Chapter 2010: Permutations and Combinations

Before the year-end finals were about to kick off, Wimbledon's official Twitter account posted the following text:

"Perhaps, for the players, the Ilie Nastase group is indeed a death group; but for the fans, it is paradise."

This tweet has sparked widespread resonance on social networks. Not only have the other three Grand Slams forwarded it, but it has also sparked widespread discussion among fans. Even the official ATP account has joined in the fun, with an expression of both pain and joy, saying that scheduling is the biggest challenge in life.

This is indeed the case.

Gawain. Nadal. Murray. Wawrinka.

The four players can be arranged in any combination, and all six games are undoubtedly focus battles, and every collision is worth paying attention to.

And, more importantly, the outcome is hard to predict. Perhaps, Gawain, who has won the Shanghai and Paris Masters titles consecutively, may have a slight advantage, but objectively speaking, the advantage is not obvious; plus the other three players are even more difficult to distinguish, and it is difficult for bookmakers to predict.

Judging from the pre-match analysis, the qualifying situation of the Ilie Nastase group is complicated. Only Gao Wen is slightly favored and has a slight lead, but it is not surprising that any of the four players qualify. It is far from being an upset, which fully demonstrates the charm of the year-end finals.

As you can imagine, the schedule for the year-end finals will face severe challenges.

In the first round of the Ilie Nastase group, the two giants Nadal and Murray will face off head-on, which easily sparked a topic.

Judging from the entire context of the season, Murray undoubtedly has the upper hand. He still retains the hope of competing with Federer for the third place at the end of the year, which is a direct proof of his excellent and stable overall performance this season; while Nadal's season ranking was even a little bit away from falling out of the top ten.

But judging from his recent form, Nadal has the upper hand, advancing to at least the semi-finals in three consecutive tournaments. Even in Paris, he only stopped in the quarterfinals. His form is strong at the end of the season. On the other hand, Murray lost to Anderson in the US Open, where he had high hopes, and has not been able to recover since then.

Of course, the collision between giants is always different, because of strength and aura, as well as their familiarity with each other, the victory or defeat is just a matter of millimeters.

This year-end finals competition, as the first game of the two players at the O2 Stadium this year, not only tests their form, but may also have an impact on subsequent games and the entire pattern of the Ilie Nastase group. Gawain and Wawrinka are also paying attention.

Therefore, this match was arranged as the last game of the second match day, which was what everyone expected.

After finishing the press conference and the post-match massage, Gao Wen returned to the players' lounge and saw Wawrinka cycling.

We are in sync.

The two men exchanged glances, and then Gawain found a bicycle next to Wawrinka and pedaled slowly to watch the game.

This year, Nadal has indeed been in poor form, mainly in his forehand and movement.

For Nadal, the forehand is the core of the entire game, not just the offense. The forehand super topspin has long become Nadal's trademark. The offensive and defensive transitions also need to rely on this shot as a hub. Once there is a problem with the forehand, the entire tactical layout of the game will be very difficult.

This situation continued throughout the season, especially at critical moments, when the forehand confrontation could not keep up with the intensity and Nadal could not play his own tennis.

On the one hand, Nadal has indeed been playing with injuries, and injuries are the biggest enemy of competitive sports.

On the other hand, the injury is not serious enough to prevent the player from participating in the competition, but the side effects of the injury and pain are that it affects confidence. The layout and shots at key points are often determined by the slight swing in belief between firmness and hesitation. These invisible factors are the key.

However, Nadal is a special player, and has been like this throughout his entire career. Maybe his talent is not as good as Federer, but he is always conscientious. He needs training and competitions, and relies on repeated collisions to hone and temper himself.

In New York, after winning the first two sets, he lost three sets in a row, which was the first serious blow in his career. This also forced Nadal to stand in desperation and overcome his inner demons.

Entering the Asian season, Nadal's belief has become noticeably stronger, not confidence but belief, a fighting belief.

Slowly, Nadal found himself again.

——The forehand is the weather vane.

First of all, the power of super topspin is back.

Secondly, on indoor hard courts, the power and speed of flat shots have returned.

Thirdly, and in Gao Wen’s opinion the most important point, is the layout.

Nadal's interpretation and layout of forehand super topspin are different. In the shallow and deep positions, the same strong topspin can produce different results. The rhythm, rotation, power, etc. can all present different forms. Once the forehand quality returns, the tactical layout will naturally be different.

Looking at Nadal's game now, let alone comparing it with the distant quarterfinals of Roland Garros, even compared with the semi-finals of the Imperial Capital not long ago, the entire ball quality and layout have changed again. Nadal is slowly showing his ability, an ability that has been overlooked by people -

Nadal can also perform well on hard courts.

There is one thing that few people know. When Nadal was 16 or 17 years old, just before he officially entered the professional arena, he said in an interview with a TV station that his favorite courts were indoor hard courts and grass courts, and his favorite Grand Slam was Wimbledon.

“Of course, I like red clay, too.”

The young Nadal added shyly.

In front of me, on the TV screen.

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Bang! A forehand shot, deep, Nadal's signature strong topspin made Murray a little tired on the forehand position, and he barely hit it back.

Bang! A forehand shot, shallow, although Murray got a breathing space and seized the opportunity to prepare for a counterattack, but the forehand was not strong enough and the forehand diagonal line was slightly weak.

Bang! Three shots of forehand, skateboard flat hit, Nadal took a step directly into the baseline, caught a gap, and did not hesitate to change the rotation.

Murray was caught off guard. His body stretched out completely, but he was unable to touch the ball and could only watch the tennis ball fly out.

The winning point is in hand!

--"Wonderful!"

Gao Wen was the first to cheer for Nadal.

Almost at the same time, cheers came to my ears, and the sound tracks overlapped.

"yeah!"

With a turn of their heads, Gawain and Wawrinka's eyes met in the air, both of them smiled, and a burst of noise came from the TV screen.

"ah!"

Nadal clenched his fists, roared like a lion, and converted the break point in a powerful and sharp manner, completing the first break of the entire game.

At the O2 Arena, there was a cry of surprise and the whole audience was boiling.

The familiar "Spanish Bull" is indeed back. Not only is his defense excellent, his offense is also excellent and exciting, and his offense-defense transition is even smoother.

This also means that the competition intensity of the Ilie-Nastase group may have to rise to another level? (End of this chapter)