Chapter 800: See you later Before
the game, in the preview of the quarterfinals, industry insiders and veteran fans generally believed that:
Gowen may face some challenges facing Brown.
There are two reasons.
First, Gawain’s own condition is unstable.
Originally, everyone was looking for their touch at the beginning of the season. Nadal and Ferrer were eliminated early, and Gao Wen was no exception. On the contrary, those players who have been participating in challenge tournaments for many years are accustomed to running around, changes, and turbulence. They may get into the state faster when the new season opens.
Moreover, Gao Wen adjusted his serving technique and the number of double faults in the first two rounds remained high.
Second, Brown's sharp knife has a certain impact.
Brown's powerful serve, tough forehand and unpredictable tactics have indeed made him a "giant killer", especially when facing young players. Due to their lack of experience and adaptability, Brown's imaginative shot choices are even more difficult to defend against.
However……
Gawain responded very, very well! Although Gawain still made nine double faults throughout the game, and the high number of errors still showed the stumbling of the serve, whether it was the first or second serve, Gawain showed his strong layout ability, "changing with change", and he was always able to stay ahead of Brown every time.
In the end, Brown's shortcomings were exposed.
No plans.
To be precise, he had a "Plan A" but no "Plan B"; moreover, "Plan A" was not really a plan, it was just a flash of inspiration, he thought of it one by one, and decided on his route and technique at the moment of hitting the ball. Sometimes, even he was not sure how he was going to hit the ball.
Therefore, once the opponent changes to take the lead, or "Plan A" hits a wall, Brown's subsequent shots will be scattered and disorganized.
Mistakes. Mistakes. Mistakes.
Although Brown had a lot of strength, he had no way to convert it into effective shots. Either the balls went out of bounds or into the net. The tennis balls were turned into squash balls.
This is the typical style of a "Challenge Player", with only three tricks. Once these three tricks are curbed, the game may go downhill.
When the match entered the second set, Gao Wen broke the serve early in the opening stage, and then the match entered the exhibition mode. Brown's shots were varied, and from the bursts of laughter that erupted from the scene, it was clear that the entertainment effect was excellent, but it had no impact on the overall situation of the game.
Two straight sets!
The match lasted 58 minutes and Gao Wen easily defeated his opponent.
The victory was not unexpected, as people generally expected Gawain to win; but the fact that he did it so easily and carefree was a small surprise.
On the other hand, industry insiders and veteran fans all believe that Djokovic should have no problem winning against Karlovic.
In general, the games between Karlovic and all the big serve players are the same: tie-break, tie-break, and tie-break. After entering the tie-break, the uncertainty factors are magnified, and the serving link can increase the winning rate; but at the same time, the strength and foundation may also widen the gap, and the victory and defeat follow a certain pattern.
Perhaps, Djokovic and Karlovic will have to fight until a tiebreak, but the strength of the world's number one is unquestionable, and victory is a natural result.
However--
It's unexpected!
"6:7(2)", "7:6(6)", "6:4".
After losing a tiebreak, Karlovic saved a match point, won two sets in a row, and reversed the victory, defeating Djokovic again after seven years.
Unpopular!
Absolutely unpopular!
After Nadal's upset loss to a qualifying player, Djokovic also lost to Karlovic in the quarterfinals, and the top two seeds were both eliminated.
It's as unpopular as Siberia.
But, how is that possible?
In professional tennis, Djokovic and Murray are recognized as "receive masters", and the serve receiving abilities of both players are unanimously recognized.
It is also because of this that when facing the big serve, people generally believe that Djokovic and Murray have no problem. In sharp contrast, every time Nadal encounters the big serve, professionals and veteran fans need to sweat for him.
In fact, this is a stereotype that is slightly biased.
We can compare this set of data. Currently, the top four players on the historical list of the number of ACEs are Karlovic, Isner, Federer and Querrey.
Let's temporarily leave aside Federer, who is among the Big Four, and just talk about Karlovic, Isner and Querrey, three typical serve cannons, and look at the record of the Big Four against them as of 2014:
Federer has 22 wins and 3 losses, losing one match to Karlovic and two to Isner.
Nadal, with 16 wins and no losses, remains unbeaten.
Djokovic has 20 wins and 5 losses, losing one game to Karlovic, two games to Isner, and two games to Querrey.
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Murray, 22 wins and 2 losses, both losses came to Querrey.
In other words, Nadal is the only player who remains undefeated, while Djokovic is the only player who has lost to the three big serve players.
Of course, listing such data does not have absolute meaning. After all, each player has a different style and the specific conditions of each game are also different. Moreover, in addition to the three players, the serve power of players such as Lopez, Raonic, Anderson, Roddick, etc. is also very outstanding.
Nevertheless, an important conclusion can still be drawn:
Tennis is a comprehensive sport, in which serving and receiving are just two parts.
When facing the big serve, Nadal's performance was not as frightening as expected; similarly, Djokovic's performance was not as easy as expected.
Just like now.
Facing Karlovic, Djokovic wasted a match point and was eliminated after a hard-fought three-set battle.
How is that possible?
But that's what happened. In his career against Karlovic, Djokovic is now behind with one win and two losses.
At this point, people finally felt something real:
At the beginning of the season, every player is adjusting their condition, even the Big Four are no exception. After a long offseason, they all need time and games to regain their touch.
Look at Djokovic. He won the first two rounds of singles matches without any difficulty, with the scores of both matches being "6:2" and "6:1". He advanced smoothly without encountering any challenges. But it also meant that he was not able to stay on the court for more time to adjust his condition and find the feel for the strong confrontation.
It reminds me of last year's Paris Masters final, which was exactly the same situation.
At that time, he faced Gawain, who was difficult to deal with at the baseline and had both offense and defense; now he faces Karlovic, who has a strong serve and can cut the Gordian knot. If Djokovic cannot open up the situation on the receiving end, then his ability to mediate at the baseline, which he is best at, will not be able to be brought into play, and the uncertainty will be magnified.
In the end, both players were eliminated in one day, both doubles and singles, and the ground was littered with broken glasses.
Once again, the high expectations of the Doha audience were dashed. No one expected that Djokovic would be the first to fall behind this time.
(End of this chapter)