Chapter 693 Targeting Tactics
Forty-one minutes, "6:1".
How did all this happen? Judging from the score, the gap was very big, almost one-sided, and Gao Wen was almost defeated.
But in fact, judging from the game time, the confrontation between the two sides was extremely fierce and the process was far from simple.
The Paris Masters is played on an indoor hard court. The overall pace of the game is fast, the defense is relatively difficult, there are relatively few rounds, and the game progresses naturally: look at the first set of Gawain's match against Raonic, which was entangled all the way to the tiebreak, but the whole set only took 53 minutes.
Sometimes, Raonic's serve game can be over in about a minute with four points in a row; and in this final, "6:1", which means seven games, the average time spent on each game is nearly six minutes. This is the real content of the game.
So, what happened? In short, it was a stalemate. The situation was still extremely stalemate, and it was definitely not a one-sided situation. The second confrontation between Gawain and Djokovic lived up to expectations and was indeed full of gunpowder. The back-and-forth scene offered many wonderful shots, and the strong confrontation between offense and defense was exciting.
but!
On the key points, Djokovic performed even better, truly showing the demeanor of a giant: not only did he successfully save all six break points in his own serve in the first set, but he also forced out a full ten break points in Gawain's serve, and finally broke two serve games in a row. Djokovic, who served first in the game, established a huge advantage of "5:0" at the opening stage.
Until the end of the set, Gao Wen saved three break points and set points, and saved his serve for the first time in the entire match, avoiding the embarrassment of losing the first set.
As far as he can remember, the last time Gao Wen was in such an embarrassing situation was in the US Open semi-final against Djokovic. In the middle of the game, he lost six games in a row and was completely unable to fight back.
But the situation is completely different now.
At that time in the US Open, it was Gawain who was facing the limit of his physical strength. Djokovic keenly sensed the change in the atmosphere of the game and suddenly accelerated, so that the tempo of the entire game was accelerated. Gawain could not keep up at all and was caught up in Djokovic's game rhythm. He had no idea how to score at all.
Paris at this time was a different story.
What is certain is that the game has just begun and Gao Wen has absolutely no physical problems. The stalemate and fierce confrontation of the game are the best proof of this.
The real key lies in the content of the competition.
It was obvious that Djokovic had done extensive research and preparation for Kovan, not only for the US Open but also for this tournament in Paris.
From Valencia to Paris, Gawain's condition has been on an upward trend, and his backhand has been outstanding, becoming the foundation of Gawain's game. Just look at the last game against Raonic, and you will know that Gawain's two-handed backhand has basically found the peak performance of the Flushing Meath period.
Even better.
According to the style of the indoor hard court, Gao Wen has obviously increased his aggressiveness. In order to reduce the pressure of defense, he often dares to change the way of hitting the ball with his two-handed backhand. He changes the rhythm and routine by changing the landing point, line and rotation, takes the lead in launching the attack, and performs very well.
A more accurate way to express it would be: progress.
Gao Wen's two-handed backhand has always performed well, and he can attack and defend, but overall, he still relies on his solid basic skills to support his shots. His entire stroke is very solid and stable. Now, Gao Wen's two-handed backhand has begun to change the rhythm more and hone his offensive weapons.
Reaching back-to-back finals on indoor hard courts is the best proof of this.
Djokovic chose to break through Gawain's backhand.
When people discuss the one-handed backhand, Wawrinka's violence and Federer's sharpness will undoubtedly be the best choices; when people discuss the two-handed backhand, Djokovic is recognized by countless experts and players as the "world's No. 1 two-handed backhand", which is indeed flawless and all-round.
The most intuitive point is that Djokovic dared to adopt the strategy of "suppressing forehand and backhand" when facing Nadal, because he has unparalleled confidence in his two-handed backhand, and is not inferior even when facing Nadal's forehand.
However, facing Nadal, Djokovic is probably the only one in the entire professional tennis world who dares to use such tactics and succeeds.
In the first set, Djokovic showed his unparalleled ability in backhand shots, repeatedly suppressing Gao Wen's backhand with his backhand.
Moreover, compared with the US Open, Djokovic's entire shot was clearer, and the layout, strategy, quality, changes, etc. were all improved to a higher level.
Once Gao Wen is unable to open up the situation on the backhand, his tactical layout will be restricted, and it will be difficult to break the situation relying solely on the forehand. Then the game will face a very serious dilemma, and the opponent standing on the other side of the net will never miss the opportunity easily.
From strategic layout to tactical execution, Djokovic played a perfect game with a strategy completely tailored to Gao Wen.
Of course, despite being suppressed, Gawain was still able to fight with Djokovic, and his backhand still withstood the severe test. He also contributed many wonderful shots, which was the direct reason why the first set took so long.
Unfortunately, these wonderful shots did not appear where they “should have appeared”: the crucial points.
Djokovic is always able to improve his condition at critical moments, suppressing Gawain's counterattack and maintaining the lead by winning key points.
In fact, Gao Wen's key points performance is already very good and worthy of recognition:
He saved eight of ten break points and only lost two service games, which kept Djokovic's break success rate at a pitiful 20%, which shows how strong Gawain's heart is.
However, facing the world's number one who is bent on revenge, "outstanding" is still not enough.
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With Gawain's forehand diagonal shot going straight out of the baseline, Djokovic cashed in on the second set point and secured the first set victory.
"ah!"
The world number one roared like a lion, venting all the emotions that had been suppressed for the entire game. The veins on his clenched fists were clearly visible, and murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He pounced towards Gao Wenfei on the other side of the court with his fangs and claws.
It's not just because of the loss in the US Open semi-finals. In the first set of today's match, Djokovic also faced a strong attack from Gao Wen. Unlike the easy score, the real game process inspired Djokovic to his best form.
He needs a little catharsis and release.
“Ahhhh!”
Djokovic's roar truly resonated in the indoor space of the center court, demonstrating his belief in winning.
But will Gawain surrender? No, of course not! Gawain knows this, and Djokovic knows this too.
Faced with Djokovic's emotional outburst, Gao Wen did not avoid it. Not only that, he also met his emotions with a burning gaze, full of calmness and determination.
Separated by half the field, the two players couldn't see each other's expressions clearly, but they could feel the sparks of the powerful collision from their body language.
The smoke was filling the air, almost suffocating me.
(End of this chapter)