In the fourth round of the U.S. Tennis Open in 2020, "World No. 1" Djokovic was directly sentenced to lose the match in a humiliating way; following the results of a charity match held in the first half of the year under great pressure and against epidemic prevention regulations After causing mass infection, it once again fell into the whirlpool of public opinion and controversy.
After that game, all the focus was on Djokovic, which also made the world number one the target of criticism.
However, this is clearly not how Busta would like to be remembered.
In fact, Busta, who was born in 1991, has always been a representative of the new generation in Spain, but he is also a bit special. He is not a traditional clay court expert, and he is also somewhat different from Fe Lopez who is good at grass. He is a typical The fast hard court master——
His best result at the French Open was only the second round, and it was hard to win at Wimbledon; however, at the Australian Open, he reached the fourth round twice; finally, at the US Open, he reached the fourth round twice. Entering the semi-finals and proving his hard court strength.
Once, it happened in 2017. That year, his world ranking also entered the top ten for the first time.
Once, in 2020, after eliminating Djokovic to advance to the quarterfinals, he fought hard to eliminate Shapovalov and reached the semifinals. In the semifinals against Zverev, Booth With a score of "2:0", Tatmadaw University lost a good game and was eliminated by its opponent in three sets.
Among the new generation of players born after 1990, Busta is far less popular than Raonic, Dimitrov, Thiem, etc., but in fact, his overall stability is He has always been the best. After entering the top ten in the world in 2017, he has been firmly at the forefront of the world.
Except for 2019, when his world ranking briefly dropped to around 50 due to injuries, at other times, his ranking has been stable within the top 20.
Later, in the 2021 Olympic Games, which was postponed for one year, Busta once again faced Serbian king Djokovic in the men's tennis singles bronze medal match. Busta won in three hard sets, proving that he does have real skills on hard courts. The ability to beat Djokovic with a real shot.
Let’s go back to 2014. This year was a bottleneck for Busta. After turning professional in 2009, he has been rising steadily. However, entering this year, after reaching the top 50 in the world rankings, he has not been able to Breakthrough, I can't find a way to break through when facing top players, and my performance in major events is always disappointing.
But it is undeniable that Busta's style of playing on hard courts is very solid.
Busta's characteristic lies in his solid basic skills, balanced forehand and backhand, both offense and defense, and his ability to change lanes unexpectedly is very good. He dares to strike when opportunities arise, which is really difficult to deal with; overall, in 2014, he The performance that has never been able to break through is still related to technology.
On the one hand, the offense is a little impatient and takes risks, but the success rate is unstable.
On the other hand, the defense is relatively weak and only passive defense. This also means that after falling into defense, it is difficult to find opportunities to switch from defense to offense. This also forces him to take the lead and attack first. As a result, it is easy to make offensive mistakes due to his mentality.
To put it simply, Busta has the basic skills and abilities at this stage, but his characteristics are not outstanding enough, so that he has doubts about his scoring methods and game characteristics. Therefore, in the process of improving himself, he faces self-confusion. This is also A necessary stage in every player's growth process.
The game against Busta was a turning point at this stage for Gao Wen.
First of all, the opponent is young enough and is not restricted by age. He realizes that Gao Wen is the new champion of the US Open, so he dares to fight and fight hard. His whole attitude is very low and full of impact.
Secondly, the opponent's hitting ability on fast and hard ground is indeed excellent, and the control and touch of the entire flat shot are very good, even better than Gawain.
Coming to Valencia, although Gao Wen's condition and feel are still recovering, this can no longer be an excuse, because the system training has begun, and because the adjustments have been slowly completed in the three weeks of games, now he really should be back on track. .
Otherwise, the following Paris Masters may be very difficult, and competition in the year-end finals will be impossible.
Therefore, facing Busta's impact, Gawain needs to perform even better.
Before the game, both Sampras and Peart attached great importance to this encounter. Busta was the best opponent to train for the game. He was strong enough but not too strong. If Gao Wen could grit his teeth and charge forward. Passing this level will be very helpful for the next two weeks of competition.
"6:4", "6:4".
Gawain, did it.
Busta has indeed demonstrated his natural touch on fast and hard courts. His entire shot handling, timing judgment, and return quality are all excellent. Coupled with his stable serve protection, this also makes his serve The game was stable and did not give Gawain too many opportunities.
However, Gawain still grasped it.
In the first set, at the first break point of the match, Gao Wen used a sudden and risky return of serve to attack Busta's backhand, followed by two consecutive forehand deep attacks. , and finally used a straight forehand attack to grab the rising point and seize the break point.
In the second set, he caught Busta's eagerness for success at the beginning, resisted Busta's three-shot attack with tenacious defense, and then used his iconic backhand straight line to complete the transition from defense to offense. Shooting the ball, forcing Busta to hit the ball high, and finally won it with high pressure in front of the net.
In the whole match, Gao Wen only sent one break point and successfully saved it; Busta sent three break points, and Gao Wen grasped two of them, breaking one serve in each set, and steadily won the game in an efficient way. Victory is in the bag.
Undoubtedly, this was a very, very close game. The indoor hard court event lasted for 83 minutes. The confrontation between you and me was very fierce, but Gao Wen still gritted his teeth and won the game——
The most valuable thing is that Gawain, who dared to take risks at critical moments, is back.
On Gao Wen's way to the US Open, his big heart at critical moments undoubtedly played an important role. In games where the bayonet is red, he can always improve his state on key points, stay focused, and seize opportunities.
In the words of tennis commentator Sofar, "This is superstar potential."
However, in the past few weeks of games, poor form and mediocre touch have tied Gao Wen's hands and feet. His risks on key points always ended in mistakes. Slowly, he did not dare to take action when faced with key points again. .
Although Gauvin adjusted his game strategy and won a few games, and even reached the semi-finals of the Magic Masters, Sampras was not satisfied with the game, and so was Gauvin himself——
This way of playing loses Gao Wen's own playing style. If it continues like this, Gao Wen's sharp edges and corners will soon be smoothed away. In the long run, this is not a good thing.
Fortunately, "the" Gawain is finally back.
