Ferrer is shooting the ball and Gawain is preparing to receive the serve.
Ferrer is not a cannon in the traditional sense of the serve. His serve focuses on placement and spin, and then moves around the baseline, and doubles is no exception.
But just like his nickname "Stable Man", Ferrer has no obvious shortcomings, including in the serving process, and has continued to produce stable output with few flaws.
This also means that it is very difficult and risky to directly break the balance during the return of serve, especially at the end of the game.
Gawain gently swayed his body from side to side, watching Ferrell's serving action——
Inside corner!
With a keen prediction, his calves kicked off the ground, and his body reflexively rushed out in the direction of the forehand.
step!
It's just a long stride, without any further adjustments to the steps, the body is completely stretched out like a giant peng, with a forehand push and an invisible flick of the wrist.
Bang! Bang!
Back and forth.
Although the posture was a bit awkward, the impact of the ball was very good, almost like hitting a wall. The tennis ball just flew over and then hit back.
slash!
No surprises.
Gawain still followed common sense and made a slash, without choosing to take risks.
Verdasco adjusted his body's center of gravity in small steps, trying to move laterally to the right to grab the net. He watched Gawain's return ball, looking for opportunities.
Tread. Tread.
When hitting the ball in front of the net, everything happens in the blink of an eye. The most important thing is to avoid hesitation. You must either step forward or get out of the way. You must be crisp and decisive.
One kick, one rush.
Verdasco had already rushed out, because Gao Wen's return line did not completely avoid the middle line, which meant that he could grab the net.
but!
Oops!
As soon as I rushed out, I realized a slight deviation in my judgment the next second.
A diagonal line, it was indeed a diagonal line, but Gawain's wrist control was so subtle that it was impossible to observe, but he hit a return serve that crashed over the net.
Falling over the net, as the name suggests, the parabola will not be completely full, but will begin to fall rapidly after crossing the net. This is an advanced technology specially used to deal with surfing the net——
Such as serving the ball to the net, such as following the ball to the net.
Hitting the ball like this can often return the tennis ball to the opponent's feet, destroying the center of gravity and swing space, and making it more difficult for the opponent to return the ball.
At this time, very suddenly and unexpectedly, when Gao Wen returned the serve, he made a sharp drop across the net.
Obviously, this is a trap.
Gawain deliberately followed the rules and returned a diagonal line without completely opening the angle, inducing Verdasco to grab the net.
But what if Verdasco hadn't grabbed the net?
Gao Wen also suffered no loss, because the return ball dropped sharply over the net, passed Verdasco, and would hit Ferrer. Ferrer would most likely return to Gao Wen's side in a diagonal direction, and the two sides started to fight at the bottom line.
confrontation.
but--
Verdasco grabbed the net.
So, what's the difference?
Originally, the normal hitting position should be near the shoulder, and Verdasco had already raised the racket high; now, noticing the rapid fall of the tennis ball, Verdasco quickly lowered the racket and was forced to complete the stroke near the waist.
ball.
The whole body movement is very awkward.
The elbows cannot be fully extended and are bumping against the body, unable to move out of position; then the upper body is bent toward the left like a broad bean, let alone exerting force.
Blocked hastily.
With a slight lack of racket control, the parabola of the tennis ball has already risen. Such a return was obviously not Verdasco's plan.
Immediately afterwards, a figure in fluttering white clothes leaped across, raised the racket high, like a dunk, and pressed down with outstretched arms.
The white crane spreads its wings!
It's Dimitrov.
Take to the air!
Flying!
soar!
Relying only on the strength of his wrist, Dimitrov pressed down hard, dunking hard and smashing, and the tennis ball seemed to have the texture of a badminton.
Fall to the ground and bloom.
boom!
Falling heavily and rising high.
Verdasco and Ferrer reflexively tried to continue chasing, but as soon as they took a step forward, they stopped in despair:
The tennis ball, with its wings attached, flew towards the spectator stand. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the golden sunshine all over the sky and turned into a shooting star.
Match point!
"9:7".
Match point appeared.
In the situation of falling behind "5:7", Gao Wen and Dimitrov scored four points in a row to reverse the situation and took the lead in getting the match point.
The whole place was boiling.
"Wow!"
Dimitrov couldn't believe his eyes. He had just landed, and then he jumped high and flew up, his white jersey flying in the wind.
After landing and turning around, Dimitrov looked at Gawain with joy on his face, opened his arms, and rushed towards Gawain at a trot.
"It worked!"
"It really worked!"
Then, the two people jumped high at the same time, raised their right hands, and collided head-on. They completed high-fives from the commanding heights, and smiles bloomed in the depths of their eyes.
Long time no see.
Dimitrov has not felt such pure happiness and joy for a long time, not even when he had a career breakthrough at Wimbledon last year.
He almost forgot that tennis is not a burden, nor a pressure, nor a confusion, nor a struggle, nor anxiety; at the beginning of all stories, tennis is an unknown, an exploration, an attempt, standing on both feet.
Learning to swing and hit the ball in tennis is pure joy.
Before sports become a competition, they should first be a kind of enjoyment to release oneself, pursue challenges, and break through limits. The joy of sweating and the wantonness of blood should be immersed in every run, every swing, and every confrontation, vivid and fresh.
Feel the beating of your heart.
Just like now.
At this moment, what Dimitrov was thinking about was not victory, but jumping, swinging, timing, hitting, it was that simple.
A bold but subtle change from Gawain broke the balance, and then the plan worked.
At the moment when he leaped high, Dimitrov once again felt that he was free.
Joy surges and collides in the chest.
"So, how are you going to play the next point?" Dimitrov asked with a smile on his face, vaguely looking forward to it.
Gao Wen did not answer, but asked, "You are responsible for receiving the serve, how do you want to play?"
It's match point, but it's still Ferrer's serve. How should they respond?
Dimitrov's smile froze slightly, and the pressure seemed to have returned again. Once his brain started functioning, complicated thoughts surged to him.
Gawain didn't say much, he just gave Dimitrov an encouraging look.
After a slight hesitation, Dimitrov finally spoke. Although his words were hesitant and not confident, he finally began to express his thoughts.
"It's better..."
After saying that, Dimitrov was not sure and raised his eyes to look at Gawain, as if seeking Gawain's opinion.
Gawain showed a smile and nodded gently to express his affirmation.
No words are needed, just a look and an expression are enough.
Then, Gawain raised the racket and gestured towards Dimitrov. Dimitrov subconsciously raised the racket as well, and the two of them bumped the racket.
It's like the two sides touching each other's sword tips before fencing begins.
After that, Gawain turned around and trotted towards the net. Dimitrov looked at Gawain's back and relaxed his nervous mind:
No matter what, he still has teammates to rely on, right?