Pressing the backhand close to the body, strong topspin, and with side spin, after landing, drill into the stance, further squeezing the swing space——
Murray's tactical intentions couldn't be clearer.
Squeeze. Contain. Control.
Although Murray did not pursue an ace or a straight serve, he regained control of the situation through changes in the rhythm of serving. Facing the dilemma of three consecutive break points, Murray established an advantage through changes in serve, and all three consecutive first serves went smoothly.
Enter the zone and establish sufficient advantages.
This time, it's no exception.
But Murray missed one thing: Gawain's alertness.
With a keen sense of changes in the game and an accurate grasp of the context of the game, Gawain had already noticed the changes before there was even a crisis.
Therefore, before the situation got further out of control, Gawain had already taken the lead in making changes.
In this regard, Murray knew Gawain's keenness and wisdom, but he did not expect it to happen so quickly.
Or to put it another way, Murray is too busy taking care of himself now. He has just found some form with great difficulty, so naturally he has no time to take care of his opponents. Rather than paying attention to the changes of Gawain, he still needs to focus on himself, so the layout is
Sometimes some details are ignored.
It is inevitable.
Murray still focused on completing the layout through serving, while Gao Wen began to change his strategy from receiving the serve——
This serve was indeed outstanding; and Gawain's response was equally outstanding.
The upper body is slightly turned to one side, without forcing the space to open up. It is just slightly moved to the side, keeping the center of gravity stable, and then cutting with the backhand.
The whole movement is smooth and smooth, one side, one cut, the steel is refined into softness around the fingers, and the ball is returned by relying on the forearm and wrist to complete the control.
Middle path, straight line, shallow cut.
Surprisingly, Gao Wen did not choose to push deeper, but instead chipped a shallow shot, which landed a little behind the baseline of the service area. It was considered a half-court ball. From the chip to the landing point, Gao Wen returned the serve with one shot, and instantly
It slows down the entire rhythm of the round and gives it a feeling of leisurely strolling.
Murray didn't expect that.
It can be seen from Murray's posture that he was about to open his arms and launch a full-scale attack. He did not expect Gawain's return ball, and the entire plan was overturned.
In the blink of an eye, Murray had already judged the situation——
At this time, if he steps up to the baseline and hits the midfield ball, it will be too late; if he continues his forehand attack with full attack mode, he will be too eager, because the speed of the ball is too slow and the landing point is too shallow.
He just needs to wait, wait, and wait, and the hitting point will easily go wrong.
Unless Murray can, like Del Potro, wait for the end and unreasonably sweep the forehand, then such a return can be said to be exactly what he wanted.
Unfortunately, Murray can't.
Gawain's return was a tooth for a tooth.
Murray predicted that Gao Wen would not enter the baseline to attack this serve, so he deliberately chose a slow ball; Gao Wen also predicted that Murray would not serve to the net to compress the connection rhythm, so he also deliberately chose to cut this return serve.
Back and forth, the two people are digging holes in each other and plotting against each other.
I have to say that Gawain's response was excellent.
Now it's Murray's turn.
In the blink of an eye, Murray already had an idea——
There is no room for random thoughts. The more urgent and urgent it is, the more difficult it is. On the contrary, Murray is able to keep his thinking clear and free of other distracting thoughts.
Murray also changed the way he holds the racket, cutting it down like wood, spinning strongly, and pursuing the landing point with delicate hand control.
Target: Gao Wen's forehand baseline triangle is mainly close to the sideline rather than the bottom line.
The combination of backspin and side spin results in a limited bounce height of the return ball. This shot is often used on grass courts because it has low bounce and can limit the opponent; on indoor hard courts, the effect is weaker, but it can still be controlled.
Stay within the opponent's return range——
Because of the low bounce, the opponent's return ball must be lifted up, otherwise it will hit the net.
Therefore, the slash represents a high probability event.
At the first moment, Murray had already moved towards the forehand position, staring intently at Gawain and the tennis ball.
really!
As soon as he saw Gawain's swing, Murray knew that his layout was successful and his prediction was accurate. His lateral movement immediately accelerated and he quickly caught up.
But wait...
Slash, indeed it is a slash, but what about the ball quality?
Gawain, use your strength.
Faced with a low shot with strong backspin, Gao Wen did not flinch or be conservative. He stepped in time, bent his knees and lowered his center of gravity. He did not forget his hitting habits during the grass season, and swept the impact with a direct forehand shot; and he did not pull topspin.
, which is a flat shot that draws a circle.
Collide!
Relying on the straightening of the knees and lifting of the arms to complete the control of the flight arc, but the strength maintains the flat attack of the sweep, the whole rhythm is instantly improved.
From slow to fast, without warning.
According to Murray's layout, the slash is one aspect, and the top spin is another aspect. In other words, this is still a slow round; but now, Murray predicted the first half but not the second half, and the entire confrontation
The speed and power of the round are instantly increased, and the intensity is immediately different.
He.
Murray had no time to be annoyed or stunned. He stared at the incoming ball intently, moved his feet at full speed, and followed the centrifugal force to move outward——
One punch, one throw.
The pulling force of the centrifugal force quickly rises forward along the swing movement, confronting the opponent head-on without giving an inch.
"Strength vs Power".
"Forehand VS Forehand".
Murray's forehand hit back head-on without hesitation. The collision of strength and power set off sparks, and the crisp sound of the ball exploded in the room.
boom!
The speed and power of the tennis ball once again increased to a higher level. Like a heavy cannon, it returned to Gawain's forehand position along the diagonal line, setting off a rolling heat wave.
The noise at the O2 Arena became even louder, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, as if the entire space was boiling.
Before he could even blink, the mustard yellow light and shadow had already collided head-on with Gawain's forehand with a mighty force.
--boom.
However, the imaginary roar did not happen.
Because Gawain is cutting again.
Variation, variation again!
Facing Murray's powerful counterattack, Gawain chose to avoid its edge. Instead of stubbornly colliding with him on the forehand position, he sliced the shot with his forehand.
small ball?
No, long ball, push deep, use the forehand to cut, cut a straight shot, aim at Murray's backhand baseline triangle flight, the bull's-eye is a blind spot.
Rhythm and tension were subverted again——
From slow to fast to slow again.
Obviously Murray is the one who serves, but now the rhythm is completely in Gawain's hands.
Precisely because Murray chose to slow down his serve to create suppression and control, Gao Wen followed the trend and acted according to the opportunity, turning his disadvantage into an advantage in one fell swoop.
Murray did not expect this, and neither did the audience nor the commentators. Then, Murray was led by the nose.
this……
Even if he saw it with his own eyes, he still doubted his own eyes. Gawain's grasp of the battle situation and rhythm were undoubtedly at the level of a giant.
Then, Murray crossed the court like a marionette, sprinting towards the backhand position. At the speed of lightning, his brain had to work quickly.