Chapter 727: Interpreting the Game
"Pah! Kei!"
"Pah! Kei!"
"Pah! Kei!"
The O2 Arena is thunderous.
In the first set, after Gao Wen won five consecutive games, Nishikori finally saved a game to save face and avoid the fate of being bageled.
This was also the first time Kei Nishikori held serve in the entire match.
But in his own serve game, Gao Wen continued to play steadily and successfully held his serve without any suspense, easily winning the first set.
“6:1”.
It is 100% certain that this is not the match that the audience hoped to see after they flocked to the O2 Arena, perhaps with the exception of Gao Wen’s fans.
So, during the break between games, the whole audience burst into thunderous cheers: two claps and one shout.
"Pah! Kei!"
From sparse to uniform, the voices of the 20,000 spectators gathered into a force, hovering over the court. Everyone stood on the side of the "weak" and expressed encouragement with practical actions, hoping that Kei Nishikori would not give up and would catch up in the second set to reverse the situation.
If he gives up here, then Kei Nishikori's 2014 season is likely to end here, especially after defeating Murray and being eliminated in two consecutive group matches, which is a stab in the heart of Kei Nishikori. I believe Kei Nishikori will do his best to avoid such an ending.
Who knows?
As long as the game is not over, anything is possible.
This is indeed the case.
Perhaps, it was the cheers from the entire stadium that gave Kei Nishikori the motivation and energy; perhaps, it was the earnest desire to qualify for the group stage and advance to the semi-finals.
Perhaps, it was because he had come to his senses after the disastrous defeat in the first set; perhaps, it was because Gao Wen's first set went so smoothly that he started the second set a little loosely.
In short——
“2:0”.
At the start of the second set, Kei Nishikori, who served first, not only saved his second service game in a row to avoid falling behind again in the second set, but also seized the opportunity of Gao Wen's consecutive second serves to launch a full-scale attack, and finally cashed in on the third break point and completed the first break.
"Pah! Kei!"
"Pah! Kei!"
The whole audience was thunderous.
The O2 Arena was boiling! After a disappointing first set, the second set finally gave them the feeling of the year-end finals, so the audience cheered even harder and more cheerfully.
It was definitely not directed at Gawain.
The audience simply wants to see more exciting and intense matches, or even just hopes to watch the game for a little longer at the O2 Arena.
After all, a game ticket is not cheap, and in the past four years, the average game time was only 70 minutes, which is less than the length of a movie.
This price-performance ratio is really hard to describe.
Immediately afterwards, Kei Nishikori took a "40:15" lead in his own serve game, one point away from a "3:0" lead.
The heat could be felt throughout the O2 Arena.
Is Kei Nishikori really going to strike back? After all, Kei Nishikori has always been known for his tenacious style of play and will never surrender easily. It is certain that he will continue to fight.
Now, the first and second sets are very, very close, with the active players simply swapping positions, so what's next?
“5:2”.
"40:15".
Thirty minutes later, it was Gao Wen who took the lead. With an overhead high ball, he managed to make Kei Nishikori, who was pressing forward to the net, lose his temper and got two consecutive match points in his own serve game.
Kei Nishikori looked helplessly at the tennis ball flying over his head. After landing, he squatted down, holding the racket handle with both hands to support his body, as if he had not much strength left in his body.
So, what happened? In short, it's the ability to read the game.
With one point left before Kei Nishikori established a "3:0" advantage in the second set, he became a little anxious and his forehand shot changed direction drastically out of bounds, deviating by a full half ball's space. This also revealed Kei Nishikori's eagerness to establish an absolute advantage.
Gawain, got it.
In fact, Gao Wen was a little distracted at the beginning of the second set, because he maintained high intensity and high concentration throughout the first set, and his extremely tense nerves needed to relax a little; moreover, the first set was too smooth and he hardly encountered too many challenges, so the intensity of the second set was a little bit unable to keep up.
In the first three games, points were lost quickly, but gradually, Gao Wen regained his calm and rationality, and captured the subtle changes in Kei Nishikori's mentality.
So, in the next point, which was Kei Nishikori's second game point, Gao Wen fought hard for a shot.
When receiving the serve, just choose to fight hard.
He caught Kei Nishikori's serve and used his forehand to hit the ball diagonally, directly penetrating Kei Nishikori's defense and scoring.
Return serve ACE.
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In the blink of an eye, Kei Nishikori lost both game points. Not only did he fail to establish a "3:0" lead, but Gao Wen also regained his focus.
His mentality subtly fluctuated between the two, and then Gao Wen fully improved his condition and launched an attack.
That game lasted for thirteen minutes and was undoubtedly the turning point of the entire game.
Kei Nishikori missed a total of four game points, but Gao Wen seized the second break point and, in a 25-round tug-of-war, used a two-handed backhand with a small diagonal repeated landing point to complete the break.
The score did not become "3:0" but "2:1". Both sides returned to the same starting line, and the situation and mentality changed further as one side gained strength while the other lost strength.
Keep going! Seize the opportunity to win!
Gao Wen broke Kei Nishikori's two serve games in a row, and in a blink of an eye he won five games in a row again, perfectly replicating his performance in the first set and proudly welcoming his own serve to win the match.
Amid the audience's regretful boos, Gao Wen got two consecutive match points.
"Come on, Kei!"
"Kyu, please!"
The audience at the O2 Arena were still not ready to leave the stadium. They kept cheering and applauding Kei Nishikori, waiting for a miracle.
really!
Kei Nishikori fought hard! On the match point, Gao Wen sent a close-range forehand flat shot at a speed of 197 kilometers per hour, which was of very good quality, but Kei Nishikori used an awkward movement of leaning his upper body back and forced a forehand to sweep the ball horizontally, fighting hard and hitting the ball -
Bottom line triangle.
It was Gao Wen's forehand position. Although Gao Wen's feet were on this side and movement was not a problem, Kei Nishikori's return ball landed deep and tricky. Before Gao Wen's serve could fully return to position, he barely blocked the ball with his forehand. The quality was mediocre and was caught by Kei Nishikori.
Forehand, sideways, slide the skateboard, grab the rising point, and connect quickly.
Kei Nishikori seized the opportunity and took a series of small steps like dancing on water. In a flash, he had already moved to the side. He used his forehand to attack fiercely, aiming at the gap in Gawain's backhand and directly smashed the ball.
Boom! The tennis ball bombarded like a missile. Although it didn't land in the dead corner, it still landed in the big triangle on the left baseline and continued to spin outward after landing.
Danger.
Danger!
Danger!
Red light, alarm! Gawain's footsteps were unwavering in the storm, and he crossed the court on his wind and fire wheels. Even though he had an absolute advantage, he did not let his guard down. He stared at the tennis ball with burning eyes, and his speed exploded to the extreme. Only a series of afterimages could be seen dragging across the entire court.
(End of this chapter)