Winston-Salem, Gao Wen really didn’t expect that his fate with this event would last all the way.
In August, Winston-Salem canceled Gauvin's wild card at the last moment and temporarily awarded it to Isner. The other two wild cards belonged to Querrey who returned from injury and the fledgling Sock.
From an objective point of view, Winston-Salem's decision is correct and there is nothing to criticize.
But from Gawain's perspective, that was obviously a turning point this summer.
In New York, challenging Isner in the first round ignited Gawain's high fighting spirit and started a glorious fairy tale journey.
In Paris, facing Querrey in the second round, there was a familiar feeling of reincarnation of fate; moreover, this was the final battle for the year-end finals, and Gao Wen's combat effectiveness exploded.
Querrey, a very typical American hard court player, is famous for his cannon serve. Until 2021, he still maintains the record of ten consecutive ACE balls; at the same time, he is also stable in the historical rankings of ACE number.
Ranked in the top five, similar to Isner's playing style.
But compared to Isner, Querrey's mobility is better, he has certain defensive ability, his forehand offensive ability is more decisive, and his ability to continuously attack with force is also better.
Therefore, Querrey's career ranking is not as stable as Isner; but when facing top players, he is often more explosive. Among the "Big Four", he has defeated Nadal and Djokovic respectively.
Kovic and Murray.
Among them, in 2016, in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, facing Djokovic who had successively won the US Open, Australian Open, and French Open and was looking forward to completing the feat of winning four consecutive Grand Slams, Querrey made a shocking performance
The upset victory shocked countless people.
Subsequently, in 2017, in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, he defeated the then world number one Murray to reach the semi-finals, and became the first American player to reach the Grand Slam semi-finals after eight years, once again breaking countless expectations.
From a certain perspective, just like Soderling who was invincible at the French Open in 2009 and 2010, Querrey also played like crazy on grass in those two years.
However, 2014 was a very difficult year for Querrey, and like Janowitz, injuries were a stumbling block.
After returning from injury, he has yet to find his touch. He spends most of his time in the qualifying rounds. Even when he goes to low-level competitions, his performance is very unstable.
Originally, indoor hard courts like the Paris Masters had a bonus effect on serving cannons. Both Querrey and Janowitz were more suitable for this venue, but the problem was that their serving status had not yet improved.
Coming back means that Querrey has lost the cornerstone of the entire game.
It is indeed very difficult.
Against Querrey, Gao Wen was very knowledgeable.
To be precise, it should be against an American-style hard-court player. After all, Gauvin's main opponent in the NCAA has this style. Even Thompson, the Bruins' top player, also has the same style.
First of all, this is the entire U.S. professional tennis training system, headed by the Nick Bolletini Tennis School affiliated with IMG Academy.
Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Seles, Williams sisters, Sharapova, Kei Nishikori, etc., all come from Nick Bolletini Tennis School, and their students
He has been trained since elementary school, and the NCAA and professional arenas are full of students who came from here.
Overall, the talents are different, but the styles are similar.
Secondly, it is precisely because the style of the "Nick Bolletini Tennis School" spreads across the entire North American continent that coaches at NCAA schools are also more or less affected.
School teammates, competition opponents, and sparring partners all have this style. Naturally, this has become the most mainstream type in the NCAA arena.
As for Gawain, if he hadn't grown up wild and free-range at home; if he hadn't been reborn with the help of the system and maintained his own color, then he would have developed smoothly and slowly evolved into Querrey.
Isner's style is at least close.
But now, facing players like Querrey, Gowan University's experience on the field plays a very important role, even if this is the first meeting between the two sides.
Opening.
Gawain played very proactively.
Last week in Valencia, I got used to the feeling of hitting indoor hard courts. One of the advantages of the indoor environment is that the differences in weather and environmental factors are reduced to a minimum. This also means that the adaptation time to switch to different surfaces is shorter, especially
The three-set fierce battle with Murray in the final really showed off his touch.
In the first game, Querrey served.
First point.
The game had just begun, and Querrey needed some time to get into the zone, so his first serve was a little unstable and he couldn't score a single serve. It can be seen that because he has been losing this year, he lacks confidence.
Second shot, inside corner.
Gao Wen keenly sensed Querrey's uncertainty and instability, and immediately started to grab the second serve.
One step on the ground and the other forward.
The forward movement of the entire body is very obvious, because according to experience, players like Querrey often add some spin to the second serve in the opening stage, not side spin but top spin, mainly to ensure that the tennis ball is high after landing.
The ground bounces up, making it more difficult for the opponent to return the ball.
Imagine if Gawain stood one step or even two steps away from the baseline, and then the tennis ball bounced high after landing. When it reached Gawain's position, it was the time when all the topspin was released, so Gawain
If you hit the ball near the shoulder, this is a position where you cannot exert force. Naturally, it is difficult to start an attack immediately.
Please note that this is an opening tactic, because in the opening stage, both sides have just finished warming up, and more or less need some time to enter the game state. Therefore, this tactic can seize the gap where the opponent has not yet fully mobilized.
Create some advantages for the server.
As the game progresses, the tactics will be adjusted accordingly.
Querrey, that's exactly it.
As a result, Gawain took advantage of him by taking a step forward. As soon as the tennis ball hit the ground and rebounded, he hit the ball first before the top spin was completely released.
boom!
The sound of hitting the ball is very clear.
Moreover, Gawain's two-handed backhand is very durable. Following the inertia of his body's forward motion, he uses his body as a shield and pushes forward with his whole body. He can complete the wall-hitting return without having to actively use his own strength.
boom!
The tennis ball flew in a backward slash, and the mustard yellow color disappeared directly on the blue court, fast and light, like lightning.
When waiting for it to appear again, it had already landed on the sideline on the right side of Querrey, pressed the line, then rebounded and jumped out directly.
Querrey's serving action only had time to return to position, and he made no defensive movements at all. He watched the tennis ball rushing towards the advertising board on the bottom line, with frustration and annoyance in his eyes.
Return serve ACE.
"0:15".
Gawain kicked off this game with such a positive and strong attitude.