In the second area, one shot will not go in, and the second shot will be outside the corner.
Finally, Cilic tried to sneak serve in the direction of Gawain's backhand. After all, without the classic line from the outside corner of the second zone, Cilic's serve strategy combination would be incomplete, and the threat of the serve would be greatly reduced.
In fact, in the second half of the first set, Cilic slowly began to make sneak attacks, using different tactical combinations to suppress Gawain. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but overall, when aiming at Gawain's backhand serve, Cilic
Will still pay more attention to suddenness and break Gawain's prediction.
That's it at this time.
When the score was behind, he sneaked into the outside corner, and it was the second serve. The effect was very good, because Gao Wen really didn't expect it.
However, Cilic himself was extremely cautious and added a lot of insurance. The speed and angle were not fully added up, and the suppression was still slightly inferior.
Gawain's start was a little slower, and he didn't have time to complete the backhand swing with both hands. He just supported the racket with both hands for a beat, then completed the diagonal hit in the direction of the force, and then hit the tennis ball again.
I hit it back, but the impact point and angle were not completely separated.
Kick the ground! Dodge! Forehand!
Cilic seized the opportunity and immediately turned sideways to attack with a full forehand. The speed and power burst out instantly, and the tennis ball jumped out like a ball of flame.
Moreover, Cilic hid a little trick. He did not aim at the blind corner of the big triangle on the bottom line to suppress, because he knew that Gawain's ability to use force to hit was very powerful, so he used his wrist to complete a small skateboard shot and dropped the return ball.
On the outside blind spot of the teeing area, and then bounce out.
Like a big outside corner serve.
The angle must be the same, the landing point must be the same, and the speed must be the speed. The only regret is that power is sacrificed due to rotation control, but from here we can still see the excellent feeling of Cilic's forehand in this year's US Open. Basically
It has reached the level of hitting wherever you point it.
Gawain was a little embarrassed.
Although the steps are originally in the backhand position, you still have to take two steps away from the doubles line. At the same time, the height of the rebound after landing causes the hitting point to be higher than the shoulders. It is definitely awkward to hit the backhand with two hands, which further makes it difficult to adjust the steps.
Tap tap tap.
Tap tap tap.
With continuous small steps to adjust, Gawain had already snatched his body away, and then jumped up along with the inertia of the forward movement. His body flew into the air to get a more comfortable and accurate hitting position, and his hands were in the air for backhand.
Push out, superimposing your body weight and gravity toward the tennis ball.
Hit the ball in the air!
boom!
Flying in the air is not for juggling, but to improve your hitting position and find a more accurate hitting point. However, difficult hitting movements are indeed like juggling.
It can be clearly seen that Gawain consciously presses down the racket surface, hitting the tennis ball hard in an almost smashing manner; and even if the body's center of gravity is separated from the ground support, you can still see the stability of the backhand with both hands.
There is no deformation at all in the hitting action, and the force is even generated by turning the ball.
boom!
"Backhand VS Backhand".
"Slash vs Slash".
Cilic could immediately feel the mighty waves of air coming towards him, and the energy of Gawain's backhand shot instantly exploded with amazing momentum.
In fact, the best response at this time is to change the backhand to a straight line, which can reverse the situation in an instant - this is Djokovic's most classic line against Nadal, but the problem is that Cilic's backhand does not have such a line change.
ability.
So, what should Cilic do?
cutting.
Cilic immediately adjusted his steps, cut a diagonal line with his backhand, and sent the tennis ball back to Gawain's feet.
Cilic's cutting is completely a transition ball, lacking rotation and speed changes. It is mainly used to deal with the last shot of a crisis situation. There is no need to suppress the opponent or gain defensive time, etc., but there is one advantage, and that is the line.
and drop point control to ensure quality——
Solid basic skills.
bass.
In this way, the cutting pushes back Gao Wen's backhand position and lands in the deep zone, avoiding giving Gao Wen a half-court ball that can be attacked at any time, forcing Gao Wen to not continue to move forward after entering the baseline, and even need to retreat to adjust.
Being able to complete the swing, the overall effect has far exceeded expectations.
But the problem is that there is no power and no rotation. Even if the landing point is guaranteed, for Gao Wen, it is basically equivalent to feeding the ball in a practice match.
Chance!
Gawain will naturally not be polite——
He did not step back and remained standing on the same spot. Instead, he tilted his body's center of gravity slightly back to ensure that his knees were bent to lower his center of gravity. He completed the backhand with both hands early and took the shot slightly, seizing the rising point after the tennis ball landed and rebounded to complete the ball, just like hitting the ball.
When playing golf, you generally turn in a small range and swing your arm in a small range, and rely on the speed of the racket head to complete the closing action.
Backhand, straight line.
Whoosh!
The tennis ball turned into a shooting star.
straight line!
The thing Cilic was most worried about did not happen when receiving the serve, but it eventually happened again, which made Cilic a little panicked:
In an instant, I regretted that I had just cut the diagonal line instead of choosing the middle route. The cut was sent to the opponent's powerful backhand. This was obviously not a wise choice.
But regrets are of no use at this time. Cilic must focus on the present. While cutting the shot, his footsteps have already begun to move in advance, sprinting at full speed, crossing the entire court. The sense of crisis that burst out in an instant will destroy all Cilic's US Open.
All the energy is mobilized.
Kick, kick, kick!
Kick, kick, kick!
Seeing that he was about to lose his center of gravity, his stumbling steps seemed to be about to collapse at any time, but at the critical moment, Cilic burned his small universe and burst out with incredible power, and rushed there on Hot Wheels. Then his upper body was fully extended, and he was about to miss.
Complete a giant swing before hitting the point of impact.
boom!
After completing the hitting action, Cilic jumped out, his center of gravity had been completely thrown away, but his eyes were still fixed on the tennis ball flying in the air——
Diagonal diagonal line!
Cilic's hard-fought effort did not choose to save the ball conservatively, but once again showed his divinely assisted forehand. At the limit, he successfully hit a flat attack that penetrated the entire court. There was no spin, no control, no insurance, it was all-round.
Powerful forehand attack.
Fight back hard.
"Strength vs Power"!
"Forehand VS Backhand"!
In an instant, the charm of offensive tennis was fully demonstrated in the moment of powerful collision, and the entire Arthur Ashe Stadium couldn't help but stir up. This was the scene they had been waiting for. The tense confrontation caused bright sparks to spray out from the entire stadium, and the sight of the
Cilic, who lost his center of gravity and flew out of the field, was transferred to Gao Wen, who was sprinting to the baseline at full speed.
In one shot, Cilic's desperate shot turned the situation around. When the two players entered the second half of the second set, they finally mobilized all their energy and hit the limit with heavy punches. Attack and defense, initiative
And the passive switching is dizzying and breathtaking.
The crisis was immediately pushed to Gawain's side.