"Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap."
The sky above Arthur Ashe Stadium was filled with uniform high-fives, and the thunderous sound surged mightily. The entire audience looked at the big screen at the scene. The rhythm was getting faster and faster, and the atmosphere was getting hotter and hotter.
The whole audience is waiting for the result of the Hawkeye challenge.
Boom boom boom! The heat wave was rising, and the atmosphere of the second men's singles semi-final reached its peak at this moment, including Federer and Gao Wen.
Because this is a break point and a set point.
The linesman called out-of-bounds forehand shot by Gawain while he was moving at high speed, but it was not obvious. Even Federer, who was closest to the landing point, found it difficult to judge. So Gawain chose the Hawkeye challenge without hesitation.
Anyway, all three Hawkeye challenge opportunities in the first set were not used, and they will be reset to zero in the second set, so it would be a waste if not used.
The applause became more and more intense, and in the blink of an eye it reached a new peak.
Then, the results came out——
Difficult to tell.
Even an eagle eye could not make it out, so they had to zoom in again and again.
at last……
Huh.
The whole audience gasped.
A hair's breadth, literally, there's only a hair's breadth between the tennis ball and the sideline.
Out of bounds.
It's literally a matter of millimeters.
However, out of bounds is out of bounds after all, even a slight difference is still out of bounds. This ball was not because Gao Wen played badly, but because he lacked a bit of luck.
The first set, period.
"6:4", the victory belongs to Federer.
Ah! The Arthur Ashe Stadium went crazy, and all of Federer's fans went crazy, because the Swiss king finally won a crucial set in a clash of strong opponents. Both players showed unparalleled excellent form; and because of such a dramatic inventory, they experienced a leap between heaven and hell in just a few seconds.
Of course, the essential key is that the first set victory belongs to Federer.
Ahhh! The heat wave exploded in full force, eclipsing even the volcanic eruption.
"Roger!"
"Roger!"
"Roger!"
This game really lived up to everyone's expectations! On the court.
Gao Wen stared at the big screen at the scene. The difference of a hair made him slightly raise his chin and look towards his player box. He spread his hands, a smile on his lips, and expressed his regret with an innocent face.
"Haha." Jiang Yanyun looked at Gao Wen's expression and couldn't help laughing out loud, "That guy can actually still laugh now."
But Jiang Yanyun himself did not notice that his worried and tense heartstrings also relaxed.
The first set ended in such a way that it was obviously an accident.
Judging from the last point alone, Gawain did lack a bit of luck, but overall, Federer's performance was better in the last two games, whether it was his own serve or Gawain's serve, the balance of victory was indeed slightly tilted towards Federer.
All in all, in the first set, both players played at their best, presenting the most entertaining and talked-about match of this year's US Open, and lived up to the high expectations of fans and professionals.
"…In the first set, Federer really played at his best, continuing his undefeated streak throughout the North American summer hard court season."
"But at the same time, Gawain also proved with his actions that he was ready and forced Federer to play at his best early on, which is a positive factor."
"Obviously, Gao Wen is very, very close to his peak state, but he is still a little bit short. The fact that he failed to seize the opportunity at the end of the game is a side proof of this."
"So, this also raises a question. How long can Gawain maintain this state? Maintaining a stable state under the dual test of physical strength and energy is Gawain's second test."
"The second set, wait and see."
In the commentary booth, professionals gave their professional opinions, summarizing the first set and looking forward to the second set, and they were very busy even during the short break between sets.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium has gone completely crazy. The shouts for Federer are endless and mighty, once again showing Gawain the power of the "global home court" in an unparalleled manner. Compared with this scene, the cheers from Wimbledon are simply dwarfed by the giants. This is the real toughness.
So, what about Gawain?
Bright eyes, smiling faces; blood boiling, fighting spirit high——
The strong clash in the first set brought huge gains and also gave Gao Wen the confidence that he would not lose even if he went against Federer.
Although the last point went out of bounds by a hair's breadth, Gao Wen's confidence grew even stronger, because he knew that his strategy and tactics were correct, the opportunity had been created, and all that remained was to adjust his touch, seize the opportunity, and stay calm, which were not a problem for him.
The raging waves before him were neither a blow nor a distraction to Gawain, but rather a confirmation and affirmation:
It was precisely because Federer's fans felt the crisis, the impact from Gawain and the challenge from Gawain, the suspense of victory or defeat was enough to make people suffocate, so after Federer won the first set in a "lucky" manner, the audience could no longer control themselves and broke out.
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So, this is affirmation and encouragement.
Gao Wen watched the scene in front of him with great interest, his mouth corners slightly raised, his blood boiling, and he couldn't wait to start the second set.
This battle is getting more and more interesting, isn't it? "Time's up."
As soon as the referee announced the end of the break between sets, Gao Wen immediately grabbed his racket and entered the court at his own pace, holding his head high and his chest puffed out with light steps.
Because Gawain lost the match in the first set because he failed to hold on to his last serve, Federer served first in the second set.
In Gao Wen's opinion, this is an opportunity——
If we don't distinguish between the first and second sets, it means that he had just been broken and in the next service game, he needed to fight back on the spot.
If we look at the second set, we just lost the first set, so the second set needs an excellent start and we also need to show our fighting spirit.
In other words, whether he can break the serve is another matter from any perspective, and he needs to make his own voice.
It is better to——
Opening with a serve return ace?
"0:15".
At the beginning of the second set, Federer's first serve was a little soft.
The fierce clash in the first set was a serious drain on both players, and Federer was even more exhausted. So in the second set, Federer focused on stability and tried to gain a foothold. As a result, his first serve was caught by Gawain, who scored with a two-handed backhand diagonal shot.
Return serve ACE.
Clean, straightforward.
"…As soon as the second set came up, Gawain made his voice heard."
"Obviously, the defending champion was not affected at all by the disappointing loss in the first set and was ready to speed up further at the beginning of the second set."
"Federer needs to stay calm and make his tactical layout clearer and more detailed. Otherwise, Federer will be even more uncomfortable in this wave of impact."
Indeed, Federer is experienced and smart enough.
Even though he had just finished a break between sets, Federer still used the time to wipe his sweat to slow down his pace a bit, calm his brain, and re-plan his game.
call.
Federer knew he needed to control the pace.