Chapter 608: Audacious
ACE!
After a perfect breakout, Gao Wen controlled the situation with a clean ACE and gained a firm foothold.
This was only the third ace of Gao Wen in the first set. He was far behind Lopez in terms of number, but the timing was very critical. He once again showed people how big his heart is. The more critical the moment, the more he was able to keep his composure. His outstanding performance was completely free of nervousness and stage fright.
Looking through the phenomenon to the essence, in fact, the landing point of ACE's serve this time was well thought out.
Normally in the second zone, it is a common practice to suppress the backhand with the wide outside corner, but the problem is that Felipe Lopez is left-handed, so the outside corner of the second zone becomes a forehand suppressor, and this classic tactic does not work.
In the first set, Gao Wen was in the second zone, mainly relying on close serves and forehand attacks, until the tiebreak, when he changed his tactics.
"5:3", Gao Wen continued to lead the score.
Then, the footsteps came to area one.
Inside corner? Outside corner? Or close?
One shot, and the net is dropped.
Judging from the line, it should be the inside corner. Gawain tried to sneak an inside corner to break Lopez's prediction and suppress the forehand, but no matter what, the opponent was a forehand, so Gawain tried to press down harder, but he pressed too hard and it went directly into the net.
Therefore, in the crucial score, Gao Wen, like Felipe Lopez, needs to withstand the test of second serve.
Second serve, outside corner.
Felipe Lopez was a little surprised.
Because he thought Gao Wen would choose to get close and then look for opportunities at the baseline.
But the choice of suppressing the backhand in the outside corner was not so abrupt and was still within the expected range, so Lopez adjusted his footwork very quickly.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
Felipe Lopez was already in position, but when he was about to touch the ball, he found out:
Gao Wen, go online!
To be precise, he was on his way to the net. His footsteps were obviously not as fast as the flying speed of the tennis ball, but Gao Wen's rash action of going to the net broke the balance of both sides.
Go online?
Gao Wen actually went online?
The shock and unexpected impact slightly affected Lopez's shooting touch.
Should he stick to his original stroke or should he return the ball by breaking the net? There was no time to think slowly, but he could still see hesitation at the moment of hitting the ball, which meant that Gao Wen's sudden attack on the net played a disruptive role.
Bang! Before he could finish his thought, Felipe Lopez had already hit the ball.
In the end, he was not affected and insisted on his choice of hitting the ball diagonally, but he still significantly increased the rotation to create impact when shooting.
Unfortunately, this is not Lopez's strong suit.
Gao Wen faced the challenge head-on, but he was actually a little nervous in his heart, because this was not the routine he was good at, nor was it a method he was familiar with. In addition, he was short of ability in front of the net, so he inevitably lacked a little confidence.
Going to the net passively because of the opponent's mobilization, going to the net actively because you have an absolute advantage, and forcing the net because you are ready to break the balance and exert pressure are all different.
But it is precisely because of adventure that risks and returns are directly proportional.
Gao Wen calmed his mind and firmly remembered Sampras' classic words:
Going online is like scaring the timid to death and overwhelming the bold to death. You must be resolute and tough, otherwise, your hesitation and fear will be visible to your opponent. So, move forward courageously.
The most taboo thing about pressure at the net is awkward positioning. A half-court position with no village in front and no shop behind is fatal. If you don’t know where you should stand, just stand as close to the front as possible.
As for being active in the midfield and the frontcourt with ease, that is exclusive to masters.
In addition, the two doubles matches gave Gao Wen some confidence, and his steps became more resolute.
Tap tap tap.
Tap tap tap.
He continued to move forward, and then Felipe Lopez's return ball hit him head-on without changing the line and method of hitting the ball. However, because Gao Wen's posture of rushing forward was very determined, he relied on his continuous vertical forward steps to block the possibility of Felipe Lopez's return ball to tear open the line.
Bang! With the combination of his body and strength, Gawain blocked the opponent on the diagonal path, relying on the inertia of the forward rush to press down, creating a straight line from top to bottom.
Success! Felipe Lopez was immediately embarrassed, but fortunately, Gao Wen's net control was still obviously not experienced enough. He should have controlled the short ball at this time, but he pressed a long ball, which landed close to the baseline.
This also means that Felipe Lopez still has a chance.
Running at full speed, Felipe Lopez successfully saved the ball, caught a moon ball with his forehand, and the full parabola jumped back again.
However, the 193cm Gao Wen was like a wall standing in front of the net.
Bang—bang!
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With a high-pressure wall-type block, Gao Wen intercepted Fe Lopez's return ball halfway.
A powerful smash!
Boom! Instantly, the entire audience cheered, and then Gawain clenched his fists. Even though he was sweating and his face was red, his bright eyes could still be seen.
audacious in the extreme!
Let's go for it! On his second serve, Gao Wen showed incredible courage to break the deadlock, and then got three consecutive set points.
Fe Lopez was also a little helpless, he was indeed caught off guard by Gawain, the three points just now all ended the battle in the blink of an eye, and Fe Lopez was unable to break free and stepped into one trap after another. This feeling of depression was really terrible.
Fe-Lopez looked up at Gawain and grinned.
The game was in the final third, but the next two points were from Lopez's serve. As long as he could hold on, the game situation would change quietly.
The premise is to keep it.
However--
"Set, high, 7:6 (3)."
On Gao Wen's first set point, Felipe Lopez successfully found a serve, and the serve at a speed of 201 kilometers per hour severely suppressed Gao Wen's backhand, so that Gao Wen almost used a one-handed backhand but finally used two-handed grip to barely cut back a serve.
Felipe Lopez seized the opportunity and quickly came to the front of the net, but because he was too eager, he directly pressed down to attack, so that the angle was not completely opened and the ball was caught by Gao Wen.
While moving quickly sideways, Gao Wen hit a strong forehand topspin and returned to Lopez's position.
This was a high-pressure ball in an awkward position above the shoulder. Felipe Lopez was still a little impatient and tried to press down harder and harder. As a result, he was hit by Gawain's strong topspin and hit it directly out of bounds. In this way, he gave away the first set victory -
Not exciting at all.
Not only was it not exciting, but it also seemed a bit empty. The first set, which was a bloody battle, ended with such a low-level mistake.
Moreover, after the tie-break was tied at 3:3 and the courts were exchanged, Gao Wen won four points in a row, broke two serve points of Felipe Lopez, and won the first set in one go.
After losing the first set in this way, Felipe Lopez was very annoyed with his performance. He stood there and yelled at himself, almost throwing his racket. What was worse than losing was the way he lost. This was definitely not the way Felipe Lopez wanted to see the first set end.
(End of this chapter)