On the fifth match day of the 2014 Paris Masters, the quarterfinals officially kicked off.
As the game continues, all the main contenders for the year-end finals are still in the draw, which also means that the contenders for London have been further upgraded, and every matchup is worthy of attention.
Just looking at the game schedule, I can't help but get excited.
Center Court, the first duel, "Gawain VS Anderson".
Although Gawain is still a topical figure, Nishikori Kei's reaching the quarterfinals extinguished Gawain's hope of reaching the year-end finals. Naturally, in front of the other three highlights, the excitement and suspense of this match are slightly less. I had a chance, so I was placed in the first game.
Competing with Gowan for the semi-finals is Kevin Anderson, a player from South Africa, a vivid interpreter of "late bloomer".
In 2003, he entered the professional arena at the age of seventeen, but it was not until 2011 that he won the first ATP level championship in his career.
Then, in 2013, he achieved a breakthrough at the French Open and reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. At this time, Anderson was already 27 years old.
However, using this as a starting point, Anderson finally ushered in the golden peak of his tennis career and climbed up step by step.
First, he reached the US Open final in 2017 and lost to Nadal; then he reached the Wimbledon final in 2018 and lost to Djokovic.
Among them, Wimbledon in 2018 can be regarded as the masterpiece of Anderson's career.
First, they face the "King of Grass" Federer in the quarterfinals.
After losing the first two sets and giving up match point in the third set, Federer was about to sweep through and advance; but standing on the edge of the cliff, Anderson launched a desperate counterattack, saved the match point, and dragged the game into the final set with "13: The score of 11” was a long-set victory, and the eight-time champion will be eliminated in the knockout round.
Secondly, face Isner in the semi-finals.
The first three sets all ended in a tiebreaker, and the fourth set was "6:4". The two players each took two sets, and they were so inextricable that they had to decide the winner through a decisive set. The final score was "26: 26". 24", in this epic showdown of six hours and thirty-six minutes, Anderson won.
This semi-final set countless records:
This is the longest Grand Slam semi-final ever, the second-longest match in a Grand Slam, and the third-longest match in the history of men's professional football.
recorded in history!
From Flushing in 2017 to Wimbledon in 2018, this is the highlight of Anderson's career.
Look back to 2014.
At this time, Anderson is still in the stage of continuous improvement. It seems that he still lacks a little inspiration and has not been able to break through the barriers and touch the threshold of the top ten in the world.
But it is undeniable that Anderson has shown his ability and has steadily found his place in the top 20. All the top three Grand Slams have entered the fourth round, and the US Open has also entered the third round; moreover, in front of When playing against top players, I gradually found my own characteristics.
This year, Anderson defeated Wawrinka three times, all at the Masters:
Indian Wells at the beginning of the year, Montreal in the summer, Paris this week.
Especially in the face of Wawrinka who went crazy in the first quarter at the beginning of the year, Anderson's upset in Indian Wells was definitely a breakthrough. This was also the first time in his career that he defeated a top five player in the world.
Overall, Anderson and Berdych have too many similarities.
Strict batting movements, solid basic skills, balanced offensive and defensive abilities, excellent serving weapons, regular return routes, etc.
You can't say "very similar", you can only say "exactly the same"——
Of course, this is a joke.
Berdych and Anderson still have their own styles.
In comparison, Berdych's offense is better, and Anderson's defense is more solid, so Berdych's upper limit is higher, and Anderson's lower limit is higher.
how to say?
When the game reaches a stalemate, or when top players face off, the two players are naturally more inclined to rely on their strongest weapons:
Berdych relies more on offense. If he is in good condition, he can break the game and is not timid against the Big Four. If he is in bad condition, it will be difficult to delay the game and it is often easy to lose the victory quickly.
Anderson relies more on defense. Even if he is not in good condition, he can always hold on for a while, and then a little longer; but when he is in good condition, it is difficult to open the situation quickly, and it takes some time to win or lose.
In 2018 Wimbledon, the two matches against Federer and Isner were so long that they were devastatingly long. This is the most intuitive example.
However, this does not mean that Anderson is a defensive player.
Anderson is still a typical offensive player, but the key is that his offense is slightly inferior to Berdych, and his defense is slightly better than Berdych.
Therefore, the venue with the best performance in the four Grand Slams is Wimbledon, followed by Australia.
A very interesting statistic is that Anderson and Berdych have played against each other twelve times in their careers, and it is difficult to win.
In the last round, Gao Wen had just faced Berdych, and then faced Anderson again with a similar style. The entire batting style and game mode were seamlessly connected.
At the beginning of the game, Gao Wen showed a good competitive state.
In fact, Anderson is not a slow player. At least his serving state is very stable and he rarely makes consecutive mistakes in the opening game.
But this is the first time that Anderson and Gauvin have met, so they always need some time to explore and adapt to their styles. The entire batting line is relatively conservative.
On the other hand, Gawain adapted to Anderson's batting much faster. The entire tactical routine in the opening stage was very clear:
He controls the game through rhythm changes such as rising points, backspins, backspins, and deep topspins, constantly disrupting Anderson's shots.
The most important thing is the decisiveness of the offense. The choice of return route can always break the frame and seize the advantage. The whole game looks crisp and neat.
Once Anderson's serve fails to play its full role, he will soon fall into a passive position.
"3:0".
In just eight minutes, Gao Wen, who served first in this game, had won three consecutive games and quickly opened up the score.
Sampras, who was sitting in the player's box, nodded slightly, with a trace of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Is it my imagination? I think Gao Wen's condition seems to be better in this game than before."
Tobias whispered in a lowered voice. Sampras turned his head and looked over and replied in a lowered voice.
"That's a good thing."
In fact, their entire team, including Peart, is very worried. The news of missing the year-end finals may be a heavy blow. Even if Gao Wen says he doesn't care, those negative emotions exist objectively and are very important. Might affect the dynamics of today's game.
But now it seems that Gawain and Dimitrov's "escape" that slightly deviated from their daily routine last night not only did not affect Gawain's concentration, but also inspired Gawain's high fighting spirit.
This also means that Gawain has withstood another severe test and once again experienced a psychological transformation.
