Chapter 722: Relaxed and tense
"1:0".
It’s not surprising that he held serve; it’s not surprising that he held serve in a “love-game”.
What is really noteworthy is the tactical layout that Gao Wen prepared in the opening stage.
Here, Tong Kexin was still sighing, "It was a love-game at the beginning. It seems that Gao Wen is still very friendly to Kei Nishikori. He was so loving right from the start."
On the other side, Xu Yang seemed to be hesitant to speak and paused for a moment. Although he had long been accustomed to his partner's childish talk, he still couldn't help being surprised occasionally.
Then, Xu Yang still stubbornly insisted on his own explanation.
"In the first game, Kei Nishikori's ball counting speed was not as fast as Gao Wen's."
"Gao Wen set a trap from the start of his serve, slowing down his topspin serve and restricting Kei Nishikori's return line."
"Then, Gao Wen waited accurately on the return line of Kei Nishikori and used rebound shots to shorten the return time. Although the line and angle control were a bit rough, the time compression successfully broke Kei Nishikori's defensive balance and he easily won the winning point and successfully saved his serve."
"Gawain's real cleverness lies in the change of speed, slow and fast, and two effective strikes to restrict Kei Nishikori's punches and kicks."
In the first game of the match, Xu Yang could already vaguely see Gao Wen's tactical layout, which really showed his vision.
Tong Kexin smiled and teased, "You mean, like a cat catching a mouse?"
Xu Yang: ...
After a pause, Xu Yang continued speaking in his calm commentary style.
"It can be seen that Gao Wen has made sufficient preparations for this game and entered the game very quickly; however, it is only the beginning of the game. As the game progresses, the tactical execution of both sides should change. We have to continue to observe."
"Next, let's look at Kei Nishikori's serve."
Rustling.
Rustling.
The air in the O2 Arena was surging slightly, and the faint sound of whispering could be heard. It was not obvious, but it existed objectively.
In the opening stage, the game had not yet entered its prime and the audience's attention was not fully focused on the game.
However, two players were exceptions, both of them remained focused and concentrated wholeheartedly.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
Kei Nishikori was hitting the ball, but because of some trivial noises coming from the stands, he paused for a moment, looked at the stands, waited for the noise to die down, and then hit the ball again.
Kei Nishikori was slightly distracted, but not because of the audience - that was just an excuse, the real reason was because of Gawain.
Kei Nishikori is fully prepared for the second match; moreover, Gawain had just won the Paris Championship last week and is in great form, so it is even less likely that he will take it lightly. Since learning that Raonic had withdrawn, he and Michael Chang have been analyzing tactics and making sure they are ready for the match.
However, the reality is very... awkward.
It's not about forehand or backhand, or the technical aspect, but the whole rhythm of hitting the ball, which is sometimes fast and sometimes slow, making it difficult to predict.
At least in the opening stage, Kei Nishikori's mind was full of confused thoughts, and he still needed some time to sort out his ideas.
"15:40".
In his own serving game, Kei Nishikori had to face two break points in a blink of an eye, so he needed to be nervous and was particularly sensitive to the slightest noise.
Zone 1.
Inner corner? Outer corner? More important than serving, how should the next shot's attack be arranged?
Kei Nishikori took a deep breath, thought carefully, and then dribbled the ball again.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
The echo continued to roar on the eardrums, and Kei Nishikori threw the ball -
Outside corner.
Kei Nishikori finally chose the outside corner, suppressing Gawain's forehand and trying to break through Gawain's forehand, even though Gawain's forehand had been exceptionally good in the past two weeks.
173 kilometers per hour.
The speed of the first serve is not very high, but Kei Nishikori and Kofumi are different. Kofumi does it on purpose, while Kei Nishikori's average serve speed has always been low.
However, Gao Wen rushed out with a big stride, and made a big looping whip-like swing with his forehand, with his body completely open.
Here we come!
Kei Nishikori stared at Gao Wen's return, taking small steps to move to his left.
Return the ball in the middle area closer to the backhand.
It can be seen that Gao Wen tried to hit the ball in a straight line, but because he did not have enough time to swing the racket, the whole action was not completed, so the straight line was not completely straightened.
This also gave Kei Nishikori enough time to move, and he was ready to attack with his two-handed backhand.
etc!
Kei Nishikori's pupils contracted as he immediately noticed the strong upward spin. He could see the exploding fluff before it hit the ground, like an angry bird.
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The ball speed is not fast, but the rotation is very strong.
This is the effect of Gao Wen's forehand big loop swing. Although the rotation speed is not as good as Nadal, the combination of rotation and landing point is very good.
The return ball landed in the deep area, only half a step away from the baseline.
After rebounding from the ground, it soared up very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it had already rushed directly towards Kei Nishikori's face.
It's this ball.
In today's game, Gawain's batting has been changing since the start.
Or, there is a strong topspin in the deep baseline area, and the angle may not be forcibly torn apart, thus squeezing Kei Nishikori's hitting action.
Or, he would hit the ball flatly in a shallow area, but the angle would be deliberately widened because the rebound height after landing is limited, which also means that Kei Nishikori does not have much space to hit the ball.
In general, the speed and power are relatively weakened, which mainly disrupts Kei Nishikori's rhythm of grabbing the rising point, limits Kei Nishikori's ability to use the force of the ball to a certain extent, and creates different return effects through changes in the landing point combined with rotation, which always puts Kei Nishikori in an awkward position.
Kei Nishikori wanted to gain a higher point and really wanted to increase his speed, but the effect of each shot was not as expected. The ball was always in an uncomfortable position, and the pace of the entire game slowed down as Gao Wen wanted.
Kei Nishikori doesn't like it, he really, really doesn't like it.
But Kei Nishikori will not continue to passively take the beating.
One push, one step.
Because he had plenty of time, Kei Nishikori took a step forward. Not only did he not avoid it, but he also took the initiative to move forward and grabbed a rising point:
Fight speed with speed.
Before the strong topspin is fully released and before the hitting point reaches your shoulder, you have already taken the initiative to strike the ball.
Then, use both hands to quickly backhand the ball, and with a light stroke, you have completed the diagonal shot, speeding up the ball as much as possible and hitting it flat over the net.
On one side, Gao Wen tried to slow down the game, while on the other side, Kei Nishikori tried to speed up the game.
On the indoor hard court, it is obvious that Kei Nishikori's batting strategy is correct, and then you can see his figure running quickly sideways on the other side of the court.
As fast as lightning.
It can be seen from the speed and position of movement that Gao Wen had predicted Kei Nishikori's hitting line in advance. After the action of receiving the serve in the previous shot, his feet quickly returned to the backhand position for defense, so when Kei Nishikori hit the ball, his feet were already close to the midfield position.
Run as fast as you can!
But is Gawain's strategy really that simple? Slow down the tempo of the game on the indoor hard court? Treat the indoor hard court as clay? (End of this chapter)