The wind was blowing hard, and the entire Rod Laver Arena was surging, like a volcano waiting to erupt. Gawain's footsteps were staggering on the high-altitude wire ropes. The strong winds surging from all directions made the whole world...
Then it started shaking.
Precarious.
Life hangs on a thread.
However, Gao Wen is very focused and dedicated, with no distractions and no distracting thoughts. All his attention is on tennis, the court and Djokovic.
From the corner of his eyes, he glanced lightly and noticed Djokovic’s position, and the next second——
Backhand with both hands, turn slightly, change the grip, and turn the ball into cutting.
bass.
Cut it down hard with both hands!
The delicate treatment of the wrist adds enough friction, and Djokovic's light hitting does not have much power, which also makes Gawain's handling easier.
Whizzing.
Whizzing!
The tennis ball spun at high speed and flew straight along the left sideline, like a dancing Peter Pan, raising a small arc.
Tearing up the court.
The whole audience stared with bated breath, dumbfounded——
small ball?
It’s actually a small ball!
Facing the break point, Gao Wen had already set up a wide-open attack stance, but when he was about to take action, he changed his hitting method and hit a small ball.
"ah!"
During the second start of the sudden stop and turn, Djokovic's feet barely touched the ground - he was still worried about the ankle sprain he suffered at the beginning of the second set, so that his feet slipped a little, and then he watched the ball pass by.
Net.
Light.
exquisite.
It's perfect.
After crossing the net, it almost went straight up and down. After landing, I couldn't feel the force. The rebound height was limited, and in the blink of an eye, I had already landed twice.
Unparalleled!
Even if Djokovic started in time, he could no longer catch up.
What's more, Djokovic was indeed deceived by Gawain's feint.
"15:40".
Huh!
Rod Laver Arena was filled with exclamations. They couldn't believe their eyes, and even the hearts of the Chinese fans were about to burst.
"pretty!"
"Beautiful, beautiful, really beautiful! Facing three consecutive break points, Gao Wen was not afraid of danger, bold and careful, and easily resolved the first break point with a straight ball."
"Djokovic was completely blown away. He didn't predict the appearance of the ball. His feet were stuck in place and he watched helplessly as he returned the ball and completed two jumps."
"Wow. The air in the entire Rod Laver Arena seems to be stagnant now, making it impossible to breathe."
"However, Gao Wen is still focused on the game."
Zhang Sheng, sitting in the commentary box above the court, it is actually very difficult to clearly see the expressions of the players on the court. The players are only about the size of a palm.
However, he seemed to be able to see Gawain's eyes at this moment:
After just releasing a wonderful ball, Gao Wen raised his head and looked at his players' box. He did not cheer or shout, but clenched his fists heavily, and a power burst out from his resolute and determined eyes.
The murderous aura bursts out with a powerful aura from the inside out.
Uncontrollably, Zhang Sheng's heart also contracted.
Immediately afterwards——
"pretty!"
"Under pressure, Gao Wen's backhand withstood two attacks in a row. Instead, he used a forehand to squeeze Djokovic's backhand in a straight line, so that Djokovic rarely appeared on his backhand.
An unforced error when the baseline went out of bounds.”
"Djokovic shook his head and was not satisfied with his backhand shot."
"Now, for Gao Wen, the danger is still not over. He still needs to save another break point to prevent the score from being opened up in the third set."
pressure.
The pressure permeating the air has even turned into substantial oppression, squeezing his heart severely, but Gawain still withstood the pressure.
Zhang Sheng swallowed unconsciously, his mouth was a little dry.
"30:40".
"Come on, Novak!"
"Come on, Noel!"
"Djokovic, you are the champion!"
Rod Laver Stadium was very noisy and restless. Whether it was Australian fans or Serbian fans, they couldn't stand it.
Advantage, victory, and championship seemed to be close at hand, within reach, but two break points were lost in the blink of an eye, and they were inevitably impatient.
The atmosphere is getting more and more tense.
Second District.
Beep!
Off the net in one fell swoop.
Zhang Sheng also felt helpless and bitter.
"In the third set, Gao Wen's serving status has improved a lot. So far, there have been no double faults, but his first serve is still intermittent, which also makes him under tremendous pressure."
Second serve.
Gao Wen still chose the same routine, getting close in the middle, then pressing as deep as possible, using strong topspin to increase the height of the rebound.
Djokovic is not afraid of such a serve, but it also means that it is also difficult for him to suppress Gawain's tactics by returning the serve.
Djokovic asked for a straight, deep return shot.
Unfortunately, the speed was not enough, and it was also a topspin ball. Gao Wen hit it with a sweeping forehand skateboard, and immediately attacked directly.
But Djokovic accurately predicted, defended easily, picked up the tennis ball again, and then——
Round ball, a stalemate formed again.
In the game just now, Gao Wen saved two consecutive break points. An in-depth analysis showed that all of them were rounds of less than five beats, and the tug-of-war did not end in a stalemate.
It’s not that Gao Wen is afraid of long rounds of multi-shot tug-of-war, but Djokovic is often able to gradually establish an advantage in long rounds of tug-of-war. Especially since Gao Wen’s backhand is not in good condition today, once there is a stalemate,
As the defensive quality of the backhand declines, disadvantages will gradually accumulate.
Relatively speaking, in a short-round assault, Gao Wen's advantages in speed and strength in attack can be brought into play, and scoring will be easier.
This is actually the key to playing against Djokovic, including Wawrinka, Federer, Nadal and other players. It is estimated that Murray is the only exception. He likes to play with Djokovic.
The bottom line seesaws back and forth.
Therefore, Gao Wen's offense needs to be more decisive, otherwise once Djokovic shoots the ball from left to right and keeps returning the ball, the situation will become more and more difficult.
One forehand straight shot, one forehand diagonal shot, one backhand diagonal shot...
For three consecutive shots, Gawain continued to launch a surprise attack.
However, Djokovic's defense tonight indeed showed a superb level, not only accurate prediction, but also the quality of defensive returns was excellent.
In a split save, Djokovic once again pressed the return ball onto the baseline on Gao Wen's side, so that Gao Wen's advantage of pressing every step was completely eliminated, his forehand was squeezed, and his swing was incomplete.
, reluctantly returned the ball, and then the parabola of the returned ball lost control and flew high.
Oops!
The familiar pattern appears again:
Gao Wen, as the offensive side, couldn't attack for a long time. Then, Djokovic immediately launched a defensive counterattack and only needed one shot to reverse the situation.
Djokovic's games are always like this, and tonight is no exception. At this moment, on the third break point, Djokovic once again created an opportunity.
The tennis ball, high, shallow, light and floating, simply screamed at Djokovic:
Attack! Attack! Attack!
At this time, Djokovic's backhand with both hands has also been raised high, so which side is it?
Straight line? Diagonal line? Middle road?
A familiar situation appeared again, and this time it was Djokovic who took the offensive initiative.