Chapter 802: Advancement to the Finals
Ivo Karlovic, height 211 cm, weight 104 kg.
At any time, on any court, in any tournament, against Karlovic, the all-time record holder for the number of aces, players must be prepared for a tough battle:
Because whether you win or lose, the process will definitely not be easy.
For a long time, this giant has been the top player in professional tennis. His inherent physical advantages have been fully utilized. The super high angle of incidence allows his serve to have both speed and power, and he can even find a variety of tricky angles to further increase his power.
Looking at Karlovic's game as a whole, ACEs were everywhere, not to mention on grass, even on clay courts, the serve power of other cannons would be forced to reduce speed and power due to the increased weight of the tennis ball on the clay and the friction of the clay itself, but Karlovic was still able to blast out a bunch of aces.
Objectively speaking, the total number of aces can be accumulated over time. Karlovic turned professional in 2000, which makes him much older than Isner and Querrey. Therefore, it is not surprising that Karlovic can maintain the championship in the historical list of the number of aces.
However, the ATP also counts a number of different statistics:
In the match with the most aces in a single game, Karlovic occupies five of the top ten in history.
As of 2014, Karlovic has had three seasons with more than 1,000 aces in a single season, while Isner has had two.
From this, we can imagine Karlovic's game: ACE, ACE, and ACE.
This also means that opportunities are very, very few and fleeting; at the same time, you cannot reveal any flaws. Once there is a problem with your serve, a mistake will ruin your serve, then it is very likely that the entire set or even the entire game will be ruined, because it is extremely difficult to break back.
It is a severe test of both physical strength and energy.
Gao Wen will not take it lightly.
Of course, facing powerful players, Gao Wen has his own experience and methods, and his winning rate is not bad. He has played against Isner and Raonic successively.
But if you become complacent and underestimate your opponent, thinking that you have a sure win, Karlovic may be a easier player to deal with than Djokovic, and then you will be close to losing.
It was not because Gawain firmly remembered that "Pride makes people retreat", but because Gawain firmly remembered that Karlovic had just defeated Djokovic in the last round.
Everyone says that Djokovic is not in good form; but he knows that even if he is not in good form, it is not easy for any player to beat Djokovic.
This also shows that Karlovic is in good shape. Just look at Karlovic's first two rounds and you will know that in addition to serving, his forehand also performed well.
He needs to give it his all.
really.
Three tie-breaks!
Throughout the match, Gao Wen only got four break points in Karlovic's 18 service games: three of the break points were easily resolved by the serve, two aces and one direct serve; there was only one break point on the second serve, but Karlovic still saved it with a forehand winner.
Watertight.
As expected before the game, facing Karlovic, the chances may be very few and far between, and they will be gone in a blink of an eye, and the final victory will still need to be decided in a tiebreak.
Entering the tiebreak means that everything is possible. In addition to strength and concentration, a little bit of luck may be needed.
At critical moments, concentration is still a test, because opportunities are fleeting, and a shot, a choice, or a mistake may change the overall situation.
Gao Wen lost the first one, but won the second and third, with only a one-point advantage in each game.
The total score was "2:1", Gao Wen won and advanced to the finals.
In the end, Gawain made seven double faults and five aces, and the adjustments and struggles in the serve continued. Karlovic made one double fault and thirty aces. It took a full two and a half hours, or to be precise, one hundred and fifty-three minutes. The young and energetic Gawain had the last laugh.
Two games in one day, two wins in the end.
The previous doubles final lasted for an hour and a half, and the singles final lasted another two and a half hours. The intensity was comparable to a best-of-five Grand Slam tournament.
Moreover, the sun was shining brightly in Doha, with the outdoor temperature at 33 degrees Celsius and the perceived temperature as high as 38 degrees Celsius. Even if you just stand in the sun for a short while, you can see drops of sweat seeping out from the back of your T-shirt, let alone a fierce competition?
The moment the match point was realized, Gawain looked like he had been fished out of the water. He was sweating profusely, his face was flushed, his arms were greasy, his jersey looked like he could wring out a kilogram of sweat, and even his shorts were soaked inside and out. His whole body was steaming with heat.
However, there was no trace of fatigue between his brows. He was even able to jump high and clench his fists with passion to celebrate the victory.
The physical training during the off-season has begun to show results. Through actual practice, we are getting more and more excited and more motivated, and we are rushing towards the new season step by step.
With light steps, running and jumping, Gawain came to the net excitedly and shook hands with Karlovic to express his gratitude.
Karlovic, on the other hand, looked completely different. He was exhausted. After just one game, his stubble could no longer be restrained and began to sprout out. His entire jaw was covered with a dark blue shadow. Compared with what he was two and a half hours ago, he seemed like two completely different people.
"It looks like we've just taken a trip to the world of Harry Potter."
Gawain stroked his chin and said to Karlovic half-jokingly - magic, this should be the only reasonable explanation.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
The giant touched his chin naively and couldn't help laughing.
Looking at Gawain, who was still full of energy and looked like he would have no problem working hard under the sun for another three hours, Karlovic nodded slightly.
“Good luck in the finals!”
"Thanks."
Despite the hard work, difficulty and length, we finally won the final victory.
This also means that Gao Wen has earned himself another chance to play one more game, hone himself, and continue to adjust and absorb the success of the offseason.
This is the most worth celebrating thing.
In the singles final, Gao Wen will face the third seed Berdych.
In the last match of the day on Saturday, Berdych played well and encountered almost no challenge, easily defeating Seppi in straight sets.
The final scores were “6:2”, “6:3”.
After Nadal, the second seed in the lower half of the draw, was unexpectedly eliminated, Berdych still withstood the pressure and advanced to the final smoothly.
Perhaps, the much-anticipated match did not happen, but now it seems that the final lineup of "No. 3 seed VS new US Open champion" is not bad.
Although less topical, strictly speaking, Berdych, Nadal and Federer are players of the same generation, while Gawain is still a member of the new generation, so this can also be regarded as a duel between the new generation and the current top players.
What's more, for Berdych, this is a battle of revenge and the fans are also curious about the outcome of the match.
(End of this chapter)