...Throw the ball! Bend your knees! Kick off the ground! Turn! Swing the racket!
Zone 1, outside corner, suppressing the forehand.
boom.
It can be clearly seen that Gao Wen pursued the angle and landing point but gave up speed. The serving speed was only 177 kilometers per hour, but the tennis ball accurately hit the outside line of the service area. After landing and rebounding, the angle shot out and the outer corner was torn apart in an instant.
Tread!
tread!
Mayer's footwork adjustments are very delicate, from sprinting with long strides to controlling small steps, and he has already set up his forehand swing early——
Meyer's forehand swing has a very wide range of motion. He needs to fully stretch from the side and back of his body to swing, like a roc spreading its wings.
It is precisely because of this that in fierce competitions, Mayer's own prediction and initiation are very important, because he needs to buy enough time for his forehand swing.
The advantage is that the entire hitting action is solid enough and has a certain impact; the disadvantage is that it is difficult to grab the hitting point, so the entire hitting rhythm is relatively stable.
boom!
Mayer completed a signature forehand shot, aiming from a diagonal to a diagonal to complete the return. Although the hitting point had reached near the shoulder, he still hit the tennis ball back with a forehand sweep.
Aiming at the bottom corner of Gao Wen's forehand.
As mentioned before, Mayer is a typical clay court player, so on hard courts, even if he hits the ball flat, he will often bring some rotational friction. It is not the standard flat hit like Isner and Kyrgios.
, this also means that the ball speed is not fast, but the ball quality changes more and is more solid.
Horizontal, sprint.
Gao Wen's prediction in advance was very accurate. He moved one step ahead and hit the shot in advance. In addition, Mayer's return of the ball was not fast, so he had enough time to complete the shot, from the lead to the swing and then to the release.
, the entire forehand force is very sufficient, and you can clearly see the tightness of the hitting line.
However, as for the return line——
Center. Midfield.
Moreover, it can be heard from the sound of hitting the ball that Gawain did not exert his full strength. He clearly had the opportunity, but he did not act cruelly. This is really unexpected.
At the same time, it also broke Mayer’s expectations:
Obviously he had enough time to complete the powerful shot, but Gao Wen's forehand hit exceeded everyone's expectations and chose an unconventional route.
First, give up hitting a straight line to suppress Mayer's backhand, and instead choose the middle.
Secondly, it gave up suppressing the deep area and landed awkwardly in the midfield area.
You can see the changes in Gawain in the details——
If it were at the US Open, including today's first set, faced with such an opportunity, Gao Wen would definitely hit hard, decisively, and hit the dead center with bold and careful shots, quickly breaking the confrontation between the two sides.
The balance creates an opportunity for the next attack.
Even directly pursue the winning score.
However, after the first game, Gao Wen also clearly realized that the deviation of his own touch and state, if he directly challenged the dead end of the straight line, he would often go out of bounds. Blind attack would mean blind mistakes, hastily giving the advantage, allowing the opponent to win without any effort.
Able to score.
When you are in excellent condition, you can play whatever you want, naturally you can do whatever you want.
When you are in a bad state, you have to fight anyway. The game requires more strategies. After all, you can't just surrender just because your state is bad, right?
On the professional tour, Sharapova is such a typical player. Regardless of her condition, the quality of the game, or the opponent's condition, she will directly attack if there is a chance or not. Such an unreasonable style of play has also become a symbol of Sharapova's reputation.
Rapova's weapon to gain a foothold in professional tennis.
But the problem is that once she loses the touch and the offensive weight is not satisfactory, Sharapova will not change her strategy. This also limits her possibilities to a large extent, which is why she has not been able to win in her career.
More Grand Slam titles.
Obviously, Gawain is not such a single-minded player. Changes and risks, strategies and layouts have always been Gawain's playing style.
Therefore, facing the opportunity, Gawain changed his strategy. He did not hope that he could score with one fatal blow, but instead established an advantage through layout and suppression.
Just like now.
Mayer did not expect Gao Wen's return route. He was running with all his strength, sprinting towards his backhand position, trying to complete the defense. As a result, Gao Wen's ball landed in the middle, as if it was directly at the intersection.
In the event of a collision, Mayer had to adjust his position during emergency braking.
In a hurry, there was no other choice, so I just cut the shot with my backhand.
A major feature of Mayer is that his backhand is shot with one hand, just like Federer, Dimitrov, Wawrinka and others.
However, strength and explosiveness have always been Mayer's weaknesses, both on his forehand and backhand. His backhand does not have the ability to explode in an instant. He uses various methods of returning the ball to form confrontations. One is to use force to hit the ball.
The push and block of force, the other is flexible and changeable cutting.
Therefore, Mayer's backhand shot hides many changes, often changing the rhythm and breaking the balance, especially on clay courts, which is more powerful.
In today's first set, when Gawain's touch was not good, Meyer's backhand cutting also created many traps, disrupted Gawain's offensive rhythm, and even caused Gawain's offensive errors. Overall, Meyer
Your backhand is not inferior, and you are not worried about Gawain suppressing this side.
To some extent, Mayer's backhand performance is better than the usual average level.
At this time, in the rush, Mayer was not timid and chipped defensively with his backhand to return the ball. Moreover, he consciously chipped towards Gawain's backhand position, trying to use backspin to suppress Gawain's backhand shot.
The possibility of attack, the entire defensive attack is very calm and confident.
but!
Gawain's eyes lit up slightly: Just in time!
The previous shot was a trap, luring Mayer to use a backhand cut, and even the diagonal line of the backhand was expected by Gawain.
A player like Mayer who hits the ball honestly always reveals his honesty when dealing with unexpected balls. He just obediently completes the hit according to Gawain's settings, like a marionette; and his eyes are still twinkling.
Shining with joy, like a child asking for praise.
Gao Wen wouldn't mind doing a Mayer performance if he could: Well done.
But at this moment, Gawain's attention is entirely on tennis.
Kick, kick, kick!
The constantly adjusting steps immediately picked up speed after passing the midfield, and he sprinted horizontally with all his strength. Facing Mayer's slow backhand cut, Gao Wen was highly focused, adjusted in small steps continuously, and completed the lead-in action of the backhand with both hands early.
And the center of gravity of the body sinks steadily.
Lead the shot! Turn! Swing the shot! Go forward!
Bend your knees! Kneel off the ground! Straighten up! Go forward!
The entire batting action is smooth and smooth, pleasing to the eye. It seems to be an understatement, but in fact it is thunderous, and the whole body reveals a firmness and decisiveness.