In professional tennis, especially men's singles, professionals always emphasize that different venues are completely different things. Just look at the Big Four.
"Federer VS Nadal", hard courts are one thing, clay courts are one thing, and grass courts are another; and "Nadal VS Djokovic", even fast hard courts and slow courts
There are differences on hard surfaces too.
The reason is crystal clear. From a theoretical perspective, it is so logical that even ordinary tennis enthusiasts can tell some of the basics.
But actual combat is another matter. Unless you experience it yourself, unless your strength and ability reach such a high level, it will be difficult to truly understand it.
Gao Wen is no exception. Only after experiencing the clay court game can he feel the changes and differences in the content of the game, and then slowly adjust.
Previously, when Gao Wen and Nadal had a practice match in Mallorca, they could intuitively feel that Nadal on hard courts and Nadal on clay are two different things, but training is training after all, the layout of the entire tactics and the feeling of hitting the ball.
They are all in a state of exploration, and there are still some differences.
Today, against the Bryan brothers in Monte Carlo, that feeling gradually became clear and concrete.
This is the second time that Gao Wen has played against the Bryan brothers. The last time was on the hard court in the Imperial Capital.
First of all, it is undeniable that the Bryan brothers' status has fluctuated this year. Even in the hard court season in the spring, their performance is far worse than in previous years. Naturally, this is also a direct factor affecting the game; but in addition, the details can still be in-depth.
I deeply feel that the Bryan brothers are typical hard court players.
One is hitting the ball.
The Bryan brothers' shots had almost no spin and went straight, exactly like hitting the ball on a hard court.
One is tactics.
The net is still the tactical commanding heights of doubles matches. The side that seizes the advantage in front of the net can take the initiative. This is the same on clay and hard courts. The Bryan brothers still implement the tactics of hard court events and try their best to dominate the net.
Before, trying to control the initiative of the ball in the round.
But the difference in details is that the characteristics of clay itself dilute the impact of the ball in front of the net. That is to say, the power, speed, rhythm, etc. are weakened. Even if you occupy the commanding heights in front of the net, the impact and pressure of the ball will be reduced.
There is a certain chance that the winning score cannot be directly formed.
Therefore, the round ball also left space——
Gawain seized this space and broke the balance of the confrontation during the game.
That's it for the first round of inventory.
"5:2".
It was Mike's serve again, at "30:40", Dimitrov relied on a winning point in front of the net to kill the gap, giving them a break point and set point.
At the critical moment, the Bryan brothers showed a strong heart and improved their status immediately when faced with the review.
With a 190 kilometers per hour wide-angle serve, Mike created enough advantage to break Dimitrov's positioning balance, which directly resulted in mediocre return quality, thus giving the Bryan brothers the opportunity to dominate the net.
Opportunity, Gao Wen's combination was firmly pressed to the bottom line.
Although Gao Wen and Dimitrov kept trying to break through, the Bryan brothers were like a wall, blocking all incoming balls——
The key point is here. The Bryan brothers do not need to wait for the tennis ball to land. They immediately volley in front of the net, compressing the rhythm of the round to the greatest extent. At the same time, they avoid the changes in the clay court and extend their doubles expert abilities.
Play to the extreme and take advantage.
The Gawain combination tried to break the blockade, destroy the Bryan brothers' positions, and open up the confrontation space, but it was not an easy task.
On the tenth shot, Dimitrov's forehand.
The twelfth shot, Gawain's backhand.
The rotation changes of the two shots before and after successfully destroyed Bob's backhand shot and tore open the blockade. Then Gao Wen's shot finally landed near the bottom line of the service area——
Finally, it rebounded once, which also meant that the Bryan brothers' net blockade was broken.
but!
Mike's behind-the-back shot, Bob's sideways grab for the net, and the Bryan brothers completed an incredible cross-position swap, making up for each other's gaps. After just one round, they blocked the net again and further improved the rhythm.
The artillery bombardment was carried out indiscriminately.
Boom! Gawain or Dimitrov finishes the shot.
Boom! Bob or Mike completes the block.
One comes, one goes.
Then, again.
One comes, one goes.
In the blink of an eye, the number of rounds has increased to twenty-four times. The advantage of the Bryan brothers is gradually being established. Gawain and Dimitrov are in a very embarrassed state——
There is no room for adjustment, because the Bryan brothers hold the absolute advantage in front of the net. No matter how the Gao Wen combination adjusts the hitting method, they will directly block it, and the return point will continue to press deeper, killing Gao Wen and Dimitro.
The husband presses on the bottom line, and the back and forth between the two parties is like a tight rubber band.
The whole audience stared with bated breath.
In fact, if Gawain and Dimitrov's baseline hitting abilities were not solid enough, they would have already made mistakes in their hitting in the face of the Bryan brothers' airtight and overwhelming offensive——
Under such circumstances, because the rhythm is getting faster and faster, the hitting action gradually evolves into a conditioned reflex, so it is most likely to cause deviations in the hitting point, leading to mistakes in the net.
But such a situation did not happen, and the round ball could continue.
Of course, the Bryan brothers also showed a truly world-class ability in front-of-the-net interception. They constantly changed their hitting and volleying methods and continued to apply pressure. Not only did they not drop the ball, but they were also able to maintain the depth of the return. This ability is worthy of being said.
The best doubles partner in history.
Gawain?
Gawain has been thinking of ways. He knows that he should increase the spin or break the balance of the confrontation, but the fierce volleys of the Bryan brothers left no time and space at all, so that Gawain was also involved.
In fast-paced batting, there is no time to breathe.
Therefore, all shots must be reflex responses, so how can there be time to add variation?
what to do?
The tennis ball went back and forth, constantly colliding between Dimitrov, Bob, Gawain, and Mike, and the air burned with it.
The whole audience moved left, right, left, right, their heads kept moving back and forth following the tennis ball, they even forgot to breathe and almost exploded.
Bang! Dimitrov made a straight shot with his one-handed backhand, trying to break through the net.
Bang! Bob took a sideways step, and Hengdao immediately blocked it with his backhand and pushed back.
Bang! Gawain immediately stepped up to follow up, accelerated his backhand with both hands and completed a small diagonal shot, trying to open up the angle.
Bang! Mike once again stepped up and pressed against the net, directly intercepting the rising arc of the tennis ball before it was completely released.
Before the angle could be broken, and before the power and rotation could be released, Mike's volley in front of the net had already hit the tennis ball back to the court of Gawain's combination.
The landing point was directly at the sole of Dimitrov's foot, only half a step away from the baseline. It was deep and heavy. Dimitrov had almost no room to swing the ball and could only hit it with his forehand.