On the red soil, the control of footsteps is obviously different, which can be felt from the sound; together with the sweat flying in the air, it seems that one can deeply feel the dusty dryness, and the hot water dripping on the red soil.
Petals bloom one after another.
Sky, cloudy.
Looking up, the sun is neither hot nor strong. Compared with New York in August and Melbourne in January, Paris in May can even be said to be cooler.
Here, you can’t feel the scorching heat of midsummer yet, and you can even feel a little leisurely and comfortable in early summer. There is no skin-breaking sunlight, nor chest tightness and dehydration caused by excess humidity. From all aspects, Paris seems to have the most satisfying of the four Grand Slams.
A comfortable playing environment.
However, this is not the case.
Although the weather changes in Paris are not as fierce and intense as those in London, and you can feel the four seasons in just one day, Paris is still changeable.
Sometimes it is cloudy and sometimes it rains; the sun is still shining in the afternoon, so you need to put on a coat in the evening; one day is late autumn, and the next day is midsummer.
I heard from other players that the weather in Paris is really special, even more special than London. The weather and environment are slightly different almost every year, so that you have to adapt to the game every year and check the weather forecast every day.
Make adjustments as appropriate.
The influence of wind direction and humidity is further amplified by the red soil.
It is precisely because of this that Roland Garros has always been considered the most difficult, varied and difficult venue among the four Grand Slams.
This year, Gao Wen is experiencing a unique experience in Paris.
When Gao Hongli and Jiang Yanyun arrived in Paris, they thought the weather here was a bit dry. After all, they had been living in coastal areas.
Personally, Gawain feels good, mainly because he lived in California during high school and college. The climate there is surrounded by deserts and is much drier than Paris. However, Gawain can also understand that it is drier than Rome.
It is wetter than Madrid, and the overall environment is indeed most similar to Monte Carlo.
Moreover, the feeling is slightly different every day. Yesterday it was a little drier, but today it is cloudy, and the sweat rate has obviously increased.
Perhaps, for ordinary residents living in Paris, the difference in feelings is not so obvious; but for professional athletes, who need to go all out to exercise every day, these feelings are obvious, even in the adjustment of breathing.
There are some small differences in frequency.
No wonder everyone says that the French Open is the ultimate challenge of the four Grand Slams——
In other events, you may just arrive in the city early to adapt to the weather and environment, and then devote yourself to the game, but in Paris, you need to make subtle adjustments every day. The more top players compete, the more important the role played by details.
This is definitely not an easy task.
Look, Gao Wen had just changed into a jersey thirty minutes ago, and now it was completely soaked through, and the sweat was pooling into a small river.
However, Gao Hongli, who was standing on the sidelines watching the training, felt refreshed.
Of course, if one is exercising and the other is not exercising, the latter will definitely not sweat, but even if he is not sweating, his dry appearance is still in sharp contrast. At this time, it can be seen that the weather today is slightly cooler and you cannot feel it.
Along with the heat, the humidity is also higher than usual.
This situation reminded Gao Hongli of Melbourne.
However, Melbourne is hot and humid, so cramps and dehydration are easy; while Paris is cool and humid, so you can easily get strained if you are not careful.
At this time, Agassi, as the head coach, stood in the court, not far behind Gao Wen, guiding the training; on the opposite side of the court stood two players, one on the left and one on the right, and Gao Wen responded with one against two.
Ball, the entire training intensity has reached a new level, and naturally I am sweating profusely.
Sampras stood in the stands. Throughout this year's clay court season, he was responsible for collecting and analyzing data and serving as an assistant coach.
After watching for a while, Sampras quickly lowered his head and wrote down some keywords in his notebook. He raised his head and caught a glimpse of Gao Hongli from the corner of his eye. He seemed to be able to detect Gao Hongli's confusion, and there was also a look between his eyebrows.
Feeling a little worried, I took the initiative to ask, "What's wrong?"
Gao Hongli is not a professional, and he does not intend to interfere with the work of the coaching team, but he is very willing to ask for advice and learn some knowledge humbly.
"...Just a few balls ago, Gao Wen's backhand shots all hit the net. Is he adjusting the arc of his shot?"
The point is, Gawain hit the net continuously, but Agassi did not adjust, but quietly observed Gawain's swing, as if he was encouraging Gawain to continue.
This is the part that puzzles Gao Hongli.
Sampras smiled.
"Today, the overall humidity is slightly higher. Under such circumstances, the bounce of tennis balls tends to be lower, and the ball hitting parabola needs to be adjusted."
"Originally during the clay court season, we all encouraged Gao Wen to add some topspin, especially on the forehand; but with weather like today, we need to change some strategies. Considering that the tennis ball does not bounce that high, he should increase the proportion of his shots.
When it’s time, add some aggression and lower the arc.”
"If it's a hard court, these changes in hitting techniques can often be completed with just a little adjustment, and Gawain's transition is also very comfortable."
"But on clay, because the spin of the return ball itself is different, more adjustments need to be made when changing the hitting technique, and Gao Wen is not used to it yet."
In fact, this is also a training throughout the entire clay court season: how to change the hitting method according to changes in the situation?
On hard courts, these changes are less necessary and simpler; on clay, not only are there more changes, but the techniques are more difficult.
Even during the same game, the weather and conditions will change slightly, so tactics need to be adjusted at all times.
From tactical layout to technical execution, and technical changes that in turn affect tactical choices, it can be seen that the complexity of the entire tactical system has risen to a higher level. Therefore, many hard court masters are not accustomed to the climate when they come to clay courts——
Not only the venue, but also the entire way of playing is different.
It is precisely because of this that among the new generation of players, the simpler and more straightforward their playing tactics are, the more they are not accustomed to and do not like clay soil.
Bublik and Kyrgios have stated more than once that they hate clay, but they are completely unaware of the root cause behind it.
In Sampras' view, Gao Wen has made rapid progress and has undergone a radical change compared to a month ago, but he is not yet a clay court master.
"When I was still on active duty, I have never been able to complete this adjustment. Gao Wen's progress in a short period of time has been very good. Just give him a little more time. He is on the right track."
"You should know that it takes a lot of courage to follow Gawain back to this city that makes me sad and constantly reminds me how stupid and clumsy a player I am."
Sampras laughed at himself, and the atmosphere suddenly relaxed, causing Gao Hongli to chuckle.