Nadal's backhand with both hands was solid and steady. His long sword was unsheathed and his heavy sword struck out. He hit a straight line and penetrated into the blind corner on the opposite side of the court.
Although Gawain's speed had increased to the extreme and he arrived in time, the hitting point was still too late. He hit a forehand shot, but unfortunately it was not able to attach enough spin. The flying parabola of the tennis ball completely detached from the orbit and headed far away.
He flew past the spectator stand behind Nadal.
"ah!"
Nadal clenched his fists and roared, his fighting spirit blazing, sweating profusely, veins popping out, like a god of war, his eyes shining with brilliance.
"Ahhh!"
After suppressing and repressing, burning and burning, Nadal finally released it completely without reservation, and his ferocious and majestic momentum filled the entire venue.
"40:AD".
In a best-of-five-set Grand Slam match, it is almost a miracle that cannot be replicated.
In the first set, Nadal had a total of nine break points, but only cashed them once; Gawain had four break points, but none of them could cash them.
First set.
On the other hand, Nadal's own state fluctuates.
There are always opportunities, it just depends on who performs better on the spot at the critical moment. After a full fifty-three minutes of competition, Nadal won.
"Every year when he comes to Roland Garros, Rafa is like a superhero transformed. He serves 30% faster, hits the ball 50% harder, and moves 100% faster. He is not the same person at all."
It can be seen from this small detail that the game was very, very difficult. Although Nadal got the opportunity, Gao Wen's performance was not inferior. The suffering and tug-of-war of missing break points in succession made the game become a stalemate bit by bit.
Obviously, Nadal also felt tremendous pressure.
Nadal also clearly understands the importance of this game and showed 100% concentration from the opening stage.
After a short period of adaptation, Nadal suddenly accelerated his attack in Gauvin's second serve, and the quality of his forehand super topspin was fully demonstrated. Although Gauvin saved two break points, he still failed.
Saved the third one, suffered a break and fell into a passive situation.
Gao Wen's serve and break point appeared again. This was already the fourth break point in this game.
If he can defeat Gawain, victory will be a victory, but more importantly, Nadal can regain his form and confidence. When it comes to the decisive stage, the King of Clay's faith and domineering will allow him to return to the ranks of favorites to win.
Therefore, Gawain is the most critical touchstone.
You can deeply feel the stalemate of the game from the score, but the actual game is even closer and tighter, dancing on the wire rope the whole time.
Especially when standing in front of Nadal, the "King of Clay"'s understanding of the court, tennis, and the game is like an alien on another level.
No wonder that for a whole decade, only Soderling was able to beat Nadal at Roland Garros.
On the one hand, Gao Wen is indeed learning and making progress. His understanding of clay, tactical layout, shot selection, return judgment, etc., etc., these details are permeated in every aspect of the game, and it can indeed be seen that Gao Wen is very good.
The perfect fit between Wen and clay has not yet been achieved.
In men's tennis matches, a break of serve can often determine the outcome of a game, especially on hard courts and grass. But even on clay, once a break occurs and you fall into a passive position, you often need to undergo physical strength to reverse the situation.
The double test of strength and energy is not easy either.
Even Soderling himself could not replicate this performance again. He met Nadal again at Roland Garros the following year and lost in straight sets.
To put it simply, it is to beat the crazy and the god.
In the distant future, little Zverev once half-jokingly teased,
This year, this is the only time in ten years that Nadal failed to win any championship trophy in the European clay court season before entering Roland Garros. Coupled with the sluggish performance in the Australian season and spring hard court season, anyone can
It can be seen that Nadal is in poor condition.
At that time, everyone thought it was a joke, but now Gao Wen finally understands that it is different, it is indeed different, at least compared to Madrid, in terms of overall ball quality, speed, connection and confidence, etc.
Everyone can feel the overall improvement of Nadal's hitting.
"6:4".
The competition completely met expectations, and was even more exciting and exciting than expectations——
However, Nadal on clay is different, and Nadal at Roland Garros is different. The nine-time tournament champion has shown his strong foundation from the beginning of the game, using practical actions to exert comprehensive pressure.
Gao Wen clearly realized that this is the Philippe Chartier Stadium.
In fact, it’s not just this round—
Against Gauvin, there is no doubt that this is Nadal's toughest challenge this year.
In the end, Nadal relied on a break advantage to win the game and start the next set.
It is precisely because of this that the "gap" between Nadal and Gauvin has been sharply narrowed, which is also the key factor why this game is so close and stalemate.
Of course, when he came to Roland Garros, Nadal was different after all. In the first four games, he was invincible. It was not until the fourth round when he faced Sock that he lost the first set of this year's French Open, once again showing his ability in this game.
The set is domineering and powerful, and no one can underestimate it.
So, how did Soderling do it back then?
Full court attack.
Similarly, 2015 was the second fatal low point in Nadal's career. To some extent, it was even worse than the state in 2009.
The first quarterfinal match of men's singles at the 2015 French Open has entered the end of the second set, but the suspense of victory is still hanging on the tightrope.
In fact, Soderling is not a typical clay court player. This violent attacker whose offensive firepower is among the top ten in history is a pure offensive player. In that game, from the first point to the last point, he was full of firepower.
A full-scale attack was launched, with high-intensity critical strikes for three hours.
Moreover, 2009 was the lowest year of Nadal's career. Problems with his own game system were also an important reason -
From the first point of the match, Nadal could deeply feel Gao Wen's high fighting spirit and the young man's vitality and passion to launch an all-out attack.
However, wrist injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, etc., frequent injuries in the past two years, and the remaining problems have torn Nadal's playing state into pieces. After the smoothness and comprehensiveness of the entire game were seriously damaged, the score
The stalemate and closeness are the foreseeable results.
In fact, like Federer, he has been complained about as the "King of Missing Points" in the past two years, and has repeatedly been unable to effectively realize break points. This reflects that his ability to improve his condition and performance at critical moments is declining due to objective factors such as age, body, injuries, etc.
The control of the game is gradually lost.
Nine break points, only to be realized once, this is definitely not Nadal's performance at Roland Garros.
But no matter what, the king of clay is still the king of clay, and Nadal still held on to the game, relying on his experience and foundation to win the first set.