Match point

Chapter 1148 Lethal Weapons
Adjusting tactics is not easy.

It's not easy to adjust your mentality.

but!

Djokovic did it. From Indian Wells to Miami, there was no respite. In just two weeks, he has completed the adjustment.

The moment his feet set foot on the stage of the final, for the sixth time against Gawain in just eight months, Djokovic was ready:

Just like against Murray.

So, where is Djokovic's tactical adjustment reflected?

Forehand.

Unexpectedly, it makes sense.

When people mention Djokovic, his two-handed backhand and baseline skills are indeed unique in the world, and they seem to be iconic weapons.

At the same time, Djokovic's forehand attack power is indeed slightly inferior, in stark contrast to Federer and Nadal relying on forehands to open up the world, and even inferior to Murray's forehand speed, Murray The forehand can often hit a skateboard attack, which is a huge threat.

Back and forth, Djokovic's forehand has indeed been ignored.

Of course, this is indeed the case.

Djokovic's forehand, as a whole, is more moderate, neither good nor bad:
Offensive, lacks the assault beat of acceleration and acceleration; defense, lacks the reverse beat of death.

Therefore, in his games, it is rare to see Federer's sharp attack, and it is rare to see Nadal's defense in a desperate situation.

But mediocrity is not mediocrity.

Djokovic's forehand ability is very balanced, able to attack and defend, lacking sharpness but relatively stable, average performance in resisting hitting ability and line changing ability; coupled with the general talent ability of "hitting machine", this also makes Djokovic Djokovic will not expose a particular loophole in the forehand position.

In fact, watching Djokovic and the other three giants play carefully will be able to notice that his forehand is far from that bad.

To be precise, it has nothing to do with "bad".

In normal shots and normal rounds, Djokovic's forehand is often dominated by tape. No matter what the ball comes, it can be wrapped back. Not only the safety factor is high, but also the landing point and line control are precise. Bringing back the ball can limit the opponent's offense and expand the layout.

However, in the key shot process, such as when you need to turn the situation, when you need to apply pressure, when you need to break the balance, when you need to improve the tempo--

Djokovic's forehand has a slash attack line.

The average fan might say, "Forehand slash", sure?Isn't this the most basic, simplest and most common hitting line in tennis?

For every junior student learning tennis, the first lesson of hitting the ball should be the forehand slash, which does not seem to have any technical difficulty.

So, what is so special about Djokovic's slash forehand?
In fact, the specific explanation is very complicated. This is a comprehensive effect. A simple version to explain it is——

Thanks to his strong wrapping feel, Djokovic's forehand can handle any shot, wrap it perfectly, and complete the return. Whether it is relying on force or actively exerting force, his forehand can easily complete the return. The ball; moreover, the rhythm control and offensive connection are also top-notch.

At the same time, through the slash, the safest, safest and most common route, to further increase the success rate of returning the ball, it is convenient for you to add different changes, change the rhythm, change the rotation, reverse the disadvantage, break the balance, etc., this slap The ball can hide countless changes.

Perhaps, Djokovic's forehand lacks explosive power, but the forehand slash shot, through clever use, can reverse the situation.

For example against a "violent forehand" like Del Potro.

Everyone knows that Del Potro's backhand is a weakness, including himself, so after the violent forehand attack is over, he often defends his backhand; and the opponent has a very high probability of not being able to hold it at all. Del Potro's forehand attack directly lost the point.

But Djokovic will not, his forehand can withstand it, and then use the force of the forehand slash to push the tennis ball back.

For example, against Federer such a smooth forehand attack.

Federer's forehand attack has a variety of tricks. It requires speed, strength, power, and spin. Therefore, the forehand attack is often a shot that opens the situation and even leads to the winning point. It is strong and sharp.

Djokovic’s forehand was not only able to resist, but also pushed back Federer’s attack by hitting the wall through the forehand slash, causing Federer’s attack to suffer a backlash, or he missed the shot and lost points. Either the offensive is blocked, and the situation will be reversed quietly.

Such as the solid and stable backhand against Nadal.

Because Nadal is left-handed, Djokovic's forehand diagonally faces Nadal's backhand.

In Djokovic's seven-game winning streak against Nadal, the classic tactic of "overhanding and countering" was to use an unparalleled backhand to hold Nadal's forehand super topspin, and finally attacked Nadal's backhand. Form the winning point.

The key here is that between 2010 and 2011, Nadal's backhand did not have the ability to attack later, but his backhand was very stable, with super strong resistance to hitting, and he rarely lost the ball, which also means However, it is not easy to break through Nadal's backhand defense in the last shot of "pressing the positive and counterattacking".

Djokovic's forehand slash has repeatedly made outstanding achievements. He is not only good at leveraging strength, but also good at attacking the rhythm, compressing Nadal's backhand swing time——

Nadal's backhand needs a time to accumulate energy, that is, the swing space. Once there is no swing space, there will be problems in the control and connection of the racket surface.

People often see Djokovic's two-handed backhand is miraculous, but they ignore that the shot that Djokovic faced Nadal to score was a forehand slash.

See, that's ability.

Perhaps, the forehand is indeed not Djokovic's strongest weapon, but with the right tactical combination, the forehand slash can also break the balance.

Today, Djokovic is trying to do just that.

The shot of the forehand slash is like a miracle.

Djokovic did not expect his forehand to break through Gawain's forehand and score directly. His tactics were very complicated.

First of all, he used his backhand to absorb all of Gao Wen's attacks, like a bone-melting palm, all of which were dissolved invisibly.

Secondly, the layout is completed through the forehand, and the arrangement and combination of lines, placements, rotations, and rhythms form restraints and break Gao Wen's footstep movement rhythm, that is, force Gao Wen to lose his position and win opportunities for himself to attack.

In the end, Djokovic's winning shot was completely irregular. He did not simply press Gao Wen's forehand or backhand to complete the shot, but observed carefully and created a gap through his own layout. loophole, and then followed it to complete the capture, making Gao Wen unable to judge.

Especially the slash shot of the forehand, which is somewhat similar to Federer and Murray, improves the rhythm by speeding up the racket head and completes the skateboard shot.

The balance was broken very suddenly, and the entire speed increase was very obvious, which repeatedly put Gao Wen into a mess.

(End of this chapter)