Before the game, in the preview of the quarterfinals, industry insiders and senior fans generally believed:
Facing Brown, Gauvin may encounter some challenges.
There are two reasons.
First, Gawain's own condition is unstable.
Originally, everyone was looking for touch at the beginning of the season. Both Nadal and Ferrer were eliminated early, and Gao Wen was no exception. On the contrary, it was those players who had been involved in the Challenger League all year round. They were used to running around, changing, and turbulence. They were in the new season. It may be quicker to get into shape when the season opens.
Moreover, Gao Wen adjusted his serving skills and the number of double faults in the first two rounds remained high.
Secondly, Brown's nerve knife has a certain impact.
The powerful serve, tough forehand, and unpredictable tactics really give Brown the qualifications to become a "giant killer", especially when playing against young players. Due to his lack of experience and lack of adaptability, Brown's unscrupulous hitting skills The choice becomes even more difficult to guard against.
However……
Gawain's response was very, very good!
Although Gao Wen still sent out nine double faults in the whole game, and the high number of mistakes still showed the stumbling in the serving process, but whether it was the first serve or the second serve, Gao Wen showed his strong layout ability, "to change "Bringing Change", always able to stay ahead of Brown every time.
In the end, Brown's shortcomings were exposed -
No plan.
To be precise, he has "Plan A", but not "Plan B"; moreover, "Plan A" is not a plan, it can only be regarded as a flash of inspiration, and the decision is made at the moment of hitting the ball. With his own line and approach, sometimes even he wasn't sure how he was going to hit the ball.
Therefore, once the opponent changes and takes the lead, or if "Plan A" hits a wall, Brown's subsequent shots will fall into pieces and become disorganized——
Mistakes. Mistakes. Still a mistake.
Sora had a lot of power, but Brown couldn't convert it into an effective shot. He either went out of bounds or hit the net, and the tennis ball was turned into a squash ball.
This is the style of a typical "challenge player". There are only three axes. Once the three axes are contained, the game may collapse.
When the game entered the second set, Gawain broke serve early at the beginning, and then the game entered the exhibition mode. Brown showed off his hitting tricks. You can know from the bursts of laughter that broke out at the scene that the entertainment effect was very good, but It has no impact on the overall situation of the game.
Straight sets!
The match lasted fifty-eight minutes, and Gawain easily defeated his opponent.
Victory is not unexpected, people are generally optimistic that Gawain will win; but to be so relaxed and happy, it is a small unexpected surprise.
On the other hand, industry insiders and senior fans believe that Djokovic's victory against Karlovic should not be a problem.
Generally speaking, the game between Karlovic and all big-serving players is the same, tie-break, tie-break, or tie-break. After entering the tie-break, the uncertain factors are amplified, and the serving link can increase the winning rate; but at the same time, Strength and foundation may also widen the gap, and there are certain rules for winning and losing.
Perhaps Djokovic and Karlovic also need to fight until the tiebreaker, but there is no doubt about the strength of the world's number one, and victory is a natural result.
However--
Shocking!
"6:7(2)", "7:6(6)", "6:4".
After losing a tiebreaker, Karlovic saved a match point, won two consecutive sets, came back to win, and defeated Djokovic again after seven years.
Unpopular!
Absolutely unpopular!
Following Nadal's upset loss to the qualifiers, Djokovic also stopped in the quarterfinals and lost to Karlovic in an upset, and the top two seeds were both eliminated.
An upset comparable to Siberia.
But how is that possible?
In the professional tennis world, Djokovic and Murray are recognized as "serve-receiving masters", and the two players' serve-receiving abilities have been unanimously recognized.
It is precisely because of this that when facing a cannon, people generally think that Djokovic and Murray have no problem. In sharp contrast, every time Nadal encounters a cannon, professionals and senior fans Everyone needs to worry about him.
In fact, this is a stereotype, slightly biased.
You can compare this set of data. Currently, the top four players on the historical list of aces are Karlovic, Isner, Federer and Querrey.
Putting aside Federer, who is among the Big Four, for the time being, let’s just talk about the three typical serving cannons, Karlovic, Isner and Querrey. Let’s take a look at the wins and losses of the Big Four against them as of 2014. Achievements:
Federer, with 22 wins and three losses, lost one game to Karlovic and two to Isner.
Nadal, with sixteen wins and zero losses, remains undefeated.
Djokovic has twenty wins and five losses, losing one game to Karlovic, two games to Isner, and two games to Querrey.
Murray has twenty-two wins and two losses, and both losses came from Querrey.
In other words, Nadal is the only player to maintain a complete victory, while Djokovic is the only player to have failed against three big serving players.
Of course, there is no absolute meaning in listing such data. After all, each player has a different style and the specific situation of each game is also different; and, in addition to the three players, Fei Lopez, Raonic, Anderson , Roddick and other players' serving power is also very good.
Despite this, an important conclusion can still be drawn:
Tennis is a comprehensive sport, of which serving and receiving are just two links.
When faced with the cannon, Nadal's performance was not as scary as expected; similarly, Djokovic's performance was not as easy and comfortable as expected.
Just like now.
Facing Karlovic, Djokovic wasted a match point and was eliminated in three sets.
How can it be?
But that's what happened. In his career against Karlovic, Djokovic is now behind, with one win and two losses.
At this time, people finally had some real feelings:
At the beginning of the season, every player is adjusting to their condition, even the Big Four are no exception. After the long offseason, they all need time and games to regain their touch.
Look at Djokovic. In the first two rounds of singles matches, he fought without a fight. The scores in both games were "6:2" and "6:1". It was smooth sailing and he advanced without any challenges. But at the same time, it also meant that he He was not able to stay on the court for more time to adjust his condition and find the feel for a strong confrontation.
It reminds me of last year’s Paris Masters final, which was exactly the same situation.
At that time, when encountering Gawain, the bottom line was difficult and he was both offensive and defensive; now when encountering Karlovic, the serve is strong and he can cut through the mess quickly. If the receiving end is unable to open up the situation, then Djokovic's best baseline mediating ability There is no way to develop, and the uncertainty is amplified.
In the end, both teams were defeated in one day, and the doubles and singles were eliminated one after another, and the ground was full of broken glasses.
Once again, the eager expectations of the Doha audience were once again disappointed. No one expected that this time it was Djokovic who was the first to fall behind.
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