Chapter 486: Winning by cleverness
Second zone, second serve, break point.
Gawain adjusted his position to receive the serve, and moved a little towards his forehand position, as if he was sure that Cilic was going to serve forehand. So would Cilic dare to challenge Gawain's backhand on the second serve? Wait, Gawain deliberately left his backhand open, luring Cilic to serve backhand, and then started the attack in advance with a two-handed backhand position. The footsteps were a trap, otherwise how could he expose his tactical intentions so directly?
False and true, real and fake.
This is the psychological game between Gao Wen and Cilic.
Cilic habitually glanced at Gawain's position. On the surface, he seemed calm and unaffected, but there was no way of knowing whether there were undercurrents in his heart.
Serve! Almost as soon as Cilic tossed the ball, Gawain had already started moving.
Jump on tiptoe on the spot, keep the center of gravity of the body light and agile, and then move towards your forehand first.
This is a gamble.
In general, Gao Wen played somewhat risky and aggressively at the beginning, creating some chaos when both sides had not yet gained a firm foothold. This time was no exception. In fact, he was "betting on one side", choosing between forehand or backhand, and then completing the layout through a series of psychological construction and psychological suggestion.
What if Cilic chose to play backhand or serve close? If there was no such thing, it would mean that the gamble was made on the wrong side and the two sides would be back to a tie. It also means that Gao Wen's psychological pressure is still a little lacking and needs to continue to work hard.
But what if it succeeds?
Push off the ground! Charge forward! Step forward!
Gao Wen rushed out with great determination, without any hesitation. The next second, the tennis ball could be seen flying towards the center line:
Inner angle.
The bet is right! Swing! Turn! Move forward!
Gao Wen's hitting action was done in one go. He immediately got to the hitting point with a half-beat movement that was slightly ahead of time. He didn't need to use all his strength on his forehand, but caught the rising point of the tennis ball and hit the ball as soon as possible, using the strength of his forearm and wrist to increase his control over the shot.
Bang! The tennis ball immediately flew out in a reverse diagonal direction and landed behind Cilic.
Gao Wen gave up the forehand space on the diagonal line and chose to attack the backhand area behind Cilic.
Cilic was a little flustered.
After taking a series of small steps to adjust, he soon realized that he didn't have much space to swing his backhand. He had to hit the ball without having time to stretch the entire hitting action. As a result, his two-handed backhand only hit the ball once, barely returning the tennis ball to Gawain's half of the court.
whoosh.
The tennis ball traces a parabola.
In fact, like Kei Nishikori, Cilic did have a good touch at the US Open this year, but Cilic's main offensive touch was excellent. His defensive success rate improved slightly, but his defensive accuracy was still average, so Cilic still needs to take the initiative into his own hands.
At this time, the tennis ball returned to the middle of the court on Gao Wen's side, slightly closer to the right half court, but the depth was mediocre and no effective suppression was formed.
The next second after hitting the ball, Cilic had already moved sideways quickly, because the entire half of his forehand court was empty, with gaps everywhere.
Tap tap tap.
Tap tap tap.
Gao Wen was very calm. He took small steps near the baseline to adjust himself and waited quietly for the ball. He had already set up his racket early and seemed ready to hit the ball with full force. This also made Cilic move laterally faster and faster, and he sprinted all out.
but.
At the moment of the racket, Gao Wen's swing action changed slightly. It was supposed to be a big loop and diagonal swing, but now it turned into an open-ended back-to-back diagonal swing. The power of his forearm and wrist completed the hit very lightly, and then the tennis ball flew out.
Judging from the speed of the tennis ball, it was just a light hit. It seemed powerful but was actually understated. One could even taste the leisurely and free-spirited nature of Gawain's batting action.
The problem was that Cilic was already in the other half of the court, in the exact opposite direction of Gawain's shot, so there was no need to stop or turn suddenly.
Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.
The tennis ball landed gently on the court, without bouncing too high, and then rolled out, becoming a dead ball.
Score directly.
"Game, high."
Wait, that's it? Gao Wen's break seemed very simple and easy, without multiple rounds or offensive and defensive transitions. It took only four rounds to end the fight. Everything happened and ended so quickly that the audience was stunned.
Why did it break?
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It is 100% certain that this is definitely not the final that the audience expected. Even in the two semi-finals, there were breaks after a slow start, but both Djokovic and Federer showed a certain confrontation and struggle. In contrast, in this match, confrontation seemed to have never been able to form, and the whole game seemed a bit... sloppy.
It's confusing and uninspiring.
Just... just like that? Cilic's brain was a little slow to react. He stood there and thought for a while, but his head was filled with messy thoughts and he couldn't sort them out for a while. What was worse was that from the beginning of the game to now, Gawain didn't give Cilic any time to breathe, so Cilic didn't have time to get into the state at all, and fell behind "0:2" in a daze.
huff huff.
Cilic exhaled heavily: Why is this match completely different from the last one? If Gawain knew Cilic's doubts, he would answer: Of course it is different, because this is the final.
The Grand Slam finals are different for everyone, even the Big Four are no exception. Every final is a brand new beginning.
However, Gawain did not give Cilic time to react and pressed forward. In his next service game, he still played very carefully and aggressively, only losing one point. Then he successfully won the service game and entered the first break with a "3:0" advantage.
"...Gawain's performance was calm, confident, and strong. He had none of the awkwardness or immaturity of a rookie in a Grand Slam final. He was very calm and agile. He was resolute when he needed to take risks and rational when he needed to be steady. Since the start of the match, the rhythm of the match was completely under his control."
"Obviously, Cilic needs to adapt to the atmosphere of the final as soon as possible, otherwise Gawain will definitely seize the opportunity and further widen the score gap, and then the first set will be in danger."
This is indeed the case.
After the break, in Cilic's serve, Gao Wen launched another powerful attack, trying to break the serve for the second time.
The changes of advantages and disadvantages in a tennis match happen all the time. If you don't want Cilic to find his touch and launch a counterattack, you can't give him any breathing space.
What's more, Gawain's own experience against Djokovic proved that even if he was two break points behind, it still meant a chance to turn the tables.
Therefore, Gawain will not let down his guard and will still try to exert pressure, but Cilic's ability to beat Federer in three straight sets proves his state. He is at the peak of his career that he has rarely seen in a decade. How could he surrender so easily? (End of this chapter)