Gao Wen played the first two sets, with a big score of "2:0", which was shocking.
Leaving aside for the time being the Australian and Spanish fans who were eagerly anticipating Nadal to beat Gauvin, even neutral fans had boldly imagined the possibility of Gauvin defeating Nadal in straight sets, but they never expected such a score——
From the end of the first set to the middle of the second set, Gawain once played six consecutive rounds and sent out an invisible donut.
Moreover, in the fifth game of the second set, Gao Wen also got a break point. Once he broke serve, his serve would win the set.
but!
Nadal used a very sudden and unexpected forehand to cut the ball, which completely exceeded Gawain's expectations, saved the break point, and then took advantage of the situation to hold serve.
Avoid being liquidated in the second set.
However, this still failed to stop Gao Wen. Next, Gao Wen broke again and finally fixed the score of the second set at "6:1".
As Zhang Sheng expected, Nadal was not in his best condition. He was far from being slow. The failure of his forehand made Nadal passive.
In fact, this duel can't help but remind people of the encounter between Gao Wen and Nadal at the Imperial Open last year.
At that time, Gawain was in poor condition and did not dare to hit the ball towards the corners. If he took a little risk, he would make a mistake if he was about to go out of bounds. This also forced him to retreat back and focus on control and deal with the situation.
Of course, relying on solid baseline hitting ability and excellent defensive ability, hitting the ball like this can still continue the round.
The problem is that there is a lack of means to suppress or even score. The edges of the entire game have disappeared, and it is just a back-and-forth back-and-forth on the bottom line.
This is definitely not Gawain's best style of play.
They lost to Nadal in the Imperial Capital and lost to Simon in the Magic City. In the final analysis, these two games were all the same.
In the Imperial City, Nadal was also in poor condition. In the first tournament after returning from injury, his entire batting touch was being adjusted. However, facing Gao Wen, Nadal showed his experience and became more diverse and richer.
Batting routines play a deadlock-breaking role in long, multi-shot rounds.
Even though Nadal had the last laugh in that match, it was very hard to win.
At this time, Nadal is like Gawain in the imperial capital.
There is still no problem with hitting the ball; and, Nadal is Nadal after all, and he will never surrender. Even in the dilemma of poor condition, he can always think of ways to continue to deal with the ball, and continue the round, even in a stalemate.
He is determined to find a crack in the game.
Even a small gap may be an opportunity for Nadal to make a comeback.
The competition is not one-sided.
From the first set to the second set, Gauvin and Nadal struggled for a full 93 minutes. The time of the two sets has basically caught up with the time of Gauvin's first two rounds.
Very sticky!
It can be seen from here that even Nadal, who is in poor condition, is still a tough guy.
So, what's going on with the score?
Key points.
Every time at critical moments, Gao Wen, who was in better and better shape, dared to plan, dare to take action, dare to start, and dared to break the situation. This courage and determination became the key to breaking the equilibrium state.
One piece of data is enough:
Break success rate.
In the two sets, Gao Wen got a total of 13 break points and broke Nadal's five serve games, with a break success rate of 38.5%.
Nadal got a total of ten break points, but failed to cash in any of them. The break success rate was 0%. This statistic is very, very dismal.
Federer has been nicknamed the "King of Missing Points" by fans for a long time, mainly because after he fell into a career low due to injuries and age in 2013, his ability to seize opportunities in the game declined significantly——
At critical moments, he should improve his condition, but instead his concentration collapses. He gets more than a dozen break points in a game, but can often only cash in on one or two of them. This also means that in the duel between masters, Federer loses control of the opportunity.
.
Today's Nadal reminds people of Federer.
It should be noted that seven break points were missed in the second game of the first set. From this perspective, that game was indeed a turning point.
Obviously, Gao Wen noticed the subtle changes in the atmosphere of the game, gritted his teeth and secured serve, which directly changed the momentum of both parties.
The gap just opened up like this.
The entire Rod Laver Arena was filled with anxiety and irritability——
Except for Chinese fans.
For Australian and Spanish fans, this is definitely a nightmare. They sincerely hope that Nadal can beat Gauvin.
For neutral fans, this is also a nightmare. The entire ninth matchday matchup is so drowsy that everyone is looking forward to this matchup.
The result, is this?
If you didn't watch the process and just looked at the score, I'm afraid there would be too many dislocated jaws to count; but even if you watch the process, you still can't believe it.
but!
Nadal is not Kyrgios.
The most precious trait of this Spanish god of war is that he never gives up and fights to the end——
Even if there is no hope, even if there is no way out, he will fight until the last moment and burn all his energy.
Nadal refused to give up the victory. If his opponent wanted to win, there was no problem, but the opponent must go all out to win. He would never surrender; because only in this way, when he turned around and left the court, he would
No regrets will be left.
This is Nadal's game philosophy.
A little clumsy, but always sparkling.
If it were other players, after losing the first two sets by a huge margin, their fighting spirit would have slumped in the third set. Even if they did not go offline directly, they would most likely be offline for a moment.
However, Nadal is not.
In the third set, Nadal made a comeback.
After two fierce battles, it can be clearly felt that Nadal's state is coming back bit by bit. It may not be a rocket jump, but it is indeed picking up——
There is no need to be surprised or surprised. It has been mentioned before that this bull is like this. He finds his form through arduous competitions. At his peak, his five-set winning percentage leads the best in history. His fighting heart is always beating.
Then, Nadal broke serve.
Nadal finally grasped the 13th break point of the match and completed an incredible defensive counterattack with a signature forehand outside-in. In an extremely passive situation, he cashed in his opportunity and won for the first time since the start of today.
Complete the break.
The whole audience was shocked!
The air was almost on fire, and everyone could deeply feel that the God of War blew the horn of counterattack again, and the game was still not over.
Immediately afterwards, Nadal saved two break points, held his serve in a thrilling manner, realized his break advantage, exceeded the set point for the first time, and took the lead.
"2:3".
In the third set, Gawain served first, but now Nadal relied on a break advantage to take the lead, and a glimmer of hope appeared.
Strictly speaking, it is normal for Nadal to lead, but Nadal's condition today is indeed not good, and at the same time Gao Wen's touch is really hot, so that Nadal is completely in trouble, playing very hard, and all signs have once again proved that
The Australian Open and Nadal are indeed at odds.
But no matter what, now, Nadal is finally in the lead, temporarily.