The dull sound of hitting the ball echoed in the sky above the ASB tennis court. The entire venue was completely silent, and the air was almost on fire.
Zhang Ze, who was preparing to serve, raised his head and glanced at Jose Statham on the other side of the court, calmed his breathing a little, and then——
Throw the ball! Kick the ground! Hit the ball!
Second District.
One shot, in.
Outside corner, suppressing Statham's backhand.
Sure enough, Statham's return did not suppress the arc, the parabola was completely pulled up, and the landing point was not well controlled. Zhang Ze quickly followed up.
Standing on the baseline, Zhang Ze swept the ball with his forehand, aimed at the straight gap, and exerted all his strength.
but!
At the critical moment, Zhang Ze was still a little conservative. His line and landing point were not pushed to the extreme. Coupled with the lack of strength and explosiveness, the speed and quality of the ball were not improved. He originally wanted to score a winning point, but unfortunately——
A little lacking.
Statham, still sprinting horizontally, made a forehand shot, and actually touched the ball, barely defending, and the hearts of the audience were high again.
With eyesight, watch the tennis ball pulling out a full parabola, flying, flying, flying again, and finally...
Fly beyond the baseline.
Defense, after all, failed to control it!
Out of bounds!
Zhang Ze still managed to win the point without any danger. After saving three break points, he secured serve on his second game point.
boom!
The whole place was boiling.
The local audience in Auckland all held their heads, unable to believe their eyes, and their annoyance and admiration collided and burned.
At the edge of the court, Gao Wen could no longer hold back his emotions, raised his arms and shouted, roaring and cheering, waving his fists to cheer for Zhang Ze.
Others, no exception, clenched their fists and roared toward the court, completely igniting the air.
"8:7".
Zhang Ze, in the deciding set, continued to maintain the lead and put the pressure on his opponent. The next step was Statham's unstoppable serve.
Zhang Ze turned around, secretly clenched his fists, and cheered for himself:
"you can!"
"Believe in yourself, you can do it! You can win!"
In a daze, Zhang Ze seemed to have returned to Melbourne Park again, facing the host amidst overwhelming cheers from the audience. The pressure made his blood boil.
The atmosphere of a team competition is different after all. There is more pressure but also more motivation, because they are a whole body, working hard for the same goal. Naturally, the air is tighter, the emotions are more turbulent, the fighting spirit is more high, and everything is
Everything becomes different.
Zhang Ze turned back and saw at a glance the figures of Gao Wen and Wu Di waving their fists on the edge of the court. A steady stream of passion and enthusiasm came to his face. They are the strongest, thickest and most reliable backing——
He is not fighting alone.
Heavily, Zhang Ze clenched his fists again, gritted his teeth, and jumped lightly on the spot to stimulate his energy.
After three hours of fierce fighting, the game was still not over. Instead, it entered the most difficult and tense moment. He needed to continue to mobilize the remaining energy in his body, and the small universe exploded.
Davis Cup, Asia-Pacific Group One, first round match, "China VS New Zealand", officially kicked off.
The Davis Cup competition system is not complicated. It is different from the NCAA. It weakens the home field advantage and also weakens the game between captains. It is relatively simple:
Overall, the Davis Cup consists of five matches, and the first team to win three matches, including four singles and one doubles, wins.
On the first day, there were two singles and one doubles.
The next day, there were two singles matches.
Before each round of games, the captain selects four players and decides what position they will be responsible for. The order of the first day's game is not determined by the home team, but by drawing lots.
In the past, players could only be replaced after they were injured or sick and verified by an official doctor, but now the rules have been slightly changed, allowing the captain to re-select players for the two singles on the next day after the first day of the game, as long as the two sides and
It doesn’t matter if the first day doesn’t overlap.
The Davis Cup lineup has no restrictions on the types of players. Generally speaking, it is usually a configuration of two singles players and two doubles players. The two singles players are ranked No. 1 singles and No. 2 singles respectively; while the doubles experts
They focus on doubles.
However, in some countries and regions, there are not many professional tennis players, or they are not very strong. Doubles experts guest play singles, and singles players guest doubles. Similar situations are not uncommon; coupled with the rule changes, the players participating in the singles match the next day have changed.
, also more frequent than imagined.
Moreover, the Davis Cup does not have any hard and fast rules for the ranking of the first seed and the second seed. In other words, the "Tian Ji Horse Racing" strategy is completely feasible.
In other words, just like the NCAA, captains are also particular about the order of appearance, but the overall game is slightly less complex.
However, "games" mainly occur between teams with similar strengths. Otherwise, the strength gap is too large and any game strategy will not work.
The two teams of China and New Zealand are in the same situation in the Davis Cup, and their overall strength is about the same:
World Group? It’s too difficult. There are almost no opportunities. Even the World Group play-offs are difficult.
The first group in the Asia-Pacific region is more than enough. Occasionally he performs abnormally and falls out of the second group, and he can quickly return to the first group the next year.
To put it simply, what is less than what is above is more than what is below.
Currently, among the New Zealand team, the highest ranked player in the world is Statham, currently standing at 319; and the other singles player is Michael Venus, currently ranked 399 in the world.
actually--
Both players are better in doubles than singles. Statham is currently ranked 179th in the world in doubles, while Venus's doubles ranking is 62nd.
The development of tennis in New Zealand has always lagged far behind Australia. It was not until the rise of Venus in the doubles arena that they left their name on the world map. Venus not only won the French Open men's doubles championship in 2017, but also won the French Open men's doubles championship in 2021.
Won the bronze medal in men's doubles at the Olympics; and reached the highest doubles world ranking of ninth.
Overall, the ranking of Chinese players is one level higher:
Zhang Ze, 180; Wu Di, 298; Wang Chuhan, 365.
But here's the key. Regardless of the huge difference in ranking figures, in fact, the difference in strength is not that obvious.
As mentioned before, the huge gap in world rankings cannot be regarded as a gap in strength.
The top 100 people in the world are basically the first echelon of the pyramid, and everyone has the ability; similarly, the gap between the world rankings from 100 to 300 or even 400 is very small——
The point difference may be fifty or one hundred points. In the Tour, Challenge, and 250 level, it is the difference between winning a few more games and winning a few less games. A period of time when the state is particularly good or special.
No, the ups and downs in rankings are basically a rollercoaster.
Therefore, against New Zealand, China has an advantage, but it is not obvious. In the end, it still depends on the on-the-spot performance——
Until Gawain's appearance.
Ranked third in the world.
Winner of two Grand Slam championship trophies.
Defeated the Big Three consecutively to reach the Australian Open.
All the records are really brilliant, and they break the balance in this Davis Cup. Therefore, for both teams, Gawain is a key.
"Tian Ji horse racing", it depends on whose layout can be superior.