Chapter 493 Solid as a Rock
Understated, leisurely, calm, and free and easy!
Facing three consecutive break points and set points, Gao Wen once again showed his incredible heart. After a brief chat with the ball boy, he hit an inside corner ace, perfectly pressing on the T point where the two service areas meet. With both speed and power, Cilic had no chance.
The whole place was boiling! On this side, Gao Wen just pursed his lips lightly, without any special expression, with a calm face of "basic operation"; but when he turned around to ask the caddy for the ball, he showed a faint smile, blinked at the caddy, and mouthed "thank you".
The audience on this side of the stands all laughed good-naturedly again.
On the other side, Cilic was completely confused, with countless question marks overflowing in his mind. He had no idea what was going on. However, the momentum that he had finally gathered was slowly melting away, and the audience seemed to be leaning towards Gawain's side.
What's going on?
"…Once again, Gawain showed his unparalleled courage, saving the first set point with an easy ace, and the whole audience cheered for him."
"In fact, it is still Cilic who is trailing by two sets. If the audience wants to continue to watch the exciting game, they should support Cilic. But at this moment, everyone forgot about it and wholeheartedly cheered for Gao Wen who was trailing by a small score. Such a scene is really rare."
“There is no doubt that Gao Wen conquered the discerning Flushing audience.”
"But after saving a break point and then two in a row, the situation was still very difficult for Gao Wen, very, very difficult."
After a short interaction, Gao Wen has returned to the bottom line again——
Cilic was at his best standing on the edge of the cliff, which made the third set more intense than ever. But we must not forget that when Gawain was standing on the edge of the cliff, he was always able to enter a state of complete selflessness, so it would depend on who could take the initiative.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
One shot, outside corner.
In the outside corner of the first zone, Gao Wen deliberately did not choose to hit the ball flat with force, but chose a cut method to complete the outside corner serve. The tennis ball landed accurately on the outer side line of the service area, and then jumped out with high speed rotation, high and spinning, successfully pulling Cilic out of the singles line boundary.
Push off the ground! Step forward! Cilic took a big step forward, but found that the height of the serve after it landed and bounced was higher than expected. He couldn't drive the ball and could only barely slice it with his forehand.
As soon as he finished hitting the ball, Cilic immediately pushed off the ground and turned around, speeding up to defend his backhand, his eyes fixed intently on Gao Wen.
really!
Cilic saw Gao Wen complete a quick forehand shot and hit it straight forward, proving that Cilic's judgment was correct.
Although the prediction was accurate, Cilic's ground push was obviously not as strong as in the first two sets. His defensive rate was inevitably affected. By the time his feet arrived, the hitting point was already very low.
Cilic's backhand was ready to take the lead early, ready to use the force to push and block, but he immediately found out -
Light hit?
It was a light hit! Gao Wen's forehand changed to a straight line without full force, but he wanted a line and a landing point, and pushed the tennis ball over in a fast connection.
Cilic was in a passive position because he was not good at actively exerting force in his backhand. This meant that even if he had accurately predicted Gao Wen's hitting line in advance, he still had not prepared for Gao Wen's hitting method. His way of returning the ball was immediately limited, and he had no more options but only one possibility.
There is no time to struggle or hesitate.
One push! One push! Cilic used the power of his body to push the ball with both hands while moving his feet quickly. It was the most basic backhand shot. There was no leverage or active force. The threat of the whole shot dropped two levels immediately.
Tap tap tap.
Tap tap tap.
Gao Wen arrived early and even had time to adjust his position with small steps. It seemed that he was going to use all his strength in his two-handed backhand, but the moment the racket was released, one could see an outward and upward movement. His body was pushed out along with the swing of the racket, and his arms were stretched and unrestrained, like a majestic dance on a river.
Bang! The sound of the ball hitting the ball is not a crisp sound of full force, and the next second you can see the tennis ball shooting straight out to the outside corner.
The ball landed in the outer corner of the front serving area, was very light and extremely remote, and flew directly outside the doubles line with a "whoosh".
Cilic made a mistake in prediction. He thought Gawain would attack in a straight line, but it turned out to be a small diagonal line. He stopped and turned suddenly and sprinted as fast as he could, trying to catch up with the tennis ball, but his steps were too slow after all, and the tennis ball flew directly into the audience stands.
Roar! Roar!
The audience in the stands stood up and scrambled for the tennis ball. Other audience members exclaimed that it was a good show. Then applause and whistles came from all directions, and once again turned into a storm inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It is difficult to tell whether the audience is cheering for the tennis ball caught with his bare hands, or for Gawain's unchanged shot arrangement in the face of danger.
"30:40".
Gao Wen, score another point.
It was so easy and so simple. Without even getting into too much of a fight, Gawain had already recovered two points in a row and made the entire audience stand behind him. The cheers and support from Croatian fans were quickly drowned out by the five-star red flags all over the sky.
Cilic was breathing heavily, staring at Gao Wen on the other side of the court with a sharp gaze.
Gao Wen still did not celebrate loudly, but just clenched his fists lightly, and then met Cilic's gaze with a firm look.
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It was actually difficult to see the opponent's expression clearly across the entire court, but Cilic could feel the tenacity and toughness emanating from Gawain from the inside out, and the powerful aura hit him head-on without showing any weakness.
Cilic wiped the sweat from his forehead and stared at Gao Wen with determination, not giving in.
Now, it depends on who can grit their teeth and persevere despite the fluctuations in physical strength.
"... and a break point and set point."
"It's incredible that Gawain recovered two points in a short time. But generally speaking, the last one is often the most difficult. Both sides will try their best. If they relax a little or fluctuate a little, the outcome may be very different. Now it depends on how Gawain will plan this point."
As he spoke, Hu Litao didn't notice that a thin layer of sweat was seeping out of his fingertips, and his heart was beating wildly and was about to break free from the restraints of his chest.
However, the two players on the court were fully focused and did not feel nervous at all.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
In the silence of the whole stadium, the sound of Gao Wen's hitting the ball resounded throughout the stadium, like a heartbeat.
Serve in zone two.
One serve, out of bounds.
"Out," the linesman's shout of out-of-bounds echoed in the whistling wind of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The air silently tensed up, even the sounds of breathing and heartbeats disappeared. Such a crucial score put a huge pressure on everyone. Now they had to face the second serve, and the pressure accumulated exponentially, almost suffocating.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
Second serve, outside corner.
(End of this chapter)