From the perspective of body shape, Sarkisian is almost the same as Gawain before he gained weight, but their playing styles are completely different.
Sarkeeson is a player who is good at grabbing points and attacking.
What's the meaning?
A simple understanding is that when hitting the ball, he tends to lower his body's center of gravity and step forward to grab the rising point after the tennis ball lands and rebounds.
The average player's hitting point is often to wait for the tennis ball to bounce to the height between his waist and chest, but his hitting point may be between the waist and knees.
That is to say, competing for time and rhythm.
This way of playing is mainly to avoid the weakness of one's own strength. By grabbing the rhythm, mainly using the hitting technique of leveraging the strength, the time for the tennis ball to return to the opponent's court is shortened, thereby establishing an advantage for oneself. Speed and rhythm are the key factors.
The core of the entire game.
This type of style appears more often in players who are less than 180 centimeters tall, such as Japan's Kei Nishikori and Argentina's Diego Schwartzman. They are the top offensive players on the tour.
A master, and ranked among the top ten in the world.
In addition, the Italian player Fabio Fognini is one of the best among all professional players in his ability to control point attacks. He has an innate ability to judge the timing of hitting the ball.
His talent is among the best in the world.
It is true that all of them are players with a height of less than 180 centimeters and have no advantage in serving, but at the same time, this also gives them an advantage that others cannot have in grabbing the hitting point.
However, Sarkisian is a full 191 centimeters tall, which is very rare.
The point-grabbing attack is actually very entertaining, because the time between hitting and hitting is compressed, the rhythm of the round is fast, and the mercury-like attack allows the audience to feel a hearty sense of catharsis, and the entire game
Very straightforward and without any sloppiness.
Even if you just watch it as ASMR and close your eyes to appreciate it, you can still feel the burst of adrenaline.
However, this type of play is also very demanding, and everyone needs to maintain a high degree of concentration because they have to compete for points at all times. Once the energy or physical strength declines, the position of the hitting point will be deviated, and the quality of the game will decline.
It's very obvious, and then it becomes completely passive.
In the two games against the Bruins in the regular season, Sarkisian obviously failed to play his best tennis, losing to Thompson and Giron respectively.
When he came to Athens, Sarkisian felt hot and his smooth rhythm control style shined. The relaxed and freehand game was indeed a pleasure to watch.
Analyzed from a paper perspective, the point-grabbing attack style actually compresses Gawain's time for thinking, layout, and planning, forcing Gawain to rely on instinct to play, weakening the brain's advantages, amplifying the body's disadvantages, and requiring Gawain to be like Thompson.
If you play like that, the quality of the ball will naturally be difficult to keep up with.
Moreover, Gawain is 193 centimeters tall, and his center of gravity is also relatively high. Especially when moving quickly, it is difficult to squat down. Facing Sarkisian, who is good at grabbing the rhythm, the opportunity to control the situation will also be compressed. Slowing down the rhythm will
Possibly allowing Sarkisian to attack continuously and speeding up the tempo will just enter Sarkisian's comfort zone.
Objectively speaking, Gawain does have a headache with Sarkeeson's style.
Especially after his strength-level confrontation has reached a certain level, the impact of a point-grabbing player will be more obvious than a strength-type player.
It is precisely because of this that Sarkisian showed unstoppable confidence when interviewed by the media after successfully advancing to the quarterfinals.
"...Yes, I know that Gao Wen is in good condition now, and he should undoubtedly be the favorite to win, but I believe that I hold the key to victory."
Sarkeeson, who had just finished the game, was still sweating profusely, but his eyes were bright and his cheeks were red. You could really feel the determination radiating from the inside out.
"Gao Wen and I had different opponents in the previous rounds. Our hitting methods and playing styles are all different. My physical talents are not that outstanding, so I need to work more hard to make up for my shortcomings on the court.
, I know what I am doing and I know what I should do.”
"I know I can beat Gao Wen, so all I need to do is go on the court and accomplish this goal."
Normally, Sarkisian is not arrogant or arrogant. On the contrary, he is always down-to-earth and diligent.
However, Sarkisian's confidence is not unreasonable.
On the one hand, it’s because of myself.
Since entering the singles competition, Sarkeeson has really performed well, with each performance getting better and better. Even the seeded player against the University of South Carolina in the first round won very easily. So far, he has not lost any set in the three games.
All were "2:0" wins.
From the progress of the game to the final score, Sarkeeson's confidence has reached an unprecedented high -
Now that we have reached the quarterfinals, why can't we go one step further?
On the other hand, it's because of the opponent.
Before the singles competition of the United States Championship started, I once said——
No one can deny the emergence of Gawain.
In the team competition, as the absolute main force, he continuously defeated strong opponents and followed the Bruins to regain the U.S. Championship trophy after ten years.
Now in Athens, there is no doubt that Gawain is a hot topic.
However, on the road to Gao Wen's strong rise, there are still too few top players who have truly defeated him, and the one with the highest ranking is Domiyan.
Moreover, don't forget that Gao Wen and McDonald are both freshmen. Their active time in the NCAA arena is still not enough, and they lack the time accumulation and important games to prove themselves.
Naturally, the doubts will not disappear.
This is also an important source of Sarkisian's confidence - Gawain is not as strong as imagined.
During the regular season, Sarkisian lost to Thompson and Giron. They were originally the first and second-ranked players in the country, and they were convinced. But at that time, Gao Wen was just the sixth singles player of the Bruins.
Appear as a surprise soldier, shining like a comet.
Standing in front of Gawain, Sarkisian's confidence will not be suppressed.
What's more, the styles of football are incompatible, this is the fact before our eyes.
You can notice clues by looking at Sarkisian's wording, "I know I can defeat Gawain" instead of "I believe" or "I hope". The difference in a verb can be felt from the inside out.
The belief that emanates, that's a completely different thing.
In fact, the media has been waiting patiently.
Rather than saying that they expect Gawain to lose, it is better to say that they have no preference for victory or defeat, but rather that they expect Gawain to go through a trial to see what level Gawain can perform.
However, this year, the Siberian cold wave swept through Athens, causing upsets one after another. High-ranking seeds fell one after another, and reporters' expectations were repeatedly disappointed.
Finally, Sarkisian appeared, and then... the media suddenly became excited.
