Chapter 487: Meeting on a Narrow Road
The short 90-second break between games successfully calmed Cilic's chaotic brain, helped him regain his sense of reality, and when the game started again, Cilic's entire tactical routine became clear.
Cilic, who defeated Federer with his overwhelming and smooth attack, finally appeared on the final stage.
In Cilic's serve game after "3:0", Gao Wen still played well and took the initiative, getting three non-consecutive break points. However, Cilic played very well at the critical moments. In the difficult situation where his serve could not create enough advantage for himself, Cilic turned the situation around through excellent defense and sharp offense.
Round ball, it's finally here.
The most rare thing is that although his serve was still wandering, his hitting feel still stabilized the situation. Cilic showed his solid basic baseline skills, and his footwork, landing point prediction and shot selection all showed a strong recovery trend, and the situation gradually returned to a balance.
and!
The return of his baseline hitting touch allowed Cilic to regain his focus in the game, gain a firm foothold, and his mentality gradually calmed down, and his serving condition also slowly improved.
After four deuces, saving three break points, missing one game point, and tangle for nearly seven minutes, Cilic finally seized the opportunity on his second game point, using his signature forehand diagonal attack to forcibly tear open Gao Wen's defense and save his first serve with the winning point.
“3:1”.
The entanglement and tension of this game also became an important turning point in the game, because it meant that Cilic finally got rid of the tension and panic in the opening stage, the game got on track, and the confrontation was officially formed. Then it would not be so easy for Gawain to score as easily as he did at the beginning.
To be honest, Cilic's serve at this year's US Open was not superb. His average of 15 aces per game only ranked seventh among all players, on par with Wawrinka; but his baseline shots were indeed as good as if he had divine help.
On the one hand, his offensive touch is sharp and smooth enough, and his grasp of the timing of the entire shot is very accurate. He can often create a sense of rhythm for his offense and bring out his strength advantage through the misalignment of timing - either early or late.
It may not be noticeable to the audience, but it is very troublesome for the defending party because it will interfere with their defensive predictions.
On the other hand, there is his defensive success rate. Although the success rate is still not high, the increase in the success rate means putting pressure on the opponent's offense, forcing the opponent to attack one more shot, and the opponent may need to be more tricky and more remote. If you are not careful, mistakes may occur in continuous attacks.
It is precisely because of the improvement in the quality of baseline shots that Cilic no longer needs to rely entirely on his serve like Isner. Even if the serve cannot effectively suppress the opponent, he is not afraid of his baseline shots. This also relieves the pressure of serving to a great extent and indirectly increases the power of serving.
Naturally, the impact of the serve will be more direct and vivid.
Why do I say that? Just look at the data from the semifinal match between Cilic and Federer: Cilic's first serve success rate was only 56%, which means that his first serve firepower is not strong; but his first serve scoring rate was 87%, which is a very good data, which means that his first serve can create threats and then beat Federer through the baseline.
Defeating Federer with offense, just like Del Potro in 2009, this is Cilic's state at this year's US Open.
Today, facing Gao Wen, the same thing happened.
Cilic's attack was vigorous and just like Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals, he made many amazing shots and showed amazing touch.
However, Gawain came prepared.
Firstly, Gawain knew that Cilic was in a "super god state" and some attacks could be successful no matter how he played, so he made more preparations on the defensive end.
Secondly, Gao Wen also knew that he couldn't let Cilic go crazy, so he needed to break the routine and disrupt Cilic's hitting routine and take the initiative to attack, because Cilic's biggest weakness is "rules". He didn't make many changes in the game, and his choice of lines and landing points were all based on habit, so Gao Wen needed to be the first to break the routine and turn the situation around.
Just like the beginning.
Cilic's attack was sharp, while Gawain's was well-planned, so the contest between the two sides was a close combat of suppression and counter-suppression. Judging from the results:
Gao Wen is slightly better.
The second half of the first set was uneventful. Gawain failed to get a break point, but Cilic also failed to get one. The two sides held their serve. After Gawain won four points in a row to hold his serve, the first set victory fell into Gawain's pocket.
"6:3".
By gaining a foothold and breaking the serve first in the opening stage, Gao Wen took the lead all the way and won the first set, seizing the initiative in this championship battle.
In the second set, Cilic served first, and the two players were still tied. Although the serve of both sides became loose due to fluctuations in physical strength and break points appeared again; but at the critical moment, the serving side was able to quickly gain a foothold and save the break point to continue to maintain the balance.
"4:4".
Since Gawain broke Cilic's first serve at the start, both players have each held eight serve games, with neither able to break the balance. The uneventful match was actually a bit... dull.
It’s not that the two players didn’t work hard enough, but there was a lack of moments like Djokovic and Federer in the semi-finals where they sought changes to impact the game, and the confrontation between the two players also lacked a little spark.
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No wonder! People always say that the best matches are not the finals, but the quarterfinals or semifinals, just like the World Cup; and the chances of the final becoming the pinnacle showdown are really too small.
However, in recent years, tennis audiences have become spoiled by the "Big Four" competition, and are naturally dissatisfied with the competition between the two dark horse young players. Even the Chinese fans are a little distracted.
However, if any fans at the scene start yawning and playing with their phones, they may miss the wonderful moment.
Gao Wen has been observing and looking for opportunities.
He knew that Cilic was in good form, but today Cilic's serve could not find the rhythm under the continuous attack of Gao Wen, and his first serve was sometimes successful and sometimes not. Although he did not watch the game statistics to know the exact number, the first serve success rate should be around 50%, which also means that both sides have opportunities in the confrontation of the baseline round.
So, Gawain has been trying, he just needs a "turning point", like -
“…wipe the net!”
"In this ball, Gawain's return hit the net a little bit, changing the bounce rule. Cilic's handling was a little rough, and he hit the return ball directly into the spectator stands."
"Gawain raised his hand to apologize to Cilic. Obviously, the net touch was an accident."
"However, this net accident allowed Gao Wen to take the lead at 15:30 in Cilic's serve game."
Netting is an unavoidable accident in tennis, table tennis, badminton, volleyball and other sports. Luck is the only explanation, but what does this have to do with chance? (End of this chapter)