High, high...the tennis ball penetrates into the golden sunshine all over the sky, spinning and flying like a free eagle.
On both sides of the court, Istomin was adjusting his position in small steps, and Gao Wen was also adjusting his center of gravity in small steps. Both players kept busy. The former looked at the tennis ball, and the latter looked at the former, one after another.
In the short time that the tennis ball flew, the turbulent undercurrents collided fiercely.
Until gravity drags the tennis ball down, the air boils again, and it seems that you can feel the rolling heat waves spreading towards the surroundings.
Istomin, step forward.
——Gao Wen’s lob control did not pursue the ultimate, and it landed about two steps inside the baseline, in the backhand position. So Istomin went directly inside the baseline, quickly adjusted his steps, switched to sideways forehand mode, and waited.
The tennis ball rebounds after landing, and then performs high pressure from the baseline.
Kick off the ground, jump, swing... press down.
The whole action is like serving a ball.
But the difference is that this "throw" is not controlled by Istomin himself, so you need to pay attention to details such as rotation and power when hitting the ball.
At this time, Istomin's shortcomings of lack of explosive power were fully exposed. He was cautious in the high pressure from the bottom line and did not dare to exert all his strength. The most important thing was that he was worried that excessive exertion would lead to loss of control. In the end, he could not suppress the tennis ball and could not control the arc.
He knocked the tennis ball away and jumped into the stands.
It is obviously a high-pressure baseline, but it has no speed and no power. It focuses on controlling the landing point——
Diagonal diagonal line.
On the opposite side of the court, Gawain's footsteps didn't stop, he started, kicked off, started, and ran with all his strength.
The previous ball was from the left end to the right end; this ball is from the right end to the left end, as if you were training to run back and forth from the bottom line.
This time, the steps were in place in time, but there was still no room to hit the ball; and Istomin's high-pressure ball was too light and too floaty, and the rebound after landing on the grass seemed erratic and difficult to control; coupled with Gao Wen's footsteps
He has been pushed four meters away from the baseline, and he is standing parallel to the baseline referee. The sense of space on the entire court is also a bit strange. The result of a rash counterattack may be to hit the wall with brute force.
In the blink of an eye, Gawain had already made his decision.
Again, use both hands to pick up the high ball with a backhand, and lift the tennis ball up high with lightness and flexibility. When the full parabola passes through the net, it should be three stories high.
High and spinning, strong topspin.
Seemingly simple, but actually dangerous——
First, the vertical height is too high, which also means that due to the acceleration of gravity when falling, the speed when reaching the hitting point is faster and difficult to grasp.
Secondly, because the vertical height is too high and the sun is glaring, it is difficult to see the rotation clearly. When falling to the hitting position, it is not easy to find the accurate hitting point.
On the surface, it seems that such a high-pressure ball can kill even amateur players with one shot, but in the actual game, you will know that it is far beyond imagination.
Throughout Djokovic's career, he has always been prone to making mistakes when handling such returns. Even after specializing in high-pressure ball training, he still made occasional mistakes in actual matches. Even if he did not make mistakes, he would still make mistakes when handling returns.
The quality may also be far below expectations.
Istomin, very careful and very cautious -
Thanks to the protection of sports glasses, he does not have to worry about the glare of the sun and can find the position of the tennis ball, but the effects of height and spin still exist.
Small steps, small steps, continuous small steps.
Istomin's steps have completely entered the baseline, reaching the midfield between the service area and the baseline. He moves from the backhand position to the central area bit by bit. His muscles are tense all over, waiting patiently for the tennis ball to land, without rushing for time.
Instead of performing high-pressure volleys, conservatively choose high-pressure landings.
Land, rebound, rise; and then... fall.
Until the opportunity arises.
Only then did Istomin open his forehand, his whole body tensed up completely, he bent his bow and shot the eagle, striking hard.
"Uh-huh!"
Istomin, show your strength.
Continuous high pressure cannot end this point. If the stalemate continues, self-doubt will begin to breed and the situation will change.
He needs to hit.
Therefore, Istomin chose to implement high pressure and add a layer of insurance, and finally, fully exerted his strength.
As for the line——
Small slash, aiming at Gawain's backhand position, and another backhand.
"Ahhhh..."
After the power was released, Istomin was about to return to his position when he caught a white figure in his peripheral vision, stepping, sprinting, and getting into position.
Immediately afterwards, the shot was initiated, charged forward, and swung along with the inertia. The entire backhand movement became smooth and coherent, and one could clearly see the explosion of power.
A heavy sword has no edge, and a heavy sword has no skill.
The backhand swing is clean and neat, without any unnecessary cumbersome skills. From the beginning to the end of the shot, it is very crisp, short and powerful, and it uses the force to hit the ball.
One bump, one push, that's all.
Then, Gawain had already countered the fatal blow that Istomin had poured all his power into. He didn't even take the risk of changing the line. He just chose the diagonal line along the swing path, with a steady center of gravity and a solid swing, completely transferring the power.
Pushing it back, the tennis ball turned into a light and shadow and disappeared from the field of vision.
Oops!
Istomin alarm bells are ringing.
Oops Oops Oops!
Istomin's batting action after completing the smash had just landed. It was like a serving action. Before he had time to regain his center of gravity, he saw a light and shadow passing across his eyes. He reflexively stretched out to the left
Racket, trying to complete the block, but missed.
There is only wind.
The next second, out of the corner of his eyes, he watched the tennis ball break through his position with great force, and the trajectory could no longer be seen.
In bounds? out of bounds?
boom!
Immediately afterwards, every figure that could be seen in the field of view of No. 2 stood up and shouted with excitement. The incredible faces were excited, excited, and cheered. The sound was so loud that it was not necessary at all.
In words, the answer couldn't be clearer.
Istomin subconsciously looked behind him, but only saw the referee putting his hands together to make an inbounds gesture and making the decision.
“Gao…………Wen…………!”
A vowel bombardment comparable to a football "goal" came from the commentary box next door. Xu Yang was startled, and subconsciously turned his head to look, and then he could see a white-haired little old man with red face and ears, as if he was drunk.
He jumped up and used all his body movements to express his joy, and his endless words were like machine gun fire, igniting the atmosphere bit by bit.
"Break!"
"Jesus Christ, Gawain resolved Istomin's continuous high-pressure attack in an incredible way, and finally broke the net and scored the winning point."
“In the seventh game of the fourth set, Gao Wen took the lead in breaking serve!”
"The game is not over yet, the game is not over yet, Gawain has once again accomplished a Gawain-like feat!"
Involuntarily, Xu Yang's blood started to boil. He withdrew his attention and looked at Gao Wen on the court, his fighting spirit burning brightly——
He did not celebrate this time, did not roar, jump or cheer, he just clenched his fists, like a god of war, and scanned the entire No. 2 court with blazing eyes.
Without words, you can feel that the overwhelming momentum is spreading throughout the venue, and it seems that they are using practical actions to challenge this stadium head-on:
Seed grave? Let’s see who can have the last laugh!