Chapter 273: Towards Victory
How should you play when you are leading? Or to be more precise, how should you play when facing a strong counterattack from your opponent? To be more precise, how should you play when facing a player like Zverev who tries to launch a counterattack?
Gao Wen’s answer is to change the rhythm.
The seventeen-year-old Zverev is still too immature after all, and is far from reaching the top ten in the world in the future. He seems to have few options when he is behind.
In the first serve, Gao Wen suddenly reduced the power of the serve, and the speed was only 163 kilometers per hour.
Zverev made an accurate judgment and swung his racket with his forehand in a big stride, preparing to exert full force. However, the power of the incoming ball was obviously lower than expected. Under the situation of blindly exerting force, the hitting action was deformed, and the return ball had no parabola at all, and flew straight out of the baseline.
Out of bounds.
“15:0”.
In the first serve, Gao Wen suddenly increased the speed and served the ball at a speed of 188 kilometers per hour to the middle.
Zverev was clearly unprepared, and his side steps were a little slow, causing the tennis ball to hit the racket frame and fly wildly towards the audience stands.
"30:0".
In the first serve, Gao Wen reduced the force again, looking for a light and thin big outside corner.
Zverev was pulled out of the court and made a difficult flying hook shot, finally completing a qualified return; but he didn't have many options for the return route and could only go diagonally, but Gawain was already waiting there.
A light forehand straight line shot, without any pursuit of power and speed, once again hit the empty space through the control of the landing point, and effortlessly created the winning point.
"40:0".
In the first serve, Gao Wen delivered a high-quality flat serve at a speed of 185 kilometers per hour, and made an extreme inside corner serve, landing at the T point position.
ACE.
Zverev was unable to touch the tennis ball.
"Love-game", Gao Wen won his serve game neatly, cashed in the break advantage, and took a "2:0" lead in the second set.
What's going on?
Is Zverev really that bad? Is Gawain really that strong?
Of course not.
The most important part is tennis wisdom. If a game is likened to a war, then Gao Wen cleverly used Sun Tzu's Art of War to change the situation of the battle. He exerted force when he should, changed when he should, was tough when he should, and accelerated when he should. Zverev could not keep up.
In terms of hitting strength, Zverev is definitely stronger than Gawain, but just look at Gawain's serve just now.
Zverev still couldn't get rid of his own mental rut and just wanted to exert force, but Gawain won by cleverness and his changes were always ahead.
More importantly, Zverev's attention was a little distracted. He just kept trying to exert force, force, and more force, trying to suppress Gao Wen through strength.
But once you fall into this pattern, the batting action tends to become stiff. Not only is it easy to miss the hitting point, but even if you find the hitting point accurately, the tennis ball is not well wrapped, and it is very, very easy to lose control of the parabolic flight trajectory.
So, with two direct points from serves, a forehand winner and an ace, Gao Wen easily won his serve in the blink of an eye.
Zverev turned around and looked at his player box, cursing angrily.
The whole audience booed——
No one watching tennis likes a player who loses his temper on the court. It is not only impolite but also disrespectful.
These boos once again irritated Zverev, making him furious, forming a vicious cycle.
Look at the young Zverev in front of him. He not only needs to compete with Gawain, but also with the entire audience. It is difficult for him to concentrate. He may be distracted by the slightest disturbance, and then he will complain to everyone and the audience, as if the whole world is against him.
"40:40", after three deuces, Gao Wen broke again.
"40:0", and then Gao Wen held his serve again.
"30:40", then Gao Wen broke for the third time.
In a blink of an eye, the trend of the second set showed signs of collapse. Gao Wen was already far ahead with a score of "5:0" and served to win the match.
Unexpected!
Totally unexpected!
Even though the audience had imagined that Gawain might defeat Zverev and win unexpectedly, no one could have expected that the score would be so disparate. From the process to the result, it was a one-sided situation. Zverev seemed unable to form a confrontation, which was truly surprising.
Are you sure you got the right script? Although Zverev occasionally played some amazing shots and won applause from the audience, he couldn't connect them and gave away match point.
"40:30".
With Zverev's return going out of bounds again, Gao Wen faced his first match point of the day in his own serve game.
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“Roar, roar, roar!”
“Ahhhh!”
In the stands, both MacDonald and Gillon stood up. They sat in Gawain's player box with Tobias to watch the game. They all waved their fists to cheer for Gawain. Amid the cheers of the audience, they stood firmly on Gawain's side.
The audience was not satisfied. For the first time in more than a decade, the seats were packed. They were expecting a head-to-head match, but this was it? They all started cheering for Zverev, hoping that the top seed would rise strongly and the match would continue, so that the ticket price would not be wasted.
But McDonald and Jilong were different. They shouted at the top of their lungs, hoping that Gao Wen could win the victory in one go.
The whole audience was boiling.
Because the noise at the scene was so loud that Gao Wen failed to serve twice, the referee had to repeatedly ask the audience to be quiet.
"The players are ready. Thank you!"
It was not until the third time that the scene finally quieted down, but Gao Wen's serving rhythm was obviously disrupted, his first serve went into the net, and he had to face the second serve situation.
In fact, by the end of the second set, Zverev had gradually calmed down and regained his attention, because he realized that he was standing on the edge of a cliff, and if he didn't give it a try, he might have no chance, so the quality of his shots also improved significantly, and coupled with his concentration, the whole confrontation was able to stalemate again.
Just look at the score, “40:30”, Gao Wen faced a severe test in his serve to win the game.
The closer we get to the end of the game, the more dangerous it becomes.
Gao Wen also realized the crisis.
On the one hand, Zverev is back in form, and on the other hand, his attention is distracted.
No matter what, this was Gao Wen's first professional tour final. Once he won, that is, his first championship, just being close to victory, his mentality would inevitably ripple slightly. This little fluctuation was also reflected in the feel of his batting, and the quality naturally declined.
The image of Kokkinakis appeared in Gawain's mind.
In the first round, Kokkinakis had the match point, but the result fluctuated, giving Gao Wen a chance to reverse the situation; and now, he is also giving Zverev a chance.
Third update.
(End of this chapter)