Tsonga also showed his big heart, aware of Gawain's recovery and the key to the situation, and he also improved his competitive status.
Easily and freely, the first point was won by serving.
"15:15".
However, while being positive, Tsonga is also a little impatient.
After relying on serving to establish an advantage, Tsonga couldn't wait to score winning points through offense and gain momentum. However, the first shot of the offense had power and speed, but no angle. The entire line and landing point selection were too satisfactory, and he tried to rely on
Absolute power creates enough advantages.
Of course, in the third set, Tsonga's strength did have the absolute upper hand.
But this time, Gao Wen hit a straight shot with his forehand and took advantage of his strength. Although the quality was still not as good as when he was at his best, he finally hit it back.
Tsonga was a little anxious and tried to attack for the second time in a row to continue to put pressure. As a result, he used a two-handed backhand diagonal attack. The hitting point was too low and the force was too strong. As a result, the arc of the return ball was not straightened and it hit the wall directly.
A white wave arose, ending the point with his own mistake.
Tsonga himself was also very disappointed. He threw the racket on the ground. The racket hit the ground and bounced up. Tsonga caught it.
"30:15", Tsonga's forehand winning point.
"30:30", Gawain's strong backhand backspin forced Tsonga to return the ball to the net.
One comes, one goes.
One plus, one minus.
Everything happened so fast that he didn't even have time to breathe. Four points had passed in the blink of an eye, and Tsonga lost two points in his second consecutive service game.
Moreover, this time it is completely Tsonga’s one-man show——
To put it simply, Gawain cooperates with the performance. He is responsible for hitting the tennis ball back, and Tsonga is responsible for leading the performance. Both scoring and losing points are in his hands.
You can feel the pressure at this point.
Obviously, the entire situation in the critical game is subtly changing bit by bit, even for a player like Tsonga who has experienced many battles.
What's more, don't forget that before the start of the Rogers Cup, Tsonga suffered a series of bitter defeats and his recovery from injury did not meet expectations.
After coming to Toronto, he won three games in a row and finally found some touch in his blessed land, but this was still not enough for the defending champion.
In the match against Gawain, in the first set and the first half of the second set, the back-and-forth clash was indeed exciting, but overall Gawain had the upper hand; until an unexpected injury overturned the entire situation.
Now at the critical moment, the familiar scene and the familiar feeling have returned. Tsonga's hitting shots will inevitably have some fluctuations.
After all, they are all ordinary people.
In the next minute, the pressure continued to rise, it was either a game point or something.
Everyone, hold your breath.
Including Tsonga.
In the first area, before preparing to serve, Tsonga adjusted his breathing slightly. The sweat on his forehead slowly slid down and it was a little itchy. He raised his hand to wipe it clean, looked at Gawain again, and then prepared to serve.
Pah. Pah.
Tsonga was shooting the ball, and the entire stadium was silent. There were not many spectators originally, but now the few remaining spectators held their breaths, making the stadium even quieter.
One shot, outer corner.
Speed 203 kilometers per hour.
It can be seen from the line and landing point that Tsonga tried to destroy Gawain's body center of gravity, but did not prepare to go to the net. The angle of the outside corner was not completely torn apart, and his feet were still on the baseline, ready to connect with the next attack.
A powerful and heavy attack can further apply pressure.
Gawain is a little embarrassed.
Because of such an outside corner, the line is a bit awkward, neither far nor close, so that he cannot predict his movements and can only adapt to circumstances. Sometimes his body may be closer to the tennis ball, and sometimes his body may be too far away from the tennis ball.
It's a bit difficult to control and it all depends on your hands.
And the key point is that Tsonga's serve is very heavy, punchy and heavy, with full tail power. Even in normal times, it is not so easy to catch the ball; now that he is injured, Gawain's ability to resist head-on collisions has significantly declined.
I often can't hold back my strength and even fall off the net.
This serve was also calculated and laid out by Tsonga——
There was no break point in the six service games before and after. Tsonga also summed up some experience. Although he is a relatively honest player and has no tricks, it does not mean that he cannot think.
For Gawain, there was no time to hesitate, and the conditioned reflex was to kick off the ground and fully stretch his right hand.
I didn't even have time to be thankful that the stretch of my forehand was not affected, I could already feel the power and speed of the tennis ball hitting me in layers.
what to do?
In the flash of lightning, Gawain had no time to think carefully. With a flash of inspiration, he thrust his forearm forward, and relied on the strength of his wrist to gently roll it up.
A very soft and extremely delicate package, it all depends on the feel.
Not a collision, not a leverage, not a push, but a slight flick.
To be precise, unloading force, friction...and small balls.
Because Gao Wen knew that even if his return of serve successfully hit the tennis ball across the court, the quality would be average. Next, he would inevitably face Tsonga's violent attack, and then he would fall into a passive position.
If he was in good condition, Gao Wen would be willing to fight back and forth. He was confident in his bottom line ability, but not now.
Once you fall into a defensive state, it is difficult to launch a defensive counterattack.
Therefore, Gao Wen simply followed the trend. Since the quality of the return was average, he simply became more bold and chose to cut the ball directly when receiving the serve.
This move is based on Federer's experience. It cannot be used frequently because it is very dangerous, but occasionally it can be used as a tactical surprise and has miraculous effects.
Gawain just caught an inspiration that he didn't even expect, and then he finished the ball.
Gao Wen was not sure how effective the return of the ball would be. After hitting the ball, he adjusted his steps in small steps and returned to his position, preparing to defend.
Then, all the eyes of the audience were focused——
The tennis ball raises a parabola lightly; moreover, the climb to the highest point of the parabola is a bit short.
what happened?
Under the eyes of astonishment and confusion, the tennis ball had already entered a downward trajectory.
So, is this not going through the Internet?
etc!
Tsonga's heart suddenly contracted, her steps paused, and the next second she panicked, running at full speed with clumsy and slow steps.
Tap tap tap, tap tap tap...
Running wildly all the way.
Immediately afterwards, the audience noticed that Gawain had also started. He did not stay at the bottom line and stepped forward at full speed along the vertical straight line. Even though the start was slightly slower, the speed was even faster than Songga.
After a full beat, the entire audience looked at the tennis ball and realized:
This! Actually! Is! A small ball!
Jaw-dropped and dumbfounded, the entire audience could not help but open their mouths with astonishment on their faces. They did not expect that Gawain actually chose to receive the serve and release the ball.
Moreover, Gawain and Tsonga both went to the net, from fencing competition to hand-to-hand combat, the entire situation on the court was instantly overturned, and tense sparks spread mightily.