Match point

Chapter 1172 Warm Up Game
It is always relatively easy to talk on paper, because those rules, those principles, and those laws are all in front of you, just like mathematical formulas, simple and clear.

Sitting in the office, holding a tablet computer, analyzing the movement and bounce of the clay court, those changes, those irregularities, and those mines, it sounds clear and logical, not only clear, but also easy to understand. It seems that the clay court has been analyzed thoroughly, but the actual operation is not is another matter.

"Understanding clay", has never been so simple.

Nadal was able to raise the "King of Clay" to a whole new level precisely because of this innate understanding and reading that no one can match.

Once, from the 2006 season to the 2007 season, Federer had an astonishing record of 54 wins and [-] losses in the four Grand Slams and the year-end finals. He won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open and the year-end finals for two consecutive years. That is, the runner-up in the French Open for two consecutive years——

All lost to Nadal.

In fact, in 2006, 2007, and 2008, Federer reached the final of the French Open for three consecutive years and faced the same old opponent for three consecutive years, but Federer was still unable to surpass the mountain of Nadal, even in the 2008 final. Swallowed a duck egg in three dishes, without the power to fight back.

It is precisely because of this that in 2009, when Federer defeated Soderling in the French Open final and finally realized his dream, the Swiss king knelt on his knees and wept with joy.

Even Nadal, who watched the final in front of the TV, also had tears in his eyes, and immediately sent a text message to Federer to express his blessing after the game.

Of course, Nadal is Nadal, that is unique; however, understanding clay is a lesson for every player.

It's just that this course is really too difficult, and the new generation is not willing to take it seriously——

Don't talk about the new generation of "post-90s" and "post-95s". To be precise, since the players of Djokovic and Murray, they have slowly become lazy.

On the one hand, it benefits from the advancement of technology such as rackets, racket strings, sneakers, etc.; on the other hand, it benefits from the supporting progress of players' physical fitness and training methods.

This also makes the difference between different venues smaller and smaller. Players often adopt similar styles of play, and there is no obvious difference between different venues.

For example, Medvedev has almost no change in the way he moves on hard courts, grass courts and clay courts. He basically has no sliding steps and relies entirely on his own legs.

Of course, professionals have also conducted in-depth analysis. This is feasible. This is the case with the strong offensive play represented by Sharapova and Serena Williams. They did not make adjustments based on clay, but they also relied on their own play style. Climbing to the top of the French Open championship is the overall trend of the times.

In addition, the site maintenance methods of clay and grass are becoming more and more advanced, and the uncertainty of roughness is decreasing, so that the difference between grass and hard courts is getting smaller and smaller, which also gives the new generation room to "lazy" from another aspect , One trick can conquer the world.

Graf, however, had a slightly different idea.

Clay courts are typical slow courts. The honeycomb clay structure swallows speed and strength very obviously. Simply put, it is often difficult for power players or players with cannonballs to give full play to their advantages on clay courts. Once the strength does not work No more.

In direct contrast, the tactical combination of clay courts is more diverse, richer and more flexible, which is very suitable for players with diverse styles of play; moreover, the number of rounds is a severe test of endurance, brainpower and concentration, and is more suitable for those who dare to play. Players who try differently.

For example, Gao Wen.

Graf believes that Gao Wen's style of play can also shine on clay courts, but the premise is that he needs to find his own understanding.

In this regard, Sampras and Agassi agreed [-]%.

First of all, to be sure, things are not easy.

For a long time, Gao Wen grew up on hard courts. For a typical hard court player, suddenly switching to a different court requires changes in batting, tactics, layout, and conception. This is tantamount to breaking his own habits and rules. Just make up your mind and you will know the difficulty.

Moreover, from a professional point of view, it is very, very difficult to switch from hard courts to clay courts; conversely, it is much simpler to switch from clay courts to hard courts:
Because red clay can cultivate more comprehensive and detailed basic skills, these basic skills can often be adapted to different venues, which is a comprehensive exercise; but conversely, the requirements for hard-court basic skills are much simpler and rougher. When going from hard-court to grass and clay It will be acclimatized.

The legendary Swedish legend Bjorn Borg is known as a unique existence in the history of tennis for a century. He has won eleven Grand Slam titles, six French Open titles and five Wimbledon titles in his career, including 1978, 1979, In 1980, won the French Open and Wimbledon back to back for three consecutive years.

Such a feat is still considered to be a unique feat that cannot be surpassed or replicated, because switching between two completely different venues in just one month is so difficult and unimaginable. Switching between different venues is definitely not just It's just a change in the type of pitch.

Now, Gao Wen needs to face a new challenge.

But, always have to try and see, how things go.

If they refuse to try and take risks, there is no problem in continuing to stick to Gao Wen's current style of play; however, they will never have the chance to know whether Gao Wen has the opportunity to go further on the clay court and whether he can have a better career. How possible, so—

All beginnings are hard.

When you take the first step of trying, it means that you have already succeeded in half.

So, to understand red clay, where should we start?

Obviously, not by reading books or watching videos.

After simple communication and laying the groundwork, Graf and Gao Wen had already arrived on the field, facing each other across the net, and kicked off the training with a small warm-up game.

Both of them entered the teeing area, with Graf standing on his left and Gao Wen standing on his right, forming a state of standing face to face——

Hand in hand.

"The moving range is within the teeing area; at the same time, the hitting range is also within the teeing area, and cannot leave or go out of bounds."

"My range is within the second district, and your range is within the first district."

Graf simply divided the area and showed a smile to Gao Wen.

"You can just treat it as mini tennis, just like table tennis. This is your national game. You should be familiar with it. Let's try it out?"

After finishing speaking, Graf was not humble, picked up a tennis ball, asked with his eyes, and made sure that Gao Wen was ready before hitting the ball.

It was also the first time for Gao Wen to play this game, it was very fresh, with a relaxed mind, he was eager to try it, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, expressing his expectation.

At the beginning, Gao Wen thought that this was a variant game of running back and forth on the tennis court, and it was not fundamentally different from those training on hard courts.

But soon, it didn't take long, after five or six rounds, Gao Wen realized that he was still too young, and things were not that simple!
(End of this chapter)