Routines and counterroutines, traps and countermeasures——
Tennis is a game of gambling.
From Agut's serve return to Gawain's backhand straight line, both players tried to limit their opponents within their capabilities, and this time, Gawain took the initiative.
Plan ahead, dig holes cleverly, and make accurate predictions.
Then, Gao Wen appeared in his forehand position, stretched his arms, jumped into the air, and attacked with his forehand without hesitation, with a heavy cannon fired.
Power. Attack. Straight line.
Gawain did not hesitate at all, as he knew that Agut must be guessing whether he would hit the ball straight, diagonally, or down the middle with his forehand. But if he got caught up in guessing and deducing, he would inevitably be drawn into the calculation, and his shot would be hesitant, which would reduce the effectiveness of his shot.
It may even lead to a bad mistake that ends up in the net or out of bounds.
He needed to be resolute. He could not calculate Agut's reaction at this time, but should focus on himself.
When to adjust based on the opponent and when to focus on yourself is a question that needs to be weighed at all times in a tennis match.
Boom! Forehand, attack.
Amid the scorching heat, a breeze blew through the entire venue, and the sky and the ground were filled with golden color.
Opposite the stadium.
At a glance, you can see the lithe figure of Agut crossing the field. The player once again demonstrated his accurate prediction and early movement.
In a flash, Agut had crossed the half court and approached Gawain's shot at an incredible speed. The mighty and powerful shot stirred up layers of heat waves, engulfing Agut like a flame.
Even though he made an accurate prediction and his feet were very fast, Agut was still passive. Gawain seized the opportunity and his powerful punch was perfect.
At the same time, from the corner of his eye, Agut had already caught a glimpse of a blue figure moving forward and exerting frontal pressure. The tall and strong figure was like the twins in "The Shining". In the blink of an eye, it was five meters close, and in the blink of another, it was right in front of him. The oppressive feeling of fear came over him like a tidal wave.
Oops!
Gao Wen, there is a backup plan.
In the previous shot, Gao Wen attacked with his forehand in a straight line with determination and decisiveness, aiming at the winning point, but he did not relax. His steps to the net in the next shot were closely connected, without any pause or hesitation, and he cut into the baseline at the first moment. The whole smooth attack continued the pressure.
This decisiveness once again became the force that broke the balance.
Agut has no time and no space.
What to do? Speed up to the limit; footsteps, barely in place; body, fully stretched.
In the crisis, Agut once again demonstrated his ability. He kicked his foot and extended his hard ground sliding step because he knew he couldn't be conservative now.
If you give it a try, there is at least a glimmer of hope; but if you compromise, the game is over.
He pushed, stretched, and then knocked and blocked with his hands.
Agut no longer had space to swing his racket, but he still created a small gap for himself by sliding, and then used the strength of his wrist to spike the ball.
At this point, it all depends on the feel.
In a flash, Auger-Aliassime hit a diagonal shot, and the angle formed by the racket head and wrist allowed him to leverage the force and the tennis ball was hit out.
Flat and fast.
Under extreme conditions, Agut's batting was not fancy at all, and he hit the ball diagonally in the posture of a baseball.
Tennis ball, jumped out.
Turning into a ray of light, the next second, Agut jumped up, adjusted his center of gravity, and then cut to the baseline and quickly went to the net.
Agut did not give up and was ready to hit the ball on the next shot.
It can be seen from the field of vision that Gao Wen lightly stepped on the ground, jumped up without hesitation, stretched out to the backhand position, and simply turned his whole back to the court, stretched his body completely, changed the two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand, completed a 180-degree turn in the air, and made a shot to intercept.
A volley.
——Aliassime did win a chance of survival by relying on his own effort, but instead put Gawain, who was preparing to block and intercept in front of the net, into a passive position.
Agut adjusted his steps in a series of steps, his calves burst out with incredible power, continuously pushing his body forward, and then the tennis ball was seen flying high.
Like Mount Everest, it stretches across the net.
It passed over the net lightly, but fell down quickly in the blink of an eye, almost falling close to the net, and the speed was getting faster and faster.
Agut's heart tightened, he increased his speed and quickened his pace. He could no longer care about so many things and sprinted with all his strength.
But I saw the tennis ball rise up again after falling to the ground, with a strong rotation.
Turn. Turn, turn, turn.
Agut was getting closer, getting closer with all his might, but—
Wait, eh, wait, wait.
The tennis ball actually flew back to Gao Wen's side of the court with a spin.
Agut could no longer catch up and watched the distance between him and the tennis ball gradually drift away, and finally fell into Gawain's court.
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What...what happened?
The speed had already reached its limit, and if the brakes were not applied in time, Agut would crash into the net, and he had to hold the net with both hands to barely brake.
His eyes were filled with astonishment and shock. He looked at the tennis ball on the other side of the net reluctantly, with a head full of question marks.
"Game, high..."
The game is over.
In a brilliant way, in an incredible way, in a stunning way.
Put an end to it.
Victory, in the end, belongs to Gawain.
But there is no doubt that Agut can turn around and leave with his head held high. His performance deserves recognition and proves his ability.
Maybe Goffin's retirement in the last round when he was leading triggered many doubts against Agut; but in this game, Agut still proved himself. The strong collision between the two sides was full of sparks and continued from the first point to the last point.
Agut, deserves applause.
Of course, Gawain is more deserving.
Because of Agut's outstanding performance, Gao Wen also improved his condition and played his best game in Flushing Meadows this year.
In the end, the game ended with a very, very close score. Gao Wen spent five match points to finally win the victory and successfully passed the test.
Looking up, Agut saw Gawain across the net, raising his hands to indicate that he was not aware of the flight trajectory of the ball. This made Agut feel helpless but also a little amused, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
Immediately afterwards, Gao Wen came to the net, opened his arms, and gave Auger a big hug.
“A great match.”
“A great match.”
They won each other's respect, and in such a game, the one who performed better had the last laugh.
After releasing his embrace, Agut's smile completely blossomed and he shook his head gently, "I tried my best. I really tried my best. I wish you good luck in the next game."
Gawain also smiled, not hiding his tiredness, "I tried my best. I feel like I have exhausted my body."
The two exchanged glances and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The game was over, but the scorching heat and hot air waves still did not stop, surrounding them like flaming magma.
To some extent, they were all very thankful that the match ended in four sets, otherwise, a fifth set? Just the thought of it was terrifying.