Nadal patted the tennis ball, and beads of sweat the size of peas fell down his nose and bloomed on the court. He raised his head and glanced at Gao Wen to make sure that Gao Wen was ready before preparing to serve.
The entire Diamond Stadium was completely silent. Because of nervousness and anxiety, I couldn't help but hold my breath and stared at the stadium intently.
Set points. Nadal got two consecutive set points in his serve game.
Pah. Pah.
Nadal patted the tennis ball again, held the racket firmly with his left hand, moved slightly closer to the baseline, then pulled the edge of his pants with his right hand, and pulled the jersey on his left and right shoulders successively to ensure that the jersey was not tight.
Keep it close to the skin; wipe the sweat from your cheeks and nose respectively, and then shoot the ball again after completing the entire set of preparations for serving.
In the entire men's professional tennis world, Nadal is a typical representative of personal obsessive-compulsive disorder, with his own set of obsessive-compulsive disorder routines that must be followed:
For example, the mineral water bottle must have its label facing the side of the court on which you are playing next; for example, you must never step on any boundary line when entering and leaving the court; for example, you must change the racket in the next game after changing a new ball.
The serving routine is also a classic. A series of trivial little movements must be completed before the serve can be served. This has become his classic trademark.
In an interview, Nadal said that it was mainly a habit he developed when he was a child, because he sweated very badly. If he did not wipe off the sweat and keep his muscles flexible, it would be particularly uncomfortable to play next, and it would become a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder over time.
.
In addition, it also gives Nadal time to think. He needs to think about how to serve, how to lay out, and how to attack. Otherwise, if he serves in a hurry, the probability of making a mistake on the first serve is as high as 90%, because his attention is still distracted.
Therefore, Nadal must complete his entire routine every time he serves.
This is true at any time. When faced with a set point or a match point, you still meticulously complete the entire process before entering the stage of shooting and serving.
Pah. Pah.
Kick the ground! Step forward! Throw the ball!
Nadal's entire serving action is relatively simple, and the height of the throw is average, so the connection of actions after the start is fast, agile and explosive.
boom!
Zone 1, inside corner, flat shot.
A very sudden change in serving tactics, because Nadal's serve is basically based on rotation and placement. He does not pursue direct scoring or ACE with the serve, but uses the serve as a layout to start his own game——
According to ATP official statistics, although Nadal's serve is far from the strongest, he relies on the serve to establish an advantage, and the success rate of subsequent second-shot attacks is the best in history.
As a result, Nadal is also known as "the strongest attacker in the second shot after serving."
Since the start of the game, Nadal has generally adhered to his original tactics, but after receiving two consecutive set points, he suddenly made changes.
After Moya officially became Nadal's head coach in 2017, changes in serving and offensive methods transformed Nadal's competitiveness on hard courts; but at this time, Nadal's uncle Tony Nadal (
Toni-Nadal) is still his head coach, and the use of these techniques and tactics is very rare.
This also exactly shows Nadal's tactical combination. Because he had two set points, Nadal boldly broke the inertia and made some risky attempts and paved the way for the second set. Even if he lost this point, it didn't matter.
The key point lies in the overall layout.
So, flat attack, inside angle, suppressing Gawain's backhand.
Because it was too sudden and unexpected, Gawain was indeed caught off guard. There was no prediction at all and he completed the hit entirely by conditioned reflex.
But at the critical moment, the details can still show that Gawain is fully prepared——
He didn't back down.
Not only did he not, but he also took the initiative to attack the ball with a head-on attitude. Therefore, even though he did not predict it, he still grabbed the ball backhand with both hands very resolutely.
top!
One step at a time, Gawain pushed the tennis ball back, and in the blink of an eye, Gawain pushed the tennis ball back, and tried to take a risky shot by using his strength -
Press deeply.
In fact, it can be seen from the first two rounds that Gao Wen's current condition and feel are not in the best condition, so the placement of the ball is often conservative to avoid being too hasty and frequently going out of bounds.
But facing Nadal, Gao Wen has no "conservative" capital. Once the shot is not accurate enough, Nadal can easily complete the return. Moreover, Nadal is also the top defensive counterattack in men's professional tennis.
Deviation can completely turn the whole situation upside down.
Especially when it comes to inventory.
If Gawain didn't let go, there would be no chance in the first set.
Therefore, when Gao Wen received the serve, he hit a deep baseline ball——
Nadal's flat serve was not very fast, with a speed of 188 kilometers per hour, which gave Gawain room to take risks.
Kick!
You can clearly see Gao Wen's whole body pressing forward, and then the tennis ball has returned to where it came from, hitting Nadal's feet hard.
Tap tap tap.
Tap tap tap.
Nadal continued to adjust in small steps, barely getting out of the way, and hit a rebound ball when his forehand was squeezed and unable to swing the racket.
But Nadal's forehand swing is very special. It goes over his head like a windmill. Even when he hits a rebound ball, he still adds strong topspin through a large loop swing. This is also Nadal's unique feature on the professional tour.
Technology:
"Super topspin", also known as "Na-style topspin", not only rotates at a much higher speed than ordinary players -
Until many years later, the only one who could come close to Nadal's hitting speed was the mature Thiem, but Tim had excellent explosive power and lacked durability. His highest hitting speed could exceed Nadal's, but his average hitting speed was still slightly inferior.
One chip.
And the power and momentum are very strong——
Amazing ball quality!
It is precisely because Nadal's forehand has such a powerful impact, and as he is left-handed, when playing against right-handed players, he uses his forehand to suppress the opponent's already relatively weak backhand.
When Nadal emerged, he used his forehand to suppress Federer's one-handed backhand; similarly, Djokovic was able to counter Nadal because his two-handed backhand was not afraid of Nadal's fronthand.
hand.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is difficult for ordinary players to adapt to Nadal's super spin for the first time, because this is the only one in the entire professional tennis world and there is no chance to adapt.
It is precisely because of this that in "encounter matches", Nadal's career winning rate ranks first among the Big Four. He rarely capsizes when facing players who meet for the first time - of course, there are still some, but
It is indeed less than the other Big Three.
So, what about Gawain?
It was also the first time that Gao Wen faced Nadal, so there was no exception.
It wasn't until he faced Nadal that Gao Wen realized deeply that his backhand, which he is famous for, still needs to be polished and has room for growth. It is far from the time to be proud.
I can't stand it, I really can't stand it. This is why Gawain must face Nadal at this moment.