Chapter 343: One Step Ahead
Bang! After hitting the ball backward with great difficulty, Gao Wen immediately took small steps to adjust his body center of gravity, but he did not return to defend in time, but stood at his backhand position to adjust.
This is a fake move.
The match between the two sides has entered the deciding set. In fact, the back-and-forth calculations have basically emptied out all their trump cards. There are no secrets on the technical and tactical level. Gawain knows that Borelli is used to hitting the gaps, and Borelli also knows that Gawain knows that he is used to hitting the gaps, so both of them are calculating against each other.
If Gawain immediately returned to the middle to defend, then Borelli might have changed his hitting line if he had a choice. After all, Gawain's serve just now did not create enough pressure. As for the outward rotation, it had no effect on Borelli and only suppressed his swing time.
In the tie-break of the second set, there was a similar situation. Gawain returned to the middle in advance to prepare for defense. As a result, when Borelli was about to hit a diagonal forehand, he unexpectedly hit a small ball, which completely deceived Gawain's judgment, so that Gawain started half a beat late, and naturally he was unable to catch up.
Then, this point gave Borelli the second set point, and Borelli won the second set and took the lead with a score of "2:0".
At that time, everyone was amazed at how assisted Borelli was. He had indeed performed very well in the first two games today, and his rich experience from many years of tour competitions had completely suppressed Gao Wen.
Especially after Gao Wen's upset victory in the first round, Borelli must have been more vigilant and his attention to the game was completely different. He hardly gave Gao Wen too many chances in the first two sets.
In the first set, he broke Gao Wen's must-win serve at the end of the set and won the game 7:5.
In the second set, he played brilliantly in the tie-break and won 10:8 in the end - Gao Wen also missed a set point, proving once again that the tie-break was a gamble.
Objectively speaking, Gao Wen played well in the first two sets and still played at his best level, and only lost one serve game in total; but at the critical moment, Borelli's sophistication and experience still prevailed, and the final score was reflected in the fact that he was far ahead with two sets in hand.
Borelli's performance was indeed worthy of the two-set victory. His tactical lightness and versatility were not necessarily better than Gawain's, but his grasp of timing was more experienced than Gawain. This was also the first time in Gawain's career that he encountered such an opponent.
He interprets the game as patiently as himself and controls the game by adjusting tactical details.
Although Burelli is not strong, his rich experience does allow Gao Wen to see the different textures of the game in the Grand Slam.
Almost everyone thought that Gawain was not a dark horse and that Borelli might easily win in three sets and set a new personal best at the US Open, but Gawain did not give up easily.
The difficulty of the match was indeed beyond imagination. Even if one was fully prepared, if the opponent performed exceptionally well, the only thing one could do was to be patient. Moreover, judging from the performance in the first two sets, Gawain and Borelli should be evenly matched, except that Borelli was more mature at the critical moment.
Even if you fight with all your might, you may not necessarily win. This is how it is in competitive sports. Sometimes the day belongs to your opponent. But if you give up the fight, you will definitely not win.
Gawain would never give up the fight.
In the third set, the match was still in a stalemate. Gawain also broke Borelli's serve, which was a must-win game at the end of the set. While breaking the serve for the first time in the game, he also won the set with a score of "6:4". The whole game process was very similar to the first set, except that Borelli's failure came a little earlier.
The foreshadowing had already been laid at this time. Borelli reached a physical limit, and his condition and touch began to decline. When he failed to win the third set in one go, he couldn't keep up with the rhythm in the fourth set.
Borelli, who was in a slump, was completely unable to keep up with Gawain's rhythm in the fourth set. Although Gawain also experienced physical exhaustion, the young man's endurance and perseverance were still stronger.
As a result, Gao Wen broke Borelli's serve twice in succession, showing a huge advantage, and won the fourth set with a score of "6:3", successfully equalizing most of the points.
Then, the deciding set came.
Borelli, who served first in the deciding set, had recovered. After holding two consecutive service games, the two sides remained tied. However, in Borelli's third service game, Gawain seized the opportunity of Borelli's consecutive second serves and took the lead. In a blink of an eye, he got two break points with a score of "15:40".
On the break point, Borelli continued his excellent performance today. Not only did his first serve hit the target, but his attacks were also very tightly connected, which immediately put Gawain into a continuous dilemma.
But Gawain would never surrender.
Learning ability is his advantage.
He still remembered the point that gave him set point in the second set, so he did not move without hesitation, but waited for Borelli to make a judgment on the swing before moving.
Although he was delayed for half a beat and used a fake move to get past Borelli, Gawain's center of gravity was already ready, and he kicked his right leg to quickly send his body out.
Dengdengdeng! Dengdengdeng! Gao Wen moved sideways with big strides, very quickly. After he reached the limit of his physical strength, he recovered in the fifth set. From this, we can see the effect of the special training before the US Open. His endurance and explosive power have been improved. The whole movement was as fast as lightning.
but!
The cleverness of Borelli lies in that, in addition to changing the line, he also controlled the landing point very well. He did not aim the return ball towards the blind corner of the baseline, which would not only easily go out of bounds, but also allow Gawain to catch up and attack directly, so Borelli shortened the return ball line.
Landing point: in the midfield area.
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This also forces Gao Wen to not simply move horizontally, but to move diagonally, and both horizontal and vertical movement are necessary.
Tap, tap, tap! Gawain could feel his lungs burning, but he was concentrating very hard, watching Borelli's position and the rotation of the tennis ball.
So how should he return the ball this time? Obviously, Borelli was also "shaking" Gawain, moving slowly towards the middle, but his center of gravity remained active, guarding against Gawain's return ball, and at the same time using lateral movements to confuse Gawain into choosing a return ball.
Everything happened in a flash, and Gao Wen had no way to observe carefully and think slowly, otherwise he might miss the correct hitting point.
Dengdengdeng! Gawain's footsteps had already arrived smoothly. The tennis ball bounced off the ground due to its violent rotation, and then jumped high. Then Gawain raised his hands to hit the ball back, holding it high.
pause.
wave.
Hit the ball.
The whole action was very smooth and decisive. Without any hesitation, he made a direct move and swung the racket in a big loop to hit the tennis ball hard.
Bang! Boom! Gawain ignored Borelli's fake move and took the lead, launching a clean backhand attack.
(End of this chapter)