Chapter 72: Panic
Huff.
huff.
Harris looked across the court breathlessly, his attention not on tennis at all. He just stared at Gawain opposite him without saying a word.
Gawain, however, remained unmoved. He looked over with a resolute gaze, meeting Harris's gaze squarely, and clenched his right hand into a fist, raising it high. Although he did not roar or scream, the distinct muscle lines on his arm still showed his inner determination, and he charged back head-on without showing any weakness.
Those ink-black eyes were filled with the sea of stars, bold and unbridled, strong and passionate.
In my impression, Asian faces are always relatively introverted and low-key, especially Chinese faces. They always regard modesty as a virtue and rarely attack with a sharp edge. Even in competitions, they rarely show emotions.
But the freshman in front of him was different.
From the first minute he came on the court, he displayed a belief in victory that was not only flamboyant but also strong. From his body language to his roars, one could feel the heat bursting from the inside out. The fiery clouds that filled the sky and the ground seemed to set the whole world on fire, and the overwhelming flames also became his will.
A look, a fist.
This simple movement enabled him to deeply feel the pressure coming towards him, which hit Harris' chest heavily. He groaned and was unable to speak.
Harris was a little irritated. No, he was very irritated. Very! What was going on?
What the hell! What the hell! What is going on!
Harris wanted to swear.
What happened to the overwhelming victory? What happened to the absolute advantage? What happened to the insignificance? What happened to the limited strength? What happened to the decisive hero?
Where is the promised deployment of troops, the meticulous planning, and the home field advantage?
But why is everything going off track now? Why! Harris had a strange feeling, as if his hands and feet were tied up. From his serve to his serve, he couldn't get out of the situation no matter how he tried. In the blink of an eye, he lost seven points in a row. He didn't even know what he should do to score.
My head is a little confused.
Looking at Gawain across the court, Harris had a terrible idea:
Is the opponent really that good? Then why is the No. 6 still playing singles? But if not, what is going on now? He didn't make any mistakes, but he couldn't score? Was it the opponent's extraordinary performance, or was it his own misjudgment? The 19-year-old Harris reached a dead end, and he couldn't figure it out.
"…Harris' offensive methods are still too simple. He hits the ball flatly with his forehand and his paddle. And his line selection is all conventional. This makes it easy for the defense to predict and they can often move ahead to gain an advantage. Then Harris's offense is slow to open up the situation."
"In sharp contrast, Gao Wen's return was very rich with flat shots, topspin, backspin, and lobs. With his excellent prediction and excellent touch, he was always able to find the best way to return the ball in difficult situations. In particular, his timing of attack and defense transitions and the quality of his return were eye-catching."
"Gao Wen has fully utilized his strengths in terms of tactics and basketball IQ. He has now pushed all the pressure onto Harris' side. The balance of victory and defeat is undergoing subtle changes."
"For Harris, the most important thing now is to sort out his thoughts, figure out what happened, and readjust his shot selection. Otherwise, he may be confused and face a more difficult situation without knowing what happened."
"Harris needs to speed up."
Sofar was in the studio, marveling at the prospect.
As a neutral commentator, he needed to maintain an objective stance, but on the court, Gawain's performance was so outstanding that he seemed to have popped out of nowhere from a crack in the stone. His combination of punches made Harris dizzy, and the situation of the entire game had subtly changed.
At this moment, it seemed that Gao Wen should be ranked 28th in the United States, and Harris should be the unknown and still unranked one. The positions were reversed, completely breaking people's expectations for this game.
It was an accident and also a surprise.
If MacDonald had heard Sofar's explanation, he would have nodded in agreement.
Gawain's reading of the game and application of tactics are very formidable, and it is often difficult to see clues in the technical statistics after the game. Only by actually standing on the court and playing can you feel the uniqueness of Gawain's return selection.
Harris failed to make adequate preparations and naturally fell into trouble.
On the surface, it seemed that Harris fought without any plan and kept running into a wall; but in fact, Gawain was setting traps step by step, waiting for Harris to fall into the trap.
The tennis game of calculation and counter-calculation is never that simple.
"Game, great!"
Just as my emotions were surging, the referee's voice announcing the score brought my thoughts back, and then he announced the end of the second game.
"First set, 2:0, Gao leads."
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As he was talking, Gawain scored another point in his own serve, this time using a flat backspin to change the rhythm: after two consecutive topspins to slow down the rhythm, he suddenly attacked with a flat shot. Although Harris did not lose his position and stood still to complete the shot, the fast and sharp backspin still interfered with his return. His center of gravity did not fully squat down, and the topspin of the racket was not enough, and then -
Lower the net.
A simple shot resulted in a simple mistake, and Harris' return ball failed to cross the net, resulting in another loss of point.
If Harris could lower his center of gravity and squat down with his knees, then this return ball could go over the net, but Harris's handling was obviously too sloppy.
So, since the beginning of the game, Gao Wen scored eight points in a row, breaking and saving, and had already taken a "2:0" lead in the game, while Harris still failed to break the bagel.
But for tennis, this is just the beginning. As long as Harris can quickly gain a foothold, the game can still be balanced. After all, he is only one service game behind - just like the beginning of Gao Wen's first game of the season.
The question is, can Harris calm down? And will Gawain let Harris get back on track? Tennis is not a sport that can be played by one person standing on the court. The opponent's containment, although not a fist-to-fist boxing match, is still a fencing-style confrontation.
As for the former, it is still unknown, but for the latter, Gawain’s answer is no.
In Harris' second service game, Gao Wen continued with his tactics and relaxed a little, because he already had the advantage of breaking the serve and could indeed try a bolder tactic.
It would be great if he could break Harris' serve again; but if not, it doesn't matter, at least he can find his offensive touch.
No matter what, Gawain will not let Harris regain his form in peace.
(End of this chapter)