This not only refreshed Kogkinakis' personal career record for the fastest serving speed, but it was also undoubtedly the fastest record on the first match day of the Australian Open.
Even among the serving machines with so many experts, this serve can rank among the best.
The tennis ball, like a streamline, rushed out, leaving only a long afterimage. Before the audience could even catch the trace, it had already arrived in front of Gawain.
Excellent! A very, very good serve!
but!
For Gao Wen, it was not a problem. With accurate prediction, timely start and beautiful touch, he knocked the tennis ball back with just one touch.
Ping!
Pong!
Once, once.
The audience just had time to turn their heads and look to Gawain's side, and then they had to turn their heads to look to Kogkinakis's side.
Kogkinakis enters the scene.
He also realized that his serve was very good and the effect exceeded expectations. Therefore, as soon as he entered the court, he had already reached the midfield.
Should he go online?
Kogkinakis had no time to hesitate, as Gawain's return ball had already arrived.
In the flash of lightning, Kogkinakis gave up thinking, stepped forward, and swooped forward with his forehand, just like a butterfly, swatting the tennis ball back from top to bottom.
Backslash!
Bottom line triangle!
Kogkinakis' conditioned reflexes were very fast. His height of 196 centimeters was like a wall. He hit it directly and all his strength was released.
It's like getting ready to hit a tennis ball.
However……
Oops!
After Kogkinakis took the shot, he realized that there was an irregular rotation in Gawain's return shot. He forced himself to exert force and failed to control the racket surface well. Not only did the combined force fail to be fully closed, but the landing point was also definitely controlled.
Not as good as expected.
really!
The angle of the backslash is not fully widened, and the return ball aimed at the big triangle on the baseline ends up in a position that is neither left nor right, and is not deep enough from the baseline.
The only thing worthy of recognition is that Kogkinakis's shot was very flat, and the tennis ball had almost no rebound height after it landed.
So, what to do?
There was a slight hesitation in Kogkinakis' steps. In the final analysis, it was due to his rough technique at the net, his lack of clear awareness of pressing forward, and his lack of comprehensive understanding of the court space, which led to such hesitation.
If it were Federer, he would have already stepped onto the Internet by now.
Of course, this little bit of hesitation is almost fleeting in an official game, just a millisecond, and the audience cannot notice it at all.
However, for tennis and the opponent, this moment of pause and hesitation is an opportunity to reverse the situation.
Even after hesitating, Kogkinakis still rushed forward, but Gawain on the other side of the net had already completed his observation and judgment.
Tread! Tread! Tread!
In his sight, Kogkinakis could see three long strides of Gawain, exactly three steps. Taking full advantage of his height and strength, he crossed half of the stadium. It seemed that before he could even blink, his steps were like three steps.
Already in place.
The center of gravity sinks.
Two-handed backhand.
In the process of moving at lightning speed, Gawain still accurately judged the nature of the incoming ball. He took the backhand with both hands in advance, but did not swing the racket in a large way. Instead, he moved with his body and made a small-scale quick hit while moving at high speed.
Skim lightly.
Use force to fight.
Kogkinakis did not have the power to fully match it, but it evolved into Gawain's power to control the arc and landing point. In the blink of an eye, the tennis ball flew over.
slash!
Obviously, Gawain noticed Kogkinakis's hesitation, which also meant that the "blocking action" of "Sealing the Net" was too late, leaving an obvious gap in the slash——
The audience can't see it, but Gawain will never miss it. Before hitting the ball, the entire route has been conceived, and the ball has been completed without any effort.
So, what about Kogkinakis?
left side.
Backhand.
Kogkinakis made a judgment immediately, and flew his whole body towards his left side, stretching his arms with all his strength, like a roc spreading its wings, his body had been extended to the extreme.
Whoosh!
The tennis ball is so fast and light. Under the golden sunlight, you can even see the trajectory of high-speed rotation. It just misses Kogkinakis's swing trajectory, and a small arc goes around his racket. The racket is clearly visible.
He was about to complete the interception, but he just missed it so lightly.
So close, yet so far away.
Then.
The tennis ball fell rapidly, like a boomerang, drawing a thrilling arc before returning to the court behind him.
The landing point does not even need to be too tricky, there is still a long space from the sideline and the bottom line, but this is enough.
Travel through the Broken Net!
Directly penetrated Kogkinakis' coverage in the first half and scored easily.
The whole place was completely silent, and even a little too quiet. Obviously, this goal and the ease of this game exceeded expectations.
Over there, Kogkinakis was stunned.
In this room, Gawain is taking a leisurely stroll.
Then, the first game was over in less than three minutes.
"Game, high."
The referee's voice directly announced the score, bringing an end to this point.
This sound was like a spell that lifted a magic spell. Hisense Stadium finally found its wandering soul. The entire stadium burst into mourning. They couldn't believe their eyes.
oh!
Sound waves, turbulent.
Wait, where are the Chinese fans?
The Australian Open is also a blessed place for Chinese players. The largest number of Chinese players come to participate in the Australian Open every year, and the Chinese audience here is definitely not a minority.
Although the number of local Chinese in Melbourne may not be as high as that in New York, the number of spectators who come to Melbourne Park to watch the game should be no less than that in Flushing.
Looking up, the five-star red flag was flying in the wind, but in an instant it was submerged among the Australian flags filling the sky.
No matter how many Chinese spectators there are, they will never be able to compare to the fact that this is Australia’s home stadium. What’s more, today’s Hisense Stadium is an Australia-only game.
From Tomic to Kogkinakis, the local fans spread out in such a mighty manner, filling every corner of the Hisense Stadium, and the various strange ways of supporting the fans were dazzling.
Some are wearing bull heads, some are blowing horns, some are applying oil paint, some are beating indigenous drums, some are waving flags, some are holding up support cardboards...
Etc., etc.
The most eye-catching thing is that five young people lined up in order, all shirtless, and wrote a capital letter on their upper body with bright yellow as the background and grass green as the background. When put together, it became a support slogan.
:
"Come on! Australia! (G!O!A!U!S!)"
At this time, five young people stood up, sang and danced, waving their arms constantly, attracting the attention of the audience, and the cheers of support increased steadily.
Perhaps, the number of Chinese fans coming to Melbourne Park to watch Gao Wen's matches has skyrocketed. Obviously, this year's Australian Open also has special significance for China.
But equally, countless local fans arrived at Melbourne Park to cheer, and the scale and formation easily overwhelmed New York——
In New York, citizens have a rich entertainment life. In addition to competitive sports, tennis, basketball, rugby, ice hockey, boxing and other projects enrich people's leisure and leisure life. The priority of the US Open in New York is not top-notch. On the contrary,
There are more viewers from all over the world.
In Melbourne, the Australian Open is the biggest sporting event of the year, and everyone is carnival.
The enthusiasm of the local audience for watching the game is immeasurable!