Right in front of the net is Federer. Among active players, Federer is unparalleled in his net skills. As long as he stands in front of the net, the entire court obediently surrenders to his racket.
At that time, from the 2004 season to the 2009 season, the reason why Nadal suddenly emerged as Federer's biggest opponent was that in addition to the suppression of forehand and backhand, his exquisite crossing ability was also the key point.
However, even when facing Nadal, Federer still dared to go online and go online strongly. His proficiency in front of the net has always been an indispensable part of Federer's arsenal, and today is no exception.
However--
Gawain didn't panic.
To be precise, he is very calm, his eyes are bright, and he has already expected it.
The steps did not move back tactically, but still moved parallel in a straight line. Because the hitting point was behind the back, the two-handed backhand was switched to a one-handed backhand, and the body rotated counterclockwise in the direction of the backhand and turned slightly sideways.
Then, reach out and intercept.
The racket, just on the sole of the foot, is slightly similar to the one he faced Djokovic in the last game, but the situation is completely different. This time Gawain is on the bottom line, the entire space is different, and the handling is naturally different.
Backhand, while hitting the rebound ball, the body continues to rotate, making room while hitting the ball, and then the backhand position opens up the path——
Straight path.
If Gao Wen chooses a diagonal line, he can just hit the rebound ball directly; but Gao Wen uses his own footsteps to adjust to get rid of the space and create a straight line gap.
In just a short moment, with a flick of the wrist, the tennis ball completely changed its flight path in an awkward position and flew quickly in a straight line.
Light. Smart. Graceful.
Not a diagonal line, but a straight line.
The skill shocked everyone, it was indescribably wonderful, and it cut off all thoughts inconceivably.
Huh!
The audience was overwhelmed, and the audience was completely overwhelmed. Before they could react from Federer's quick connection between serve and the net, they saw the troubled Gawain hit a straight shot that shocked everyone.
Then, amid the exclamations of the audience, Federer fell into a passive position.
Although Federer moved sharply and lightly, dancing like a butterfly and moving to the right immediately, Gawain's straight shot still overturned the prediction of the entire confrontation and won by surprise.
Federer failed to catch up.
He watched helplessly as the tennis ball followed a straight line across the court and fell into the gap, scoring Gawain's winning point.
"0:15".
It was still a close fight, still a contest of the first three shots, still a game and counterattack, but this time it was Gao Wen who had the last laugh, scoring the first point on Federer's serve.
Wow!
Thunderous applause.
Good-looking, really good-looking!
It's not the excitement of a showdown in front of the net, but the countless possibilities behind every shot. The inspiration is sudden and wonderful. From Wimbledon to New York and back to London, the game between Gawain and Federer is indeed not the same.
disappoint others.
This is just the beginning.
Although he had just completed a stunning winning shot, Gao Wen did not clench his fists to celebrate. It was still the opening stage and everything was a trial. There was no need to be upset about losing points, and there was no need to celebrate when scoring.
But at least Gawain sent a signal to Federer:
The forward receiving position is not just a show. Gao Wen is already prepared. This is a tactical arrangement. He can catch Federer's serve and make a fuss about Federer's serve.
Invisibly, Gawain put pressure on Federer's serve in this way.
Federer, who has experienced many battles, could tell immediately that he did not panic because there was no need to panic. He had experienced similar situations countless times.
Response, isn’t this coming?
"30:15".
A straight serve.
After a serve, he hit a straight forehand to win the point.
After cutting the melons and vegetables, Federer regained the initiative in his own service game. However, the tension and pressure in this game were indeed slowly rising. The relaxed state in the opening stage became a little tighter, and the atmosphere was naturally different.
Then, Federer sent a forehand error, slightly off the sideline.
Going out of bounds is not obvious. It can be seen as the additional damage caused by trying to improve the quality of the return in the back-and-forth competition, which is inevitable.
Federer was not upset and turned around to prepare for the next point and continue serving.
However, the score vaguely revealed the change in the situation.
"30:30".
Game point, or break point?
Back to area one again.
At this time, everyone is guessing, how will Federer serve? How will Gawain receive the serve? Will Federer serve an ace? Will Gawain choose to push the serve conservatively? Various possibilities swing left and right.
Perhaps, Gawain is the only one who does not waver.
The test must be tested to the end, and it will not change due to changes in scores, because in this game, Gao Wen's goal is not to break serve, but to test, to apply pressure, to observe, and to pave the way for the overall situation.
Facing a serving master like Federer, the first step in the return game is to interfere with the continuity of Federer's serve. Otherwise, even if he gets three consecutive break points, he can easily get the game back with five consecutive ACEs, so
Gawain needs to be patient and calm.
Of course, with different scores and different states, the test content will naturally be different.
At this point, Gawain was prepared to take some risks. Anyway, there was no loss if he lost it.
The whole place was completely silent, and thousands of eyes were focused on Federer——
He served.
interior angle.
Actually, inside angle.
In the first point of the game, Federer hit an inside corner with a serve to the net, but was scored by Gawain. Now in a tie situation, Federer actually chose an inside corner again. Is this smart or paranoid?
The answer is the former.
Gawain was ready to take risks, and Federer saw it. Although they didn't meet that many times, and Federer didn't necessarily watch all of Gawain's matches, Federer knew Gawain's style, his preparation and grasp of the context of the game, and he focused on the overall situation.
Sticking to one or two points in front of you, the whole brain's speed and layout ability are top-notch.
Therefore, Federer knew that Gawain would take risks, and he also adjusted his tactics.
The inner angle is intentional.
At the same time, Federer actually reduced his force and hit a serve with a speed of 185 kilometers per hour. You can feel the ingenuity of this serve from the sound of hitting the ball.
Backspin, force reduction, internal angle.
triple.
Therefore, when Gawain started to take risks and started to attack, he found that he shot too early. Not only did the tennis ball not fly over, but the hitting point was lower than expected, almost below the waist.
In other words, if Gao Wen exerts force, he will either hit the ball flatly and directly go down the net, or he will pull up and spin out of the baseline.
Once Gao Wen gives up the attack, Federer will immediately follow up with the second shot of the attack.
It’s also a serve from the first zone. Last time Gao Wen was able to use his strength to push a straight line, but this time it’s completely different. If you don’t pay attention, the return of serve may have come to an end.
This is Federer's serving ability.
While laymen are surprised that Federer stepped into the same river twice with exactly the same tactics, insiders know that the same place in the same river is already a different world.
This serve has many traps.
The target is Gawain's mentality of trying to take risks.