Chapter 427: Fighting speed with speed

Whew.

huff.

Gawain's thigh muscles were burning, and his chest was rising and falling like a bellows. This match was doubly demanding, both physically and mentally. In addition, his mind was working at high speed, because of Kei Nishikori's defensive ability and his excellent touch, so he had to stay absolutely focused on every point.

The consumption of energy is also a severe test of physical strength.

But Gawain knew that this match was fair to both sides. He was tired, and Kei Nishikori was not much better. The difference was that Kei Nishikori paralyzed his opponent by presenting himself in an overtly exaggerated and dramatic way, while Gawain hid himself and deceived his opponent in a restrained, focused and dedicated way.

In fact, this is still a strategy.

Both players know that the margin for error drops dramatically after entering the tie-break, and any accident or luck may lead to different results, so the more critical the moment, the more important the details.

Kei Nishikori showed weakness to his enemy, which was actually to induce Gawain's desire to win quickly. After all, young players are often more anxious when facing match points, and after experiencing such a difficult game, they hope to win in one go and avoid complications. Naturally, they may be impatient and eager when making a move.

Then, Kei Nishikori can use this mentality to make a fuss -

After all, his serve was next.

In turn, Gawain was telling Kei Nishikori that he was not facing any physical problems and that he was ready to continue fighting regardless of match point or not.

From technology to psychology, the competition between the two players is still full of sparks.

But what Kei Nishikori didn't know was that Gawain knew that the player in front of him was in great shape and had the ability to beat Djokovic. He had no room to take it lightly and had no time to rush. Just look at their entanglement in the last game of each set this afternoon. Even if they got set point, break point or match point, it didn't mean anything. Both sides still had the energy to continue fighting.

So, impatience?

It was absolutely impossible for Gawain. Although his blood was boiling, his brain remained absolutely calm.

The Arthur Ashe Stadium fell completely silent. Gu Xiao could not even hear his own heartbeat. He crossed his hands tightly together and concentrated all his strength on them. His fingers were deformed because he was using so much force. He was afraid that the slightest movement might ruin the trend of this point.

"Gawain, calm down, calm down, start from receiving the serve, calm down..."

Gu Xiao kept repeating this over and over in his mind, calling on the gods and Buddhas for protection, and in a trance he had forgotten to breathe.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

Kei Nishikori was bouncing the ball. He took a deep breath, controlled his emotions, and then threw the ball.

Flying, spinning, falling.

Gawain's eyes were completely fixed on the tennis ball, catching that mustard yellow in the blazing clouds of fire. His muscles responded reflexively, and he stepped out before his brain could start to work.

In the second zone, get close to the inside corner and press forehand.

It appeared! On the match point, Kei Nishikori sneaked in with a close-range forehand serve, which is also one of Kei Nishikori's best offensive routines. Because the receiver often finds it difficult to complete a full swing, he follows the inertia of the body moving horizontally to the right and hits a forehand in a reverse diagonal line to suppress Kei Nishikori's backhand. This is a regular line.

Kei Nishikori's two-handed backhand can use the force of the opponent to hit the ball diagonally, turn it into a straight line, or even drop the ball, with many variations.

So, how does Gawain respond?

Step forward! As a general rule, when facing a close serve, it is very important to control the movement of your feet. It is often easy to lose the correct position in the inertia of the footsteps, so that your swing action is squeezed.

But Gawain's advance movement was very firm, without any hesitation at all.

One small step! Upward!

It can be seen that the tall and strong Gao Wen only took one step, and he did not move sideways, but took a step in the direction of 45 degrees diagonally. He did not worry about the dilemma of his swing being squeezed, and took the initiative to move forward to grab the speed -

Grab the first serve! From the reflexes to the starting speed and the stepping off, it can be seen that Gao Wen had already made up his mind to grab the serve before Kei Nishikori served.

Even though this was Gawain's match point, he did not play it safe. Not only that, he was also certain that Kei Nishikori's weakest serve might fail at the critical moment.

Ding, the speedometer in the corner of the court immediately showed a speed of 113 miles (182 kilometers) per hour.

The bet was right! On the match point, Kei Nishikori did make some changes to his first serve, trying to suppress Kohler with a close serve. However, in order to ensure the success rate of his first serve, Kei Nishikori significantly reduced the speed, and even the first serve was below the average speed. Moreover, he was worried that Kohler would rush to receive the serve, so he did not dare to reduce the speed too much.

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As a result, Kei Nishikori's serve slipped to the NCAA level, a serve that was neither too fast nor too slow.

Push off the ground! Forward! Gawain took a step forward, holding the racket very steadily with his forehand, staring at the ball with a burning gaze, as if his laser eyes could set the tennis ball on fire.

Then his feet had already entered the baseline, and he took the initiative to meet the opponent very boldly and adventurously. In the absence of sufficient space to swing the racket, he simply gave up swinging the racket, supported his elbows on his waist, and in a very awkward posture, he used the force of twisting his waist to push his arms forward, and finally completed the quick swing with his forearm.

Bang! The racket has already completed the impact-type hit, and at the moment of the shot, the wrist force is gently flicked outward, and the soft wrapping and pushing have pushed the tennis ball out in the manner of a whip.

Whoosh! The tennis ball flew out like this—

Backslash! The route and landing point were exactly what Kei Nishikori had expected, but Gawain’s step forward successfully caught the rising point of the tennis ball, so the entire flight speed and trajectory were different.

Got it! Gao Wen successfully got a serve, the most critical and important tactical attack, and then Kei Nishikori, who had already made a complete plan, fell into a passive position.

Although his feet were already in place, Kei Nishikori's space for swinging the racket had already been "squeezed out" by Gawain's quick shot, and he no longer had time to swing the racket. However, Kei Nishikori still did not retreat and lose his position. He stood steadily about a palm's length behind the baseline and prepared for a backhand shot with both hands.

Not only did he not avoid it, but he also took the initiative to face it and fight speed with speed!

Kei Nishikori's most iconic rising point shot also appeared on the match point. With no space to swing the racket, he used a backhand to push back all of Gawain's power attached to the tennis ball. He then used his forearm to quickly swing out a diagonal line and rushed back towards Gawain's backhand.

Whoosh! The tennis ball flew back as fast as lightning, and the depth of the landing point once again suppressed Gao Wen, and once again, his incredible hitting feel was unleashed! (End of this chapter)