Chapter 614 King of Grinding Kings
Running! Pushing the ground! Braking! Shooting!
Forehand straight line, shooting with all one’s strength in a flash, aiming at the blind spot of the bottom line triangle, a fight under extremely difficult circumstances!
"Out of bounds!"
The baseline judge's gesture was extremely firm, announcing the end of the 25-beat tug-of-war, which ended with Gao Wen's forehand slightly exceeding the baseline.
Oh! Just a little bit, just a little bit!
Qiao Wangsheng held his head in disbelief, looking at the landing point with regret. It was just a finger's width away, just a little bit away from being in bounds! In an instant, his heart stopped beating, and the whole audience sighed and lamented.
Simon raised his clenched right fist high, looking at Gawain on the other side of the court with burning eyes. The frustration and depression of missing two consecutive serve-winning games were vented out without reservation at this moment, and the desire for victory sparkled in his eyes.
It must be said that Simon's ability to withstand attacks at the baseline is really too strong. He is absolutely the second Hewitt! Qiao Wangsheng looked at Simon in disbelief. He didn't know how Simon could withstand Gao Wen's continuous attacks. The dangerous scene was really wonderful.
Then, he followed his line of sight to look at Gawain on the other side of the court. His heart curled up into a ball. He didn't dare to breathe or think. He just stared at Gawain intently, but didn't dare to speak, for fear that the slightest sound from him might disrupt Gawain's concentration and ruin the game.
On the one hand, he was nervous, the game seemed hopeless, he was so nervous that he couldn't breathe; but on the other hand, he was looking forward to it, looking forward to Gawain's counterattack and miracle.
I couldn't find an accurate way to express my conflicting feelings, so I could only repeat them over and over again in my heart:
Come on Gawain! Come on Gawain! He was totally unaware that his hands had been completely twisted together, with joints intertwined. He held them tightly with all his strength, as if he could become Gawain's strength as long as he exerted enough strength. Looking at the sweaty Gawain, his eyes revealed an earnestness.
On the court, Gawain was panting heavily.
huff huff.
"6:3".
The match point appeared, but at this moment, Gao Wen had no idea about the match point at all. He just stared at Simon and thought of NCAA's Sacramento in his mind.
When playing against Sacramento, Gawain had thought that he could just treat Sacramento as a beginner version of Simon; when he actually faced Simon, Gawain realized that Sacramento and Simon's playing styles were indeed exactly the same, but Simon's difficulty was definitely not just advanced, but nightmare level.
Covering the entire venue, everywhere.
That's the best way to describe Simon.
In fact, many people don't like Simon because Simon doesn't have any special playing style. It seems that he just runs all over the court, defends, defends and defends again. His offensive ability is mediocre. Even if he takes the initiative to attack, it is difficult for him to make a powerful shot, so he relies entirely on defense.
When it comes to defense, young fans will probably blurt out Nadal's name.
In fact, Nadal did start out as a defender, but what really made him one of the Big Four was his forehand attack. Both Federer and Djokovic have said more than once that Nadal's forehand is the most troublesome.
Simon is definitely not Nadal. The one who is closer to Simon's style should be the two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 "Australian Hare" Hewitt.
The team lacks an offensive touch and relies entirely on tenacious defense to create opportunities. Its footwork covers the entire court, and its predictive ability and defensive feel are second to none. It can basically complete a perfect package for any attack. It can not only defend the ball, but also force the opponent into trouble through high-quality defense.
Either they were suppressed by Simon's defense; or they tried to break through Simon's defense and required a heavier attack, aiming at the corners and making mistakes.
Such a Simon is definitely not comparable to Sacramento who relies on patience to force his opponents to make mistakes. Therefore, watching Simon's game is a torture. He is passive throughout the whole court, but he just doesn't lose the ball. He is very sticky and grinding, and the rounds often last more than ten or twenty shots. He can be called the "King of Grinding".
Moreover, the quality of Simon's round ball is far inferior to the offense and defense transitions and the thrilling long-shot round ball competition between the Big Four. It is pure defense, defense and defense again, until the opponent collapses.
Although Simon was unable to reach Hewitt's height, times had changed after all. Hewitt had dominated the world's No. 1 throne for a long time before Federer's aggressive offensive tennis emerged, while Simon's highest ranking in his career was only sixth, and he was never able to break through in the Grand Slam.
But no one can deny Simon's excellence.
In 2008, Simon rose strongly, entering the top ten in the world rankings for the first time, and entered the year-end finals as a substitute. He advanced all the way to the semi-finals and won the first set against Djokovic, but unfortunately was reversed and failed to enter the final.
In early 2010, he missed most of the season due to injury, and then entered a long recovery period. He fully recovered until this year. He reached the third round of the first three Grand Slams and the fourth round of the US Open, almost tying his best Grand Slam result.
In 2009, he reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
If someone rolls their eyes at Simon’s playing style, then Simon’s results can easily slap them in the face.
The record against the Big Four is one win and eight losses against Nadal, one win and eleven losses against Djokovic, two wins and sixteen losses against Murray, and two wins and seven losses against Federer.
In other words, he is one of the few players who has a record of winning against all four giants. Although the number of wins is limited, being able to accomplish this feat is an achievement in itself.
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What's more, Simon's record against other masters is also very impressive.
Three wins and four losses against Wawrinka, three wins and five losses against Del Potro, six wins and one loss against Cilic, seven wins and two losses against Monfils, and five wins and four losses against Dimitrov.
In addition, he won all three games against Medvedev and all four games against Hewitt.
It can be seen that Simon is particularly good at dealing with power players; and these players are not the impatient college students in the NCAA. Simon's ability to take advantage of the opponent's force and predict the attack is indeed unparalleled.
Before the game, Gao Wen had already prepared for a tough battle. Facing Simon, any match would not be easy. Most of the time it was a fierce battle, from the mental to physical to the will level, all of which were tests.
However, the actual situation is beyond imagination.
This time in Shanghai, Simon regained his form in a strong way. Not only did he defeat Wawrinka in the second round, but he also gave away a donut in the first round against Gui Lopez and in the third round against Berdych. His entire performance clearly showed his touch during his peak period. He reached the semi-finals relying on his absolute strength.
Prior to this, Simon's best results in the Masters were three semi-finals in Montreal, Paris and Monte Carlo. This time in the Magic City, he also hopes to be able to break into the Masters final for the first time in his career. Facing Gao Wen, who just emerged two months ago, is obviously Simon's best chance.
Simon, come prepared!
(End of this chapter)