Chapter 204 Stalemate

"...Looking at the entire first set, I personally think that the only mistake Jilong made was in the fourth game, when he got a break point and then Gao Wen scored two points in a row on his serve."

"Gilon was too careless and allowed Gao Wen to get the points too easily, and he held his serve, which led to the two players' momentum curves staggered."

"One goes up, one goes down."

"Because of this, Jilong's next serve was lost very quickly."

"Then the outcome of the first set was decided."

Sofar's views coincide with Robinson's.

The key is not whether Gao Wen holds his serve or Ji Long breaks his serve, but that on that point, Ji Long hardly formed any resistance and showed a clear decline, which caused a drastic change in the momentum of both sides.

If Jilong launched a resistance and the two players were entangled, the outcome of the serve would be unknown. What was really important was that Jilong held on. Then in the next serve of Jilong himself, the two sides would inevitably have another fight, and the break would not come so soon.

At least it won't be that easy.

"In the rest of the match, both players played very steadily and very well. Although both of them faced some crises in their service games, they performed very confidently and played their best to overcome the difficulties."

"So, the turning point I mentioned was not just a simple error in receiving the serve, but that on that point, Jilong easily let Gao Wen escape without a fight, which was obviously very irrational in this fierce game."

“But I believe that Jilong has also realized this, because the cost of that one point is the entire first set.”

“Going into the second set, Jilong should not make the same mistake again. Now it all depends on how the two players play.”

During the break between sets, Sofar had already analyzed the entire game from a high perspective and pointed out a key point with a professional eye: game.

"It is worth noting that both players have played until the last match for the second consecutive week in Athens, especially Gao Wen, who will face the tough Sacramento in the team final, which will be a severe test of his physical strength and energy consumption."

"Today's match was as intense as a full match in the first set. Both players' stamina should have dropped significantly. So how to allocate stamina and adjust tactics in the second set will be a test of their tennis wisdom."

"Of course, in this regard, Gawain, who won the first set, is already in an unbeatable position, while Jilong has no way out. This is also an important factor that affects the tactical arrangements of both players."

"So, we can foresee now that the competition in the second set may not be as intense as the first set, but the content of the second set should be richer."

In fact, it is true.

Compared to the first set which was full of climaxes and excitement, the second set was a little dull.

Especially on Gawain's side.

It was obvious that Gao Wen strategically shifted his focus and spent more energy on his own serve, making it his primary task to keep his serve. Naturally, his aggression in Jilong's serve was slightly less aggressive, and his mistakes increased significantly.

This is the strategic adjustment after both physical strength and energy show a downward trend.

Of course, many young players will not make such strategic adjustments. Relying on their youth, they will go all out regardless of the consequences and rush to the end. They will either rush to the end blindly and win the game, or they will collapse and lose the victory and leave with a carefree life.

But Gawain and Gillon are both smart men, and they are also the smartest men who are most familiar with their opponents on the other side of the court. They all know that the game of chess should be viewed as a whole, without being concerned about the victory or defeat in one area. Only by looking at the long term can one have the last laugh.

Relatively speaking, the Jilong side is better, but the advantage is very limited.

Having lost the first set, Jilong had no way out. He had to go all out and burn all his energy. If he didn't fight hard, he might not have a chance. Should he save his energy to go home and reward his right hand? In Gao Wen's serve, Jilong's condition improved comprehensively and he got six break points.

However, he always lacked a breath at the critical moment, lacking the winning attack shot, and was always unable to score points. He had clearly pushed Gawain to the edge of the cliff, but was always able to be saved by Gawain, and then missed all six break points and still failed to break the serve.

What’s even more depressing is that Gowon fought too hard in his serve game, which directly led to Jilong being in crisis in his own serve game.

Although Gao Wen clearly lacked sufficient impact, he still got four break points, and most of them were due to Jilong's mistakes.

From here it can be seen that Jilong himself also has some problems with his physical strength.

Fortunately, Giron stood on the edge of the cliff and withstood the pressure. When Gao Wen suddenly accelerated when facing a break point, he still gritted his teeth and fought to the end. Miraculously, he saved all four break points and did not repeat the mistakes of the first set.

As the game went back and forth, it became a stalemate.

It was still intense, but a little different from the first game. Rather than a strong confrontation, it was more of a contest of spirit and will, which made the audience fall into the test of the fierce battle.

"5:5".

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The score remained deadlocked all the way, with no one able to break the serve. The game was still evenly matched, but Jilong, who served first in the second set, had a slight advantage.

Because every time Jilong succeeded in holding his serve, he was able to take the lead in the score, and then pushed Gao Wen into a dilemma where he had to hold his serve or he would lose the second set directly. This kind of pressure was invisibly piled up on Gao Wen's shoulders little by little.

On the other hand, even if Gawain breaks the serve, the second set will not be over, because Gawain still needs to hold his serve to win, which also means that Jilong can still get a chance for redemption through a "Jedi counterattack".

Subtle, but heavy.

Just like the previous game, “5:4”, Jilong was leading, and then it was Gao Wen’s serve.

In this game, Jilong launched a powerful attack and successfully got a break point, which was also the set point of the second set.

However, Gao Wen showed no mercy and easily saved the break point and the set point with a powerful backhand straight line attack. He then stood firm, improved the quality of his serve, continuously suppressed the opponent through his serve, actively won two points in a row, and successfully held his serve.

The game score came to a draw, and the pressure was put on Jilong.

At this point, both Jilong and Gao Wen knew that the second set was coming to an end and the outcome could be decided at any time. This also meant that both of them needed to be in their best condition and could no longer conserve their physical strength and energy, otherwise the second set might be out of their control.

Gao Wen improved his condition in time and challenged Jilong's serve, and sparks flew again.

The situation is tense!

First update.

(End of this chapter)