Chapter 371: Big Opening and Big Closing
In this match, Kyrgios had an overall advantage at the beginning of the first set, Gawain made a strong counterattack at the end of the second set, and the strong confrontation in the third set lasted throughout, but in the fourth set, it was a completely new look.
Putting aside the fluctuations caused by the intense consumption of physical strength and energy, the influence of the score, situation and psychological state is everywhere. Naturally, the competitive state will also undergo unknown changes. How the two sides can control themselves and adjust their state in the ever-changing situation is undoubtedly the key to victory.
In the first game of the fourth set, when Gawain was serving, we could clearly feel Kyrgios’ tactical change:
Violence, brute force, and pressure piled up like a tidal wave, rushing towards Gawain in an unreasonable manner.
What does it mean? Just like in the opening stage of the first set, Kyrgios took the lead, exerted force with every racket, and used absolute strength to suppress the opponent. The essence of violent tennis was fully demonstrated. He forced the shot even when there was no opportunity, and attacked directly even when facing the first serve, bombarding the opponent with forehands like a torrential rain without mercy.
"0:40".
Kyrgios got three break points in a row as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. In an instant, he seemed to have returned to the state at the beginning of the game.
But at this moment it is not the first set, but the fourth set.
Gao Wen admitted that he was caught off guard at the beginning of the fourth set and was a little distracted. This was mainly because his nerves were too tense in the final stage of the third set, so his concentration slipped during the break between sets. He needed to give his brain some time to breathe.
It was originally thought that Kyrgios might collapse in the fourth set, but unexpectedly, not only did Kyrgios not collapse, but he also regrouped, and with the mismatch between going in and out, he lost three points in the blink of an eye, putting Gawain in an extremely passive position.
Gao Wen immediately realized that stereotypes are deadly and that his understanding of Kyrgios was not comprehensive enough and he was careless.
However, Gawain cheered up immediately.
The biggest difference between the fourth game and the first game is not the decline in physical strength, but the fact that Gao Wen’s tactical routine has been fully opened and his strongest weapon has been fully fired.
So, how did Gawain save three consecutive break points? By suppressing Kyrgios' backhand? Yes and no. If he simply suppressed the backhand, the tactic would be too monotonous. If Kyrgios sneakily hit a straight line, the whole situation might be overturned. Instead, he should have attacked the backhand by suppressing the forehand.
This was Djokovic's classic tactic to suppress Nadal, because few people dared to confront Nadal's forehand at that time, and they often suppressed Nadal's backhand. However, Djokovic took Nadal by surprise and found another way to suppress him. He successfully suppressed Nadal and won seven consecutive victories against Nadal in 2011.
Until ten years later, no one could achieve such a record against Nadal, including Djokovic himself.
Gawain used this tactic in his first-round match against Isner and is now prepared to do the same against Kyrgios.
However, the danger of Kyrgios lies in the fact that he is unpredictable. His forehand has super power, and it is completely unpredictable when it will explode. Moreover, Gawain's forehand's ability to withstand blows is not as strong as Djokovic's, so a head-on confrontation is not feasible, and his breakthrough requires more tricks.
Just look at Murray vs. Kyrgios.
Backspin, topspin, sidespin, baseline, middle, shallow ball, from the landing point to the line to the power and rotation, every shot is hit with purpose, and the changes always suppress Kyrgios.
In the second set, Gao Wen had tried it many times and now he was more comfortable with it.
After serving, combine it with dropping the ball.
Reduce the force of the serve and attack from the rising point.
Close-range pressure serve combined with continuous backspin cuts.
Sneak attack on the outside corner serve.
Suppress the backhand serve and then match it with the midfield attack that enters the court.
The tactics are all different every time, and the first set of tactics is often aimed at Kyrgios' forehand, disrupting the frequency of Kyrgios's forced attacks, and then subsequent attacks will attack Kyrgios' backhand.
"Competition, high!"
From trailing at "0:40" to winning five points in a row to hold serve, this also set the tone for the fourth set.
From the very first game, Kyrgios was exerting force, brute force, as if... as if there was an active volcano in his chest that was erupting continuously. He exerted force even when he shouldn't have, even when he had no chance. There was endless force in his body that wanted to be released.
Like the Hulk.
But the difference between the fourth set and the first set was that, firstly, Kyrgios chose the wrong timing to exert force, and the whole attack lost its fluidity and turned into a reckless rush.
Second, Kyrgios' own physical strength has also declined, and coupled with his lazy steps, his control over the hitting point has also declined. His mistakes have begun to increase significantly, and the hit rate of violent attacks has dropped significantly.
As a result, the fourth set became full of ups and downs.
Facing the continuously angry Kyrgios, Gawain became more and more comfortable and calm - because the threat of such a Kyrgios was reduced. Basically, there is no difference in essence between him and the more talented Domyan, Thompson or Kerbert.
Of course, Kyrgios' excellence is unquestionable. At least he is not as easy to control as Kerbert. His excellent serve is still the best cover, which makes it very difficult to break Kyrgios' serve.
So the score remained deadlocked all the way.
The whole process was somewhat similar to the third set, but the difference was that there was no break this time. The two players held their serve all the way and then came to the tie-break again.
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Another tiebreaker.
From the first round against Isner to the third round against Kyrgios, Gawain has experienced many tiebreaks this year, but he has remained undefeated in four tiebreaks so far. So... what about the fifth? This time, Gawain served first.
Throw the ball! Push off the ground! Bend your knees! Turn your body! Swing the racket!
Bang.
Inside corner, ACE!
"pretty!"
"Gawain sneaked an inside corner serve and Kyrgios was a little slow and couldn't touch the ball with his backhand."
"This was Gao Wen's fifth ace of the whole match, which came at the beginning of the fourth set tie-break. It can be seen that Gao Wen is improving his condition."
"'1:0'."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhan Jun couldn't help swallowing his saliva, and his fingertips slightly curled up, and then he could feel the wetness in his palms.
Tie-break, if...if Gawain wins the tie-break...
Just imagining it made my heart tremble uncontrollably, but I had to take deep breaths to convince myself to calm down.
Unlike Zhan Jun and Hu Litao, Sofar, who had witnessed Gao Wen's growth, knew that the familiar Gao Wen had appeared.
He grasped the pulse of the game at the critical moment and improved his condition to break the deadlock, firmly holding the initiative of victory in his own hands. However, it is unknown whether Gao Wen can still perform perfectly in the Grand Slam?
(End of this chapter)