The entire Rod Laver Arena erupted into exclamations of annoyance. Looking around, you can clearly see the faces covering their faces and heads, feeling embarrassed and regretful.
Although the five-star red flag was waving vigorously and excitedly, the emptiness and vastness of Rod Laver Arena drowned out the red flag in an instant, and was immersed in the sighs and regrets surging throughout the audience.
On the court, Gawain's eyes were bright, he clenched his fists, and his whole body showed a sense of determination, and he simply and briefly celebrated this point.
Just now, Nadal had created an opportunity through continuous attack and pressure, but his last forehand diagonal attack, ready to score the winning point, ended up slightly extending the baseline and going out of bounds. Not only did he lose this point, but he also sent it out.
The third break point in his first service game.
"40:AD".
As we all know, Nadal is slow to warm up and is often slow to enter the match state; moreover, he likes the outdoors, likes the sun, likes to sweat under the scorching sun, likes to feel the temperature, the humidity, the temperature, the sky, the competition environment, and he can more fully mobilize the competition environment.
own status.
Because of this, Nadal's performance on the indoor court has always been mediocre, even when the roof of the court had to be closed due to weather conditions.
At the same time, Nadal's several embarrassing defeats at Melbourne Park also occurred at night.
Of course, this is not inevitable, but for top players, the differences in details do play an important role that cannot be ignored, and this is also true.
After the game started today, the first one to take action was Gawain.
Although this is the first time that Gauvin has entered center court and the first time on the night stage at Melbourne Park, this has never been a problem for Gauvin.
Gawain did it once in Flushing; now in Melbourne Park, the more mature Gawain still has the innocent heart of a newborn calf.
After coming on the stage, Gao Wen played very actively and proactively, showing his confidence from the first point.
The difference between night games and day games is very obvious. Objective natural factors such as low temperature and strong wind directly cause the texture of tennis balls to become heavier, and at the same time, the bounce will be slightly lower. Moreover, the lighting of the court is no longer natural light, but
Artificial lighting makes the entire space feel different.
Regarding the game style favored by Nadal, it is indeed slightly different. He still prefers shots with higher bounce and longer flight time.
In addition, Nadal is habitually slow to warm up, and he is a typical "durable player", which is not only reflected in his defensive and counterattack style, but also requires time to adapt, deepen, and adjust in the game, as the confrontation progresses and the pressure increases.
Through accumulation, Nadal's state can often be mobilized.
Therefore, in the opening stage, Gawain, who was young, energetic and full of fighting spirit, took the upper hand.
Gawain, who won the coin guessing round, chose to serve first.
In the first service game, Gauvin made a forehand error and lost a point. Nadal was under pressure and made a forehand error and returned the ball to the net for a point. In addition, Gauvin attacked and scored three winning points.
Crisp and quick to maintain hair.
Immediately afterwards, in Nadal's serve game, when Nadal took the lead in getting the game point, Gawain continued to exert pressure and performed well, but instead caused trouble.
After four equal points, Gao Wen now got a break point for the third time.
The game only started for five minutes, and without any nonsense, it was already in a state of anxiety.
Obviously, this was not a situation that the home audience and Spanish fans wanted to see. Everyone was very upset, but Nadal was very calm.
There are no regrets, no regrets, not even too many expressions, just focus on yourself, follow the steps, and prepare for the next serve.
Step by step.
Unstoppable.
On this side of the court, Gao Wen knew that Nadal's serving process was relatively complicated, so he took his time to sort out his thoughts and determine his tactics.
In fact, after Djokovic suddenly emerged and won seven consecutive victories against Nadal, the technical and tactical layout of facing Nadal is no secret.
Simply put, it's all about the forehand.
Nadal's strongest point is the forehand, but at the same time, the breakthrough point is also the forehand - this is Djokovic's tactic.
However, on paper, it is easier said than done. Gauvin himself has played against Nadal, and he understands that it is not easy to break through Nadal's forehand.
Moreover, not all players have Djokovic's baseline hitting ability.
Of course, Gawain also has his own characteristics.
For this game, Sampras and Agassi formulated tactics for Nadal. The first one that bore the brunt was:
Be mentally prepared for your backhand to be continuously suppressed and hammered.
At least at the strategic level, not only should we not be frightened, but we also need to be tough and decisive, even forcing Nadal to change his tactics.
This is somewhat similar to the game against Djokovic. The difference is that Gao Wen's backhand was also a backhand against Djokovic, and it is the top first backhand in the current tour; while Gao Wen's backhand is also a backhand against Djokovic.
Wen's backhand is matched with Nadal's forehand, the Spanish king's strongest weapon.
Gao Wen was ready to break through from his own backhand and put himself first.
Pah. Pah.
Nadal is shooting the ball.
Second District.
It has been mentioned more than once before that Nadal takes full advantage of his left hand and serves from the outside corner of the second area to suppress the opponent's backhand. This is the most mature, perfect and handy tactic.
It doesn't matter even if his opponent sees through it, Nadal still has a clear advantage, even against the other Big Three.
The only weakness of this tactic is Nadal's own serving state. If Nadal's first-serve success rate is not high, or the quality of his serve from the outside corner is mediocre, then the execution of the tactic will be more difficult.
Therefore, the two keys to measuring Nadal's competitive status are the forehand and the serve from the outside corner of the second area.
Kick the ground! Throw the ball!
really.
outer corner.
At the break point, Nadal still chose his most mature tactics, but——
"Out of bounds!"
The first serve failed to enter the zone, which once again proved Nadal's slow start in the opening stage.
However, Nadal was not panicked.
Using the coach as a benchmark, compare the atmosphere of Nadal's career to that of Uncle Toni's period and Moya's period.
During the Moya period, Nadal's hard court strength improved significantly, and the importance of the first serve also increased; but during the Uncle Toni period, Nadal's game was basically based on the second serve.
In other words, to watch Nadal's game state, you should look at the scoring rate of the second serve, while other male players need to look at the scoring rate of the first serve.
This is a very special point.
Nadal is accustomed to second serves, and Nadal's second serve tactics are also very rich.
The most basic and intuitive point is that Nadal has strong confidence in his defensive ability, so he is not afraid that the second serve will be weak and unable to attack like the first serve. He is very willing to calm down and proceed patiently.
A long round of multi-shot see-sawing and maneuvering on the bottom line.
It is precisely because of this that Nadal's second serve insurance factor is often relatively high. He does not take risks. Instead, he uses rotation and placement to suppress his opponent and prevent his opponent from directly attacking. Among them, the proportion of close serves is relatively high.
Some.
During the Moya period, Nadal's second serve tactics were more aggressive, and he would occasionally try to serve and hit the net.
But this kind of tactical awareness does not exist in 2015.