Huh!
The whole audience was stunned.
Generally speaking, being in a difficult situation often means being passive, and being passive means being restricted in what you can do. Hasty and awkward responses are the common norm.
However, from the last point to this one, Gawain in trouble gave different answers. It was not just a risk-taking. In the unconventional choices, one could also see wisdom and courage, which instantly overturned the situation.
This temperament of turning passivity into initiative truly demonstrates the demeanor of a king.
The whole audience watched helplessly as Gawain shakily and precariously tried to complete the shot, but he relied on his personal ability to incredibly push the tennis ball into the gap on Wawrinka's court, disrupting Wawrinka's subsequent plans.
Stunned, stunned, and filled with emotion!
This...this!
Wawrinka was a little panicked, and he hurriedly moved from the right side of the court to the left side. Although his heart was pounding and he was panicking, his brain was extremely clear, and he shot a backhand diagonal shot without hesitation, tearing open the line.
Bang--
Strength, not completely closed, but the angle is open.
In the back-and-forth confrontation, Wawrinka also showed his fighting spirit. He fully utilized the horizontal space of the court with a diagonal "inside-out" shot and instantly turned the situation around again.
But…really?
Gawain appeared.
Appearing like a ghost from the other end of the court.
His footwork was still a little lacking, and the constantly swaying center of gravity was difficult to control amidst the bumps and sprints, so his accuracy was inevitably affected; coupled with Wawrinka's shot directly pulling Gao Wen out of the singles line, the difficulty of the entire shot had to rise to another level.
Tap! Tap, tap, tap! Gao Wen did not take small steps, but took long strides, pushing his body forward with continuous long strides, and led the racket early with both hands backhand, with a relaxed posture.
Wawrinka's pupils suddenly contracted——
Not good.
However, just as Wawrinka started, Gawain had already hit the ball.
Push off the ground, soar into the air, leap, spread your wings and fly, relying on these movements to grab a suitable hitting point, and attack with a two-handed backhand without hesitation.
Swing the racket, speed up, and exert force.
The racket head speed is instantly increased to a higher level.
Backhand, straight line.
An arrow pierces the heart! Gao Wen flew into the air, performing a scissor kick in the air, hovering in the air like a moonwalk, and his cool and tough shots were crisp and clear, with his hands and the knife falling, directly putting an end to this round.
Winning point, plus one more.
"30:30".
--stay!
It was so unexpected and so exciting that the O2 Stadium couldn't keep up with the rhythm. The brain froze briefly, and everything went blank, with no thoughts or ideas.
For two consecutive points, when Wawrinka had a clear advantage in serving, Gao Wen chose to give it a try to turn the situation around and ended the battle within three shots. His excellent touch and perfect execution pushed the game to a new level.
Wow! When I finally reacted, I was filled with admiration and exclamations.
Wawrinka stood there and took a look at the landing point of Gawain's backhand straight line. He felt helpless and bitter. His knees felt weak and he almost squatted down.
Did Wawrinka play badly in these two points? No.
Wawrinka had played very well, but Gawain's response was indeed unsolvable, just like Wawrinka's superb form in the past three games.
Now, Wawrinka finally understood what Gao Wen felt just now -
After going around in circles, Wawrinka was really dizzy and found it difficult to keep up with Gawain's rhythm.
It's not just the rhythm in terms of speed, but also the rhythm in terms of tactical layout, shot selection, etc. Such a Gao Wen is really too difficult to deal with.
The meeting at Roland Garros is different.
So what next?
A head-on clash!
Wawrinka's memory is not that bad. He can still remember the third game of the first set. He had three consecutive game points but lost five points in a row and was broken. The same situation should not happen twice in the same game.
At least, that's what Wawrinka did his best to avoid.
Wawrinka also ignited his blood and improved his condition.
ACE!
Wawrinka responded in the strongest and most straightforward way.
The point was safe only if Gawain could not touch the ball; and Wawrinka did just that, finding the serve in time.
"40:30".
The balance was restored slightly.
But there is a detail here -
In the second set, there was no way out for Wawrinka. He had to give his all and could not afford to make any mistakes. Such pressure existed at all times.
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For Gao Wen, this game and this set can be lost. He focuses on the overall layout and can try without pressure.
Just like the two winning points that Gao Wen just scored, he was the one who dared to break the balance and break the deadlock, and his batting choices were different.
As a result, the situation became stalemate.
Wawrinka missed three game points and saved a break point, but was never able to win the game. Then, with a forehand out of bounds, after four deuces, he gave away the second break point.
The situation is very, very tense.
Gawain immediately realized that his strategy had worked, because Wawrinka began to make mistakes, which also meant that his hot hand was slowly fading.
Even if he cannot break the serve in this game, it doesn’t matter. As long as Gao Wen continues his strategy and enters the tiebreak or the third set, he will be able to gain the upper hand.
This also allows Gao Wen to remain relaxed.
On the second break point, Gao Wen once again showed his courage.
District 2.
Wawrinka attacked the outside corner, and this time, he caught Gawain accurately, forcing Gawain to barely push it away, and the advantage was immediately established.
Wawrinka completed the attack connection without hesitation, and hit a forehand diagonal shot directly, aiming at Gawain's backhand and hammering.
Gao Wen's footwork adjustment was indeed not able to keep up, and the backhand swing space was seriously insufficient, but Gao Wen did not panic.
Anyway, it can always be cut.
In fact, Gao Wen did choose to cut, but this time, it was not backspin, but topspin.
That is to say, lob the ball high.
Wawrinka: ???
O2 Stadium: What kind of strategy is this? The entire audience was stunned. Even the commentators were dumbfounded. They couldn't understand Gawain's shot selection at all.
Passive, but not to the extent that he had to hit a high ball. Why didn't Gawain choose to slice and spin? Wasn't it effective before? What was Gawain thinking? The tennis ball flew high up, across the court, along the diagonal line, toward the deep backhand baseline of Wawrinka, in the eyes of the audience full of question marks.
Wawrinka also couldn't understand Gawain's tactical intentions, but for him, lobbed balls meant enough time to think and he could slowly adjust; unfortunately, the continuous and torrential attack was forced to slow down the pace.
However, Wawrinka didn't mind.
After a series of small steps, Wawrinka arrived early, staring at the tennis ball intently, and was ready for his backhand.
etc--
No way? Gawain's lob had a lot of topspin and was accurately placed in the dead corner, which meant that Wawrinka had to step back to make room to find the shot, and it was difficult to hit the ball with one hand above the shoulder, so this was Gawain's plan?
Use high balls from the baseline to limit Wawrinka?