Not giving in an inch, not even a hair's breadth, this is the normal situation in the duel between top players. What determines the outcome is often some details or some key points.
Competitions between the Big Four are often like this. Although there are also one-sided competitions between them, most of the time, stalemate is the norm.
Now, Gao Wen, who has emerged in an all-round way, also has such abilities, and the same is true for his strong collision with the Big Four. Everything depends on the performance of key points.
In the first three sets, the player who performed better in key points broke serve and won the game with a break advantage. The entanglement and anxiety of you and me were throughout, and continued all the way to the fourth set, even due to fluctuations in physical fitness.
And unabated, the game is getting closer.
At this time, the processing of key points becomes more and more important——
Murray fully demonstrated his brain and firmly grasped his advantage of serving first. He carefully and quietly avoided Gawain's sight and unfolded his layout. In the eighth and tenth games, Murray did not
Instead of exerting force rashly, he launched an attack without warning in the twelfth inning.
Think about it seriously, if the fight in the twelfth round is regarded as a drill or warm-up:
If the fight is successful, Murray can end the game directly here.
It doesn't matter if the fight fails, so it can be used as a foreshadowing for the tie-break, and it can shock Gawain from a psychological level and put further pressure on him.
Looking at it this way, we can understand Murray's tactics.
Murray, among the Big Four, is the best at playing with his head, not only in batting layout and grasping the situation, but also in psychological games.
No, Murray is ahead, "15:30".
Center court went crazy.
As a result, the scene just described appeared. The entire audience stood up and applauded, beat the rhythm in unison, and shouted "Andy".
One sound, another sound, the overwhelming momentum was released, and the home field advantage was vividly demonstrated at this moment.
Although only four sets have been played so far, the game has lasted almost three hours; and, judging from the score, Murray is in the lead, but the advantage of the situation is very limited. You come and I go, and you can often see exciting collisions with red bayonets.
With a good shot, Gawain may overturn the current situation at any time.
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the cheers of the home audience:
They expect Murray to resolve the battle as soon as possible, realize victory in this game and set, and wait for Federer in the semi-finals.
"Bah! Andy!"
The All England Club, which is a gentleman and a courtesy, finally took off its tie and threw away its politeness, showing the passionate and crazy side of competitive sports.
The pressure is overwhelming towards Gawain——
Then.
Double fault.
Huh!
The entire audience exclaimed. At the most tense and difficult moment, the most unnecessary double fault occurred, easily breaking the balance.
In Melbourne, in New York, and in many cities around the world, the home audience spares no effort to support the host players, and even cheers for the opponent's double faults or mistakes. Occasionally, they even go too far and make noise interference before the second serve in the hope of causing the opponent to double fault; but
At Wimbledon, this is absolutely impossible.
This is a kind of etiquette and also a kind of respect.
Indeed, the British audience expects Murray to win and end this thrilling duel as soon as possible, but they still respect this sport, respect this game, and respect the opponents who face Murray across the net and work together to perform brilliantly -
—
They expect both players to perform at their best, and they expect Murray to win with dignity.
Therefore, the audience did not cheer for this double fault. Even though this double fault brought the match point, they could not help but exclaimed.
This is also not what they want to see.
"Oh, Gawain made a double fault. It seems that he must have felt great pressure."
In the commentary room, Tong Kexin made comments in an objective manner.
But this time, Xu Yang had a slightly different view.
"Last year in the offseason, Gao Wen adjusted his serving action, so during the Australian season, the double fault problem was very serious, and it was not completely eliminated until the Australian Open final; but I don't think this double fault is a matter of pressure.
It was a mistake due to a loose mentality.”
"Actually, judging from the second serve just now, Gao Wen chose the inner corner of the T point, and the result was just a little out of bounds. This should be a hard serve."
"Overview of the entire match, especially the third and fourth sets, Murray has been putting continuous pressure on Gao Wen's serve, whether it is the first or second serve. This also puts obvious pressure on Gao Wen. He needs to start from the service
Let’s start the confrontation at this stage.”
"After coming to this game, Murray suddenly increased his speed, and Gao Wen's service pressure further increased. He knew that if the quality of the second serve was not good, he might fall into a passive situation, so Gao Wen chose to fight for a second serve."
"Rather than saying that it was due to the influence of physical strength or pressure, it is better to say that Gawain was also playing a game and trying to fight back."
"This is the Gawain we are familiar with. He will never surrender without fighting."
"Judging from the result, this is a double fault, but from a tactical point of view, this is also an attempt and a struggle by Gawain. He is looking for opportunities to counterattack."
Double fault, from any point of view, this should not be; however, there are special times, such as just now.
Gao Wen chose to fight for the serve, and if he fought it in, it would be an ACE on the second serve; if he fought it out, it would be a double fault. In fact, this is also an attack.
The situation is indeed very unfavorable to Gawain, but Xu Yang believes that they cannot and should not underestimate Gawain.
But--
"15:40".
Looking at the score, the situation is indeed critical. After facing Istomin in the first round, Gao Wen once again faced the test of match point.
The center court was filled with astonishment.
Obviously, the match point occurred due to a double fault, which broke expectations. After taking a breath of cold air, both of them looked at each other.
And then.
"Come on, Gawain!"
"Hey, Gawain, you can do it."
Scattered and scattered, the fans of Gowan made their voices heard to cheer for their players.
after that.
"Ho ho ho, Gawain!"
Shouts, whistles, and applause surged from every corner, and finally converged into a wave of energy that swirled in the sky above the center court.
Pulan was stunned——
One moment, they were cheering for Murray; but this second, the center court was cheering for Gao Wen.
This is the most beautiful and touching moment in competitive sports:
It is related to victory but has nothing to do with victory or defeat. It is not about victory or defeat, but an upright showdown. Besides victory and defeat, there is also respect, admiration, fighting spirit, and unyielding spirit.
The spirit and the will to fight to the end, as well as the competitive attitude of challenging yourself to the limit.
Plop, plop, plop.
The heart hits the chest hard.
Pulan never knew that there was such a side to competitive sports, and that the atmosphere of watching a game live could be so different.
So Pulan also stood up, joined the audience, raised his hands high, and looked at the figure in the center of the stadium with tears in his eyes.
"Ho ho ho, Gawain!"
As he shouted, his smile bloomed amidst the hot tears, and he couldn't help but get excited.
She was ready to fight side by side with Gawain, holding her head high and facing the match point together.