Chapter 543: Playing with the Brain
In the second set, Gao Wen still served first.
...Toss the ball! Bend your knees! Push off the ground! Turn! Swing! First zone, outside corner, suppress the forehand.
Bang.
It can be clearly seen that Gao Wen gave up speed in pursuit of angle and landing point. His serve speed was only 177 kilometers per hour, but the tennis ball hit the outside line of the serving area accurately. After it bounced off the ground, the angle shot outward, instantly tearing the outside corner apart.
Trample!
Step! Mayer's footwork was very delicate, from the big sprint to the small step control, the forehand swing was already set up early -
Mayer's forehand swing has a very large range of motion, and he needs to fully stretch out from the side and back of his body to swing the racket, like a roc spreading its wings.
It is also because of this that in fierce competition, Mayer's own prediction and start are very important, because he needs to buy enough time for his forehand swing.
The advantage is that the entire batting action is solid enough and has a certain impact; the disadvantage is that it is very difficult to grab the hitting point, so the entire batting rhythm is relatively stable.
Bang! Mayer hit a signature forehand shot, aiming diagonally from the sideline to the sideline. Even though the ball was already near his shoulder, he still hit it back with a forehand sweep, aiming at the bottom line corner of Gawain's forehand.
As mentioned before, Mayer is a typical clay court player, so on hard ground, even when he hits the ball flat, he tends to have some rotational friction, not the standard flat shot like Isner and Kyrgios. This also means that the ball speed is not fast, but there are more changes and the ball quality is more solid.
Lateral, sprint.
Gao Wen's advance judgment was very accurate. He moved one step ahead and was in position one beat earlier. In addition, Mayer's return was not fast to begin with, so he had enough time to complete the shot. From the racket lead to the swing to the shot, the whole forehand force was very sufficient, and the tightness of the hitting line could be clearly seen.
However, if the ball is returned——
Middle. Midfield.
Moreover, from the sound of the ball being hit, it can be heard that Gao Wen did not use his full strength. He clearly had a good chance, but he did not use all his strength. This was really unexpected.
At the same time, it also broke Mayer's expectations: although he had enough time to complete the powerful shot, Gawain's forehand shot broke everyone's expectations and chose an unconventional route.
First, give up hitting the line and suppressing Mayer's backhand, and choose to go to the middle instead.
Secondly, they gave up suppressing the deep zone and the ball landed awkwardly in the midfield area.
The details show the changes of Gawain.
If it was at the US Open, including today's first set, facing such an opportunity, Gao Wen would definitely take ruthless action, and hit the ball boldly and carefully, aiming at the straight line blind spot, which would quickly break the balance of the confrontation between the two sides and create an opportunity for the next attack.
Even directly pursue the winning points.
But after the first set, Gao Wen also clearly realized that due to the deviation in his touch and state, if he directly challenged the straight line blind corner, it would often be easy to go out of bounds. Blind attack was equivalent to blind mistakes, and he would hastily give away the advantage, allowing the opponent to score without any effort.
When you are in excellent form, you can play however you want.
When you are not in good condition, you can't play well. You need more strategies in the game. After all, you can't just surrender because you are in bad condition, right? In the professional tour, Sharapova is such a typical player. No matter whether she is in good condition, the quality of the game, or the condition of her opponent, she will attack directly. Such unreasonable playing style has also become Sharapova's weapon to gain a foothold in the professional tennis world.
But the problem is that once she loses her touch and her offensive weight is not satisfactory, Sharapova will not change her strategy, which greatly limits her possibilities, so she has not been able to win more Grand Slam titles in her career.
Obviously, Gao Wen is not such a one-track player. Change and adventure, strategy and layout have always been Gao Wen's playing style.
So, faced with the opportunity, Gao Wen changed his strategy. He did not hope to score with one fatal blow, but to establish an advantage through layout and suppression.
Just like now.
Mayer did not anticipate Gawain's return line. He was running as fast as he could, sprinting towards his backhand, trying to complete the defense. As a result, Gawain's ball landed in the middle, as if a collision was about to happen at the intersection. Mayer had to adjust his position while braking urgently.
In such a hurry, there was no other choice, so he just cut with his backhand.
One of Mayer's characteristics is that his backhand is held with one hand, just like Federer, Dimitrov, Wawrinka and others.
However, power and burst have always been Mayer's weaknesses, both in forehand and backhand. His backhand does not have the ability to burst out in an instant, and he uses a variety of return methods to form confrontation. One is to push and block with the force of the opponent, and the other is flexible and varied cutting.
Therefore, Mayer's backhand shot hides many changes, often changing the rhythm and breaking the balance, especially on the clay court.
In today's first set, when Gawain was not in good form, Mayer's backhand slice created many traps, disrupting Gawain's offensive rhythm and even causing Gawain to make offensive mistakes. Overall, Mayer's backhand was not inferior, and he was not worried about Gawain suppressing this side.
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To some extent, Mayer's backhand performance is better than his usual average level.
At this time, Mayer was busy but not afraid. He returned the ball with a backhand defensive slice. Moreover, he consciously sliced towards Gawain's backhand, trying to use the backspin to suppress Gawain's backhand attack. The whole defensive attack was very calm and confident.
but!
Gao Wen's eyes lit up slightly: Just in time!
The previous shot was a trap, luring Mayer to use a backhand slice, and even the diagonal line of the backhand was within Gawain's expectations.
A player like Mayer who hits the ball honestly always reveals his simplicity when dealing with unexpected balls. He just follows Gawain's settings and completes the hits like a puppet; and there is a gleam of excitement in his eyes, just like a child seeking praise.
If possible, Gowen wouldn't mind giving a little performance Mayer: Well done.
But at this moment, Gao Wen's attention is all on tennis.
Dengdengdeng! His footsteps, which were constantly adjusted, accelerated immediately after passing the midfield, and he sprinted sideways with all his strength. Facing Mayer's slow backhand slice, Gao Wen was highly focused, adjusted in small steps, and completed the backhand lead early with both hands, while his body's center of gravity sank steadily.
Lead the racket! Turn the body! Swing the racket! Meet up ! Bend the knees! Push off the ground! Straighten the ball! Meet forward! The whole stroke is smooth and pleasing to the eye. It seems to be understated, but it is actually thunderous. The whole body reveals a firmness and decisiveness.
Bang! Hit the ball and shoot.
(End of this chapter)