Graf looked at Gawain, with a look of relief in his eyes, and nodded slightly. Although he didn't say much, his expression said everything.
"When people discuss Nadal's clay court performance, they often take pains to emphasize that Nadal's super topspin can exert its greatest power on clay courts."
"In other words, Nadal's own defensive and counterattack style is more suitable for clay soil. The ball speed here is slower, giving Nadal more time to counterattack."
"It's either a forehand, a backhand, a move, etc. People always seem to find various reasons to emphasize that Nadal was born for clay; but in fact, they only see the phenomenon and fail to grasp the essence.
"Tennis has never been a sport about who is stronger and faster."
"If we purely discuss physical fitness and technical ability, not to mention the current group of young players, the younger group of players have also caught up."
"Let's not talk about anything else, let's just talk about Sasha Zverev. In terms of talent, he does have the ability to be among the top ten in the world, but in the end he only won two games in front of you."
Gawain: Hehe.
How could he forget that little Zverev and Graf are fellow Germans?
Although Graf and Agassi have lived in the United States for many years, this does not mean that Graf no longer pays attention to the tennis career in his home country.
Graf looked at Gawain scratching his head, a smile quietly surging deep in his eyes, and then he spoke in a calm tone.
"Don't worry, I won't eat people."
What's this shuddering feeling? All the hairs on my back stand on end.
Quietly, Gawain looked over Graf's shoulder and glanced at Agassi from the corner of his eye:
Agassi quickly whistled and looked up at the sky, as if admiring the white clouds in the cloudless sky. Sampras expressed strong disdain.
Graf didn't seem to notice Gawain's gaze, a smile flashed in his eyes, and he continued.
"Moreover, Roger, Novak, and Andy are on par with Rafa in terms of technical and psychological qualities, and their wins and losses are normal."
"But why does Rafa have the upper hand when it comes to clay?"
To put it simply, in Graf's view, physical, technical, psychological, etc., are not the key. At least, this is Graf's opinion.
Then Graf gave a conclusion.
"Rafa's understanding of clay is truly the best in history, and no one can match him."
Therefore, Gawain just gave the correct answer, which is why Graf is particularly satisfied.
However, Gawain was also an honest child and asked questions when he didn't understand.
"Steffi, I have heard commentators or professionals talk about this more than once, the understanding of the court, especially Rafa's understanding of clay and Roger's understanding of grass."
"What does this mean?"
Maybe Gawain's answer was correct, but it didn't mean that he could fully understand it, so he didn't pretend to understand and directly asked questions.
Graf's eyes slightly curved, revealing a smile. She was very satisfied with Gawain's honesty and calmness, "This is what we need to adapt to today."
From a theoretical level, the special features of red soil are reflected in two points:
First, move.
Because of its unique honeycomb structure, the clay court has good buffering and shock-absorbing functions, which can alleviate the impact of sports to a large extent and effectively reduce sports injuries such as knee joint and lumbar spine wear. However, at the same time, due to the granular surface,
The texture makes it difficult to move.
Just look at the 100-meter race. On dirt tracks, cinder tracks, cement tracks and professional tracks, there may be a huge gap in the final results.
This is the case on clay courts. During extremely fast changes such as starting, sprinting, braking, changing direction, speeding up, and re-starting, it is often difficult for the soles of the feet to press on the ground, and effective grip and reaction force cannot be obtained from the ground. Naturally, movement
There are many variables in the process.
Moreover, this is only one aspect; on the other hand, it is the control of the player's own spatial position.
Tennis is a sport that pays attention to timing. The hitting point, release position, and the space between the tennis ball and the body. Changes in these spaces will directly affect the hitting. The hitting point is too early or too late, and the hitting point is higher or lower.
, the impact of hitting the ball is clearly noticeable and has a direct impact on the game.
It is precisely because of this that players need to have a clear understanding of their own position, when to take the shot, when to take action, when to brake urgently, when to adjust their steps, etc., to ensure that they can complete the shot in a comfortable position with maximum effect.
A perfect shot.
This is precisely the most difficult thing about the clay court.
The steps are constantly in a "sliding" state. It is often easy for individuals to make mistakes in their judgments about their own position and the position between themselves and the tennis ball.
Especially clay skating, which is also Nadal's specialty. He makes judgments based on the spin, power and landing point of the return ball. When should he start sprinting, when should he start sliding, where should he slide, and how to find it.
The most suitable hitting position and so on.
Everything is just right. Not only will your steps not be wasted, but once it is accurate, you can quickly adjust it to prepare for subsequent shots.
This is the understanding of red soil.
The correct movement model is Nadal; the wrong movement model is what Sharapova said, "the cow on the ice."
Second, bounce.
The red clay court is not flat, and the particles are visible to the naked eye. Not to mention compared with smooth and tidy hard courts, even compared with grass, it is full of uncertainties.
Naturally, there are many unpredictable irregularities in the bounce of a tennis ball after it bounces off the clay, which can change the parabola of its subsequent flight.
For example, obviously you have already run in place and swung the bat to hit the ball, but inexplicably, the ball was missed. This was not because the opponent's bat was spinning, but because the irregularities of the field caused the rebound curve to occur. Neither player had the chance to hit the ball.
As expected, similar situations are very common.
Compared with the strong winds in Indian Wells, at least you can feel the strong winds in Indian Wells, but you can't see these changes coming on the clay courts. They are irregular, unpredictable, and elusive, and throughout every game.
Hitting the ball, always there.
If these irregular bounces are common and daily, and those changes are often subtle and only affect the effect of hitting the ball, then the most troublesome problem on the clay court is:
The existence of landmines.
The so-called landmine is a dirt court. There may be a small area that is particularly flat or uneven, so that the parabolic rule of the tennis ball after it hits the ground is completely reversed or broken; or the tennis ball directly falls on the boundary line, because the material of the boundary line and
Red soil is different, and the conflict caused by the two different media leads to a rebound parabola.
result?
That is the ultimate test of completely breaking the balance and adapting to the situation. Most of the time, there may be no chance to adapt to the situation and the ball will die directly.
These details are all "irregular", "unexpected" and "sudden". No one can control them, and they are fair to both sides of the competition.
The great thing about Nadal is that his understanding of clay has reached another level:
Although he cannot avoid these emergencies, his understanding can always be deeper than others, and he can deal with them more calmly, or he can turn accidents into his own advantage.