The atmosphere at the O2 Stadium was slightly relaxed. After all, the game had just begun. Both players were in the trial and discussion stage, and the confrontation had not yet become intense.
A small number of spectators left the venue to adjust after the first doubles match. At this time, they arrived late and walked slowly into their seats.
However, there is a different look on the court. The two players facing each other across the net are fully focused, and the air is filled with invisible swords and swords.
Score, "0:2".
Small minutes, "40:15".
Gawain, bending his knees, flexible center of gravity, taking small steps, highly focused, waiting for Wawrinka to serve——
a district.
His pupils contracted, and as soon as he caught Wawrinka's swing, his body already made a conditioned reflex and moved laterally to the right with a step.
Spread your arms, stretch your body, and extend it as far to the right as possible; almost at the same time, without feeling the time difference at all, the tennis ball flew over.
Outside corner, forehand.
Gawain, accurate prediction.
As soon as he stepped on his right leg, his whole body was completely pushed out. Even though this was a shot with a speed of 203 kilometers per hour, Gawain's conditioned reflex was very fast, and he even reacted by a hair's breadth to prepare for his swing.
Buy some time and space and move forward quickly.
Power, gushing!
boom!
Frontal impact.
Not only is it using force to fight, but it is also attacking with force.
Gawain, choose to fight hard.
The tennis ball is almost crushed in the collision and squeeze of speed and force, compressed to the extreme, and the reaction force is released instantly and overwhelmingly.
Whoosh.
A mustard-yellow light stretched out a long tail, like Halley's comet, along a diagonal line, across the net, and fell toward the sideline.
Fight fast and hit with strength.
On that side, Wawrinka's serving action had not had time to return to its original state, and he barely managed to pull his weight and rush out, but found that he could not keep up with his footsteps.
"Inbounds!"
The linesman made a gesture, and then Wawrinka watched helplessly as the tennis ball escaped from his forehand position, ending the point.
Didn't even have time to blink.
“Wow, wonderful!”
"Gawain was really bold. He actually caught a first serve, launched an attack without warning, sent an ACE back to the serve, and won it neatly."
"Now, the situation is a bit delicate."
"In this game, Wawrinka has gained a firm foothold and entered the state, leading '40:0', and got three consecutive game points, but just missed one on his forehand, a very simple and very casual mistake; then Gao Wen came
With an ACE in returning the serve, there were only one game point left out of the three in the blink of an eye.”
"In my opinion, this is also Gawain's strategy."
"The overall rhythm of indoor hard courts is still fast. Gao Wen does not want to prolong the round, but follows the rhythm. It can be seen from the tactical layout of the first two games that Gao Wen made more in the first three shots.
Try it, this is different from the US Open, the game style is maturing."
"After breaking serve early in the game, Wawrinka was far ahead in this game, and Gao Wen was not ready to fight, so he hit the ball more boldly. Including the previous point and this one, Gao Wen's attitude was to fight.
Look, if Bo is in, then attack, if Bo is lost, there is no loss."
"But here with Wawrinka, the whole feeling is still a bit tight, and the two game points are gone in the blink of an eye."
"Then, in the next point, Wawrinka's pressure will come."
incredible!
The serve with a speed of 203 kilometers per hour not only failed to establish an advantage, but was even directly counterattacked with an ACE. The speed was so fast that Wawrinka, who was the server, did not have time to react. It was so strong and exciting that the O2 Arena was stunned for a moment.
Can't react in time.
Wait, what just happened? It seems like... something flew over?
——"40:30".
From last year to this year, although there were not many indoor hard court events, Gao Wen's overall performance was very good, and he still adapted to such a competition environment.
As a result, he won the Paris Masters twice in a row and also won a clean victory in the year-end finals.
This year I set foot on the O2 Arena again, and I am even more familiar with it.
Originally, Gawain didn't plan to do anything in this game. After all, he had already broken serve first and had the advantage; but now it seems that Wawrinka still hasn't fully entered the state, which also means that there is still something to be done, so next time
How should Gawain score?
More conservative?
Continue the adventure?
Struggle?
The so-called strategy means that you need to make adjustments at any time according to the situation.
Gawain, take the next step.
Slightly advancing his receiving position by half a step, just like Federer during the North American summer hard court season, he creates physical pressure.
Wawrinka noticed the details immediately, but he didn't do anything special. He looked back and prepared to serve, as always, crisp and neat.
Second District.
Chasing.
Obviously, Wawrinka did notice Gawain's tactical intention and immediately modified the serving tactics to form restrictions. The game between the two players has already begun.
Gawain, hit the wall head-on——
I was originally preparing to move forward and continue to apply pressure, but I encountered the squeeze of the chasing serve. My footsteps and body couldn't move away at all, and I fell into passivity.
However, Gawain is not a reckless character. Since he has formulated a strategy, he must have prepared a backup plan.
He moved his body to one side, barely giving way half of his body, and then shot with his forehand, blocked, and cut sideways.
——Cutting.
After polishing the grass court season, the North American summer hard court season, the Asian season, and the European indoor hard court season, Gao Wen's cutting use has become more and more mature, and now some of Federer's style can be seen, always breaking the balance at unexpected moments.
Defend instead of attack.
It was this light side cut that caused Gawain to push the tennis ball back in a hasty and passive situation, along a straight line, and to create angles.
Although the power, speed, spin, placement, etc. could not be controlled, Gao Wen still controlled the line and pushed the tennis ball towards Wawrinka's forehand.
This shot was in the second area. Wawrinka served from the backhand position. As a result, Gawain shot a straight shot from the side and pushed it to the forehand position, mobilizing Wawrinka again.
With the front foot, he used the serve to break the game and gain some advantage for himself, but he didn't have time to start the offensive connection with the second shot.
On the back foot, Wawrinka had to move quickly laterally, cross the court with two long strides, and sweep the attack with a forehand like a roc spreading its wings.
Although there are some difficulties, the swing movement, hitting position, etc. are a bit reluctant, but Wawrinka's offensive will is very determined, and he hits hard with his forehand.
"ah!"
Wawrinka, come on.
In the third game of the opening game, Wawrinka, who suffered continuous impacts, had already begun to roar with strength.
Unfortunately, the effect is unsatisfactory.
When the swing movement and hitting position are not in place, it is difficult to combine the forehand sweeping attack. Even the unreasonable and violent forehands like Del Potro and Gonzalez are the same. Wawrinka is no exception.
He was not able to fully devote his power, but only tore off the angle.
Immediately, Wawrinka realized the crisis, clenched the racket with both hands, tightened his calf muscles, and adjusted in small steps to prepare for Gawain's powerful hit.
Tread, tap, tap.
Gawain was running wildly across the field. He raised his forehand early and made a gesture like a white crane spreading its wings. He knew at a glance that he was preparing to use his strength to attack.
but!
At the moment when he touched the ball, Gao Wen did not swing his forehand forcefully, but gently blocked the shot, wrapped the tennis ball with skillful force, and pushed it forward lightly.