Chapter 460: A Test of Nerves

The air was so hot that it was suffocating.

First, Gawain saved two consecutive set points and brought back the suspense of the third set with his unparalleled performance; then, Djokovic saved three consecutive set points and showed the big heart of the world No. 1 at the critical moment to continue the suspense of the tie-break. The outcome of the third set is still an unknown.

Arthur Ashe Stadium has lost its mind.

Gawain could feel the overwhelming pressure. Whether Djokovic scored a winning point or Gawain made a mistake, the audience would cheer in disbelief, using direct actions to show their firm determination to cheer for Djokovic's victory, as if there was not just one person on the other side of the net for Gawain.

It felt like I was back in the first round against Isner, but there weren't as many spectators in the first round and the whole atmosphere felt different.

Today, at this moment, this is of paramount importance.

"6:5", although Gawain was still leading by a small margin, and the next point was his serve, but in the blink of an eye, only one of the four consecutive set points was left. The pressing feeling of oppression was strangling his neck. No wonder marathons have always emphasized that the leader must bear tremendous pressure and worry about the overtaking and impact of the pursuers.

call……

Gao Wen let out a long breath, he knew that this was a test for him. He was in a state of fear even though he had the stock in his hands, while Djokovic seemed to be letting go. The sharp pressure hitting his spine seemed to be able to break through his defense at any time. He needed to perform better.

One shot, and the net is dropped.

You could clearly feel that Gao Wen's muscles were slightly tense, and this time he hit the ball a little early, and as a result, his serve went straight into the net.

“Roar, roar, roar!”

“Ahhhh!”

Cheers and applause surged in the venue. They were cheering for Gawain's first serve error. Obviously, they were not encouraging Gawain to "It's okay, just serve the second serve well next time", but because Djokovic got the chance to receive the second serve. The audience no longer had the leisure to cheer for the dark horse's good shot. They stood on Djokovic's side clearly, expecting Djokovic to continue to make a comeback.

The pressure is overwhelming.

In the studio, Zhan Jun couldn't help but secretly worry about Gao Wen.

"…This is a test that every player must go through on their growth path. Federer and Djokovic have all gone through this process. Bao Jianfeng has honed his skills through hard work. As long as a player can withstand this kind of pressure, his nerves will become tougher."

"We can only hope that this 19-year-old player will focus on himself and not lose focus due to external distractions."

But Zhan Jun and Hu Litao also had no confidence.

Because of the noise disturbance in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the referee warned twice, and the noise slowly died down. However, the interval rhythm between Gawain's first and second serves had been disrupted, so Gawain had to adjust his breathing and hit the ball again.

The whole rhythm is wrong.

Gawain is literally fighting against the whole world alone, and it's really difficult.

call……

Gao Wen stood at the baseline, adjusting his breathing, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin, the heat of the sweat slowly sliding down, the gentle breeze, and his entire mind completely focused before he began to hit the ball.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

Gao Wen did not hesitate and continued to serve at his usual rhythm.

Throw the ball! Push off the ground! Turn! Swing the racket! Hit the ball.

Close-range forehand pressure, serving at 108 miles per hour (175 kilometers). Obviously, Gao Wen was still inevitably disturbed and reduced his serve speed to avoid second serve errors.

But Gawain also hid spin in his serve, spinning it outwards away from Djokovic's body.

This is an unconventional approach.

Generally speaking, close range is combined with inward rotation, because the tactical intention is to squeeze the position; the outside corner or inside corner is combined with external rotation to move further away from the body.

Gao Wen is now combining close combat with outward rotation. What kind of strange combination is this?

Djokovic had not expected this at all. His steps were already in place, and he adjusted the hitting position according to the close serve trajectory, but he found that the tennis ball was moving outward, which immediately caused Djokovic to slightly deviate from his judgment of the hitting point.

Subconsciously, Djokovic habitually wrapped the ball, without taking the risk of hitting the ball, but wrapped the tennis ball back with a soft touch.

Unable to launch an attack after receiving the serve.

Facing Djokovic's serve deep in the middle, Gao Wen used a two-handed backhand to hit a diagonal shot, tearing the angle apart and trying to use a skateboard shot to disrupt Djokovic's defensive position.

But in review, Djokovic was highly focused, his serve was in place very quickly, and his two-handed backhand return was very solid.

"Backhand VS Backhand", the two players confronted each other on the backhand diagonal line for two rounds.

Then Gawain changed the line first, backhanding a straight line with both hands! But Djokovic had been guarding against this line, moving sideways as if he was on a hot wheel. Not only did he successfully defend in place, but he also used his forehand to hit a super diagonal attack, accurately pressing the dead corner of the bottom line triangle, putting Gawain in a passive position.

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Gawain faces a crisis.

In an extremely difficult situation, Gawain was forced to defend.

"Forehand VS Forehand", the two players confronted each other in the forehand position for four rounds, and both of them were looking for changes, either aiming at the sideline to open up the angle, or aiming at the baseline to press deep into the landing point, and subvert the situation by changing the hitting technique. However, the two players' handling was very delicate and in place, and no one was able to open up the situation.

The situation is tense!

Because Djokovic's forehand has unparalleled ability to change line and control points, Gawain's attention was on guarding against his backhand gaps. However, Djokovic seized this situation and pressed his forehand again and again, testing Gawain's nerves over and over again.

With such a score, such a situation, and such a favorable situation, the pressure from all aspects swallowed up Gawain like a torrential rain.

This time, it happened again.

Djokovic's shot clearly looked like a straight line, so Gawain moved sideways to defend. However, after the shot, he found that it was still a diagonal line, and once again landed accurately in the blind spot.

Gao Wen felt like Jerry in "Tom and Jerry", running around all the time.

He took a series of long strides, stopped suddenly, and turned quickly to rush over, but he had already lost his position, so he was forced to cut with his forehand, trying to slow down the speed of the shot.

Gawain realized that he needed to find a way to break the situation, even if he needed to take risks - in fact, Gawain has been bravely making changes, but Djokovic is fully focused, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to break Djokovic's predictions.

Pushing off the ground! Cutting! A machete-like cut, an extremely passive defense, but this time, Gao Wen's control was more delicate and complicated. He cut towards the baseline position and cut with a super topspin. Most importantly, the landing point was slightly changed, pulling from the forehand position to the middle position.

On the surface, there was nothing special, and even Djokovic did not notice anything unusual.

Because it was a very ordinary shot, from any angle; and this was exactly what Gawain needed Djokovic to think.

(End of this chapter)