Taking advantage of the opportunity to wipe his sweat, Istomin breathed out secretly, secretly clenched his fists to encourage himself, and once again convinced himself not to waver easily:
Looking back on the whole game, his performance has been outstanding, which is why he can lead the score. There is no need to question himself just because he missed a match point. The ups and downs in the last service game will not change the trend of the whole game. He will not
You should scare yourself into disrupting your own game.
"One point, another point, it's game point."
Istomin took a deep breath, then put on his windshield sports eyes again, returned to the baseline, and prepared to serve.
a district.
At the outer corner, the speed was 188 kilometers per hour. Once it started, it entered the area smoothly.
On the opposite side of the court, Gao Wen took a long horizontal step and extended his body completely. Although the speed of the ball was not very fast, the landing point was excellent, completely tearing the angle, so that Gao Wen did not have enough room to swing, and finally used a cutting forehand.
Fang blocked a shot and hit a backspin shot in the middle.
Tread! Tread!
In just two steps, because Gao Wen chose to cut, the ball speed was not very fast. Istomin quickly returned to position. With only two small steps, he was already in the middle smoothly. He made the triggering action in advance and prepared to attack quickly.
Connect to improve the rhythm of the round and realize your serving advantage.
sight, focus.
Muscles, tight.
coming!
...wait, huh?
What's the refraction angle of a tennis ball that bounces off the ground?
As mentioned before in the clay court season, irregular bounces, due to the material of the clay, lead to uneven density of the field, and with the movement and trampling of players, the density of the field continues to change all the time, and in the end there may be irregularities.
Regular bounces, completely unpredictable.
In fact, the same is true for grass courts.
First of all, there is also soil under the turf, and there will also be uneven density. Although it is not as common as red soil, it exists objectively.
Secondly, the green grass itself also has density differences. No matter how finely and neatly it is trimmed, it cannot be 100% evenly distributed.
In addition, the sidelines of grass courts are drawn with lime powder. Although the lime powder is completely powdery, the density and texture of the particles are still different.
For various reasons, grass courts also have irregular bounces.
Of course, it is not as frequent and common as clay courts; at the same time, the irregular bounce of grass courts is relatively simple, generally low bounce——
To put it simply, according to the rules of normal power rotation, after landing and rebounding, the refraction angle should be 30 degrees. This is already a very, very low bounce, highlighting the characteristics of grass; but if you encounter a "land mine", the refraction angle may be just 30 degrees.
It's only fifteen degrees, maybe even worse.
It is precisely because of this that low bounce is the key word on grass. Players always need to keep their knees bent and keep their center of gravity lowered at all times.
When unexpectedly encountering a landmine, it depends on the player's center of gravity control and secondary reaction.
Just like this moment——
Mines!
Originally, Gao Wen chose to cut the backspin ball, and the rebound height of the return ball was already limited. Istomin was already preparing to complete the ball near the knee; as a result, the refraction angle was actually even lower, almost at the position of the calf bone.
I know that I encountered a landmine and swallowed up my strength silently.
The most amazing and special thing is that when clay courts encounter landmines, they can often be seen by the audience, but it is not obvious on grass courts.
As a result, the audience can often see that players inexplicably miss all shots, and only after a few beats do they realize that they are landmines.
Istomin:…
He didn't even have time to curse, his knees had already bent immediately, but it was still too late. Therefore, the backhand shot could only be converted into a backhand slice, using a slice of topspin on the calf position, trying to get close to the ball.
The net cuts the tennis ball back, trying to control the situation as much as possible.
A small accident disrupted Istomin's offensive plan.
At the same time, it can be seen from this return that Istomin's ability to handle unexpected situations is still insufficient, and his cutting technique is very rough. Although he tried to control the parabola of the return, he obviously failed to control it. In a panic,
Just hastily cutting the tennis ball back.
The parabola raised high, neither high nor low. When it flew to the other side of the court, it actually gave Gawain a hitting height at the waist and abdomen——
Gawain, how could you miss it?
Adjusting in small steps, the backhand with both hands is solid and steady, and the ball is hit just right. The entire turning movement is clean and solid.
boom!
The tennis ball hit the racket like a wall and then bounced out, drawing a light backslash and heading towards the deep area of Istomin's forehand.
From height to position to timing, everything was perfect for Gao Wen, which was equivalent to feeding the ball in a practice match. Therefore, Gao Wen seized the opportunity and everything fit together seamlessly, with no flaws in his crisp attack.
Like a bolt of lightning.
Although Istomin reflexively stretched out his racket and tried to defend on the forehand position, the tennis ball directly penetrated the defense and scored easily.
"30:15".
Istomin was a little helpless. He stood up straight and could see Gawain reaching out to indicate——
Although mines and net wipes were both unintentional accidents, Gawain still benefited indirectly and scored points, so he still needed to apologize politely.
Istomin understands that this situation is purely accidental. There is no way to plan or prevent it. Everything is sudden. It depends on whose ability to adapt to the situation is better, whether it is him or Gawain, in the blink of an eye.
All need to make judgments and make the best choice immediately.
So, it's no one's fault.
If we must condemn it, we can only condemn Stadium No. 2.
But knowing this, Istomin felt a little helpless. He put his hands on his hips and glanced at the location of the mine:
Isn't it said that the No. 2 court is a "seed graveyard"? Then it should be more friendly to non-seeded players. Why did it help Gao Wen at the critical moment?
The fluctuation due to missing the match point was finally stabilized by two consecutive scores, and now it is shaking again due to the detonation of a landmine.
I have an inexplicable feeling of frustration that "the whole world is targeting me".
Take a deep breath.
Take another deep breath.
Istomin reminded himself that he needed to calm down and not let negative emotions occupy his brain, otherwise he would be dragged into the darkness and never recover.
Take another deep breath.
"One more point, one more point, it will be game point. We still have the advantage now, there is no need to panic."
Istomin clenched his fists again to cheer for himself.
"30:15".
Second District.
Istomin raised his head and glanced at Gawain's position, and then started to serve——
Snapped.
Off the net in one fell swoop.
It can be seen from the throw that Istomin was also preparing to speed up, trying to use speed and power to create an impact, but he pressed too hard and ended up off the net.
Second serve.
Istomin's hands were a little tight, but he did not pause to avoid the possibility of any distracting thoughts. He held his breath and fired the second shot without pausing.
Kick the ground.
Toss the ball.
Swing the racket.
Hit the ball.
——Outside angle, big outside angle, strong topspin and side spin, completely tearing the angle apart.