Chapter 660 The Final Battle
Winston-Salem, Gao Wen really didn't expect that his fate with this event would continue all the way.
In August, Winston-Salem rescinded Gawain's wild card at the last minute and temporarily awarded it to Isner. The other two wild cards went to Querrey, who had just returned from injury, and the fledgling Sock.
From an objective perspective, Winston-Salem's decision was correct and there is nothing to complain about.
But from Gao Wen's perspective, that was clearly a turning point this summer.
In New York, the first-round challenge against Isner ignited Gao Wen's high fighting spirit and started a brilliant fairy-tale journey.
In Paris, facing Querrey in the second round, there was a sense of déjà vu of fate; moreover, this was the last battle in the year-end finals, and Gawain was at his best.
Querrey, a very typical American hard court player, is famous for his cannon serve. As of 2021, he still maintains the record of serving ten consecutive aces; at the same time, he is also firmly in the top five in the historical ranking of the number of aces, which is similar to Isner's playing style.
But compared to Isner, Querrey has better mobility, certain defensive capabilities, more decisive forehand attack, and better ability to exert force and attack continuously.
Therefore, Querrey's career ranking is not as stable as Isner's; but when facing top players, he is often more explosive. Among the "Big Four", he has defeated Nadal, Djokovic and Murray respectively.
Among them, in the 2016 Wimbledon round of 16, facing Djokovic, who had won the US Open, Australian Open and French Open consecutively and was looking forward to completing the feat of sweeping the four Grand Slams in a row, Querrey won in a shocking upset, which shocked countless people.
Then, in 2017, in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, he defeated the then world number one Murray to advance to the semi-finals, and became the first American player to reach the Grand Slam semi-finals in eight years, once again surprising many.
In a way, just like Soderling who was invincible at the French Open in 2009 and 2010, Querrey also played like crazy on the grass in those two years.
However, 2014 was a very difficult year for Querrey. Like Janowicz, injuries were a hindrance.
After returning from injury, he has been unable to find his touch and has been stuck in qualifying rounds most of the time. Even when he went to lower-level competitions, his performance was very unstable.
Originally, indoor hard courts like the Paris Masters would have a bonus effect for serve cannons. Both Querrey and Janowicz are more suitable for playing on this court, but the problem is that their serve form has not returned, which means that Querrey has lost the cornerstone of the entire game.
It is indeed very difficult.
Gao Wen has a lot of experience against Querrey.
To be precise, it should be against American-style hard-court players. After all, Gao Wen's main opponent in the NCAA is of this style. Even Thompson, the top player of the Bruins, has the same style.
First of all, the entire American professional tennis training system is like this, including the Nick Bollettieri Tennis School under the IMG Academy.
Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Seles, the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Kei Nishikori and many more, all came from the Nick Bollettieri Tennis School, and their students are trained from elementary school. There are many disciples from here in the NCAA and professional arenas.
Overall, the talents are different, but the styles are similar.
Secondly, it is precisely because the style of the "Nick Bollettieri Tennis School" has spread throughout the North American continent that coaches at NCAA schools have been more or less affected.
School teammates, competition opponents, and sparring partners all have this style, and naturally, this has become the most mainstream type in the NCAA arena.
And if Gawain had not been raised in a wild and free-range environment at home; if he had not been reborn with the help of the system, which helped him maintain his own style, then if he had developed smoothly, he would probably have slowly evolved into the style of Querrey and Isner, or at least close to it.
But now, facing a player like Querrey, Gao Wen University's experience on the court played a very important role, even though this was the first time the two sides met.
Opening.
Gao Wen played very actively and proactively.
Last week in Valencia, I got used to the feel of hitting the ball on indoor hard courts. One of the great advantages of an indoor environment is that differences in weather and environmental factors are reduced to a minimum, which also means that the adaptation time for switching between different venues is shorter, especially in the three-set final with Murray, which really brought out the feel for me.
In the first game, Querrey served.
First point.
The game had just begun, and Querrey needed some time to get into the game, so his first serve was a bit unstable and missed. It was obvious that he was a little lacking in confidence because he had been losing this year.
Second serve, inside corner.
Gao Wen keenly sensed Querrey's uncertainty and instability, and immediately rushed to receive the serve on the second serve.
One pushed off the ground and the other rushed forward.
The forward movement of the whole body is very obvious, because according to experience, players like Querrey often add some spin to the second serve in the opening stage, not side spin but top spin, mainly to ensure that the tennis ball bounces high after landing, making it more difficult for the opponent to return the ball.
Imagine if Gawain stood one or even two steps away from the baseline, and then the tennis ball bounced high after landing. When it reached Gawain's position, the topspin would be fully released, so Gawain would have to hit the ball near his shoulder, a position where he could not exert force, so it would be difficult for him to start attacking immediately.
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Pay special attention to the fact that this is a tactic for the opening stage. Because in the opening stage, both sides have just finished warming up and need more or less time to get into the game state. Therefore, such a tactic can seize the gap when the opponent has not yet fully mobilized and create some advantages for the serving party.
As the game progresses, the tactics will be adjusted accordingly.
Querrey, that's right.
As a result, Gao Wen took a step forward and hit the ball as soon as the tennis ball hit the ground and bounced, before the topspin was fully released.
Bang! The sound of the ball hitting the ground is very crisp.
Moreover, Gao Wen's two-handed backhand is very durable. Following the inertia of his body rushing forward, he uses his body as a shield and pushes forward. He can complete a wall-type return without actively exerting force.
Boom! The tennis ball flew in a reverse slash, and the mustard yellow color disappeared directly on the blue court, as fast and light as lightning.
When he was waiting to appear again, he had already landed on the right sideline of Querrey, pressed the line, and then bounced back and jumped out directly.
Querrey only had time to get back into position during his serve and made no defensive moves at all. He watched the tennis ball rush towards the advertising board at the baseline, his eyes full of frustration and annoyance.
Return serve ACE.
"0:15".
Gao Wen kicked off the game with such a positive and strong attitude.
(End of this chapter)