Gao Wen performed well on the sixth break point of the match and the second set point.
He grabbed Federer's second serve to put pressure on him, and took the lead. From his second shot, he suddenly accelerated to break his balance and hit his forehand and backhand.
Although Federer first broke the game with a stunning forehand shot, he then completed a wonderful backhand shot to further open up the angle.
However, Gao Wen's attacks were layered like a surging river. His accurate prediction and advance layout allowed Gao Wen to successfully parry Federer's counterattack. Finally, with a step forward, he used a two-handed backhand to stretch the diagonal angle to the extreme, and again The flat and fast return ball directly pinned Federer in place.
Set point, equalize!
This was not only the first set Federer lost in Indian Wells this year, but also the first time Federer suffered a break in this promotion tour.
Fire of war, ignite!
The 2015 Indian Wells men's singles championship will be decided in the final set. Gao Wen proved his desire for the championship with practical actions.
Looking back at the entire second set from one point in the count, we can see that backhand is still Gawain's breakthrough point.
After all, Federer's forehand attack is absolutely top-notch.
Even in front of classic representatives of violent forehands such as Del Potro, Tsonga, Gonzalez, Safin and so on, he is not inferior.
However, Gawain's strategy is slightly different from Nadal's.
Nadal's tactics against Federer are unique and cannot be replicated in the entire professional tennis world.
Firstly, it was a misplaced duel with left-hand grips; secondly, Nadal's strengths and Federer's weaknesses faced off head-on, creating a clear advantage.
At the beginning of his career, when Nadal played against Federer, he had only one tactic, "Send all the balls to the backhand, it doesn't matter even if they are seen through."
Only Nadal can use such a tactic, and other players will easily be counterattacked by Federer.
In fact, even Nadal himself, as he and Federer played more and more times, his tactics became more and more rich and complex, and one trick no longer worked; especially after 2017, Federer's tactics in Ljubi Under Qiqi's training, his backhand has improved significantly, and this is even more so.
Gao Wen chose to break through Federer's backhand, but instead of simply suppressing the backhand, he "pressed the front and counterattacked"——
That is to say, a stalemate is formed on the forehand, and then a breakthrough is made on the backhand.
Federer's forehand is actually somewhat similar to Gawain's. It is sharp, powerful, and versatile, but unstable and prone to missing shots frequently.
Of course, this is a small probability event. There is no doubt that Federer’s forehand is strong, and he also needs to withstand huge pressure in a head-on confrontation. Otherwise, he may be unable to withstand it before the fluctuation occurs, or Federer directly attacks and scores with his forehand, so "pressure" There is no way to talk about "positive and negative".
In addition, even if the forehand withstands the pressure, the surprise backhand shot also requires timing and quality, otherwise Federer will show off the power of the backhand and let the opponent understand that not everyone can suppress his backhand like Nadal. What exactly is the so-called "weakness"?
Judging from the results, Gao Wen performed well in the second set and his forehand withstood the test.
Decisive set.
In the opening stage, it could be vaguely felt that Federer's physical strength fluctuated somewhat, his forehand errors increased significantly, and he could not maintain a stalemate in the round.
In the first game, Gao Wen's serve was held by four straight points. This allowed Gao Wen to smell an opportunity, and then launched an attack on Federer's serve.
But at the same time, Gawain himself also faced a physical test. After ninety minutes of fierce battle, the energy and physical consumption had reached the critical point.
What's more, don't forget that Gao Wen and Djokovic also had a fierce battle in the semifinals, and their physical exhaustion was even more serious than Federer's.
At the critical moment, Federer relied on his serve to stay alive, resolve the crisis, avoid two break points, and avoid falling behind in the decisive set.
With a turn, Federer immediately launched an attack on Gao Wen's second serve, trying to reverse the situation and seize the commanding heights of the momentum battle.
In terms of capturing fighter jets and controlling the situation, the four giants are all the best among the best. They know how to change the course of victory.
pity!
Federer also experienced fluctuations. After missing a break point, he ended the set with a forehand error, allowing Gao Wen to successfully hold serve again.
"2:1".
Gao Wen, who served first in the decisive set, temporarily maintained the lead.
Then--
Gawain broke serve, and his tireless efforts and attempts finally paid off.
Immediately afterwards, Federer improved his condition and broke serve, quickly breaking back.
Mutual exchange!
The situation is tense!
The two players' unyielding game reached a new level in the final set.
"3:2", exchange a serve with each other, and the score remains even.
"4:3", both players successfully maintained serve, and the score continued to be deadlocked.
In a blink of an eye!
After seven games, both players successfully got rid of their physical limit and got back on track. However, the stalemate in the deciding set remained unbroken.
Gawain, who served first, had a slight psychological advantage, which was almost negligible.
Sticky!
Tight!
And, it continued all the way to the eighth inning.
In every round, and even every point, the tense atmosphere spreads, and as the end of the game approaches, the air is filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke.
"ah!"
At the end of a 17-shot round, after Federer scored the winning point with a volley in front of the net, the Swiss King roared passionately.
This point is crucial.
In Federer's serve, he fell behind at "15:30". If he lost this point again, it would be "15:40", and Gao Wen was about to get two consecutive break points.
Obviously, Gao Wen also realized this. He concentrated and fully mobilized, and the intensity of the ball confrontation in the entire round directly rose to a higher level.
At the last moment, Federer was still one step ahead, once again showing the delicacy and sensitivity of his net skills.
As Federer clenched his fists and roared in celebration, Gawain also shook his head regretfully. It was indeed a pity that he could not win this point.
However, it doesn't matter, there is still an opportunity next.
The blood is boiling.
"30:30".
It's still Federer's serve.
a district.
The entire audience held their breath and could even hear the rustling of the wind. Thousands of eyes were all focused on Federer and Gawain.
But Federer was completely unmoved. He looked up at Gawain and completed the entire serving movement in one go.
Outside corner!
The speed is 180 kilometers per hour.
Actually! It's a slowing down shot.
As mentioned before, the court in Indian Wells is relatively slow, between hard court and clay, and the phenomenon of swallowing up power and ball speed is obvious.
It is precisely because of this that Federer often likes to speed up at critical moments, bringing up the speed of the entire racket head and compressing the opponent's reaction time; however, now, Federer unconventionally chooses to slow down, breaking common sense at critical moments, and most importantly, breaking the high speed Wen’s psychological expectations.
Indeed, Gawain did not expect this.
Moreover, Federer sacrificed his speed and chose the landing point, and his serve from the outside corner directly moved Gawain out of the court, proving once again——
Serve has always been the most important tool in Federer's arsenal that will not let him down.
(End of chapter)
