How should you play when you are ahead? Or to be more precise, how should you play when facing a strong counterattack by your opponent? To be more precise, how should you play when facing a player of Zverev's style trying to counterattack?
Gawain's answer is, a change of pace.
The seventeen-year-old Zverev is still too immature after all. He is far from reaching the top ten in the future world. He seems to have few options when hitting behind.
On the first serve, Gao Wen suddenly lost power and served at a speed of only 163 kilometers per hour.
Zverev's judgment was accurate. He took a long stride and swung the forehand, ready to exert all his strength. However, the power of the ball was significantly lower than expected. In the blind exertion of force, the hitting action was deformed, and the return of the ball was completely unreliable. There is no parabola to speak of, it just flies out of the bottom line.
Ridiculously out of bounds.
"15:0".
As soon as he served, Gao Wen suddenly increased his speed again, and the serve hit the middle with a speed of 188 kilometers per hour.
Zverev was obviously unprepared, and his steps were slightly slower when he released the ball from the side. The tennis ball had already hit the frame of the racket and flew ridiculously toward the spectator stands.
"30:0".
On the first serve, Gao Wen once again reduced his force and pursued the landing point, aiming for a light and thin big outside corner.
Zverev was pulled out of the court and made a difficult flying hook shot. He finally completed a qualified return; but there were not many choices for the return route, it could only be a diagonal line. As a result, Gawain had already been waiting there.
A light forehand hit in a straight line without pursuing power or speed. Once again, by controlling the landing point, the ball hits the gap and the winning point is effortlessly achieved.
"40:0".
On the first serve, Gao Wen sent out a high-quality flat serve with a speed of 185 kilometers per hour. He made an ultimate inside-angle serve and landed at the T-point.
ACE.
Zverev Jr. was unable to touch a tennis ball.
"Love-game", Gao Wen simply won his serve, realized his break advantage, and took a "2:0" lead in the second set.
what happened?
Is Zverev really so bad? Is Gawain really that powerful?
of course not.
The most important part lies in tennis wisdom. If a game is compared to a war, then Gawain cleverly uses Sun Tzu's Art of War to change the situation of the battle. When accelerating, Zverev could not keep up.
In terms of batting strength, Zverev is definitely better than Gao Wen, but just look at Gao Wen's serve game and you will know——
Little Zverev still did not get rid of his own ideological ruts, and just wanted to exert force. However, Gawain used cleverness to win, and changes were always ahead.
More importantly, Zverev's attention was a little distracted, and he just kept trying to exert force, force, and force again, trying to suppress Gawain through strength.
But after falling into such a pattern, the hitting action becomes stiff, and not only is it easy to miss the hitting point, but even if the hitting point is accurately found, the tennis ball is not wrapped well, and it is very easy to lose control of the parabolic flight trajectory.
So, with two direct points on serve, a forehand winner, and an ACE, Gao Wen easily won his serve in the blink of an eye.
Zverev turned around and looked at his player box, furiously cursing.
The whole audience booed——
No one watching tennis likes a player who loses his temper on the court. It is not only disrespectful but also disrespectful.
These boos once again stimulated little Zverev, and his anger surged, forming a vicious circle.
Look at the little Zverev in front of him. Not only does he have to compete with Gawain, but he also has to compete with the entire audience. It is difficult to concentrate. The slightest disturbance may make him distracted, and then he will irritate the audience. , as if the whole world was against him.
"40:40", after three equal points, Gao Wen broke serve again.
"40:0", then Gao Wen secured serve again.
"30:40", then Gao Wen broke serve for the third time.
In the blink of an eye, the trend of the second set showed signs of collapse. Gao Wen was already far ahead with a big score of "5:0" and ushered in his own serve to win the game.
Unexpected!
Totally unexpected!
Even if the audience had imagined that Gawain might overturn Zverev and win in an upset, no one could have expected that the score would be such a disparity. From the process to the result, it can be seen that the situation is one-sided. Lev's seeming inability to mount a confrontation is truly disappointing.
Are you sure you didn't get the wrong script?
Although Zverev was occasionally able to hit amazing shots and win applause from the audience, he was unable to connect in a row and then lost the match point.
"40:30".
As Zverev returned the ball out of bounds again, Gao Wen ushered in the first match point of the day in his service game.
"Ho ho ho!"
"Ahhh!"
In the audience stands, MacDonald and Giron both stood up. They and Tobias were sitting in Gao Wen's player box to watch the game. At this time, they all waved their fists to cheer for Gao Wen, amidst the wave of cheers from the audience. , stood firmly on Gawain's side——
The audience was dissatisfied. It was the first full-house event in more than ten years. They were looking forward to seeing a tit-for-tat showdown with Maimang. The result was this?
They all began to cheer for little Zverev, hoping that the top seed could rise strongly and allow this duel to continue, so that they would not let down the ticket price.
But Macdonald and Gillon were different. They shouted hoarsely, expecting Gawain to win the victory in one go.
The whole place was boiling.
Because the noise at the scene was so sensational that Gao Wen failed to serve twice in two attempts, and the referee had to repeatedly ask the audience to quiet down.
"The players are ready. Thank you!"
It wasn't until the third time that the scene finally became quiet, but Gao Wen's serving rhythm was obviously disrupted. His first serve hit the net and he had to face the situation of his second serve.
In fact, when the game came to the end of the second set, Zverev had gradually calmed down and regained his attention, because he realized that he was already standing on the edge of the cliff. If he didn't give it a try, he might not have a chance. , so the quality of batting has also improved significantly. Coupled with the concentration, the entire confrontation can become a stalemate again.
Just look at the score, "40:30". Gao Wen faced a severe test in his serve to win the game.
The closer to the end of the game, the more dangerous it becomes.
Gawain also realized the crisis.
On the one hand, Zverev is coming back to his best form, but on the other hand, he is distracted——
In any case, this is Gao Wen's first professional tour final. Once he wins, it is his first championship. Just getting close to victory will inevitably cause slight ripples in his mentality. This little fluctuation is reflected in On top of the batting feel, the quality naturally declines.
The image of Kokkinakis appeared in Gawain's mind.
In the first round, Kokkinakis got the match point, but the result fluctuated, giving Gao Wen a chance to reverse; and now, he is also giving Zverev a chance.
