In this game, Kyrgios had an overall advantage at the beginning of the first set, and Gao Wen made a strong counterattack at the end of the second set. The strong confrontation continued throughout the third set, but entering the fourth set, it was a completely new look.
.
Putting aside for the time being the fluctuations caused by the intense consumption of physical strength and energy, the influence of score, situation, and psychological state is everywhere. Naturally, the competitive state will also undergo unknown changes. How will the two sides compete?
Being able to grasp yourself and adjust your state in an ever-changing situation is undoubtedly the key to victory.
In the first game of the fourth set, Kyrgios's tactical changes could be clearly felt in Gawain's serving game——
Violence, brute force, pressure, and overwhelming forces are stacked up layer by layer, attacking Gawain in an unreasonable way.
What's the meaning?
Just like in the opening stage of the first set, Kyrgios took the lead, racketed hard, and used absolute power to suppress. The essence of violent tennis was fully displayed. Even if there was no opportunity, he would force the shot and attack directly even if he faced the first serve.
The forehand without mercy was bombarded like a sudden storm.
"0:40".
As if chopping up melons and vegetables, Kyrgios took the lead to get three break points in a row. In an instant, he seemed to have returned to the state at the beginning of the game.
But this moment is not the first set, but the fourth set.
Gao Wen admitted that he was caught off guard at the beginning of the fourth set and was a little distracted. This was mainly because his concentration in the final stage of the third set was so tight that his concentration during the break between sets slipped.
He needed to give his brain some breathing room.
I originally thought Kyrgios might collapse in the fourth set, but I didn't expect that Kyrgios not only didn't, but also regained his strength. He made mismatches in and out, and lost three points in the blink of an eye, leaving Gawain in an extremely passive state.
Gawain immediately realized that stereotypes kill people, and his understanding of Kyrgios was not comprehensive enough and he was careless.
However, Gawain cheered up immediately——
The biggest difference between the fourth set and the first set is not that his physical strength has declined, but that Gawain's tactical routine has been fully opened up, and his strongest weapon has been fully fired.
So, how did Gawain save three consecutive break points?
Suppressing Kyrgios' backhand?
Yes, that’s not right. If you just simply suppress the backhand, then the tactic would be too monotonous. If Kyrgios sneaks in and hits a straight line, the whole situation may be overturned; instead, you should attack the backhand by suppressing the forehand.
——
This is Djokovic's classic tactic to suppress Nadal, because at that time few people dared to confront Nadal's forehand, and they usually suppressed Nadal's backhand, but Djokovic caught him by surprise and found a different way to come out.
A bloody road, successfully suppressed Nadal, and achieved a wave of seven consecutive victories against Nadal in 2011.
Until ten years later, no one could achieve such a record against Nadal, including Djokovic himself.
Gao Wen used this tactic against Isner in the first round, and is now preparing to do the same against Kyrgios.
However, the danger for Kyrgios lies in his inability to predict. His forehand is super powerful and it is completely impossible to predict when it will explode; moreover, Gawain's forehand ability to resist blows is not as good as that of Djokovic.
His package is so strong, so a head-on confrontation is not feasible. His breakthrough requires more tricks.
Just look at Murray beating Kyrgios.
Backspin, topspin, sidespin, baseline, middle, shallow ball, from placement to line to power and spin, every shot is shot with purpose, and changes always suppress Kyrgios.
In the second game, Gawain had tried it many times and now he is even more comfortable.
After serving, release the small ball together.
Serve with reduced force and attack from the rising point.
Close pressure serve combined with continuous backspin cutting.
Sneak attack and serve from the outside corner.
Suppress the backhand serve and then match it with the midfield attack into the court.
The tactics are different every time, and the first set of tactics is often aimed at Kyrgios's forehand, destroying the frequency of Kyrgios's forced attacks, and then attacking Kyrgios' backhand with subsequent attacks.
"Game, high!"
From being behind at "0:40" to winning five consecutive points to hold serve, this also set the tone of the fourth set.
From the beginning of the first game, Kyrgios was exerting force, exerting force arrogantly, as if... as if there was an active volcano erupting continuously on his chest. He exerted force even when he shouldn't.
Even if there is no chance, I still exert my strength. There is endless power in my body that I want to vent.
Like the Hulk.
But the difference between the fourth set and the first set is that, first, Kyrgios chose the timing of his attack improperly, and the entire attack lost its fluidity and turned into a reckless charge.
Second, Kyrgios's own physical strength has also declined. Coupled with his laziness in his steps, his grasp of the hitting point has also declined, his mistakes have begun to increase significantly, and his hitting rate in violent attacks has dropped significantly.
As a result, the fourth set became a big open and a close, with big ups and downs.
Facing Kyrgios, who continues to be angry, Gawain becomes more and more comfortable and calm - because Kyrgios is less threatening in this way. Basically, he is Domiyan or Thompson who is more talented.
Kerbert, essentially there is no difference.
Of course, there is no doubt that Kyrgios is outstanding. At least he is not as easy to control as Kerbert. An excellent serve is still the best cover, which also makes it very difficult to break Kyrgios' serve.
As a result, the score remained deadlocked all the way.
The whole process was somewhat similar to the third set, but the difference was that there was no break of serve this time. The two kept each other's serve all the way, and then came to the tie-break again.
See tie-break again.
From facing Isner in the first round to Kyrgios in the third round, Gao Wen has experienced a lot of tie-breaks this year, but he is still undefeated in the four tie-breaks. So... what about the fifth one?
This time, Gawain served first.
Throw the ball! Kick the ground! Bent the knee! Turn! Swing the racket!
boom.
Inside corner, ACE!
"pretty!"
"Gawain sneaked a serve from the inside corner. Kyrgios's steps were a little slower and his backhand position failed to touch the ball."
"This is Gao Wen's fifth ACE in the whole game. It appeared at the beginning of the tie-break of the fourth set. It can be seen that Gao Wen is improving his condition."
"'1:0'."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhan Jun couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, his fingertips curled up slightly, and then he could feel the wetness in his palms.
Tie-break, if...if Gawain wins the tie-break...
Just imagining it made my heart tremble uncontrollably, but I had to take deep breaths continuously to convince myself to calm down.
Unlike Zhan Jun and Hu Litao, Sofar, who had witnessed Gao Wen's growth all the way, knew that the familiar Gao Wen had appeared——
At the critical moment, he grasped the context of the game and improved his condition to break the deadlock, firmly taking the initiative to win in his own hands. But he didn't know whether Gao Wen could still perform perfectly in the Grand Slam?
