In the first set, after Gawain had won five games in a row, Nishikori Kei finally saved a face-saving game and avoided the fate of swallowing an egg——
This was also the first time Kei Nishikori kept serve in the entire match.
However, in his own service game to win the set, Gao Wen still played steadily, successfully holding serve without any suspense, and easily won the first set.
"6:1".
We can be 100% sure that this is definitely not the matchup that the audience wanted to see after flooding into the O2 Arena. I am afraid that the only exception is the fans of Gowan.
So, during the break between sets, the whole place burst into cheers:
Two high fives and one shout.
"Papa! Kei!"
From sparse to uniform, the voices of the 20,000 spectators condensed into a force, hovering over the stadium. Everyone stood on the side of the "weak" and expressed encouragement with practical actions, hoping that Kei Nishikori would not give up.
, able to catch up and reverse the situation in the second set——
If we give up here, Kei Nishikori's 2014 season is likely to end here, especially after defeating Murray and suffering two consecutive defeats in the group stage. It will stab Kei Nishikori's chest severely.
, I believe Nishikori Kei will do his best to avoid such an ending.
Who knows?
As long as the game is not over, anything is possible.
This is also true.
Maybe it was because of the cheers from the whole audience that Kei Nishikori found motivation and energy; maybe it was because of his sincere desire to qualify from the group stage and advance to the semi-finals.
Maybe it was because he came to his senses after the painful defeat in the first set; maybe it was because Gao Wen's first set went so smoothly that the second set started a little loosely.
Anyway——
"2:0".
At the beginning of the second set, Kei Nishikori, who was the first to serve, not only maintained his second serve in a row to avoid falling behind again in the second set; he also seized the opportunity of Gawain's second consecutive serve to launch a full-scale attack, and finally won in the second set.
Cashed in on three break points and broke serve for the first time.
"Papa! Kei!"
"Papa! Kei!"
The whole place thundered.
The O2 Arena suddenly became excited!
After a frustrating first set, we finally found the feeling of the year-end finals at the beginning of the second set, so the audience cheered harder and more cheerfully——
It's definitely not directed at Gawain.
The audience simply wants to see a more exciting and more intense matchup, or even simply wants to watch the game at the O2 Arena for a little longer.
After all, a ticket is not cheap, and in the past four years, the average game lasted only 70 minutes, which is less than the length of a movie.
This value for money is really hard to describe.
Immediately afterwards, Kei Nishikori took a "40:15" lead in his own service game, one point away from a "3:0" lead.
The heat wave can be felt throughout the O2 Arena.
Could it be that Kei Nishikori really wants to counterattack?
After all, Kei Nishikori has always been known for his tenacious playing style and will never surrender easily. You can be sure that he will continue to fight.
Now, the trends in the first set and the second set are very, very close, but the player taking the initiative has changed positions. So what happens next?
"5:2".
"40:15".
Thirty minutes later, it was Gawain who took the lead. With an overhead ball, Kei Nishikori lost his temper and gained two consecutive match points in his service victory.
Kei Nishikori looked helpless as he looked at the tennis ball that passed over his head. After landing, he squatted down and grabbed the handle of the racket with both hands to support his body. It seemed that he didn't have much strength left in his body.
So, what happened?
To put it simply, it is the ability to interpret the game.
Before Kei Nishikori established a "3:0" advantage in the second set by one point, Kei Nishikori became a little more eager and shot a forehand straight line that went out of bounds, completely deviating from the space of a hemisphere.
It revealed Kei Nishikori’s mentality of eager to establish an absolute advantage.
Gawain, caught it.
In fact, Gao Wen was indeed a little distracted at the beginning of the second set, because the first set always maintained high intensity and concentration, and his extremely tense nerves needed to be relaxed a little; moreover, the first set was too smooth, and he hardly encountered too many challenges.
As for the intensity at the start of the second set, it was a little bit behind.
In the first three games, points were lost a bit quickly, but gradually, Gawain regained his calmness and reason, and captured Kei Nishikori's subtle changes in mentality.
So, on the next point, which was Kei Nishikori's second game point, Gawain fought for a beat——
When receiving the serve, just choose to fight.
Catching Kei Nishikori's first serve, he fought the backslash with his forehand and directly penetrated Kei Nishikori's defense to score.
Return serve ACE.
In the blink of an eye, Kei Nishikori lost all two game points he held. Not only was he unable to establish a "3:0" lead, but it also allowed Gawain to regain his concentration.
His mentality fluctuated slightly from time to time. Then, Gao Wen fully improved his state and launched an attack.
That game lasted for thirteen minutes and was undoubtedly the turning point of the entire game.
Nishikori Kei missed a total of four game points, and Gawain seized the second break point. In a 25-round tug-of-war, he used a two-handed backhand with small slashes to repeatedly land the ball, completing the break.
.
The score did not become "3:0", but became "2:1". The two sides returned to the same starting line, and the situation and mentality further changed.
All in one go!
Take advantage of the victory and pursue it!
Gawain broke Kei Nishikori's serve in two consecutive games, and in the blink of an eye, he won five consecutive games again, perfectly replicating his performance in the first set, and held his head high as he ushered in his own service victory.
Amid the regretful boos from the audience, Gao Wen got two consecutive match points.
"Come on, Kei!"
"Kyu, please!"
The audience at the O2 Arena was still not ready to leave the stadium. They were shouting and applauding Nishikori Kei, waiting for a miracle.
really!
Nishikori Kei fights!
At the match point, Gawain hit a close forehand flat shot with a speed of 197 kilometers per hour. The quality was very good. However, Kei Nishikori made an awkward move with his upper body leaning back and used his forehand to forcefully sweep the ball.
Shoot, fight hard, and win——
Bottom line triangle.
Gawain's forehand position, although Gawain's footsteps are on this side, movement is not a problem, but Nishikori Kei's return point is very deep and awkward, and Gawain's serving action has not had time to fully return to position.
Under the circumstances, he barely blocked a shot with his forehand and returned it, but the quality was mediocre, so he was caught by Kei Nishikori.
Forehand, sideways, slide the skateboard, grab the rising point, and connect quickly.
Nishikori Kei seized the opportunity and took small steps in succession, like a wave of micro-steps. In a daze, he was already sideways. He directly took the initiative to use his forehand force and hit the ruthless hand, aiming at Gawain's backhand gap and directly hit the board.
boom!
The tennis ball bombed past like a missile. Although the landing point was not at the dead center, it still fell within the big triangle on the left baseline and continued to spin outward after landing.
Danger.
Danger!
Danger!
Red light, alert!
Gawain's footsteps were unwavering in the violent wind and rain, and he crossed the entire field on Hot Wheels. Even if he had an absolute advantage, he did not take it lightly and let down his guard. He stared at the tennis ball with blazing eyes, and his speed exploded to the extreme. He could only watch.
to a series of afterimages trailing across the entire stadium.