"40:0", ACE ended, Gao Wen successfully maintained his serve.
At "15:40", Murray's return ball went out of bounds and suffered a break.
"40:15", Gao Wen's forehand slash won the point and guaranteed serve.
In the second set, it was a one-sided situation at the beginning. The two players only scored 14 points. Gawain scored 12 points and was far ahead. Murray scored two points indifferently but looked dejected.
There was no confrontation in the game, and the whole game fell apart quickly. In less than ten minutes, Gao Wen was already leading "3:0". Since holding serve in the sixth game of the first set, he has won seven games in a row.
Bureau.
An invisible egg.
Murray's decline was expected and not too surprising, but to be so bad that he fell into a trough and even had no power to stop him was too exaggerated. Could it be that Murray collapsed and collapsed all the way?
In fact, giants also collapse, and everyone is no exception, including Gao Wen, who also collapses occasionally; what really matters is how to gain a foothold in the collapse and regain his game. The special thing about giants is——
They can often "come back".
At this time, Murray had also come to his senses. He realized Gawain's acumen and keenly captured his frustration and wavering in the second half of the first set, so he continued to improve his state and firmly grasped the initiative of the game.
The review of the first set was the real turning point that destroyed Murray's confidence and concentration. In the second set, Murray still didn't come back to his senses. Gawain took advantage of the game and widened the gap.
This is where Gawain matures.
Originally, grasping the context of the game, analyzing the timing of the game, and grasping the key points of the game were Gao Wen's strengths. Now he is more mature and experienced.
Although this will not make the confrontation easier, after all, you still have to work hard for every point and every ball; but the context of the entire game will become easier, the score is the best portrayal, and there will be more and more big-score wins.
Looking at the U.S. Open title defense before, there were still a lot of stalemate situations, especially in the Grand Slams, where four sets and five sets were hard fought. But in the past three months, straight-line wins have obviously begun to increase.
While waiting for Murray to calm down, he was already behind by a big margin in the second set. The pressure brought by such a difficult situation was another matter. If he wanted to reverse the situation at this time, the difficulty would increase exponentially.
Moreover, Gawain was not distracted——
In the fourth game of the second set, Murray clearly regained his composure. After regaining focus and calmness, the quality of his entire shot improved, and Gawain immediately became alert.
If you are facing an ordinary opponent and have a clear lead in the second set, it doesn't matter if you give up this game. After all, Gao Wen has been highly tense for a period of time, and he also needs some breathing space to focus on his own serve.
Efficient way to victory.
But facing a giant? No.
A little relaxation may be the beginning for them to reverse the situation.
then.
In this game, the intensity of the confrontation between Murray and Gawain returned, but unfortunately, Murray's adjustments were still not in place. The entire layout seemed dull and lacked inspiration. In the end, Gawain had the upper hand.
After four deuces, Murray got two game points, but missed them all; on the contrary, it was Gawain who cashed in with a winning point on the second break point.
"4:0".
In the second set, Gao Wen broke serve for the second time, further widening the score gap and taking the lead.
Immediately afterwards, Murray proved with practical actions that Gawain's judgment was not groundless——
Murray's counterattack came as expected.
As soon as I stood on the edge of the cliff and gave it a try, I became obviously more comfortable in taking action.
Secondly, the tension and irritability have exceeded the limit, but I have found a trace of peace.
Thirdly, Gawain himself also faces the problem of physical fluctuations.
Therefore, Murray created some disturbances in Gao Wen's service game, but at the critical moment, Gao Wen still showed the confidence and will to win consecutively in recent times. His spirit defeated his body, saved a break point and then held serve thrillingly.
Withheld Murray's first counterattack.
"5:0".
At this time, there is basically no suspense about the outcome of the game. For the O2 Stadium, this is a very, very disappointing situation. No one wants to see this scene, whether it is the home audience supporting Murray or the people who come to eat.
Neutral fans, they are looking forward to more excitement.
"Bah! Andy!"
"Bah! Andy!"
The fans in the audience were united, which pushed the game to a different level. It may not be said to be intense, but the support was condensed into a wave of energy.
Maybe Murray felt this energy.
Perhaps, Gawain began to conserve his physical strength to accumulate energy for his serve to win the game.
Maybe Murray does perform better when he is relaxed.
"40:15".
In the sixth game of the second set, Murray got two consecutive set points, which was the first time since the fifth game of the first set.
However……
After receiving the serve, Gao Wen suddenly chose a forehand shot to fight in a straight line. This shot was a critical hit and the volley won the winning point. Murray had no time to start. An absolutely wonderful and strong performance saved a game point and approached the score. Then the situation became
Tightened up again.
Fortunately, Murray didn't make any mistakes this time.
A straight-line winning point with a two-handed backhand, very crisp and very strong. The entire layout completely suppressed Gawain, and Murray's style can be vaguely seen.
Wow!
The whole place was in a commotion, with cheers and applause, whistles and screams intertwined, resounding through the sky.
Even Murray, who was always expressionless during the game, smiled, looking a little helpless.
"5:1".
No matter what, a guaranteed serve is a guaranteed serve. After losing nine consecutive games, Murray finally saved a serve to avoid the embarrassment of being cleared in the second set.
The O2 Arena suddenly became energetic——
Home court is still home court after all.
"Bah! Andy!"
"Bah! Andy!"
As a hypothesis, how wonderful would it be if Murray could make a huge comeback to overthrow Gawain and incredibly win the second set?
Crazy is crazy, but it is not that Murray has never accomplished it, and more than once; besides, Gao Wen's physical peak should appear soon. Once Gao Wen cannot control his serve to win the game, the physical peak may become the first
At the turning point of the second set, anything is possible.
"Bah! Andy!"
The O2 Arena is very exciting.
Especially when Murray used a forehand diagonal shot from the deep baseline area that was suspected to be out of bounds but was thrilling, forcing Gao Wen to return the ball to the net and win the opponent's serve to win the first point of the game, the O2 Arena was simply crazy.
The audience followed suit, pushing the atmosphere of today's last game to a climax.
Bang bang bang!
Boom boom boom!
There were cheers, jumps, whistles, and applause. The bustling noise couldn't stop at all, and the fiery atmosphere was on the verge of getting out of control.
They are calling for a miracle.
However, this turned out to be a stimulus. Gao Wen stayed focused and engaged, regained control of the game with a crisp and strong attitude, and scored four points in a row.
In the first one, he used a wonderful forehand diagonal shot to tear open Murray's defense and score the winning point to complete the cash, leaving no variables.
"6:3", "6:1".
At the end of the game, Gao Wen crossed the finish line in one go, ended the suspense neatly, defeated Murray in straight sets, and won two consecutive group stage victories.