Federer, a generational golf king, has a lot of records, but when people mention him, the first thing that comes to mind is the lush green court of Wimbledon and the elegant figure with flowing white clothes. There is no doubt that he is
Born for the grass, legends are created here.
However, 2012 seemed to be Federer's "last glory"——
That year, Djokovic topped the Australian Open, Nadal topped the French Open, Federer topped the Wimbledon, and Murray topped the US Open. The four Grand Slams belonged to four players respectively, and they also laid the foundation for the era of the Big Four.
The cornerstone has become the most dazzling, magical and important year in the ATP golden age.
In the same year, Wimbledon became Federer's last Grand Slam championship experience. After that, he fell into a period of ups and downs. The impact of injuries and the decline in physical fitness after turning 30 years old.
It is also inevitable to enter a difficult gray period.
Among them, in 2013, he went to the All England Club as the defending champion, but lost to Stachovsky in the second round. His record of entering the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam for 36 times in a row was over, and it caused a global stir.
Shocked, I can still recall the surge after that upset.
To be precise, he lost in the second round at the All England Club, in the fourth round at Flushing in the same year, and in the third round at Melbourne Park at the beginning of this year, all of which were the worst performances of his career, but these are not the point; the point is, Federer's
The peak state seems to be gone forever.
Even if he reaches the championship, even if he advances to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam or even the final, Federer's competitiveness and dominance have been significantly shaken.
The king of the ball is still the king of the ball, but "no longer at the top". The main theme of the men's professional tennis duel has slowly shifted from "Federer VS Nadal" to "Djokovic VS Nadal". Such a change is cruel.
But it is also true, until this year, until this Wimbledon.
On the court he is best at, in his own back garden, Federer has regained his vitality, from serving to attacking to moving.
"Reappearing to the peak", even if it is not the same as the peak period, is infinitely close to the peak, which also makes all professionals exclaim:
The opportunity has come.
Maybe, the time has come for Federer to break the three-year Grand Slam championship drought; maybe, the opportunity has come for Federer to win the 18th Grand Slam.
Even Federer himself is equally confident. After defeating Simon, the Swiss King said that he was "very close" to his peak state.
Federer at his peak was indeed an unattainable peak at Wimbledon, and it is something that every player needs to look up to.
but!
"7:6(6)", when facing Gao Wen, he lost the first set; and he also lost the victory by losing two consecutive service points when he had two consecutive set points. Such an embarrassing situation
, gave Federer a wake-up call, and the beast woke up.
From the beginning of the second set, Federer vividly demonstrated his understanding of grass, bouncing, rotation, rhythm, friction, etc. The entire control and coverage have been upgraded to a higher level, and the concentration and investment have also been upgraded to a higher level.
Turn on Super Saiyan mode.
Federer firmly seized the momentary gap in Gawain's chaotic rhythm and brought the game under his control in one go.
Although the chaotic situation did not last long, Gawain quickly recovered and regained his rhythm, but Federer, who was fully focused, was already red-eyed and gave Gawain a good lesson in "Grass Grass 101". In an instant, Gawain once again let Gawain
Recalling the feeling when facing Nadal for the first time on clay.
No wonder Sampras said that the "Channel Slam" has actually existed in name only. Although they still need to switch venues, the players are no longer the same.
In the past, players would conduct different training according to different venues and change their technical and tactical combinations in order to adapt to the style of the venue.
Now, the players will still make adjustments to their training, but the playing style has basically been fixed, including Gao Wen.
At Wimbledon, Gao Wen used hard court and clay court tactics many times. Thanks to the advancement of sneakers and racket technology, this is possible.
The same is true for Djokovic and Murray. From Melbourne Park to Roland Garros to Wimbledon, their tactics and styles are basically the same.
What is really special is Nadal on clay and Federer on grass. It is no wonder that the legends have a special preference for these two players.
Today, Federer gave Gauvin a good show. It was not a training session, but a formal match. It was also the semi-finals venue of Wimbledon.
Even though Gao Wen is already ranked second in the world, standing in front of Federer on the grass court, he still needs to be humble and ask for advice.
Whether it is the choice of hitting the ball at the baseline, the timing of hitting the net, or the choice of handling techniques in front of the net, there are still many things that Gao Wen needs to learn.
I clearly understand everything Sampras said in daily training, but to fully integrate it into the game, I still need actual practice. Looking at Federer now, Gao Wen finally understands the reason why Sampras always likes to use Federer as an example.
.
Not only is it comparable to a textbook, but the brilliant shot selection and amazing touch control fully bring out the charm of lawn tennis.
——"1:0".
Federer, break.
Although Gao Wen saved five break points, in the end, on the sixth break point, he still failed to keep up with Federer's rhythm. He hit the net with a forehand and sent his own serve. It was also the first time between the two players in this game
After breaking serve for the first time, Federer fans went crazy.
Gao Wen was a little regretful. When he returned the ball with the last shot, his knees still did not fully bend, and his center of gravity was not lowered enough, which caused the return ball to hit the net.
Details, the closer to the critical moment, the more these details determine victory or defeat. These details are precisely the ones that the audience cannot see but are crucial to the players.
In the last game, when he played against Murray, Gao Wen had already felt it; and in this game, this feeling has been further deepened.
When facing giants, it is these delicate and peripheral parts that often determine the outcome, especially key scores.
This break of serve directly determined the outcome of the second set.
"6:4".
Federer's serve was still rock solid. After winning the last serve in four straight points, he won the second set.
The score was equalized, "1:1".
Live up to expectations!
This back-and-forth battle in the semi-finals completely met expectations, and even exceeded expectations. In the first two sets, the atmosphere of the Central Court and Murray Hill reached a new climax. Gawain and Federer
Both players put in their best performances so far.
The preparation of truly top players for the Grand Slam is the same as the preparation of football teams for the World Cup. This requires a process. Slowly adjust and slowly improve the state to avoid an upset in the first half, while maintaining energy to wait for the subsequent tough battles, and in the semi-finals and
The final reaches the pinnacle of competition.
This is what happened to Federer and Goldman before their eyes, and the collision between the needles continued into the third set.