From slow to fast to slow again, the rhythm of the entire round was completely in Gawain's hands, and Murray did not expect that he would be led by the nose like this.
So, what now?
In fact, Murray is not willing to deal with it, because his overall feeling recently is that something is wrong, and he still needs to make different attempts and adjustments; but at this point, the situation has unknowingly fallen into Gawain's hands, and this
It was a break point, and Murray had no room to refuse.
When people are in danger and difficulty, they still tend to return to their comfort zone and the way they are best and most familiar with. Getting used to it is so scary.
Including Gao Wen is no exception, but the difference is that if it is Gao Wen, this game is still in the middle of the first set, and there is still room for maneuver and retreat, even at the risk of being broken in this game and even losing the set.
You must also stick to your own tactics. After all, you can't just focus on this round.
However, Murray is not Gawain after all. He has a different personality, so his handling methods will naturally be different.
Therefore, Murray finally returned to his familiar mode and started dealing in the "Andy Murray" way.
——Cutting.
Murray also chose to chip.
Although there is still some space to hit the ball, Murray needs to get rid of the passive situation and gain room for adjustment, so he steps forward, supports his body with his left leg, cuts with his back, cuts a diagonal shot from the backhand position, and controls
Return ball landing point.
layout.
This is a comfortable area that Murray is familiar with. He relies on the control of lines, placement and rhythm to complete the layout. He and I are looking for opportunities in calculations and games. Now that he is really facing a dilemma, his mind is spinning.
"Cutting vs Cutting".
Moreover, Murray's control is indeed excellent.
Strictly speaking, Murray's sluggish state mainly reflects the lack of confidence and confusion, so he often makes mistakes in the selection of batting routes and methods, and his tactical intentions are unclear.
The feel of the ball remains at a good level.
Just like now.
Murray's cutting return penetrated into the big triangle on the bottom line of Gao Wen's backhand position, pressing the inside sideline. The quality was excellent, and the strong backspin formed an effective squeeze.
Although Gao Wen's steps were smoothly in place, there was not much space left to hit the ball. In order to avoid hitting the rebound ball and pulling up the parabola directly, Gao Wen simply swung the racket in a small range and hit a shallow ball to pull up the spin.
This time, Gao Wen's return ball landed in a shallow area, in the center area of the service area, almost equivalent to the position of the small ball. It had a strong topspin and bounced the tennis ball with it, then continued to rise. When it flew to the baseline, it had already risen to the top and
Begins a second fall.
Murray's batting position is very awkward.
Generally speaking, players need to hit the ball in the ascending curve of the tennis ball, which is easier; if they choose to hit the ball in the descending curve of the tennis ball, the uncertainty caused by the acceleration of gravity will often bring more uncertainty.
If the force is not applied properly or the racket surface is not properly controlled, it may fly directly.
This is the situation facing Murray right now.
If Murray is ready to attack with force, the right choice is to step back to open up his position, increase the swing space, and increase the storage space.
However, Murray did not——
cutting.
It's cutting again.
Cutting for the second consecutive beat.
Murray still has a profound background. He slowed down the rhythm with two consecutive cuts, breaking Gawain's control of the rhythm in this way.
Of course, Gawain can continue to increase his speed, but this means that Gawain needs to take the initiative to exert force. The consumption of physical fitness and energy is a big problem. A continuous attack with force is equivalent to a full sprint of 200 meters or 400 meters.
Gao Wen is the same as Murray. They are not of this type. Especially since they both know that their opponents have outstanding defensive capabilities. As a result, they lose their position by forcing continuous attacks, exposing their shortcomings and becoming an opportunity for their opponents to reverse the situation.
The results can be imagined.
Gao Wen did not attack with force or continue to control the rhythm. Instead, he stood on his backhand position, pulled out a strong topspin, and aimed for the bottom line.
slash!
Still a slash!
However, this time the landing point is the deep area, from deep to shallow and back to deep again.
Gawain did not use force, but focused on control. Through the combination of rotation and landing point, he pressed the line accurately and used the squeeze of space to restrict Murray.
"Backhand VS Backhand 0".
"Backhand VS Backhand 0".
"Backhand VS Backhand 0".
Back and forth.
Again, back and forth.
Neither player changed their hitting routes easily. It was not that they had no chance, but they used repeated routes to contain their opponents. Neither player acted rashly.
At this time, you can see the basic baseline skills of Gawain and Murray. Hitting is not a simple hit. The depth of the landing point changes, the speed of rotation changes, the timing of the shot changes sooner or later, and the changes in details are hidden in every hit.
, although the threat is limited, it needs to be tightened at all times——
If you lose your mind at any moment or relax at any moment, the capture of details may be biased, resulting in fluctuations in the quality of the return.
The principle is not difficult to understand.
When we repeat the same thing mechanically, it often becomes boring, repeating, repeating, repeating, and finally feeling sleepy.
This is true for study, it is true for work, and it is true for tennis.
At this time, the two players continue to repeat diagonal backhand duels without significant changes, and their attention may be distracted and their reactions may be slow.
However, the opponent's return always has hidden changes in details. If you don't pay attention, if you don't catch the spin or miss the hitting point, the quality of the return will be immediately apparent.
The consequences can be imagined.
It is precisely such a "boring" batting round that becomes more and more tense, which is a severe test for both players.
But I didn’t feel it at the O2 Stadium. I just watched the two people going back and forth on the same line, yawning again and again, feeling sleepy, and their eyelids were almost fighting——
No wonder people always say that the match between Djokovic and Murray is like this, going back and forth, endlessly, and still lacking in enjoyment.
But, what happened to Gawain?
The whole audience held their breath involuntarily, not because of nervousness, but because of frustration. Slowly, slowly, their attention began to scatter.
Just thinking——
Cutting. Straight line.
Gawain, took the lead in making changes.
In a relatively even-speed backhand confrontation round, the two-handed backhand cut a straight shot, calmly changing the confrontation situation and mobilizing Murray.
finally!
In his sleepy state, Gawain finally changed his batting line, but it was still not a hit but a chip. The audience at the scene was in a drowsy state and it was difficult to wake up.
For a while, I looked towards the court in a foggy mood, with questions in my head. I saw Gao Wen's sideline with my own eyes, but I still couldn't cheer up.
However!
Murray did not lose his mind. He was fully focused and reacted quickly. He started running across the field immediately, timely and quickly, and was in place in the blink of an eye.
A forehand attack, a sweeping hammer attack, and a shot aimed at a straight blind spot.
The sound of hitting the ball and the sound of the combined force collided together and exploded instantly, waking up the entire O2 Arena like thunder. One or two sleepy eyes raised their heads, secretly wiped the saliva from the corners of their mouths, and sat upright, as if they were alert the whole time, following the surrounding audience.