Gao Wen stole a beat when receiving the serve. As a result, Djokovic also stole a beat when connecting with the second shot, and went one step further.
Gao Wen opened the angle, and Djokovic further opened the angle. In the strong collision of you and me, the horizontal space of the court has been completely opened.
Sparks, everywhere.
Gao Wen had just reversed some situations by receiving the serve, but he didn't expect to turn around and fall into passivity again. He moved to the left to prepare for a return and was immediately pulled back; and this time the angle was larger, the speed was faster, and the power was stronger.
Heavy, the difficulty of hitting the ball has suddenly reached a new level.
Both players are the same. They not only play fast, but also continue to exert force in the collision. The confrontation is obviously becoming more and more intense.
Tough. Firm. Decisive.
So, is it a fight to the death now?
If it were Wawrinka, Gao Wen admitted that he probably wouldn't be able to gain any advantage in a head-on confrontation; but Djokovic? It's a different situation.
In the flash of lightning, what Gao Wen was thinking about was not whether he could suppress Djokovic in a head-on confrontation, but the overall layout.
Is this a trap?
With Djokovic's character and style, would he really throw away his arms and charge forward unreasonably?
Moreover, the premise is that Djokovic has just smashed a racket, which also means that negative emotions are vented and reason returns to the brain.
Under such circumstances, Djokovic suddenly started to fight?
Gawain didn't believe it.
In the ever-changing strong confrontation, Gawain has completed observation, judgment and choice, and takes action immediately.
Forehand, cutting.
He.
The O2 Arena was filled with exclamations. They all thought that Gao Wen was young, energetic and powerful. At this time, it was natural for him to pursue the victory and suppress Djokovic with absolute power and speed. However, they did not expect that the forehand confrontation would only enter the second round.
, Gao Wen had already taken the lead in changing his batting technique.
Cutting, straight line.
Gawain controlled his steps in time, wrapped the tennis ball with the soft and delicate fingers of Baili Steel, completed a shot of cutting, and pushed the tennis ball into a straight line.
Then, the two figures on both sides of the net moved——
Gawain was moving laterally, very firmly and decisively. While observing the movement on the other side of the net, he switched his steps without any hesitation.
Djokovic was also moving laterally, running at full speed. Although Gao Wen chose to cut and the speed was not fast, giving him enough time, he did not take it lightly. His speed increased instantly, and during the movement, he immediately discovered
Gawain's trap made his heart tremble.
Cutting is not just cutting.
The first is backspin.
Next is the shallow area.
--small ball.
what does that mean?
The answer is very simple.
Regardless of whether Djokovic wanted to or not, he had to go to the net. Gao Wen deliberately used such a shallow return shot to move Djokovic to the front of the net.
At the same time, the strong backspin control makes the tennis ball fall sharply across the net, leaving little room for returning the ball. If Djokovic reaches the position slower, there will be even less room for hitting the ball.
There are needles hidden in the cotton, hidden secrets.
A layman sees the excitement, but an expert sees the door. When everyone at the O2 Stadium was frustrated that Gao Wen did not choose to fight to the end, the professionals immediately saw the murderous intention.
Djokovic had to move quickly and sprint at full speed, but even so, there was still not much space left for him to hit the ball.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that both players are running to their left, placing them on both sides of the net to form a misalignment and open up space. If Djokovic chooses to hit a straight line at this time, that is, high
Wen's forehand was in the gap behind him and he could easily score the winning point.
Can’t Djokovic see it?
But Djokovic can't.
Because of backspin and force reduction, Djokovic is moving at high speed, and the difficulty of controlling his backhand with both hands increases exponentially. If he chooses a straight line, the possibility of hitting the net is very high.
Djokovic immediately saw that Gawain had dug a trap to lure him to hit the diagonal line, and then Gawain waited to launch a counterattack at the diagonal position.
The point is, if Gawain digs a trap, won’t Djokovic fight back?
Calculation and counterattack, this is the real fun part of tennis.
Like Gawain, Djokovic also completed observation, judgment, selection, and action immediately.
A sliding step.
Djokovic's body was completely stretched, and he grabbed half a shot with his backhand with both hands. Before the tennis ball continued to fall, he gently picked it up.
At the same time, exert force——
drink!
A slash is indeed a slash, but it is not a simple slash.
Djokovic used his backhand with both hands to pull up the backspin ball, wrap it up in a parabola, and push it towards the deep area of the baseline. Relying on his own initiative, he wrapped the spin and power to complete a difficult shot and pushed it
The blind spot of Gawain's backhand position.
This is called "repaying the other person with his own way."
Whoosh.
The tennis ball was like a light arrow, majestically crossing the entire court, getting into the blind corner, turning and heavy, and pounced on Gawain's nose with great force.
Although Gao Wen moved ahead and laid out the ball in advance, the quality of Djokovic's return still exceeded expectations, forming a squeeze from the point of impact.
In Djokovic's view, Gao Wen often stands half a step behind the baseline when hitting the ball and refuses to retreat. Faced with such a return position, it is no exception. Therefore, if Gao Wen uses force, the straight line will not be very straight.
Perhaps, because the swing movement is not complete enough, there is no way to close the racket head and close the door.
The result of not being able to close the door is that the linear cage cannot come in, and the final return ball will go out of the sideline.
Naturally, Gawain must choose a slash or a lob.
But Djokovic was already waiting in front of the net, ready for diagonals and lobs——
He is not afraid.
Even if you stumble twice on the lob at the critical moment, so what?
Djokovic has faith.
It's not confidence, but faith. He won't be soft-hearted, timid, and won't back down. If Gawain dares to lob the ball again, he will dare to smash again.
On the other side, Gao Wen dug a trap to trick Djokovic into hitting a slash.
Here, Djokovic also dug a trap to trick Gawain into choosing a diagonal crossing.
You come and I go, courtesy is reciprocated.
Traps come and go, and then Gawain realizes that he is trapped in his own trap. So, does this count as shooting himself in the foot?
maybe.
Gawain is still moving laterally, but this time, the horizontal axis is slightly shifted back.
In a rare moment, Gao Wen opened up space in the defensive position and chose to retreat away from the baseline. Although the defensive space was increased, the batting position became passive.
Tread, tap, tap.
Gawain didn't hesitate, he had already opened half a step of space during the movement, and then backhanded the space with both hands, stretching it to the full extent like bending a bow to shoot a big eagle.
Fill it up, fill it up again.
He kicked off his left leg and braked in an emergency, then swung the racket slightly behind him and pushed it forward quickly, gaining himself some room to swing the racket.
ah.
Power, explosion.
Ahhhh!
Comprehensive, free.
The speed of the racquet head instantly increases by one level, and then increases by another level. It seems that the body is about to fly out, but all the power is released along with the swing movement.