Chapter 566: Superior Skills
In the tie-break, the score was 5:6, with Gawain in front and Nadal behind.
After Gawain saved three set points and broke Nadal's serve in the set-winning game, both players successfully held their next serve, so the victory of the first set was about to be decided by a tie-break.
The most tense and exciting moment has arrived.
In the tie-break, Gao Wen served first and the situation remained stalemate.
Gao Wen was the first to break Nadal's serve, taking a "2:1" lead and maintaining it all the way to "4:3", the situation was very good.
Nadal showed his fighting spirit at the critical moment. He broke Gao Wen's serve with a violent forehand straight line winner, eliminating the disadvantage. He then saved his two serve points, and Nadal got his fifth set point with a "5:6" lead.
However, this time the point was scored on Gao Wen's serve, just like the one in the eighth game.
Gao Wen, on his part, remained calm and composed while taking inventory.
In the second zone, Gao Wen chose to serve with his backhand close to suppress Nadal's chance of attacking with his sideways forehand, and after suppressing Nadal's backhand twice in a row, he took the lead in launching the attack.
A very sudden backhand slash attack was made in the style of a forehand skateboard. The tennis ball landed in the small triangle near the serving area, bounced off the ground, and then shot out directly.
Nadal's prediction was completely disrupted, and his footwork was obviously not in place; and Gawain's skateboard was very obvious in unloading the force, so that the bounce height of the tennis ball after it hit the ground and rebounded was limited, and the space left for Nadal to hit the ball was further compressed.
In a hurry, Nadal barely made a forehand slice and made a moon-catching move, barely hitting the tennis ball back before it bounced twice.
Tap, tap, tap! Gao Wen's entire attack connection was very sharp. He had just hit the ball with his footsteps at the baseline, seizing the opportunity to volley in front of the net and hit a straight line.
Kill!
However, Nadal's spin still interfered with Gawain's shot at the net, so that the return ball could not be completely suppressed and landed a little too deep.
Nadal rode his wheels and rushed over . It seemed that he was on the other side of the court one second, but in the next second he was already on the return line.
As fast as lightning.
Nadal used his two-handed backhand to hook some small diagonal lines, trying to get past Gawain's coverage and find a way out on Gawain's forehand.
Gawain was very nervous.
Hitting the ball in front of the net is badminton, where both time and space are compressed, which tests not only the reaction speed but also the delicate touch and control.
This was never Gao Wen's forte, and he wasn't feeling well at it now.
But also because of this, attention is highly focused and the secondary reaction is initiated very promptly.
With a push off the ground and a dive, he accurately intercepted the tennis ball with his forehand, blocked the ball in front of the net with a diving header, and pressed the tennis ball down hard.
Score?
Before Gawain's excitement and agitation could even emerge, he saw Nadal's elusive figure still not giving up on hitting the ball, running at full speed towards the tennis ball.
The tennis ball was about to hit the ground and make two jumps, but Nadal rushed forward and leaned forward, and his forehand incredibly cut between the tennis ball and the ground, saving the ball completely before the two jumps.
So, which line?
Gao Wen was a little flustered standing in front of the net.
During the US Open, he would occasionally go to the net, but the battle would usually end with one shot, without having to think about the follow-up; however, Nadal in front of him at this time was not only an indestructible god of war, but also had unparalleled net-breaking ability, and was the undisputed strongest among the Big Four.
If Gawain said he wasn't panicking, he would be lying.
But there was no time to panic now, Gawain reacted subconsciously -
Forehand!
Second forehand position! Because Gao Wen is tall and strong, he has an obvious advantage in the coverage area in the diagonal direction. At this time, Nadal has no time to adjust his grip to save the ball, and it is highly likely that he will hit the ball in a straight line.
Follow your heart.
Gao Wen had already pounced towards the forehand position.
Guessed it right! Then Gawain saw Nadal's return ball rushing towards him in a straight line, and he was delighted; but the joy soon turned into fear.
Nadal's save at the limit was still fast, sharp, spinning and heavy. Gao Wen's control of the racket face at the net was obviously too amateurish and he was unable to cover all angles, and then -
He watched helplessly as the tennis ball came in from the outside of the court like a boomerang, and flew past Gawain's position. Its entire flight trajectory in the air went out of bounds and then back into bounds, and it jumped into the deep corner of the court behind Gawain.
The crescent-shaped scimitar appeared out of nowhere! Whoosh! The next second, there was a burst of exclamations and screams, intertwined together.
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"Match, Nadal."
In the first set, Nadal finally won the fifth set point in the tiebreak, "7:5", just by breaking one more serve point.
Ah! Nadal was also suppressed to the extreme, clenched his fists and jumped high. After such an ups and downs and twists and turns in the game, he also urgently needed to release his emotions, then turned to look at the players' box, looking for the figure of his uncle Toni Nadal with a determined look.
Toni also stood up with his right fist raised high, cheering for Nadal and giving Nadal the most firm support with his eyes, cheers and actions.
In fact, after missing the entire North American season, Nadal is also looking for his form after returning from injury. Facing the new US Open champion, they all expected that this would be a tough battle. From this point of view, Nadal, like Gao Wen, is actually fully prepared for this encounter.
But Nadal is experienced after all. Even when he was not in the best condition, he showed his deep foundation in detail handling, tactical layout and rhythm control. In the end, Nadal won the most important and crucial point with his signature defensive counterattack.
When two brave men meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins; when two brave men meet, the wise one wins.
In the head-on confrontation between Mars and the Earth, Nadal was still superior in skills. He showed his best at the critical moment and won the first set.
Gao Wen stood in front of the net, feeling a little depressed.
Do you regret going to the net? Actually, no, because that was an opportunity, and you should seize it when you see it; but the two interceptions at the net were far from enough in terms of detail handling, especially when facing a player like Nadal, he needs to do better. In addition to his technical shortcomings, his mentality was not in the right place.
Especially after breaking Nadal's serve at the end of the set and dragging the game into a tiebreak, he should have been in high spirits. However, with the advantage in hand, he failed to win the first set. This was indeed unfamiliar to Gawain.
This is the first time.
He needs to be aware of the strength of his opponent, but also needs to be aware of his own fluctuations.
From this perspective, winning the US Open championship did indeed bring about some subtle changes in mentality, which had not been exposed before, but when facing the tougher, more unyielding and more outstanding Nadal, the clues were finally revealed.
Looking at Nadal, who was sweating profusely and had a determined look in his eyes, Gawain realized that he still had a lot to learn, but this also meant that he was still growing. Without feeling frustrated or annoyed, he walked back to the players' rest area with his back straightened and began to think about the second set.
The game isn't over yet.
(End of this chapter)