Chapter 246 A vivid lesson
"…Mike's backhand was a little inconsistent today."
"The opponent must have grown up on clay, so he habitually adds spin to his shots, which are very heavy. I think in the first two sets, Mike's backhand didn't keep up with the spin, so he probably lost a lot of change-of-line balls, so he didn't dare to shoot in the final set, and was suppressed."
Conversing quietly, in order not to make any noise, Gawain and Gillon were discussing MacDonald's condition.
Not good. Very bad.
In fact, McDonald's opponents are typical professional players who started out as teenagers. Although they have been in the professional stage for many years, they have always been playing in the youth arena, so they are accustomed to using their physical talents to create confrontations. In other words, they rarely need to use their brains to plan their batting tactics.
Naturally, almost all of the batting line combinations are routines and can be accurately predicted in advance.
But at the same time, he is young and strong, has excellent running ability and top defensive ability. Unless it is some extreme ball, he can arrive at the first time.
It is precisely because of this that McDonald falls into a dilemma. Even if he accurately predicts the opponent's return route, he needs to devote more energy to the offensive phase, but the opponent can always run into the right position, and then force McDonald's offense to take more risks and be prone to mistakes.
This kind of game is not good to watch.
Because the batting lines of both players are predictable, the audience can predict how they will hit the ball, basically it's a square ball, which takes away the fun; at the same time, the speed of both players' batting remains basically the same, there is no change in speed, it's a constant speed throughout, which makes people sleepy just watching it.
As Gillon just said, McDonald's backhand is unstable and lacks a hitting line, which makes him more passive.
The situation is indeed not optimistic.
In Gao Wen's opinion, McDonald still needs to dare to hit the line again with his backhand, even if it is not a drive, and use cutting and bouncing to create a straight line channel, in order to change the situation. Otherwise, with the opponent's hitting method that adds a lot of rotation, the defense will really not lose the ball.
After all, McDonald had won a Challenge Tournament and had more experience than Gawain and Gillon. They all expected McDonald to regain his composure, find a breakthrough, and seize the initiative in the deciding set. Otherwise, if the stalemate continued, McDonald would still be at a disadvantage.
But Gao Wen and Ji Long did not continue the discussion. Instead, they followed the etiquette of the game and focused on watching the game.
really.
Professional players have a keen sense of smell. McDonald's attack still couldn't withstand the pressure. He made two mistakes on his forehand and lost his serve.
Just like Gao Wen's second set, in the ninth game of the deciding set, McDonald suffered a fatal break, his opponent took a "5:4" lead, and then he served to win the game.
The situation is not good.
Gawain became uncontrollably anxious, even more focused and nervous than when he faced match point. He could clearly hear the sound of his heart pounding against his chest. Now he finally understood what that sentence meant:
Many times, the coaches on the sidelines are more nervous than the players on the field. No wonder head coaches in competitive sports often have heart problems. At this moment, even pouring a bucket of ice water on them may not help.
Turning around, he could see Jilong biting his thumb nail, which made Gawain smile slightly. It seemed that they were in the same mood, but Jilong was completely focused on the court and didn't notice Gawain's eyes at all. He almost couldn't breathe.
The game is still going on.
The situation was still tense and the stalemate had not been broken, but McDonald still made some attempts.
Unfortunately, McDonald lacked a little bit of luck after all. Although he got a break point in his opponent's serve and saved two match points, he was ultimately unable to break back. On the third match point, he lost the victory of the game with a forehand into the net.
The final score is “3:6”, “6:4”, “6:4”.
Very sorry.
Both Giron and McDonald had the upper hand, and both players won the first set, which was the most direct proof. However, they both suffered a reversal and lost in the first round. Even the scores of the three sets were exactly the same.
On the contrary, it was Gao Wen who, facing a disadvantageous situation, lost the first set but successfully turned the tide and won the victory.
Sure enough, professional competitions are different after all.
Looking at McDonald who ran dejectedly to the center of the court to shake hands, Gawain and Jilong both stood up and applauded the two players who had contributed to the wonderful duel. Then Gawain pursed his lips slightly and shook his head slightly to complain about himself.
Just now, he was ambitiously thinking that his next step would be to challenge the Big Four, but now it seems that he immediately realized that he was overestimating his own abilities and had unrealistic ambitions. He should not get carried away just because he defeated a player ranked 285th. The Big Four is still too far away for him.
From Kokkinakis's toughness to Giron and McDonald's overturned advantages, the first event of a professional career brought a vivid lesson: keep your feet on the ground, take one step at a time, and wait until your strength reaches the corresponding level, then everything will follow, there will be challenges, victories, and championships; but if you are arrogant and aim too high, there are countless "Zhongyong" geniuses in competitive sports, and there are even more professional players who are not geniuses and are fleeting.
He needs to stay calm.
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Although the Big Four are too far away, there is a "little giant" in the Binghamton Challenge, at least a "little giant" in the future -
Zverev Jr.
Although Zverev is still far from mature, for Gawain at this stage, this should be another extreme challenge, which is far more powerful than Kokkinakis.
Moreover, Gawain is in the lower half of the draw, while Zverev is in the upper half. If they want to meet, they will have to wait until the final.
finals!
Thinking of this, Gawain couldn't help but get excited again, rubbing his hands and eager to give it a try. Whether it was the qualification to advance to the final or the opportunity to play against Zverev, Gawain couldn't wait to step onto the court and win.
Let the storm come even harder! "Marcos, Gawain."
The game was over and they saw a tired McDonald in the players' locker room.
In terms of the difficulty of the game, McDonald should have been the most tired today, from the game time to the intensity of the match. Coupled with the regrettable loss, it is inevitable that there is some disappointment between his brows, and even his shoulders drooped.
Seeing this, Gao Wen walked up, patted MacDonald on the shoulder, and simply said, "Come again next time."
The simplest words made MacDonald's nose sore and his voice choked up a little. "We could have won today. I'm not willing to give up."
(End of this chapter)