For Chinese fans, facing Simon may be Gao Wen's best chance to advance to the finals.
But the same is true for Simon.
This year, Simon's performance in the Grand Slams has slowly recovered, but his performance in the Masters has never improved. In the seven thousand events so far, except for Miami being eliminated in the first round, the other six have stopped in the second round.
Such a unified and neat performance is really dumbfounding.
This time, in the Magic City, Simon returned to strong form. Facing the newly emerging Gawain, there is no doubt that he also hopes to go further.
Obviously, Simon, like Gawain, came prepared——
Watching the previous rounds of games, we know that Gawain performed better in the Magic City than in the Imperial City. The main reason is to weaken the difficulty of the attack, reduce the risk of the attack through layout, and then increase the success rate of the attack.
what does that mean?
Gao Wen's offensive sharpness is far inferior to that of the US Open. When he was in poor condition, he played more with his head, with more rounds and tug-of-wars. After the entire rhythm and speed slowed down, his offense and
The defensive proportions also change, and this is all for Simon:
Just right, exactly what you want!
This is Simon's favorite way to play.
Therefore, Simon's game also continued the style he is best at, a "grinding" tactic, which he applied with great proficiency.
In the first set, Gao Wen's attack was repeatedly blocked.
Even if he remains patient and slowly maneuvers the layout, it is still difficult to break through Simon's defense. If he is not careful, he may be caught off guard by Simon's defensive counterattack; and once Gawain tries a more tricky angle or a more risky route, he may be caught off guard.
Faced with mistakes.
Simply put, this is not the style of play that Gawain is accustomed to.
When facing Salamento, Gao Wen used layout and offense to open up the situation, but now Gao Wen's touch has still not returned to its best condition. The offense has not been able to achieve the desired effect. He only relies on layout and defense to compete with the opponent.
Simon started to maneuver, which was obviously Simon's favorite rhythm of the game.
Looking at Simon standing on the opposite side of the court, Gawain had a new understanding of the term "iron wall". Simon at his peak was indeed a headache.
In the second game, Gao Wen tried to make a change.
Simon's prediction of offense and understanding of defense are indeed top-notch. His innate talent and experience in many battles have given him an invincible super-god state, so Gawain must "break the prediction".
What I bought was still Simon’s prediction.
Gao Wen tried to make more full use of the court, consciously mobilizing Simon in the deep area, breaking the inertia of Simon's lateral movement on the left and right of the baseline, and breaking the use of the three-dimensional space of the court by returning the ball, back slash, and releasing small balls, destroying Simon
prediction, and then interrupt Simon's defensive mode by grabbing the rising point and compressing the rhythm.
This is obviously not a routine that Gao Wen is familiar with. Frequent use of vertical space means more requirements for small balls in front of the net and midfield control.
When he is in good condition, this is no problem for Gawain; but at this stage, Gawain's brain must keep running at high speed all the time, which puts new demands on the consumption of energy and brain power. Such a game is a high-speed competition.
Wen has never experienced this before.
But at least a confrontation was formed.
Just now, there was another super long tug-of-war of twenty-five shots. Gawain tried several times to kill the shot to end the point, but Simon was like a roly-poly, swaying and about to fall, but he always managed to win.
Miraculously, Gawain came back to life, and finally ended with Gawain's straight forehand slightly crossing the baseline.
Gawain, I'm a little sorry.
Just a little bit different!
However, Gao Wen has no regrets because he knows that this is the correct way to play, even if he now needs to face a match point.
Match point?
not a problem!
It was not a problem to serve Simon twice to win the game, and now it is also not a problem to face three consecutive match points. On the contrary, Gawain's high fighting spirit was completely stimulated——
When else can you face a situation like this? Just let the war drums sound and see what happens.
Pah. Pah.
Simon is shooting the ball, and the next two points are his service points.
Qiao Wangsheng had completely held his breath, letting his heart beat thunderously above his eardrums. The urge to scream surged deep in his throat, but he managed to control it.
Zone 2, inner corner.
Unexpectedly, Gawain's whole body kicked off the ground and rushed out. His upper body was fully extended, and his forehand hit the head of the racket. He did not hit the sweet spot, but the force of his wrist pushed the tennis ball back hard, and he jumped up.
Draw a straight line and drill into the bottom line triangle of Simon's backhand position.
A very unexpected line choice, but the return shot that did not hit the sweet spot created an unconventional effect. The entire tennis ball flew fast and rushed. Although the landing point was not too tricky, there was still a long space from the sideline and baseline.
However, the suddenness of the line still broke Simon's prediction.
Facing the match point, Gao Wen dared to take action from the moment he received the serve.
Simon turned awkwardly with his backhand with both hands, and his steps were obviously squeezed, but the strength of his wrists still miraculously wrapped the tennis ball and flew back. The flexibility of his body was fully demonstrated; and he controlled the arc very well, heading towards
Gao Wen's midfield area flies past, neither forward nor backward, neither up nor down, a position that may create traps for both offense and defense.
Gawain went online.
His steps were very determined, and he immediately entered the baseline after receiving the serve in the previous shot. Even without Simon's return ball dispatch, we can still see Gao Wen's tactical intention to break the deadlock and rush to the net. His timely footwork connection successfully caught Simon's return ball.
line, and regained some initiative.
But Simon didn't seem to be surprised. He adjusted his steps continuously and moved towards his forehand to cover the gap. He had already predicted that Gao Wen might choose to hit the ball from this side. His high-speed running steps were already forcing him into the midfield in the blink of an eye.
.
"Calculation VS calculation", both players can see flashes of spirituality in offense and defense, but only one can occupy the commanding heights.
So, who is it?
Gawain's backhand with both hands has been set up and he is ready to hit the ball. It can be seen from the initiating action that he is indeed preparing to push in a straight line. This also means that Simon's prediction is correct and he is moving quickly towards this side.
move.
but!
Just when Gawain was about to hit the ball, his hands did not exert force on his backhand, but he pushed forward slightly, making a very gentle and careful shot.
Tap!
At such a critical moment, when his footsteps had already moved ahead to seize the opportunity, Gawain actually chose to hit lightly!
ah!
Qiao Wangsheng almost screamed, but when he opened his mouth, it was automatically silenced. He looked at the court in disbelief, and then he could see Gao Wen launching a shallow ball. Strictly speaking, it was not a small ball because the landing point was just right.
Near the bottom line of the service area, this is a distance that Simon can completely catch up with.
For the iron wall on the other side of the court, the hitting quality of this racket is obviously not enough.