Chapter 803 Invisible Duck Egg
In 2015, a brand new season makes its debut.
As a leader of the new generation, Gao Wen has already stood under the spotlight, attracted the attention of all, and embarked on a new journey with earnest expectations.
Judging from his debut performance, Gao Wen can feel the pressure and he has worked very hard during the off-season. However, the impact of adjusting his technical movements and the pressure coming from all directions have formed a siege. Gao Wen's condition needs further adjustment and we don't have too many expectations for his results in Doha.
However, Gao Wen used competition as training, and although he stumbled along the way and made a lot of double faults in his serve, he still stood firm and found a way to win.
In the doubles competition, the golden combination with Nadal made great progress and won the championship after defeating Djokovic and Krajinovic.
In the singles competition, Gao Wen also relied on good luck in the draw and did not encounter top players. He won four games in a row and advanced to the finals, once again subverting people's perception.
In the final, Gao Wen will face the third seed of the tournament, Berdych.
This is the second time the two players have met in their careers. The last time was in the round of 16 of the Paris Masters, where Gao Wen defeated his opponent in straight sets.
People's impression of Berdych always remains that he is "unable to bear the heavy responsibility", as if he always lacks the last breath and is unable to break through the shackles.
But in fact, like Berdych and Ferrer, they are both representatives of "fighting again and again and losing again and again", and they are unyielding and tenacious in their bones.
As of January 2015, Berdych has lost to Federer twelve times in his career, but he has also beaten Federer six times, including at the 2012 US Open.
Perhaps, Berdych's personality is not the aggressive and flamboyant type, but his conscientious and down-to-earth playing style makes him never give up easily.
Losing to Gawain in Paris last time will not affect Berdych's mentality, because this is a brand new beginning and he is still preparing diligently.
In fact, Berdych did have a chance on the final stage.
At the beginning of the game, Gao Wen's serve was still in bad condition. He was obviously still affected by the modification of his technical movements. He struggled in the first two service games.
The first serve missed repeatedly, with a scoring rate of only a pitiful 52%. In addition, there were four double faults. The lack of support from the serve made the game fall apart. Coupled with the intense consumption of fighting on two fronts yesterday, both physical strength and energy were severely tested, and the shots in the opening stage were not stable.
“4:0”.
After just seventeen minutes, Berdych easily broke Gawain's two serve games and took a commanding lead, making the entire final a one-sided affair.
The audience was groaning; this was definitely not the final they had expected.
However, Gao Wen remained calm and composed. Even when trailing by a large margin, he stood firm, focused, and slowly regained his serving form. In his third serving game, he saved two break points and not only avoided the tragic fate of losing the first set, but also regained his momentum.
This game created an impact and Berdych's attention was slightly distracted.
Because of missing two break points and because of the rapid improvement in Gawain's competitive state, the intensity of the confrontation and the quality of the game were quietly changing. Gawain successfully held his serve in a game that he thought he had in his hands, while Berdych was a little confused and did not understand how the duck in his mouth flew away.
So, in the next game, Berdych's forehand and serve showed obvious fluctuations.
Gao Wen keenly sensed the change, seized the opportunity, scored four points in a row, delivered a "love-game", broke the serve strongly, and further narrowed the score gap.
This also became the turning point of the first set.
Although Berdych quickly sounded the alarm, regained his focus and regained his footing, Gawain's morale and condition showed a rapid upward momentum. He launched a powerful attack with the force of pulling mountains and rivers. The rhythm and intensity of the whole game changed significantly, and Berdych was a little unprepared.
The balance was thus overturned.
A tennis match is not like a football match where a flash of inspiration can turn the whole situation around; it is more like a boxing match where head-on confrontation is a state of loss and gain, and the transition between offense and defense can often produce a series of domino effects; in the blink of an eye, the game may be over.
"6:4".
The one who had the last laugh was Gawain.
In fact, Gao Wen's serving condition was still not good, but his timely adjustment was more reflected in the second serve. In the next six games, his second serve scoring rate was as high as 73%.
This is a very impressive data. It can be seen that Gao Wen’s tactical layout did achieve outstanding results and turned the situation around in one fell swoop.
After successfully avoiding a bagel, Gao Wen instead delivered an invisible bagel, winning six games in a row, making a comeback and taking the first set victory.
Berdych was a little confused.
On the first set point, Berdych made his first double fault of the first set, handing over the victory and ending the first set in an almost absurd way.
Oh! The entire center court was filled with surprised cries, and many people held their heads, unable to believe their eyes. For a moment, they didn't know whether they should be amazed at Berdych's invisible duck egg or at the way the first set ended.
The first set was incredible, whether it was the ups and downs or the surprising ending.
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The audience exchanged glances one after another, and the rustling sounds clearly conveyed the surge of emotions.
The same thing happened to Berdych. He stood there with his hands on his hips, looking towards his players' box, his eyes full of questions: Who am I, where am I, what am I doing? "A hundred thousand whys" were almost overflowing, and Berdych didn't know what was going on. In a daze, the first set ended just like that.
With an emoji of "question mark.jpg" on his face, Berdych spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, turned around and walked back to the rest area in frustration.
However, the biggest advantage of players like Berdych and Ferrer is that they are stable and dedicated. They rarely collapse - it only happens very occasionally.
Therefore, no matter what the score is, they will complete the game conscientiously, and the overall average level and quality will always remain stable.
In the second set, Berdych did not collapse, but regained his spirit. When Gawain held his serve first, he also successfully held his own serve, stopping the tragedy of losing seven games in a row. The second set started with "1:1", stabilizing the situation, and then the game finally got back on track.
However, the trouble is not over yet, or to be more precise, the game is not over yet.
Like Djokovic, Berdych did not face much testing in Doha:
In the first four rounds, they only lost five games in two games and three games in two games, and advanced easily. This also means that they did not have many opportunities to adjust their batting state. Once the strong confrontation in the round ball became stalemate, the batting feel was inevitably not enough.
Against Gawain, the number of shots in the baseline rounds increased significantly, but Berdych's ball control was far from optimal, so he couldn't hold the ball:
Often when we are actively attacking or passively defending, we accidentally lose the ball, especially at crucial points, and mistakes ruin all our efforts.
As a result, we can only rely on serve and forehand to deal with the opponent.
Such a game is very, very unfavorable for Berdych.
(End of this chapter)