Chapter 723 Caught off guard

As Xu Yang said, Kei Nishikori was not able to catch up with Gao Wen in terms of ball counting speed, which was also a key point in the opening——

For Gawain, coming on as a substitute for Raonic was an unexpected event; on the other hand, for Kei Nishikori, the temporary replacement of the opponent was also an unexpected event.

Both players' previous pre-match preparations had to be overturned and started over again, so this group match will also require a test of the players' ability to deal with unexpected situations.

In the opening stage, Gao Wen showed his ability to interpret the game.

Whoosh.

The wind is howling strongly.

Gao Wen was running at full speed, from the forehand position to the backhand position, and then he hit a big loop back with both hands, and the speed of the racket head also increased -

Not in a straight line, but in a diagonal line.

Super topspin, strong pull up.

The entire full parabola crossed the entire court, and Kei Nishikori immediately moved horizontally to the left and waited in the backhand position to prepare for hitting the ball.

Kei Nishikori soon discovered that his feet were on the baseline, so Gawain's super topspin shot went deeper, further squeezing Nishikori's swing. He adjusted his position with a series of small steps, but still failed to completely clear the position.

then.

Kei Nishikori exerted force, held the racket with his upper body, leaned back slightly, turned his body forcefully, and used his body weight to push the tennis ball back to his chest.

Although he failed to grab the rising point, he avoided hitting the ball above his shoulder and swept the tennis ball back quickly. The most important thing was that the connection between the shots was very fast.

"Slash vs. Slash".

Kei Nishikori further increased his batting rhythm, and in a blink of an eye, the tennis ball returned to Gao Wen's court and shot out like a cannonball.

state.

Bang! From the sound of the ball hitting, it can be heard that neither Gawain nor Kei Nishikori used their full strength, but the difference is that Gawain did it on purpose, while Kei Nishikori was unable to exert his full strength.

Naturally, Kei Nishikori's return was slightly less effective than he had expected.

However, Kei Nishikori was not worried. He kept tapping the ground with his toes, keeping his body light, staring at Gao Wen, and ready to wait for the next ball.

Gao Wen did not move, his feet were still waiting at his backhand position.

Kei Nishikori's return was flat and fast, and it flew over in the blink of an eye, as light as a feather arrow. This ball failed to break through Gawain's defense, but the key point was, how would Gawain return the ball? Topspin? Straight? Early on, you can see Gawain raise his hands to backhand and make a racket-drawing action, as if he expected that Kei Nishikori's return rhythm might be further compressed, so he prepared in advance.

Then, a step forward.

tread.

Just with this one step, the foot has already entered the bottom line.

In an instant, alarm bells rang in Kei Nishikori's mind.

Because this is Gao Wen's signature offensive move, starting from New York and continuing all the way to Paris last week, this offensive shot can be seen.

Gao Wen enters the court by stepping forward to grab the rising point of the ball and completes a backhand straight line shot. The whole rhythm of speed and power will explode instantly.

Very lethal.

Kei Nishikori's body had already formed a conditioned reflex. He kept stepping forward to ensure that his center of gravity was light. His calf muscles burst out with power, and he moved sideways to the right on his wheels to fill in the gap in the straight line. His eyes were fixed on Gawain's batting action and the light tennis ball.

Push off the ground! Turn! Swing the racket!

Take action.

The entire batting action is smooth and done in one go.

Just as Kei Nishikori expected, Gawain grabbed a rising point very suddenly. After two consecutive strong topspin shots from deep in the baseline, facing an ordinary round, Kei Nishikori's return did not have any obvious loopholes and was not an opportunity, but Gawain was the first to break the balance.

One push! It can be clearly seen that the moment Gao Wen hit the racket, the speed of the racket head was fully increased, and along with the force of pushing the ground, the sound of hitting the ball exploded.

Bang! Clean and crisp.

The tennis ball turned into a streamline, running through the entire court like lightning.

Slash.

Repeat the placement.

Back kick.

whoosh.

Land and score.

"Game, high."

In a flash, Gao Wen, who suddenly attacked and broke the balance, won the point neatly and successfully broke Kei Nishikori's serve.

Kei Nishikori, who was defending his forehand gap, misjudged the direction and didn't even have time to start again, so he lost the point.

Look up at the sky.

The game started with “2:0”.

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Kei Nishikori was a little frustrated and threw the tennis racket to the ground. The material of the ultra-rigid carbon fiber racket was not as rigid as he had imagined, and it had some elasticity due to the material properties of organic fiber. The racket bounced back after falling on the court, and Kei Nishikori grabbed the racket again like a juggler.

Then, he lowered his head, stood there with his hands on his hips, and thought very, very seriously about a question: How did the game start? Why didn't he anticipate Gawain's shot? He had been trying to take the initiative, but why couldn't he find the rhythm?

Could it be that Gao Wen has been upgraded? Nishikori Kei has many doubts.

In the studio, Xu Yang nodded slightly, revealing a hint of appreciation, but even though he was emotionally excited, his voice remained consistent and gentle.

"This one goal shows Gawain's control over the situation."

"Kei Nishikori was trying to speed up, but Gawain used the placement and rotation to squeeze him, which made Nishikori's tactical intentions always lack a little bit, and his consideration of the hitting line was not thorough enough."

"The result was what Gawain had predicted."

"In fact, Kei Nishikori's backhand diagonal shot was of good quality, but was caught by Gao Wen. After slowing down for two consecutive shots, Gao Wen immediately decided to speed up and break the balance, using both hands to accelerate the backhand shot."

"For this ball, even if Kei Nishikori was at the backhand position, it would be difficult for him to defend effectively because the entire rhythm was already under the control of Gao Wen."

"From a tactical perspective, Gao Wen was already confident and well-planned before he made his move, while Nishikori still lacked more ideas for the entire layout, which also prevented the confrontation between the two sides from forming a balance. In the two games so far, the gap in both scores and situations was instantly widened."

"nice!"

Xu Yang praised again.

Tong Kexin turned to look at his partner, "Why, are you saying Gao Wen is good-looking?"

"..." Xu Yang was silent for a moment, "I mean, Gao Wen's game is interesting."

Then he went on to explain.

"Federer's games are interesting because of his elegance; Nadal's games are interesting because of his tenacity; Djokovic's games are interesting because of his control."

"And Gawain's game is so good because he is smart."

Many times, Gao Wen's interpretation of the game is indeed ahead of his opponent, just like playing Go, the black piece may still be spinning in place, but the white piece has already completed the layout, so that the black piece has no idea how he got into trouble.

"hehe."

Tong Kexin couldn't hold back her laughter and laughed happily, her silver bell-like laughter echoing for a long time.

"Are you saying Nishikori Kei is stupid?"

Xu Yang: ...

(End of this chapter)