tread!
Tap!
Kick, step, start, sprint.
On the red soil, the control of footsteps is obviously different, which can be felt from the sound; together with the sweat flying in the air, it seems that one can deeply feel the dryness of the dust, and the hot water dripping on the red soil. Petals bloom.
Sky, cloudy.
Looking up, the sun is neither hot nor strong. Compared with New York in August and Melbourne in January, Paris in May can even be said to be cooler.
Here, you can’t feel the scorching heat of midsummer yet, and you can even feel a little leisurely and comfortable in early summer. There is no skin-breaking sunshine, and there is no chest tightness and dehydration caused by excessive humidity. From all aspects, Paris seems to have the most satisfactory of the four Grand Slams. A comfortable playing environment.
However, this is not the case.
Although the weather changes in Paris are not as fierce and intense as in London, and you can feel the four seasons in just one day, Paris is still changeable.
Sometimes it’s cloudy, sometimes it rains; the sun is still shining in the afternoon, and you need to put on a coat in the evening; one day is late autumn, and the next day is midsummer.
I heard from other players that the weather in Paris is really special, even more special than London. The weather and environment are slightly different almost every year, so that you need to adapt to the game every year and check the weather forecast every day. Make adjustments as appropriate.
The influence of wind direction and humidity is further amplified by the red soil.
It is precisely because of this that Roland Garros has always been considered the most difficult, varied and difficult venue among the four Grand Slams.
This year, Gao Wen is experiencing a unique experience in Paris.
When Gao Hongli and Jiang Yanyun arrived in Paris, they thought the weather here was a bit dry. After all, they had been living in coastal areas.
Personally, Gawain feels better, mainly because he lived in California during high school and college. The climate there is surrounded by deserts and is much drier than Paris. However, Gawain can also understand that it is drier and drier than Rome. Wetter than Madrid, the overall environment is indeed most similar to Monte Carlo.
Moreover, the feeling is slightly different every day. Yesterday it was a little drier, but today it is cloudy, and the sweat rate has obviously increased.
Perhaps, for ordinary residents living in Paris, the difference in feeling is not so obvious; but for professional athletes, who need to go all out to exercise every day, these feelings are obvious, even in the adjustment of breathing. There are some small differences in frequency.
No wonder everyone says that the French Open is the ultimate challenge of the four Grand Slams——
In other events, you may arrive in the city early to adapt to the weather and environment, and then devote yourself to the game, but in Paris, you need to make subtle adjustments every day. The more top players compete, the more important the role of details. This is definitely not an easy task.
Look, Gao Wen had just changed into a jersey thirty minutes ago, and now it was completely soaked through, and the sweat was pooling into a small river.
However, Gao Hongli, who was standing on the sidelines watching the training, felt refreshed.
Of course, if one is exercising and the other is not exercising, the latter will definitely not sweat, but even if he is not sweating, his dry appearance is still in sharp contrast. At this time, it can be seen that the weather today is slightly cooler and you cannot feel it. Along with the heat, the humidity is also higher than usual.
This situation reminded Gao Hongli of Melbourne.
However, Melbourne is hot and humid, so it is easy to get cramps and dehydration; while Paris is cool and humid, and you can easily get strained if you are not careful.
At this time, Agassi, as the head coach, was standing in the court, not far behind Gao Wen, guiding the training; there were two players standing on the opposite side of the court, one on the left and one on the right. Gao Wen responded with one against two With the ball, the entire training intensity has reached a new level, and naturally I am sweating profusely.
Sampras stood in the stands. Throughout the clay court season this year, he was responsible for collecting and analyzing data and serving as an assistant coach.
After looking at it for a while, Sampras quickly lowered his head and wrote in his notebook.
I recorded some keywords on my phone. I raised my head and caught a glimpse of Gao Hongli out of the corner of my eye. He seemed to be able to detect Gao Hongli's confusion. There was also a slight worry between his eyebrows, so he took the initiative to ask, "What's wrong?"
Gao Hongli is not a professional, and he does not intend to interfere with the work of the coaching team, but he is very willing to ask for advice and learn some knowledge humbly.
"...Just a few balls ago, Gao Wen's backhand shots all hit the net. Is he adjusting the arc of his shot?"
The point is, Gawain hit the net continuously, but Agassi did not adjust. Instead, he quietly observed Gawain's swing, as if he was encouraging Gawain to continue.
This is the confusing part of Gao Hongli.
Sampras smiled.
"Today, the overall humidity is slightly higher. Under such circumstances, the bounce of tennis balls tends to be lower, and the parabola of the shot needs to be adjusted."
"Originally during the clay court season, we all encouraged Gao Wen to add some topspin, especially on the forehand; but when it comes to weather like today, we need to change some strategies. Considering that the tennis ball does not bounce that high, he should increase the proportion of his shots. When it’s time, add some aggression and lower the arc.”
"If it's a hard court, these changes in hitting technique can often be completed with just a little adjustment, and Gawain's transition is also very comfortable."
"But on clay, because the spin of the return ball is different, more adjustments need to be made when changing the hitting technique, and Gao Wen is not used to it yet.".br>
In fact, this is also a training throughout the entire clay court season: How to change the way you hit the ball according to changes in the situation?
On hard courts, these changes are inherently less necessary and simpler; but on clay, not only are there more changes, but the techniques are more difficult.
Even during the same game, the weather and conditions will change slightly, so tactics need to be adjusted at all times.
From tactical layout to technical execution, and technical changes that in turn affect tactical choices, it can be seen that the complexity of the entire tactical system has risen to a higher level. Therefore, many hard court masters are not accustomed to the climate when they come to clay courts——
Not only the venue, but the entire way of playing is different.
It is precisely because of this that among the new generation of players, the simpler and more straightforward their playing tactics are, the more they are not accustomed to and do not like clay soil.
Bublik and Kyrgios have stated more than once that they hate clay, but they are completely unaware of the root cause behind it.
In Sampras' view, Gao Wen has made rapid progress and has undergone a radical change compared to a month ago, but he is not yet a clay court master.
"When I was still on active duty, I was never able to complete this kind of adjustment. Gao Wen's progress in a short period of time has been outstanding. Just give him a little more time. He is on the right track."
"You should know that it takes a lot of courage to follow Gawain back to this city that makes me sad and constantly reminds me how stupid and clumsy a player I am."
Sampras laughed at himself, and the atmosphere suddenly relaxed, causing Gao Hongli to chuckle.
