Chapter 77 An easy victory
"Wow! I scored directly from the serve!"
"Gawain showed no fear when facing break points. His calm and varied tactics showed his professionalism."
Sofar did not hesitate to give compliments, and they probably had not expected that Gawain would resolve the break point in such a decisive way. I'm afraid Harris had not expected it either.
Perhaps, some people would question, what if Harris got the point when receiving the serve? Then... Gao Wen would have to admit defeat.
Because tennis, like chess, is a game of calculation and counter-calculation. If someone sets a trap, someone will naturally be able to break it, and winning or losing is all a clash of brainstorms. But the difference between tennis and chess is that you cannot complete a shot by relying solely on your mind, so whether you show mercy at the critical moment also plays a big role in success.
The result of this point was that Gao Wen was right.
But Gao Wen's crisis is still not resolved. The score is tied, which means that the next point is still crucial, either the second break point or the game point.
In the next point, Gawain served a close inward-spinning serve, which went towards Harris' chest after landing, squeezing Harris' return.
Although Harris reacted quickly and made room to get back to Gawain's court, the quality was average, and Gawain took the lead in attacking.
This is also a shot that cannot be leveraged, but Gawain's handling shows the delicacy of his technique. He did not exert full force, but aimed at the sideline, hitting a remote spot, and used the tail force of outward rotation to create an angle to contain his opponent, continuously attacking Harris' backhand, and entangled Harris' fighting firepower.
One beat! Two beats!
Gawain pinned Harris's feet on the backhand position. Harris' one-handed backhand was under great pressure. The quality of his return ball fluctuated significantly and he could hardly control the rotation. Then there was a return ball with a slightly higher parabola. It was not an absolute opportunity, but the flaw had already appeared.
Three beats!
Gao Wen immediately seized the opportunity and hit Harris' backhand for the third consecutive time, and rushed forward to the net. His tall and long body covered the front court, compressing Harris's return space and creating further pressure.
Faced with layers of pressure, Harris was obviously weak in the final moments, the timing and position of his shot were off, and he directly hit the tennis ball away.
Gao Wen takes the lead!
Gawain, who was standing in front of the net, roared again. His passionate roar severely suppressed Harris' counterattack. He improved his condition again at the critical moment and controlled the situation with his tough performance.
Then, Gao Wen served another inside corner serve, suppressing Harris' backhand again-
Last time in the second zone, Gao Wen served to the outside corner to save the break point; now in the second zone, facing the game point, Gao Wen served to the inside corner.
Harris's one-handed backhand, which had been hit continuously before, was obviously unable to control the ball. Then he faced the inside corner serve again, and it was a flat serve with both speed and power. Harris's hitting rhythm was obviously not fast enough, and then the tennis ball hit the racket frame and flew into space again.
Then, Gao Wen successfully won his serve.
In the situation of trailing at "30:40", Gao Wen scored three points in a row, two points directly from serves, and a continuous offensive suppression, and he regained the advantage with ping-pong clang, making Harris' counterattack come to nothing. Although he consumed a lot of physical strength and energy, he still failed to break Gao Wen's serve.
Compared to the first set's overwhelming victory, the second set's opening was tested and the situation was under control, which was another blow to Harris' morale. Gawain seized the opportunity again! In fact, Gawain did not have an absolute advantage in the three-point shot. He suppressed Harris's counterattack through a variety of tactical combinations. His intelligent handling method consumed a lot of energy and brainpower.
But to outsiders, it seemed like an understatement, with no clear reasoning. It seemed as if the outcome was decided in just two or three beats. Some even thought that Harris' consecutive mistakes at critical moments ruined such a good situation.
However, it was precisely this "unclear yet powerful" feeling that caused the momentum to change invisibly.
The first effort is strong, the second will weaken, and the third will be exhausted.
The courage Harris gained during the break between sets was disrupted by Gawain, especially the missed break point, which made him very upset.
As a result, Harris' performance fluctuated again in the next serve game.
Although Harris's attack was still able to score, at the critical moment, his backhand was suppressed again, and then he made a mistake in his attack. Then, his forehand return was not in place, which gave Gao Wen the opportunity to seize the opportunity. He quickly connected with a two-handed backhand to open up the angle.
The serve was broken! Harris stared blankly at the spot where Gao Wen's last backhand winner landed, his eyes filled with confusion, but his brain was unable to work, and only one puzzlement continued to linger:
Things shouldn't be like this. How did it become like this? Could it be that even the fighting tactics didn't work? Then what should he do? Is the difference in strength between him and Gawain really that obvious?
Until the whole game, Harris still didn't understand how he lost the game.
First he held serve, then broke serve, and then held serve again. In the second set, Gao Wen started with a "3:0" lead again.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
But the difference this time was that Gawain had a small physical fluctuation and low point; at the same time, Harris held his breath and did not collapse again. He saved his serve early, not only saving one service game, but also saving two service games in a row, and the score was not widened.
The score was 5:2 without any surprises. The home fans still did not give up hope, expecting Harris to hold serve again and then create some waves in Gawain's serve-winning game. Who knows? Maybe Harris would burst out and break directly? However...
"Ah! Backhand straight line!"
"Gawain's shot was absolutely crazy today. He scored points no matter how he hit it. As far as I can remember, he scored at least five straight backhand winners."
"In the last point, Gao Wen once again won with a straight backhand that was outstanding throughout the match, successfully breaking Harris' serve for the second time in the second set and winning the match in one go."
"The final scores were 6:1 and 6:2."
"The score was very different. Gao Wen broke Harris' serve five times in the whole match, but he only faced two break points in his own serve, and he successfully saved all of them. He easily defeated Harris with a perfect performance and won the victory. He also won the whole match for UCLA and continued to maintain his unbeaten record."
"I'm afraid no one had expected such a situation before."
"It's conceivable that after today, people will finally hear the name of the Bruins' No. 6 singles player for the first time."
(End of this chapter)