Chapter 323 Muscle Control
Although the balance in his heart was tilting wildly towards Gao Wen, Hu Litao still had to maintain an objective and professional stance and provide explanations for the audience.
Isner is still playing strong balls, and serving is still the core of the entire tactical system.
So, what about Gawain?
"Gawain was always thinking of a solution. It was obvious that he had a good mindset: I am here to challenge you. It doesn't matter if I fail. I must be brave enough to take action."
"It is precisely because of this that Gao Wen missed some opportunities. Some of his choices were too risky and his judgment is questionable. But I think Gao Wen's idea is correct and he should implement it."
"Facing a player like Isner who has a clear serve advantage, if you don't dare to take risks or try, then in the tie-break, the pressure will rise along with the score. But now, it still depends on the on-the-spot performance and whether Gao Wen can really fight his way out."
Hu Litao's views were agreed by Zhan Jun, who nodded repeatedly.
"Now it depends on who can put enough pressure on the opponent, Gawain's risky attack or Isner's defensive advantage, and who will make the first mistake."
In the tie-break, the score reached "6:6", which meant that there would be a count after every point, either Gawain's count or Isner's count. It was like a high-altitude rope, with the danger of falling into the abyss at any time. No matter what, one player had to face the count, and the pressure was indescribable.
In the previous point, Gao Wen saved a set point with an excellent serve and attack, and grew under the tempering of pressure.
After changing venues, the two players stood at the baseline again.
In this point, Isner launched a powerful attack and was very aggressive from the very first shot of receiving the serve.
It can be seen that Isner was also trying to break the deadlock and take the tie-break into his own hands, but as Hu Litao said, entering the third set, his forehand was still obviously soft under the continuous and powerful attacks, and the offensive power was slightly insufficient. Three consecutive attacks were all blocked by Gao Wen with beautiful defense.
Moreover, the quality of the defensive return was very high, which put more pressure on Isner's offense.
Then, in the fourth shot, the attacking opportunity was not good, but Isner still forced his strength, and the return ball went directly into the net.
"oh!"
The audience held their heads and exclaimed.
Zhan Jun clenched his fist and cheered.
"pretty!"
"Gawain's defense was really beautiful. His tenacious running and high-quality return made Isner very uncomfortable. His swing in the last shot was obviously squeezed. He forced an attack but got hit by a backspin ball, and his return ball went into the net."
"After Gao Wen saved his two serve points, Gao Wen now got the first set point of the third set."
"Isner's serve is next."
The entire Arthur Ashe Stadium was in complete silence, because the third set was so intense and tense that it made people feel a little hypoxic. But the match was so exciting and great to watch that one could not take their eyes away. They just stared at the court with their eyes fixed, and their hearts almost exploded.
Isner is picking the ball.
It can be seen that Isner consciously controlled the pace of the game.
On the one hand, the four consecutive attacks were very exhausting; on the other hand, the stalemate in the tie-break was never broken, which meant that he had to think more carefully about every serve point.
This is also experience. Use the time of picking up the ball to adjust your breathing and organize your thoughts.
And what about Gawain?
He had already been standing on the other side of the court, ready, quietly watching Isner, as if he had no thoughts, but in fact he was thinking:
This is the second zone, how will Isner serve?
Isner's serve is not only fast and powerful, but also varied. In addition to the rotation changes at critical moments, the combination of landing points is also very rich.
In zone two, Gao Wen’s forehand is at the inside corner and his backhand is at the outside corner. In the three sets so far, Isner has served at different points, but what about the crucial moment?
Gawain's brain was working at high speed, and Isner's adjustment time was also his thinking time, so he was not in a hurry at all.
Isner turned and prepared to serve.
Gao Wen noticed that Isner observed his position. Was he... preparing to serve a backhand?
Although Gao Wen's two-handed backhand is stable enough, it is still difficult to make changes in the face of Isner's powerful serve, because the ball is really too heavy. He is lucky as long as he can receive the serve. Moreover, suppressing the backhand in the outer corner of the second zone is a classic routine that all players know. Use the serve to pull the receiving party out of the sideline, and the entire court is empty, and you can do whatever you want with the next shot.
Wait, or is it a close serve?
Generally speaking, players who like baseline rounds tend to combine them with close balls, such as Nadal, Djokovic, etc.; but players who like to be crisp and straightforward prefer serves with angles, and Isner obviously belongs to the latter.
Of course there are close shots in his games, but the proportion is not high.
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In a flash, thoughts rushed into my mind.
Snap. Snap.
Isner was dribbling the ball, and Gawain bent his knees, swayed, and watched Isner's serve through the creamy sunlight—
Outside corner!
Step! Gawain made a prediction and started moving ahead. The more critical the moment, the more courage is needed. Even if the judgment is wrong, at most the two sides will be even.
Step! Gao Wen took a big step, but immediately realized that his inventory was wrong:
Close-range backhand! Isner rarely chooses to serve close-range, flat and fast, pushing Gao Wen into a narrow trap in an instant.
Oops!
As you are moving forward, the tennis ball is already flying towards you and is about to hit your body. This is commonly known as "overrunning".
What to do? In an instant, he braked suddenly and leaned back. His flexible waist made him look like a tumbler dodging backwards, just like the male protagonist in "The Matrix" who leaned back to avoid bullets. At this time, he had no room to swing his racket, so he could only stand the racket upright to block it.
Bang! The tennis ball hit the racket like that, without any swinging action or wrist control. It was the simplest and most basic move, which even a child who had just started to learn tennis could do. It looked simple, but in fact, Gao Wen's waist, abdomen, arms and thighs were all tense to the extreme.
One hit and one bounce.
The entire powerful force hit him head-on and was about to "destroy" the racket, but Gao Wen successfully controlled the racket and the racket face.
Holding your breath for an instant, the brain's control over the body reaches its limit.
Bang! The tennis ball bounced back directly as if it had hit a wall. It was basically straight forward, with no control at all. But at least the control of the racket face ensured the flight trajectory of the return ball. It did not leave the court, but was still controlled within the two sidelines.
Whoosh! (End of this chapter)