Chapter 618: Long tug of war
Unbelievable!
Even if you witness it with your own eyes, it is still hard to believe. Throughout the game, Simon, who was in a state of divine help, always took the initiative and had the opportunity to end the game several times, but Gawain actually pulled out the opportunity and continued the game.
So wonderful!
So passionate!
The never-give-up and fighting-to-the-end spirit of competitive sports shines brightly on the center court.
So far, the game has lasted for exactly ninety minutes, but the audience is not tired at all, but becomes more and more excited.
Everyone was looking forward to another semi-final showdown between Federer and Djokovic, but no one expected that this semi-final would be just as exciting.
"Gawain! Come on!"
"Gawain! Come on!"
During the break, the center court was filled with people, and the uniform cheers of cheering lingered over the court for a long time.
Do you remember the first round when the tickets for Gao Wen's game were sold out for the first time?
By the time of the semi-finals, all the tickets for Gao Wen's match were sold out again, but the news media were no longer surprised. The attendance rate even exceeded that of the other semi-final. The entire center court was packed, which had become the most beautiful scenery of this year's Shanghai Masters.
Who could have thought that Gao Wen would be able to make it to the semi-finals in his first Shanghai Masters Tournament after returning to his hometown, and present such a thrilling and exciting game on the stage of the semi-finals? For every audience watching the game, whether inside or outside the stadium, this is a kind of enjoyment.
The roar surged above the eardrums, and smiles of happiness and joy bloomed under the cheering faces. The shouts from the depths of the soul lingered for a long time, and the bright and gorgeous five-star red flags proudly bloomed all over the mountains and fields. This should be a scene that has never been seen in the Shanghai Masters.
Qiao Wangsheng stood there in high spirits and enthusiasm, staring at the boy chasing the wind on the court with his head held high. His blood began to boil again.
There were lagging behind, passivity, stalemate, match point, danger, despair, fierce battles, counterattacks... everything is there, and the only thing missing now is victory.
The deciding set begins.
Simon, who missed numerous opportunities to end the game, showed no signs of collapse.
Stable psychological quality is an essential basic quality for defensive players. Once they become irritable or anxious, this is the beginning of the game getting out of control.
During the short break between games, Simon regained his sanity.
In the third set, Simon served first. He was still the king of grinding. He still used long shots to push the ball and still used defense to build the game. Simon steadily saved his serve.
The roller coaster ride at the end of the second set seemed to be completely a thing of the past.
Then, Gao Wen also stood firm and successfully held his serve.
After losing two service games in a row at the end of the previous set, he held his serve for the first time, which was a good start for the deciding set.
However, the physical exhaustion of the tug-of-war was indeed obvious, especially for Gao Wen who was in the chasing position in the second set. He was highly focused and had a continuous burst of adrenaline when facing match points, so he did not notice it. But after passing the peak period, the sharp decline in physical strength was exposed.
Another consequence of not having systematic training for three whole weeks could no longer be concealed.
Last week in the imperial capital, Gao Wen only played three games, so the impact on his physical strength was not obvious, and he was eliminated before he had time to expose the problem.
But this week in Shanghai, Gao Wen played five singles and two doubles matches, and the severe physical tests came one after another.
Especially in this match against the "Grinding King" Simon, scoring and losing points were a seesaw battle. Every point and every game was not easy. The two games lasted for ninety minutes, and the consumption of energy and brain power intensified the burning of physical strength.
Entering the third set, it was still a fierce battle.
For Simon, it was just a daily routine, with no difference between the first and third sets, but for Gawain, he soon reached his physical limit and the situation became very difficult.
Despite this, Gawain still gritted his teeth and persisted, fighting against Simon step by step, hoping that his physical limit would pass quickly.
The only thing to be thankful for is that Simon himself does not have an aggressive playing style and did not seize the opportunity of Gawain's declining physical strength to widen the gap.
"1:1".
"2:2".
"3:3".
At the beginning of the game, both sides successfully held their serve and there were deuces, but neither side gave away break points. Then, the turning point came in Gao Wen's fourth service game.
"4:3".
After losing the first point, the second point ended with Gao Wen's forehand hit going out of bounds at the end of the 24-shot long tug-of-war, and then Gao Wen fell to the ground.
The whole audience was silent.
Qiao Wangsheng almost forgot to breathe, his heart stopped beating completely, and he just froze in place with his fingers clasped tightly, with only one thought in his mind: Don't get hurt, don't get hurt, don't get hurt.
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Fortunately, Gawain was not injured, but only had a calf cramp. Because of this, he failed to push off the ground properly in his last shot, which led to an outrageous mistake in the shot. However, Gawain handled it very quickly, fell to the ground and avoided accidental injury.
I sat on the ground, stretched my calves to get over the cramp, and then stood up again.
The rescue personnel arrived at the scene as soon as possible, but the game still needed to continue because Gao Wen was not in a serious condition that prevented him from continuing the game. According to the rules of the game, he could only be examined during the break between innings.
In this game, Gao Wen was obviously affected by calf cramps. His ground pushing force was not sufficient, his serve was greatly affected, and his mobility performance also declined.
"0:40".
In a blink of an eye, Gao Wen had to face the dilemma of three consecutive break points.
Qiao Wangsheng's heart was completely tangled: on the one hand, he hoped that Gawain would take care of his health and not fight so hard for a victory; but on the other hand, he was secretly hoping that the cramps were not a big deal and that Gawain would still be able to fight to the end and win.
Conflicting thoughts are like angels and demons playing tug-of-war in the mind.
Once again, Gawain was pushed to the edge of the cliff, and instantly burst into high morale. At the same time, Simon also showed a rare fluctuation because of Gawain's condition plummeted. The intensity of the entire confrontation obviously dropped. At the critical moment, Gawain gritted his teeth and began to chase back miraculously.
"ah!"
As Simon's last shot went into the net, Gao Wen scored five points in a row to turn the situation around and narrowly saved his serve.
Gawain no longer suppressed his emotions.
This arduous battle brought out the stubbornness and fighting spirit deep in their bones which they had not experienced for a long time.
“Ahhhh!”
Gawain clenched his fists and howled toward the sky, expressing his anger, repression, frustration, high spirits, passion, and blood, finally venting the anger in his chest.
Bang, bang, bang! Gawain pounded his chest hard, feeling the force of his heart exploding, again and again.
He will not give up, he will not surrender, he will not disarm, no matter whether he wins or loses, he will stand to finish the whole game, until the last bit of energy in the depths of his soul is completely consumed, until the last point is settled: the battle never stops, the fight never stops! (End of this chapter)