Chapter 2022: Hold Your Breath
From slow to fast and then back to slow, the rhythm of the entire round was completely controlled by Gawain, and Murray did not expect that he would be led by the nose like this.
So, what now? Actually, Murray was not willing to play around, because he had been feeling something was not right recently, and he still needed to make different attempts and adjustments; but in this point, the situation had unknowingly fallen into Gawain's hands, and it was a break point, so Murray had no room to refuse.
When faced with danger and difficulties, people tend to return to their comfort zone and to the way of dealing with things that they are best at and most familiar with. Habit is so scary.
This includes Gawain, but the difference is that if it is Gawain, this game is still the middle of the first set, and there is still room for maneuver and retreat. Even if he risks being broken in this game or even losing the set, he must stick to his tactics. After all, he cannot just focus on this one game.
But Murray is not Gawain after all. His personality is different, so his approach will naturally be different.
So, Murray finally returned to his familiar mode and played the game in the "Andy Murray" way.
——Cutting.
Murray also chose to cut.
Although there is still some space for hitting the ball, Murray needs to get rid of the passive situation and gain space for adjustment. So he takes a step, supports his body with his left leg, cuts with his back, cuts a diagonal line in the backhand position, and controls the landing point of the return ball.
layout.
This is Murray's familiar and comfortable territory. He relies on the control of lines, landing points and rhythm to complete the layout, and looks for opportunities in the calculations and games between us. Now that he is really facing difficulties, his mind starts to work.
"Cutting VS Cutting".
Moreover, Murray's control is indeed excellent.
Strictly speaking, Murray's poor form mainly reflects his lack of confidence and confusion, so he often makes mistakes in choosing his hitting lines and methods, and his tactical intentions are unclear. However, it is not because his touch is bad that he cannot achieve his goals. The quality of his shots and return feel are still at a good level.
Just like now.
Murray's slice return went into the big triangle at the baseline of Gao Wen's backhand position and pressed the inside sideline. The quality was excellent and the strong backspin formed effective squeezing.
Although Gawain's footsteps were already in place smoothly, there was little space left for hitting the ball. In order to avoid hitting the rebounding ball and pulling up the parabola directly, Gawain simply swung the racket in a small range and hit a shallow ball to pull up the rotation.
This time, Gao Wen's return ball landed in the shallow area, the center of the serving area, almost equivalent to the position of the small ball. The strong upward spin carried the tennis ball to the ground and bounced, then continued to rise. When it flew to the baseline, it had risen to the top and began to fall again.
Murray's hitting position is very awkward.
Generally speaking, players need to hit the ball on the rising curve of the tennis ball, which is easier. If they choose to hit the ball on the falling curve of the tennis ball, the uncertainty brought by the acceleration of gravity will often bring more uncertainty, and the ball may be hit directly into the air if the force is not applied properly or the racket face is not controlled properly.
This is the situation Murray is facing now.
If Murray is ready to attack with force, the correct choice is to step back to increase the position, increase the space for swinging the racket, and also increase the space for accumulating power.
However, Murray did not——
Cutting.
Cutting again.
Cut for the second time in a row.
Murray still has a solid foundation. He slowed down the tempo by cutting for two consecutive shots, thus breaking Gawain's control over the tempo.
Of course, Gawain can continue to speed up, but this means that Gawain needs to actively exert force, and the consumption of physical strength and energy is a big problem. Continuous force attack is equivalent to a full sprint of 200 to 400 meters.
Like Gawain and Murray, they are not this type of player, especially since they both know that their opponents have outstanding defensive capabilities. The result of continuous forced attacks is that they lose their position and expose their weaknesses, which becomes an opportunity for their opponents to turn the situation around.
The result is predictable.
Gao Wen did not attack forcefully, nor did he continue to control the rhythm. Instead, he stood in the backhand position, hit a strong topspin shot, and aimed at the baseline.
Slash!
It's still a diagonal line! However, this time the landing point is in the deep area, from deep to shallow and then back to deep.
Gao Wen did not exert force, but focused on control. Through the combination of rotation and landing, he pressed the line accurately and used the compression of space to limit Murray.
"Backhand VS Backhand 3.0".
"Backhand VS Backhand 4.0".
"Backhand VS Backhand 5.0".
Back and forth.
Again, back and forth.
Neither player changed the ball's trajectory easily, not because they didn't have opportunities, but because they tried to contain their opponents by returning the ball in repeated routes. No one acted rashly.
At this point, we can see the basic skills of Gawain and Murray at the baseline. Hitting the ball is not a simple hit. The depth of the landing point, the speed of the rotation, the timing of the shot, and the changes in details are hidden in every hit. Although the threat is limited, it requires constant tension.
Any distraction or slackness may lead to deviation in capturing details, resulting in fluctuation in the quality of the return ball.
The principle is not difficult to understand.
When we mechanically repeat the same thing, it often becomes boring. After repeating, repeating, and repeating again, we feel sleepy.
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This is true for studying, working, and tennis.
At this point, the two players keep repeating the backhand confrontation in the diagonal direction without any obvious changes, which may cause their attention to be distracted and their reactions to be slow.
But the opponent's return ball always hides changes in details. If you are not careful, fail to keep the rotation or miss the hitting point, the quality of the return ball will immediately be revealed.
The consequences are predictable.
It was precisely this "boring" batting round that became even more tense and was a severe test for both players.
The O2 Stadium didn't feel anything, just watching the two people seesaw back and forth on the same line, yawning, drowsy, eyelids almost fighting -
No wonder people always say that the matches between Djokovic and Murray are like this, going back and forth endlessly, and lacking in entertainment value.
But what happened to Gawain? The whole audience held their breath involuntarily, not because of nervousness, but because of frustration. Slowly, slowly, their attention began to disperse.
Just thinking about——
Cutting. Straight lines.
Gao Wen, take the lead in making changes.
In a relatively even-speed backhand confrontation, he cut a straight line with his two-handed backhand, calmly changing the confrontation situation and mobilizing Murray.
finally!
In a sleepy state, Gao Wen finally changed the line of his shot, but it was still a cut instead of a whip shot, and the audience at the scene was in a drowsy state and could hardly wake up.
I was confused and looked at the court with a lot of question marks. I saw Gao Wen's sideline with my own eyes, but I still couldn't concentrate.
However! Murray did not lose focus, he was fully focused and reacted quickly, he immediately started to move across the court, timely and fast, he was in place in the blink of an eye.
Attack with your forehand, sweep and hammer, aim at the blind spot in a straight line.
The sound of the ball hitting the ball and the sound of the combined force collided with each other and exploded instantly, waking up the entire O2 arena like a thunder. One by one, they raised their heads sleepily, furtively wiped the saliva from the corners of their mouths, sat upright, as if they were alert the whole time, and exclaimed along with the audience around them.
boom--
A loud thunderclap.
(End of this chapter)