Chapter 562: Misaligned confrontation
Snap. Snap.
Nadal patted the tennis ball, and beads of sweat the size of beans slid down his nose and bloomed on the court. He raised his head and looked at Gawain to make sure that Gawain was ready, and then prepared to serve.
The entire Diamond Stadium was in complete silence. Because of nervousness and anxiety, everyone held their breath involuntarily and stared at the stadium intently.
Set point. Nadal got two consecutive set points in his serve game.
Snap. Snap.
Nadal patted the tennis ball again, gripped the racket tightly with his left hand, moved slightly closer to the baseline, then tugged at the edge of his pants with his right hand, and pulled the jersey on his left and right shoulders in turn to make sure that the jersey would not stick tightly to his skin; then he wiped the sweat from his cheeks and nose wings respectively, and after completing the entire set of serve preparations, he patted the ball again.
In the entire men's professional tennis world, Nadal is a typical representative of personal obsessive-compulsive disorder, with his own set of obsessive-compulsive routines that must be followed: for example, the mineral water bottle must be marked with the trademark facing the side of the court where he will play next; for example, he must never step on any boundary line when entering or leaving the court; for example, he must change the racket in the next game after each new ball is replaced.
His serving routine is also a classic. A series of trivial movements must be completed before he can serve the ball. This has become his classic symbol.
In an interview, Nadal said that it was mainly a habit he developed when he was a child. Because he sweats a lot, if he doesn't wipe the sweat off and keep his muscles flexible, it will be very uncomfortable for him to play next. Over time, it has become a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
In addition, it also gives Nadal time to think. He needs to think about how to serve, how to arrange the ball, and how to attack. Otherwise, if he serves in a hurry, the probability of a first serve error will be as high as over 90% because his attention is still distracted.
So, every time he serves, Nadal has to complete his entire routine.
This is always the case. Even when facing a stock or match point, he still completes the entire process meticulously before entering the stage of bouncing the ball and serving.
Snap. Snap.
Push off the ground! Step up! Throw the ball!
Nadal's entire serving action is relatively simple, and the height of the toss is average, so the connection between the movements after starting appears to be fast and agile, with strong explosive power.
Bang! First zone, inside corner, flat shot.
The serve tactics were changed very suddenly, because Nadal's serve is basically based on rotation and landing. He does not seek to score directly or ACE with the serve, but uses the serve as a layout to start his game.
According to official ATP statistics, although Nadal's serve is far from the strongest, his success rate in establishing an advantage through serve and then attacking with the second shot is the best in history.
Therefore, Nadal is also known as "the strongest in attacking the second shot after serving."
Since the start of the game, Nadal generally stuck to his original tactics, but after getting two consecutive set points, he suddenly made a change.
In 2017, after Moya officially became Nadal's head coach, changes in his serve and attacking methods brought about a transformation in Nadal's competitiveness on hard courts; but at this time, Nadal's uncle Toni-Nadal was still his head coach, so the use of these techniques and tactics was very rare.
This also shows Nadal's tactical combination. Because he had two set points, Nadal boldly broke the inertia and made some risky attempts, and paved the way for the second set. It didn't matter even if he lost this point.
The key lies in the overall layout.
So, flat strike, inside corner, suppressing Gao Wen's backhand.
Because it was too sudden and unexpected, Gawain was caught off guard. He had no way of predicting what was happening and had to rely entirely on reflex to complete the shot.
But at the critical moment, the details still showed that Gawain was well prepared.
He didn't back down.
Not only that, but he also took the initiative to move forward and rushed forward with a head-on attitude. Therefore, even if there was no prediction, the two-handed backhand return was still rushed forward very resolutely.
Push!
One pushed off the ground and the other moved forward. In a flash, Gawain had already pushed the tennis ball back. Moreover, he took a risky shot by using the opponent's force to hit the ball.
Press deep.
In fact, it can be seen from the first two rounds that Gao Wen’s current state and touch are not at their best, so the landing points of his shots are often more conservative, avoiding being too hasty and frequently going out of bounds.
But facing Nadal, Gao Wen has no capital to be "conservative". Once the ball is not accurately landed, Nadal can easily return the ball. Moreover, Nadal is also the top defensive counterattack in men's professional tennis. A little deviation can completely overturn the whole situation.
Especially in inventory.
If Gao Wen didn't give it a try, he would have no chance in the first set.
So, when Gao Wen received the serve, he hit a deep ball from the baseline.
Nadal's flat serve was not very fast, at 188 kilometers per hour, which gave Gawain room to take risks.
Push! You can clearly see Gawain's whole body pressing forward, and then the tennis ball has returned to where it came from, pressing hard at Nadal's feet.
Tap tap tap.
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Tap tap tap.
Nadal took a series of small steps to adjust, barely getting his body out of the way, and hit a rebound ball with his forehand despite being squeezed and unable to swing the racket.
But Nadal's forehand swing is very special. It goes over his head like a windmill. Even when hitting a rebound, he still swings the racket in a big loop to increase the strong topspin. This is also a unique technique of Nadal in the professional tour: "Super Topspin", also known as "Nadal-style Topspin", not only has a much higher rotation speed than ordinary players -
Until many years later, the only one who could get close to Nadal's batting speed was the mature Thiem, but Thiem had excellent explosive power and lacked endurance. His maximum batting speed could exceed Nadal, but his average speed was still slightly inferior.
And the power and momentum are very heavy——
The quality of the ball is amazing!
It is precisely because Nadal's forehand has such a strong impact, and he is left-handed, when facing right-handed players, he uses his forehand to suppress the opponent's relatively weak backhand.
When Nadal emerged, he used his forehand to suppress Federer's one-handed backhand; similarly, Djokovic was able to counter Nadal because his two-handed backhand was not afraid of Nadal's forehand.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is very difficult for ordinary players to adapt to Nadal's super spin when facing it for the first time, because he is the only one in the entire professional tennis world and there is no chance to adapt at all.
It is also because of this that Nadal's career winning rate in "encounter battles" ranks first among the Big Four. He rarely loses when facing players he plays against for the first time - of course, there are still times, but it is definitely less than the other Big Three.
So, what about Gawain?
This was also the first time that Gao Wen faced Nadal, so naturally he was no exception.
It was not until he faced Nadal that Gao Wen deeply realized that his backhand, which made him famous, still needed to be polished and had room for growth. It was far from time to be proud.
He couldn't hold on, he really couldn't hold on, and that's why Gawain had to face Nadal's review at this moment.
(End of this chapter)