Chapter 264: Solid Bottom Line
At the beginning, a small incident occurred.
When tossing the coin, Zverev thought he had guessed correctly, so he took the lead in asking for serve, looking a little anxious and impatient.
As a result, the referee corrected Zverev, and it was actually Gawain who guessed correctly.
So, Gao Wen took the serve.
Zverev: …
This was not a big deal, at least not a big deal that would determine the outcome of the game, but the tense atmosphere between the two players made it possible for any small detail to cause sparks to fly. Even the referee could feel a flame emanating from the two players, burning fiercely.
Whether it was Zverev or Gawain, both players hoped to serve first. The tactical intention of taking the initiative was clear, but in the end, Gawain guessed the coin and took the serve.
Zverev glared at Gawain fiercely with burning eyes, as if Gawain had snatched up his crush first. He was furious but suppressed the urge to punch Gawain. As he turned and walked towards his side of the court, a dangerous low pressure emanated from his whole body, and he was ready to show Gawain his power from the start.
In the first point, Gawain served an outside corner and suppressed Zverev's forehand.
But Zverev was tall and strong, and she was in position with one big stride, and used the swinging force of her forearm to bring the tennis ball back. Her excellent touch directly returned the ball diagonally, and brought the tennis ball back to Gao Wen's forehand position, and the landing point was very deep, suppressing Gao Wen's swing space and forcing Gao Wen to be unable to start the attack.
Then, the round ball was formed.
Among the "Big Three", Tsitsipas has the best offensive intelligence and Medvedev has the best defensive touch, so what about Zverev?
To be precise, Zverev is the most balanced, with top-notch performance on both offense and defense, so he is also the first player to break through.
Zverev's outstanding talent can be compared with Kyrgios.
Kyrgios's explosiveness and power are rare, and his body coordination and balance are also top-notch. Although he is tall and heavy, it does not affect his movement speed at all. His inspired shots in chaotic situations are simply out of this world. It is most appropriate to describe him as "art".
Zverev is different. Strength is his weakness, but his movement, hitting, ball sense, etc. are all rare excellent tennis materials. In fact, Zverev's hitting is very rigid, the line selection is conventional, and he is also in a hurry to deal with emergencies. It is a typical German style.
"Craftsman" is the best description.
However, in terms of baseline hitting ability, Zverev should be the top player after Djokovic. Simply put, his offense and defense are very balanced, his reading and wrapping of tennis are very good, coupled with excellent predictive ability, he can be said to be an all-around warrior at the baseline.
In terms of overall style, Zverev is very similar to Djokovic, who overcame an elbow injury in 2018 and then changed his technical style of play after returning from injury.
Professionals have said that if we only discuss the baseline hitting ability, in fact, in 2019 and 2020, Zverev had surpassed the Big Four and ranked among the top of the tour pyramid. He has the ability to defeat any opponent. In terms of talent, he may be slightly inferior to Kyrgios.
So, what are Zverev's shortcomings? Why can't he make a breakthrough?
psychology.
When it comes to the critical moment, when it comes to a crucial juncture, Zverev Jr. dares not hit the ball. He returns the ball very conservatively and safely. There is no attack or risky ball at all. He defends conservatively throughout the whole process. Because he almost never loses the ball, he can often wait for his opponent to make a mistake.
So watching Zverev's games is torturous, long and boring - he doesn't need a long preparation like Murray, it's just pure passive defense.
However, to be honest, with Zverev's ability, it is generally difficult for ordinary opponents to persist for too long. Even if Zverev himself is soft-hearted at the critical moment, he can still defeat most opponents. In other words, not all players can persist until Zverev collapses.
So, how to make Zverev collapse?
On the technical level, Zverev's net technique is very poor and still needs to be polished until 2021; but the most important thing is that Zverev's forehand is very unstable, and the more critical the moment, the more unstable it is - which is somewhat similar to Gao Wen.
It’s not that Zverev’s backhand is better than his forehand. Objectively speaking, his forehand is more aggressive.
However, he often fails at critical moments. The problem with his forehand is that he doesn't dare to exert force or take action, so no matter how powerful his forehand is, he can't bring it into play.
Secondly, the hands are tight, which makes it easy to miss the hitting point, and the return ball is likely to go out of bounds. The more mistakes you make, the less likely you are to exert force, and the less likely you are to exert force, the more mistakes you make, and this forms a vicious cycle.
In other words, if there is a lack of stability, the shortcomings in strength and burst will also be magnified.
On the contrary, because the backhand is held with both hands, the left hand gives enough strength support to the right hand, forming a stable triangle, so the swing action, hitting line, etc. are more stable. Therefore, at critical moments, the backhand is more resistant to blows, can defend and attack, and often save Zverev's games.
Of course, Zverev is only seventeen years old now and is far from mature. His entire technical aspect has shrunk and his stability is even more unsatisfactory. He still needs more competitions to achieve growth and transformation.
Zverev Jr. can indeed be said to be the best candidate to test Gao Wen's current strength.
In the first point, Gao Wen could clearly feel Zverev's solid baseline hitting ability.
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Although Zverev's shot line combinations are not new and can be easily judged; but Gawain's offensive attempts are always unsuccessful; Zverev's top defensive ability does not seem to be at all like a 198 cm tall man. The whole movement is very sensitive and flexible, like the ultimate version of Sacramento.
Backhand straight line, saved.
A small forehand diagonal shot was saved.
The bottom line blind spot was rescued.
Moreover, Gawain's attack did not work. Zverev was also waiting for an opportunity to counterattack. If he was not careful, he might get into trouble. A counterattack could be launched in one shot. Gawain also defended Zverev's two waves of attack. The conversion of offensive and defensive advantages was always flowing, and the rounds of balls were gradually lengthened.
In a blink of an eye, it was already thirty shots.
If I remember correctly, this should be Gawain's longest round so far.
Both players entered an anaerobic state at the first point of the game, showing their determination to win without giving up an inch. The thrilling back and forth made the audience burst into cheers again and again.
Even in the anaerobic state, Gao Wen's brain has not stopped working. How should he arrange his routes to achieve victory?
Second update.
(End of this chapter)