Chapter 481: Seizing the initiative
Snap. Snap. Snap.
The entire Arthur Ashe Stadium fell into an eerie silence. Everyone remained silent, even the sound of breathing became involuntarily lighter, which made the sound of gurgling blood even more distinct, as if a volcano was brewing to erupt and the magma was gurgling and boiling.
Then, only the sound of Gawain hitting the ball echoed.
In the coin-guessing session, Gao Wen guessed the front side, and he chose to serve first.
The strategy is slightly different from the semi-finals.
First of all, Cilic is a great serve player. Even if he is not as good as Isner, Cilic's baseline basic skills are more solid and more resilient, which means he can make full use of his serve advantage.
Secondly, looking back at the game in the previous life, Kei Nishikori's performance was not up to standard under pressure. He made too many offensive mistakes, his defensive effectiveness rate also dropped significantly, and his touch was tight throughout the game. Cilic was also a little nervous, but Kei Nishikori failed to put enough pressure on Cilic. Instead, he allowed Cilic to establish an advantage through serving and win many simple points, further relieving Cilic's pressure.
So, in the end, the game was one-sided, three "6:3", Cilic easily swept Kei Nishikori to win the championship -
You know, before this final, Kei Nishikori had won three consecutive games against Cilic, two of which took place in 2014.
Of course, leaving aside the final of the previous life, it can be seen from the two games in which Cilic eliminated Berdych and Federer in three sets that Cilic is currently in an excellent state: he has established his offensive advantage with serve as the core, and his defense relies on solid baseline basic skills, and he does have good competitiveness.
Before the game, Sampras and Gawain analyzed Cilic's technical characteristics and game status in detail, and finally discussed and formulated the tactical layout of the game.
At the beginning, Gawain needs to seize the initiative, and unlike any previous game, Gawain needs to be more proactive: the final is the first time for both players, they both need to adapt and adjust; and the situation of Gawain and Kei Nishikori is slightly different in that Cilic also plays the role of challenger against Kei Nishikori, but Cilic is the challenged one against Gawain, so there must be subtle changes in his mentality, and with the bonus of the final, it will definitely be further amplified.
Gao Wen needs to make full use of this and take the lead in launching an offensive during the adaptation period in the opening stage.
So, Gao Wen asked for the serve at the beginning of the game.
Of course, plans are plans, strategies are strategies. Under the huge pressure of the finals, whether Gao Wen can perform well, how much he can perform, to what extent he can execute according to the plan, and whether the plan will encounter unexpected events, all these are unknowns. Only by taking a look at it can we know whether it is a mule or a horse.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
Gao Wen slowly adjusted his breathing, cleared his mind and focused on the game. For him, the most important thing in the game was concentration. He needed to think and be committed.
Most of all, he needed to fight.
Throw the ball! Push off the ground! Turn! Swing the racket! Hit the ball!
The entire technical movement is done in one go, and then you can see the tennis ball turn into a stream of light and shoot out, accurately hitting the inner corner of the opposite serving area.
After landing, it jumped out quickly, and with a strong outward spin, it flew further to the left side of the Cilic Stadium. It seemed that one could see small whirlpools swirling around the tennis ball. The gorgeous rays of light suddenly became hazy, and then the tennis ball disappeared in the halo.
Bang! Bang! Ace.
Cilic stretched his body completely, but his reaction speed was still a little slow. He didn't even touch the tennis ball before the first point ended.
Cilic tilted his head, a little surprised, because Gawain was obviously not a player good at serving, but he did not think too much about it, turned around and walked to the other side of the court: Maybe it was just luck.
However, ESPN commentator Sofar keenly noticed something unusual.
Sofar knows Gawain. Gawain is not a cannon of serve but that does not mean that Gawain's serve is not strong. In fact, Gawain is used to establishing the advantage of serving through changes in landing point, rotation and strength. Simply put, serving is not a scoring weapon, but an integral part of the tactical system.
Therefore, if we look at the technical statistics alone, Gao Wen's ACE number is not large, but the moments when it appears are always very critical.
In the six games so far at this year's US Open, Raonic has the most aces, with 103; the second is Cilic, with 80.
And what about Gawain? 30 notes.
It is a pity that this number did not rank among the top 20 in the men's ACE ball list; and in horizontal comparison, Serena Williams served a total of 35 aces, Wozniacki served 24, and Peng Shuai served 22. This comparison can show Gao Wen's game style and strategy.
However, upon closer inspection, Gawain’s first ACE was very aggressive and strategic.
In the inner corner of the first zone, he suppressed Cilic's backhand, and it was not a simple flat shot, but also an outward shot with side spin, which gave Cilic no chance to hit the ball at all.
In other words, Gao Wen was aiming for the ace ball, and he showed his unique skills in the opening stage and quickly got into the game.
Is this... too hasty? After all, no one would sprint at full speed at the start of a marathon. Those who rush at the starting line are usually cannon fodder.
But Sofar knew Gawain, he was not the reckless type, so did that mean this was a tactic?
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Other commentators still lacked understanding of Gao Wen, but Sofar had watched Gao Wen's games all the way through the NCAA competitions and had a clearer and deeper understanding of Gao Wen's games. He felt that Gao Wen should have been more prepared for this final.
I'm kind of looking forward to it.
One ACE was indeed not enough to attract everyone's attention. I guess only Sofar was in a state of confusion, and the game on the court was still going on.
Then gradually you can see that in the first serving game, Gao Wen was indeed very proactive.
In the second point, he served with a backhand at close range, forcing Cilic to return the ball shallowly. Gawain immediately entered the midfield and hammered the ball with his forehand to score the winning point.
On the third point, he served from the outside corner, followed by a backhand diagonal shot into the blind spot of the big triangle at the baseline. Cilic tried his best to touch the tennis ball but was unable to return the ball, and his racket directly hit the tennis ball into the audience stands.
In the fourth point, he served flatly at close range, squeezing Cilic's position. He barely hit the ball with his forehand, but his center of gravity was not straightened in time and the return ball went into the net.
The whole match progressed very quickly, and all the battles were ended in the first three shots. Ping-pong-pong, Gao Wen only took two minutes to hold his first serve.
Regardless of whether you have enough understanding of Gawain or not, I am afraid that everyone can feel at this moment that Gawain got into the state very quickly at the beginning, so that Cilic's slow start was magnified, and it seemed that he did not have time to complete the shot properly before the first game was over.
So, what does this mean? Of course, it could mean nothing. After all, both players are new to Grand Slam finals. It is possible that they were not in the right state in the opening stage, which led to a lack of confrontation. Just look at Cilic's serve next, but we don't know how Gao Wen will be in when receiving the serve.
(End of this chapter)