Chapter 447: A Newborn Calf
On the third game point and count, Gao Wen did not show any special performance. All his attention was focused on the next point because he knew the fierce battle would continue.
How should I choose to serve?
Gao Wen glanced at Djokovic's position and could clearly see that Djokovic's position was slightly forward half a step than usual.
What does this mean?
If facing a cannon serve like Isner, because of the amazing speed of the ball, players often need more time to judge. Even a top serve receiver like Djokovic needs to create space to give himself enough reaction time.
Then, Djokovic's serve receiving position will be one to one and a half steps behind the baseline.
Today, facing Gawain's serve, Djokovic's receiving position has actually been adjusting. On the one hand, it is because Gawain's serve is not really a cannon, and on the other hand, it is because this is the first time the two sides have met, and Djokovic is trying to find out the bottom line while also distracting Gawain's attention.
In the previous point, Gao Wen made his first ace of the game, seizing the small gap when Djokovic was standing too far forward, and unexpectedly chose the outside corner.
What about this time?
Djokovic did not waver in his tactics because of the ace in the previous point. He still exerted pressure through his positioning, and his positioning was slightly biased towards the backhand.
Is this a trap? In a flash, many thoughts surged in Gawain's mind.
Then he made his judgment and choice.
Throw the ball! Push off the ground! Turn! Swing! Bang.
Close range and forehand pressure.
Gao Wen deliberately did not try to change the angle, but broke the convention and chose to serve from close range. However, at the critical moment, Gao Wen's requirements were a bit too high, and the hitting point was slightly forward, so the angle and landing point control were not accurate enough.
The close-range suppression was not complete, but instead was slightly closer to the center line of the serving area.
This also means that Djokovic only needs to cross sideways a little to find the hitting point, and the tactical intention of close pressure is destroyed.
really!
Just as Gao Wen's alarm was sounded, Djokovic took a step forward and was already in position. There was not much swing in his forehand, but he just swung his forearm quickly, hit the ball with a skateboard, and then pushed the tennis ball back.
whoosh.
Djokovic's shot was a light one, but the control was terrifying. Although the power was slightly inferior, the speed and angle completely suppressed it.
The return ball landed within the large triangle area at the baseline and shot out low and flat.
Gawain immediately fell into an awkward situation, even though he sounded the alarm at the first moment and started moving on the spot. He was standing in the backhand position, and it only took him two or three steps to reach the big triangle on the left baseline from the serving position. However, Djokovic's return ball was very deep and the angle was already torn, and it was still going outwards after landing.
passive!
Gao Wen had no space to swing his racket for a two-handed backhand, so he just used the rotation movement to hit the ball back.
Gawain tried to push the tennis ball back to Djokovic's backhand, but the return was mediocre. From this we can see Djokovic's unparalleled baseline control. Even though the ball is not that heavy, he can still suppress the space for returning the ball.
Clearly, Gao Wen tried to return a diagonal shot, but the ball landed in the middle of the half court, and the angle and line were not wide enough.
Djokovic made small adjustments in succession, switching from backhand to sideways forehand, and forcing the attack -
Diagonal! This time Djokovic asked for a wider angle, and the ball landed directly on the sideline.
Within the boundaries!
The linesman gestured!
Gao Wen had anticipated this. Although he moved his feet slightly towards the forehand position to make a defensive gesture, his center of gravity was always on the backhand position. He noticed Djokovic's return line and rushed back immediately.
Tap, tap, tap! After three consecutive long strides, Gawain was already in position smoothly. Although Djokovic widened the angle of his return, Gawain did not panic at all because of his accurate prediction in advance. Instead, he became more calm.
In fact, Djokovic suppressed this ball very cleverly. It was not a conventional all-out force. He also added a lot of rotation control in the active force. He used angles and rotation to shrink the return space and forced his opponent out of position through the landing point.
Strictly speaking, it was not a good offensive opportunity for Gao Wen. The best option would be to use flexible and varied returns to break the pattern of the shot or to make a transition shot.
When facing Kei Nishikori, Gao Wen would play a short ball because he knew that Kei Nishikori's net handling skills were not good enough and that he couldn't be tough even if he wanted to.
But facing Djokovic, Gao Wen refused to do so. Although the net technique is also the biggest weakness of the world's number one, Djokovic's ability to handle changing balls at critical moments cannot be underestimated. Gao Wen would not take such a risk.
Therefore, Gawain’s choice is——
With the left foot supporting the ground, he leads the racket early with both hands in a backhand, and rushes out with the whole body along with the swinging action, striking a targeted target!
Solid! Backhand diagonal attack!
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A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. Gawain once again seizes the fleeting opportunity to launch an attack!
"Skill vs. power!" Djokovic's forehand power was still mainly controlled, but Gawain's backhand power was unreasonable and directly hit the tennis ball back.
Boom! Wait! Why didn't Gawain's return widen the angle? Shouldn't the diagonal line further widen the angle? But Gawain's return ball landed in the middle of Djokovic's left half. How come it landed in a point that was neither left nor right?
Although the ball landed very deep, Djokovic was able to catch it.
Could it be that Gao Wen was too young and too impatient to control himself?
But the next second, when they saw Djokovic was forced to cut a shot with one hand backhand, the audience was stunned.
What's going on?
In fact, Gawain did not create an angle on purpose, because in the previous shot Djokovic switched his footwork to a sideways forehand, so Djokovic stayed where he was and prepared to defend.
If Gawain continues to open up the angle of his backhand diagonal shot in the usual way, it will look very threatening, but Djokovic will have no trouble defending it.
Gao Wen deliberately aimed at Djokovic's feet, similar to a close serve, forcing Djokovic's defensive footwork to move uncontrollably, creating an advantage when he took the initiative to attack.
He didn't think that he could tear through Djokovic's airtight baseline coverage with just one or two shots.
really!
Djokovic did not move out of the way, and Gawain's return was extremely deep, so the entire swing could not be stretched out and there was no way to exert force at all, which forced Djokovic to return the ball with a slice.
Goal achieved!
In a seemingly simple shot, the balance of advantage and disadvantage had already swung back and forth between Gawain and Djokovic several times. The excitement of this match was far beyond expectations. The entire Arthur Ashe Stadium was already in a frenzy in just the first set.
(End of this chapter)