Chapter 1757: Using softness to overcome hardness
“15:0”.
ACE starts.
Tsonga also showed his big heart. Realizing Gawain's recovery and the key to the situation, he also improved his competitive state.
He easily won the first point by serving.
"15:15".
However, while being positive, Tsonga was also a little impatient.
After establishing an advantage through serving, Tsonga could not wait to rely on offense to score the winning points and show momentum, but his first-shot attack had power and speed but no angle, and the entire line and landing point selection were too conventional, trying to rely on absolute strength to create enough advantage.
Of course, in the third set, Tsonga's strength did have an absolute advantage.
But this time, Gao Wen hit the ball straight with his forehand, using the opponent's force to hit the ball, and although the quality was still not as good as when he was in his best condition, he still hit it back in the end.
Tsonga was a little anxious and tried to continue to exert pressure with the second consecutive attack, but his two-handed backhand diagonal attack was too low and the force was too strong, so the return ball did not have an arc and hit the wall directly, causing a white wave on the net and ending the point with his own mistake.
Tsonga himself was also very disappointed and threw his racket to the ground. The racket hit the ground and then bounced back, and Tsonga grabbed it.
“30:15”, Tsonga’s forehand winning point.
"30:30", the strong backspin from Gawain's backhand slice forced Tsonga's backhand return into the net.
One comes and one goes.
One plus, one minus.
Everything happened so fast that before he even had time to catch his breath, four points had passed in the blink of an eye, and Tsonga lost two points in his second consecutive service game.
Moreover, this time it was completely a one-man show by Tsonga——
Tsonga scores, Tsonga makes mistakes, then Tsonga scores, then Tsonga makes mistakes again.
Simply put, Gao Wen is just cooperating in the performance. He is responsible for hitting the tennis ball back, while Tsonga is responsible for leading the performance. The scoring and losing of points are in his hands.
This is when you can feel the pressure.
Obviously, the entire situation in the crucial game is undergoing subtly changes little by little, and even a battle-hardened player like Tsonga is no exception.
What's more, don't forget that before the start of the Rogers Cup, Tsonga suffered a series of bitter defeats and his return from injury did not meet expectations.
After arriving in Toronto, they won three games in a row and finally found some touch in their blessed land, but for the defending champions, this is still far from enough.
In the match against Gao Wen, the first set and the first half of the second set were indeed exciting, but Gao Wen had the upper hand overall; until an unexpected injury overturned the whole situation.
Now it is the critical moment. The familiar scene and familiar feeling have returned again, and Tsonga's shots are bound to have some fluctuations.
At the end of the day, they are just ordinary people.
In the next point, the pressure continued to rise, either it was game point or match point.
Everyone, hold your breath.
Including Tsonga.
In the first area, before preparing to serve, Tsonga adjusted his breathing slightly. The sweat on his forehead slowly slid down, and it was a little itchy. He raised his hand to wipe it clean, looked at Gawain again, and then prepared to serve.
Snap. Snap.
Tsonga was bouncing the ball and the entire stadium was in complete silence. There weren't many spectators to begin with, and now the few remaining spectators all held their breath, making the stadium even quieter.
One shot, outside corner.
203 kilometers per hour.
It can be seen from the line and the landing point that Tsonga tried to destroy Gao Wen's center of gravity, but he was not ready to go to the net. The angle of the outside corner was not completely torn open. His feet were still standing at the baseline, ready to connect with the next shot. The powerful attack could further exert pressure.
Gao Wen, a little embarrassed.
Because of this outside angle, the line is a bit awkward, neither far nor near, so that his movement cannot be predicted and he can only improvise. Sometimes his body may be closer to the tennis ball, and sometimes his body may be too far away from the tennis ball, making it difficult to control the hitting point, and it all depends on his hand skills to adjust.
And the key point is that Tsonga's serve is very heavy, strong and heavy, with a lot of tail power. Even in normal times, it is not so easy to receive the ball. Now that he is injured, Gao Wen's ability to confront head-on collisions has obviously declined, and he often cannot withstand the force, so that the ball goes into the net.
Tsonga also calculated and planned this serve.
Tsonga did not encounter any break points in the six service games and also summed up some experience. Although he is a relatively honest player and does not have any cunning ideas, it does not mean that he does not know how to think.
There was no time for Gao Wen to hesitate. He pushed off the ground reflexively and stretched out his right hand completely.
There was not even time to be thankful that the stretch of my forehand was not affected, as I could already feel the power and speed of the tennis balls coming at me layer upon layer.
What to do? In a split second, Gawain didn't have time to think carefully. With a flash of inspiration, he stretched his forearm forward and gently rolled it upward with the strength of his wrist.
A very soft and extra delicate package, all about the feel.
It's not a collision, it's not leveraging force, it's not pushing, but a gentle flick.
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To be precise, unloading, friction... and the small ball.
Because Gao Wen knew that even if he successfully hit the tennis ball across the court, the quality would be average. He would inevitably face Tsonga's fierce attack and then he would be passive.
If he was in good form, Gao Wen would also be willing to engage in a tug-of-war, as he was confident in his ability to play at the bottom line, but that was not the case now.
Once you are in a defensive state, it is difficult to launch a defensive counterattack.
Therefore, Gao Wen simply went with the flow. Since the quality of his return was average, he decided to be bolder and directly choose to slice the ball when receiving the serve.
This move was learned from Federer. It cannot be used frequently because it is very dangerous, but it can be very effective as a tactical surprise attack occasionally.
Gao Wen just caught an inspiration, which he didn't even expect, and then he completed the shot.
Gao Wen was not sure how effective his return would be. After hitting the ball, he took small steps to adjust his position and prepare for defense.
Then, everyone's eyes were fixed on——
The tennis ball lightly rises into a parabola; moreover, the route to climb to the highest point of the parabola is a bit short.
What's going on?
Amidst the stunned and confused gazes, the tennis ball had already started its downward trajectory.
So, this is not going through the internet? Wait!
Tsonga's heart suddenly contracted, his steps paused, and the next second he panicked, running at full speed clumsily and slowly.
Tap tap tap, tap tap tap…
Run all the way.
Then the audience noticed that Gao Wen also started running. He did not stay at the baseline and stepped forward at full speed along the vertical line. Even though he started a little slower, his speed was even faster than that of Tusonga.
A whole beat later, the audience watched the tennis ball and realized:
This! It's actually! A small ball! The audience was dumbfounded, stunned, and their mouths opened wide, their faces full of astonishment. They didn't expect Gao Wen to choose to receive the serve and drop the ball.
Moreover, Gawain and Tsonga both went to the net, and the entire situation on the court was instantly overturned, from fencing competition to hand-to-hand combat, and tense sparks spread out.
(End of this chapter)