Chapter 181 Prove Yourself

191 cm, 79 kg.

In terms of physical condition, Sarkeesian is almost the same as Gawain before he gained weight, but their playing styles are worlds apart.

Sarkisian is a player who is good at attacking.

What does it mean? Simply put, during the stroke, he tends to lower his body center of gravity and step forward to grab the rising point after the tennis ball bounces off the ground.

The hitting point of an average player is often to wait for the tennis ball to bounce to a height between his waist and chest, but his hitting point may be between his waist and knees.

That is to say, it is about racing against time and racing against rhythm.

This way of playing is mainly to avoid the weakness of weak power, by seizing the rhythm, mainly using the technique of using the opponent's force to hit the ball, shortening the time for the tennis ball to return to the opponent's court, and then establishing an advantage for oneself. Speed ​​and rhythm are the core of the whole game.

This kind of style is more common among players who are less than 180 cm tall, such as Kei Nishikori of Japan and Diego-Schwartzman of Argentina. They are the top players in the tour in terms of point-grabbing attacks and are ranked in the top ten in the world.

In addition, Italian player Fabio-Fognini is one of the best among all professional players in terms of his ability to control his offensive skills. He has an innate talent for judging the timing of hitting the ball, which is considered to be the best in the world.

It is true that they are all players with a height of less than 180 cm and have no advantage in serving, but at the same time, this also gives them an advantage in grabbing the hitting point that others do not have.

However, Sarkeesian is 191 cm tall, which is very rare.

The point-grabbing attacking style of play is actually very entertaining to watch, because the time between shots is compressed, the rhythm of the ball is very fast, and the mercury-like attack allows the audience to feel a refreshing sense of catharsis, and the whole game is very clean and without any procrastination.

Even if you simply treat it as ASMR and close your eyes to enjoy it, you can still feel the adrenaline rush.

However, this type of play is also very demanding. You need to stay highly focused throughout the entire game because you have to grab points all the time. Once your energy or physical strength declines, the position of the hitting point will deviate, the quality of the game will decline significantly, and then you will fall into a completely passive position.

In the two regular season games against the Bruins, Sarkisian clearly wasn’t able to play his best tennis, losing to Thompson and Giron respectively.

Arriving in Athens, Sarkisian was in hot form, his smooth rhythm control style of play shined, and his relaxed and carefree game was truly pleasing to the eye.

Analyzing from a paper perspective, the point-grabbing offensive style of play actually compresses the time for Gao Wen to think, plan, and strategize, forcing Gao Wen to rely on instinct to play, weakening the advantages of the brain, magnifying the disadvantages of the body, and requiring Gao Wen to play like Thompson. Naturally, the quality of his shots will be difficult to keep up.

Moreover, Gawain is 193 cm tall and his center of gravity is actually relatively high. It is difficult for him to squat, especially when moving quickly. Facing Sarkeesian, who is good at setting the pace, his chances of controlling the situation will be compressed. Slowing down the pace may allow Sarkeesian to attack continuously, while speeding up the pace will just enter Sarkeesian's comfort zone.

Objectively speaking, Gawain is indeed troubled by Sarkeesian's style.

Especially after he has reached a certain level in power confrontation, the impact brought by point-grabbing players will be more obvious than that of power players.

It is precisely because of this that after successfully advancing to the quarterfinals, Sarkisian showed unstoppable confidence when he was interviewed by the media.

"...Yes, I know Gawain is in great form now and he should undoubtedly be the favorite to win, but I believe I hold the key to victory."

Sarkeesian, who had just finished the game, was still sweating profusely, but his eyes were bright and his cheeks were flushed, and one could truly feel the determination radiating from the inside out.

"Gawain and I played against different opponents in the previous rounds. Our batting methods and playing styles are all different. My physical talent is not that good, so I need to work harder on the court to make up for my shortcomings. I know what I am doing and how I should do it."

"I knew I could beat Gawain, so all I had to do was go out there and do it."

Normally, Sarkeesian is not an arrogant or conceited person. On the contrary, he is always down-to-earth and hardworking.

However, Sarkisian's confidence is not without reason.

On the one hand, it’s because of myself.

Since entering the singles competition, Sarkeesian has indeed performed well, with each performance getting better and better. Even the first round against the seeded player from the University of South Carolina was won very easily. So far, he has not lost any set, and all three games were won by "2:0".

From the course of the game to the final score, Sarkisian's confidence reached an unprecedented new high.

Now that we have reached the quarterfinals, why can't we go further?

On the other hand, it’s because of the opponent.

Before the singles matches of the U.S. Championships started, I had said:

No one can deny Gawain's sudden emergence.

As the absolute main force in the team competition, he defeated strong opponents one after another, and followed the Brown Bears to win the US championship trophy again after a decade.

There is no doubt that Gawain is a hot topic in Athens now.

However, on Gawain's road to strong rise, he actually defeated too few top masters, and the highest ranked one was only Domyan.

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Also, don't forget that Gao Wen, like McDonald, is a freshman. They have not been active in the NCAA for long and lack the time to prove themselves and important competitions.

Naturally, the doubts will not disappear.

This is also an important source of Sarkeesian’s confidence—Gawain is not as powerful as imagined.

During the regular season, Sarkisian lost to Thompson and Gillon, who were originally ranked first and second in the United States, and they lost with conviction; but at that time, Gowen was only the sixth singles player of the Bruins, and later he came on the court as a surprise player, appearing as brilliantly as a comet.

Standing in front of Gawain, Sarkisian's confidence was not suppressed.

What's more, the playing styles are incompatible, which is a fact that is right in front of us.

Just look at the words Sarkeesian used and you can detect clues. "I know I can defeat Gawain," instead of "I believe" or "I hope." The difference in a verb allows you to feel the belief radiating from the inside out. This is a completely different thing.

In fact, the media has also been waiting anxiously.

Rather than expecting Gawain to lose, it would be more accurate to say that they had no preference for winning or losing. Instead, they were expecting Gawain to go through a test and see what level he could perform.

However, this year the Siberian cold wave swept through Athens, and upsets occurred one after another. High-ranking seeds were eliminated one after another, and the expectations of reporters were repeatedly dashed.

Finally, Sarkeesian appeared, and then... the media all had a collective climax.

First update. Thanks to the book friend "无忧是希望的境" for the reward!

(End of this chapter)