawain had successfully gotten out of the predicament and regained the initiative, sweeping past him like a tornado.
Jilong blinked and stood there, with a lot of questions in his head: What happened in this round just now? Who can explain it to him? He needed to be quiet.
It just so happens that the next break is coming and Jilong needs to sort out his thoughts.
but……
Obviously, this is not easy, to be more precise, it is very, very difficult.
Not to mention the saying "Those involved are confused, while bystanders can see clearly", even McDonald and the commentators were unable to figure out what was going on for a while. It was difficult for them to accurately describe the tactical changes that allowed Gawain to score four points in a row, and they did not sound the alarm to realize the change in the situation.
In fact, it can be seen from the side that Gao Wen's understanding and control of the game have risen to a new level, further enhancing his advantages. Now he has entered the next level. Even when facing difficulties or deadlocks, Gao Wen can find more solutions to resolve them.
It is not surprising that Jilong, who is "in the middle of it", has not found the answer yet due to lack of guidance and help from the coach.
Huh! Jilong let out a long breath, and he finally came to a conclusion: he was still in the lead, with a break advantage, so there was no need to panic or worry, and he could just continue with his tactics.
Fight, keep fighting! In a blink of an eye, the break between games was over.
“2:1” leading, Jilong’s serve.
——“0:15”.
The game started off badly. In the first point, Jilong made a mistake and the return ball went into the net. Before the game reached a stalemate, he gave away a point.
Jilong turned his back to Gao Wen and used the time to wipe the sweat off his face to regain some composure.
"Patience. Be patient."
“Pay attention to the quality of the ball, pay attention to the depth.”
“Ensure the quality of the return.”
Jilong secretly clenched his fists and cheered himself up.
In the previous game, he lost four points in a row and missed the chance to break the serve for the second time. This was the first time he encountered a hurdle after his condition improved in the second set, which caused some fluctuations in his mentality.
Despite this, Jilong still has confidence, he is in hot form and in good shape. He believes in himself, and most importantly, he is ready to fight.
With another deep breath, Jilong was ready.
District 2.
Outside corner, backhand.
It's a routine, but it works as long as it works. Jilong successfully suppressed Gao Wen's backhand with an outside corner serve. Although the forehand attack in the next shot was a little impatient and did not completely break the angle of the forehand diagonal line, the good offensive effect still put Gao Wen in a passive position.
The round was in a stalemate.
It was called a round, but overall, it was Jilong who took the initiative to attack.
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From the moment he served, Jilong's concentration was at its highest level, and he once again showed his hot hands since the second set. The rhythm and state of his entire movement, shot, and touch were very, very good, fast and heavy, covering the entire court, and he continued to launch attacks through the pressure of the ball quality and lines.
Moreover, all the attack points were aimed at the corners and edges. Because they were full of confidence, they acted boldly and all the remote and tricky angles were within bounds.
The initiative was completely in Jilong's hands, and Gao Wen was given no chance.
If you see this round now, you will not wonder why Jilong is leading at the beginning of the second set. Instead, you will start to wonder why you have never heard of Jilong's name before and why Jilong has to wait until now to win his first ATP-level event. Obviously, this is not normal.
Gao Wen was always looking for opportunities, but Jilong's airtight and mission-oriented offensive connection left no gaps and covered the entire field.
But is there really no chance?
Gao Wen doesn't think so.
Tap, tap, tap, tap—
Moving, sprinting, getting into position, it was still passive defense, but this time, Gawain made a slight change.
Forehand cutting.
It's a slant, deep ball with almost no parabola, and is a typical backspin fastball.
In the defensive situation, Gao Wen used a simple change of shot to change the rhythm. The tennis ball fell towards the baseline like an arrow, fast and sharp, drawing a meteor arc.
On the other side of the court, Jilong arrived in time on his Hot Wheels, staring at the tennis ball with sharp eyes.
Backspin?
Because of his height, Jilong has his own way of dealing with backspin. With a solid center of gravity and steady footwork, he can hit the ball with ease.
Without hesitation, Jilong bent his knees and shot from a low position, drawing a flat arc with his forehand, almost flying parallel to the net. He actively exerted force to hit the ball forward, shattering Gawain's attempt to change the rhythm by cutting, and increased the speed again.
Slash!
Tennis, back to Gao Wen's forehand.
“Forehand vs. forehand!”
Obviously, this time, Gawain didn't need to move, and his feet were waiting on the forehand. Jilong watched Gawain intently, and he paused and prepared to move towards the backhand position. He believed that Gawain would choose to change the line; but just as he started to move, he noticed that Gawain had already made a forehand diagonal shot -
No hesitation.
Slash, another slash again? (End of this chapter)