Dimitrov kicked off his right leg and used a brake to support his body, but his knees were a little weak and his kicking strength was obviously insufficient, so that his forehand shot was slightly slower. However, he still relied on his upper body to turn. With a quick swing of strength, he was like a swordsman unsheathing his sword——
boom!
As the forehand shot was released, the sweat on the cheeks and arms was also thrown away by centrifugal force, blooming in the air, and the tennis ball jumped out quickly.
Stomping and pounding his feet, Dimitrov then moved laterally to the left side in small steps. Although the kicking power of his calves was no longer enough, he still gritted his teeth to stay focused and continued to keep his center of gravity light.
"Hold on! Gregor."
This is the only thought in Dimitrov's mind -
This is not a training match, it is still basic training.
What is going on at this time is a forehand matchup exercise. The two players continue to hit the diagonal line to form a forehand matchup. However, in order to ensure the quality of training, the two players do not simply stand in place and perform forehand matchup. Every time you hit a forehand shot, you need to move back to the backhand position, and then return to the forehand position to continue hitting the ball.
On the one hand, the forehand position continues to fight.
On the one hand, there are sudden stops and turns and a defensive awareness of strong confrontation.
Although it is basic training, it involves very complex and detailed basic skills. The mechanical repetition also needs to test the player's concentration.
What seems to be a simple and basic training is actually full of challenges when executed——
At present, Dimitrov and Gao Wen have conducted ten rounds of forehand hitting training. It is unimaginable that Gao Wen has the last laugh every time.
Without exception.
Dimitrov was always the first to lose the ball, either hitting the ball into the net or missing the shot. Instead, it was Dimitrov who was the first to lose the ball and break the balance to end this hitting training, for ten rounds.
Originally, this was basic training, and the hitting feel was not that tight, so some errors were inevitable. It was common to miss the net or go out of bounds, so no one cared about who lost the ball first to end the training round.
but--
Once, twice, three times...slowly something started to feel wrong.
This is basic batting training, which means that the return line is fixed and no prediction is needed; even if the steps need to be kept in the state of returning to defense, when returning to defense, you already know that the opponent's hitting will continue to return to the forehand position. So as long as you stay focused, you won't be able to catch up.
However, Dimitrov is the first to concede the ball every time. Is this normal?
Dimitrov has always been proud. He has his own beliefs and persistence. He is surrounded by countless applause and expectations like a proud man. In addition to his talent, he is also extremely confident in his basic skills. He believes that he is definitely one of the best fundamental players on tour, so what he needs to improve is his upper limit.
This is what Rashid brought to him, letting him explore his limits bit by bit. He believes that he still has more potential waiting to be explored.
He has always believed this and trained this way, including daily training matches with top players such as Gawain and Federer. All aspects prove that Rashid is right.
But today, after a long time of basic training, his thoughts were shaken.
Dimitrov couldn't understand that it was the most basic and simple forehand training, but he couldn't keep going. Why?
It can be as short as ten beats or as long as forty beats, but at the end of each round, he is always the one who drops the ball first. Once or twice is a coincidence or an accident, but ten times is inevitable.
Dimitrov still hadn't figured out why they needed basic batting training - there was really no time to think about it during the training, but now his pride was aroused and he gritted his teeth and went all out.
He doesn't believe in evil anymore. Is his basic forehand skill so bad?
Fifteen beats.
Thirty beats.
Fifty beats.
It is very, very rare to see that Dimitrov and Gao Wen were in a stalemate all the way through the basic hitting training on the forehand position, easily breaking through 50 beats. Both players had entered anaerobic state, but no one relaxed.
The back and forth is still going on. Even with the simplest and most basic training, you can still feel the heat of the sword's light and shadow, and your pores are boiling.
Dimitrov concentrated -
One push, sudden stop, sudden turn, and quick turn back.
As soon as the steps started, Dimitrov's pupils quickly contracted:
Variety.
Gao Wen still seemed calm and unhurried, reaching the position quickly. He still had time to observe Dimitrov's movement, and then suddenly cut a shot with his forehand.
Backspin.
It has been mentioned in the previous clay court season that cutting on clay courts is often an extremely passive situation. Slowing down the rhythm of the round through cutting can buy yourself time.
When it comes to grass, it's the same. Cutting is often a way to gain time and space in a passive situation; but compared with clay and hard courts, cutting on grass can also be used as a weapon to reverse the situation.
The principle lies in bouncing.
The bounce of grass is very low, and even Nadal's strong topspin is difficult to create a high bounce; if cutting is used, the bounce will be even lower, and combined with lower limit, unloading and other techniques, it can further amplify the threat of low bounce. Not only can it compress the opponent's return space, but it can also effectively curb the opponent's continuous attacks——
On grass courts, it is very common to hit the ball directly when handling chipping balls due to insufficient center of gravity drop, and it can even be said to be an integral part of the game.
Therefore, somewhat similar to red clay, grass is a venue that pays attention to changes; but the difference is that grass is a venue that pays great attention to rhythm.
These characteristics are also not available on hard ground. For senior fans who really like tennis, clay and grass are actually more exciting and beautiful, but hard courts are a bit boring.
In the ATP, Federer is a master, worthy of being the king of grass.
In the WTA, Belgian player Kristen-Flipkens is a grass-court player with rich and diverse tactics. Although her best record at Wimbledon is only one semi-final, her grass-court game is very distinctive. .
There is also Australian player Ashleigh-Barty. In addition to becoming the Wimbledon champion in 2021, her chipping shot has always been a very special sight on the tour, allowing those who only know how to hit the ball hard. The players were very awkward and uncomfortable.
What Gao Wen likes most about going from the clay court season to the grass court season is that the tactical arrangements and combinations on these two surfaces are richer and more three-dimensional, requiring players to structure the game in a three-dimensional way, which is undoubtedly very interesting. .
Although it has only been two days into the grass court season, the experience of adapting to the clay court season has been helpful. Gao Wen's tactical changes have been significantly accelerated. In the basic training of forehand hitting, Gao Wen has been constantly trying to hit the ball. The arrangement and combination of techniques try to control the rhythm.
Then, the tennis ball flew toward Dimitrov lightly and lowly.
(End of chapter)
