Match point

Chapter 1118
Rublev, this is a player whose playing style is worthy of careful study.

Since childhood, he trained on clay courts, following the Spanish youth training style. His career idol is Nadal, and he grew up completely on clay courts.

In 2014, Rublev became the French Open junior men's singles champion, and took advantage of the trend to become the world's No. [-] junior, which also prompted him to decide to turn professional.

however!
Almost all of Lublev's achievements as an adult came from hard courts——

Grand Slam performance, the first breakthrough in his career was at the US Open, and the best results were at the US Open and Australian Open. It was not until the 2022 French Open that he advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time.

Masters performance, although the Monte Carlo clay court event has also reached the finals, but the best and most stable performances are the three hard courts in Indian Wells, Miami and Cincinnati.

Championship trophies, as of 2022, there will be eight singles championship trophies, six of which will come from hard courts, and even the number of finals is overwhelmingly leading on hard courts.

Strange!
Just like the young Spanish player Busta, he was born on clay, but his own style is more suitable for hard courts and has flourished on hard courts.

To some extent, Rublev's game is somewhat similar to Del Potro's. It's not about the style of play, but their reliance on forehands.

Lublev's attack strategy all relies on his forehand, which is as heavy as a cannonball. It is heavy enough to punch, and it can continue to output continuously. Standing near the bottom line, it keeps shooting and exerting pressure until it breaks through the opponent's defense line. until.

Of course, from the Spanish youth training system, Rublev can still see the typical Spanish tactical style represented by Nadal:
One is the running style.

The second is the sideways forehand. As long as you find an opportunity, you must adjust your footsteps in the backhand position, attack sideways with the forehand, and complete the pressure across the audience.

This kind of tactics, starting from Moya, to Ferrero, Ferrer, and then to Nadal, all of them are proficient in it. Nadal even develops the sideways forehand. This is a very important item in the Spanish youth training. Basic skills, and implement bit by bit into the tactical system.

It just so happens that Rublev has a strong forehand, so he can often give full play to his forehand advantage to win the game.

Rublev's forehand swing is concise and powerful without being muddled, which not only creates higher speed and stronger power for forehand shots, but also makes it difficult for opponents to predict in advance through concealed shots.

At the same time, Lublev's forehand has the ability to penetrate the audience diagonally, and also has the ability to hammer in a straight line. It is powerful and covers the audience.

Therefore, when facing a one-handed backhand or an opponent with weak backhand ability, Lublev can often gain the upper hand and continue to exert pressure to complete the breakthrough.

But in the face of an opponent with tough and strong backhand with both hands, or an opponent who dares to change the line with both hands, Lublev's forehand attack lacks changes in rhythm and method, and as a result, his forehand gap may be exposed due to his habitual routine. , which in turn evolved into an opportunity for the opponent to counterattack.

It is precisely because of this that in the new generation duel, Lublev always loses in the face of excellent players with two-handed backhands. Facing Medvedev, he lost four consecutive games. It was not until Cincinnati in 2022 that he defeated his compatriots for the first time; Zverev Jr. has lost all five games and has no wins.

All kinds of things, it can be seen that Rublev is a relatively "straight" player. He doesn't have any tricks in playing and wins with strength.

But if the power ball hits a wall, he often lacks other means to change the game. Compared with del Potro, he is closer to Sharapova's style.

This year, after the Australian season ended, Rublev also officially ended all his youth competitions and turned to the professional arena.

The "Sunshine Double Crown" is naturally not to be missed.

Last week in Indian Wells, Rublev regretted stopping the final qualifying round; but he came to Miami and passed the two qualifying rounds, which also earned him the opportunity to appear on the main stage of the Masters for the first time in his career.

The opponent in the first round is... Busta.

It was the Spanish "outlier", who, like Rublev, came from a clay-clay background, but performed even better on hard courts.

Busta, who was born in 1991, is closer to a late bloomer than a talent. Although he turned into a professional game in 2009, he was plagued by injuries in the early days and kept playing and stopping; Gradually found some status, and slowly began to emerge, it may take more time.

Facing Busta, after losing the first set with a "1:6" brittle defeat, Lublev quickly completed adjustments, won two consecutive sets, and advanced smoothly.

Playing in the Masters for the first time in his career, he advanced to the second round. Maybe the aura is not as good as Zverev Jr., but Rublev has indeed won some attention.

Next, Lublev also won the opportunity to challenge Gao Wen.

For the media, "youth storms" always attract attention because they represent the future, not to mention that the recent situation is slightly different.

From Chulic in Dubai to Rublev this week, players born after 1995 like Gao Wen are frantically entering the field of vision.

In the previous "Youth Storm", Gao Wen was the younger one, challenging Raonic, Dimitrov and other representatives of the "post-90s".

But now, Gao Wen has continuously ushered in a new generation younger than himself. Coupled with the halo of the Grand Slam Masters, he has undoubtedly become the target of the youth storm of his peers.

If only Coric or Rublev were the only ones, then the media would at most use keywords to add some gimmicks, but in the spring hard court season, within just three weeks, they encountered "post-95" players in succession, step by step, the media His emotions were mobilized step by step.

Isn't it interesting that this is the case?
Look, Gao Wen himself is still a challenger, challenging the "post-90s" and the "Big Four". It has only been less than a year since he was born and became the center of attention.

Immediately afterwards, younger, more energetic, and more youthful challengers emerged one after another, and one and two were ambitious and ready to challenge Gao Wen.

So, how should Gao Wen adjust his position?

In competitive sports, the importance of mentality and psychology is far beyond imagination. If you can't position yourself correctly, the possibility of encountering Waterloo will skyrocket.

"The proud man regresses" does not only have the meaning of literal interpretation, but when it is extended, there is more room for interpretation.

Especially considering Gawain's youth.

For other players, they have more or less been working hard on the tour for many years, and they have gone through ups and downs to get to where they are now.

But Gao Wen did not. He made his debut like a comet, and then continued to reach the top. This is even more so now. He just won the championship in Indian Wells last week. When he turned around, the media put him and the unknown rising star. put it together--

If it is said that Dubai’s Coric beat Nadal, his outbursts are justifiable, then this week’s Rublev seems to be bleak, and he has not even achieved any achievements worth mentioning in the professional arena. With great fanfare, isn't it a humiliation?

So, can Gao Wen get his mind right?

(End of this chapter)