——Double error.
One could clearly hear the sound of people gasping for air at the O2 Arena. This was obviously not what they wanted to see. For the fans, they just wanted the game to be more exciting and better looking, and a deciding set would be even better. However, they did not expect that the first point in the serve-to-win game would be a double fault.
Without words, one can feel the slightly tense atmosphere.
There is no doubt that Djokovic also knows the importance of serving to win the set, especially the quality of his serve, and he must maintain the threat of his serve.
However, the problem still lies in physical fitness.
First of all, this is the end of the second set.
Secondly, after an intense first set, they forced themselves to improve their condition in the second set.
Again, the mental pressure also increased as the game progressed.
Djokovic could feel the constant pressure and impact from Gawain in the past four games. He had to be in better shape to suppress his opponent. That was why he gave up Gawain's serve in the last game. However, the pressure still existed objectively and consumption was still unavoidable.
Of course, the physical peak has not yet appeared.
In a best-of-five match, Djokovic's physical peak is usually in the third set, which is basically the case for all the giants; while in a best-of-three match, he will take a short breath at the beginning of the second set, which is not the peak but just an adjustment. But Djokovic forced himself to improve his physical condition, and his physical peak may come a little earlier.
Under the combined influence of different levels——
then.
Double faults occur.
Djokovic was not surprised, but he kept a poker face and did not reveal any emotion, at least not to be seen by Gawain. He needed to hold on through this serve, and he believed he could.
Djokovic experiencedly used the opportunity to wipe the sweat off his face and adjust his breathing, and then he was ready.
"0:15".
Djokovic still did not relax, and kept full tension from serving to attacking, but he did not expect that Gawain, in the passive situation where his forehand was suppressed, pulled a topspin on his forehand, picked up the parabola, and pushed the tennis ball in a straight line to Djokovic's backhand half.
Not in the deep area of the baseline, but in the half court, it was raised high after landing.
Djokovic arrived at the scene early and did not cut into the baseline. He still stood half a step behind the baseline and started to hit a backhand with both hands.
However--
Lower the net.
Djokovic's swing took half a beat too long and he forced force at the high point, so the hitting point was a little early and the downward movement was a little early, causing the tennis racket to go directly into the net.
A mistake, a very, very simple mistake.
Huh.
The whole audience exclaimed.
No one dared to believe that Djokovic would make such a simple mistake. Was it because Djokovic was too aggressive in his attack? No, the answer was exactly the opposite.
In fact, Djokovic did not have enough power to push off the ground, and the power was not fully exerted at the moment of swinging the racket, which caused the return ball to go directly into the net.
Things happened just as Gao Wen expected.
A well-timed lob can not only consume Djokovic's energy and disrupt his offense, but also serve as a touchstone for Djokovic's condition. Then Gawain knows that his chance has come.
Although serving to win the set was not the best opportunity, the most appropriate time would be two games ago; but it is better late than never, and Gao Wen's efforts finally paid off.
Gawain was ready.
Djokovic also realized the crisis.
They have met too many times this year, and no one knows Gawain's progress and growth better than Djokovic. He believes Gawain has seen the clues, but he cannot show it and must remain calm.
Djokovic didn't wipe his sweat this time.
This is intentional.
He was not prepared to expose his weaknesses, but instead prepared to seize Gawain's mentality and launch a counterattack. As a giant, he also had his own means of dealing with crises.
"0:30"? No problem, he knew what to do.
——The serve went straight to the T-point in the inner corner of the first zone. The deceleration and force reduction were so precise that it was as if he had walked over and placed the tennis ball on the T-point with both hands. Gao Wen tried his best to touch the ball but failed to complete the swing and hit it directly away.
"15:30".
- Serve and volley, contain the ball in the inner corner of the second zone and combine it with a forward forehand diagonal volley and smash, pressing to the right sideline of Gao Wen. Although Gao Wen ran with all his strength to save the ball, he had lost his position, and it was enough for Djokovic to push it back to the court.
"30:30".
Back and forth, before he even had time to blink, Djokovic had taken control of the situation.
In these two points, serving played an important role. In fact, it was the same as the double fault in the first point. Djokovic knew that he needed to maintain the power of his serve in order to connect with the subsequent attack, so he took the risk of serving the second point. It was just that the first point was slightly deviated, which led to the double fault.
Now, Djokovic is back in control.
So, what about Gawain?
He raised his eyebrows slightly. If the opponent had an excellent serve, then he really had no choice. He couldn't even receive the serve, let alone what happened afterwards. Any high ball would be useless.
But Gawain was not discouraged.
Go ahead, next point.
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really--
One serve, out of bounds.
This time when he came to the first zone, Djokovic tried to sneak an attack from the outside corner. The last time he hit the T-spot in the first zone, Djokovic obviously wanted to spread out the landing points of his serve to avoid being accustomed to by Gao Wen.
Unfortunately, it’s out of bounds.
Second serve.
See, this is Gawain's chance.
So, is it the outside corner or the inside corner this time? Gao Wen is highly focused, holding the racket with both hands to keep the center of gravity light, staring at his opponent intently, and carefully observing the serve.
With a light jump, the center of gravity broke free from the constraints of gravity, and the whole person was as light as a feather. Then, he tiptoed and his body flew to the right.
Outside corner.
The outside corner again.
and--
audacious in the extreme.
Djokovic made a second serve, which was exactly the same as the double fault on the first point. His second serve was not conservative but just as aggressive, but this time he made it.
The second serve had a strong spin, landed in the small triangle of the serving area and then shot out.
Nice big outside corner with lots of side spin.
Gawain's reaction was very quick, and he rushed out immediately. However, just as his body started moving, he saw a figure approaching quickly from the corner of his eye.
...surf the Internet? Gao Wen began to doubt his own judgment.
It was very surprising that Djokovic chose to serve and volley. Among the Big Four, he took the least risk to serve and volley. And now it is 2015, and the number of times is even less than later.
As a result, Djokovic chose to serve at the volleyball court, which was not only risky but also crazy.
But it was precisely because of the adventurous madness that the situation was easily overturned.
If you think about it carefully, it is not surprising. This is in line with Djokovic's consistently strong strategy in the second set, and also in line with Djokovic's strategy of shortening the rounds due to declining physical strength. It is even somewhat similar to Gawain's strategy of serving to win the set in the first set, breaking the balance unexpectedly.
tread.
Gawain was moving sideways, just one step.
Tap tap tap.
Djokovic moved vertically, taking long strides to approach the net.
Everything happened in a flash. Gawain had no time to be surprised or stunned. His forehand had already been fully extended.