Match point

Chapter 1182
In fact, according to the historical trajectory familiar to Gao Wen in the previous life, the 2015 and 2016 seasons were the lowest point of Nadal's career.

Ankle injuries, knee injuries, wrist injuries, left foot nerve injuries, etc., large and small injuries continued, and they never stopped.

In those two years, Nadal’s performance in the entire clay court season and even the French Open was very sluggish. In 2015, he stopped in the quarter-finals; 2016 was even worse. This was the only time in Nadal’s career that he withdrew from the French Open due to injury. Before the start of the game, because of the serious wrist injury, he had to hold an impromptu press conference to announce his decision to withdraw from the game.

Missing the French Open championship for two consecutive years, this also officially ended Nadal's brilliant record of winning Grand Slam titles for ten consecutive years. His career fell into chaos and cast a shadow.

It spread all the way from the second half of the 2014 season, and reached its climax with the 2016 season being forced to end the season early again, which once caused countless speculations:
Perhaps, Nadal's career has come to an end. Like countless great professional players, injuries will eventually become an insurmountable mountain for them.

At the same time, Federer's 2016 season was also frequently hit by injuries. The first half of the season was fragmented, and the second half of the season ended early due to a knee injury. End the season early.

That year was undoubtedly a heavy blow to tennis fans. People in the industry believe that the era of giants may be completely reshuffled——

With the uncertain future of the two giants Federer and Nadal, serious injuries may even directly ruin their entire careers; Djokovic and Murray rose strongly and completely took over the two seasons of 2015 and 2016. Does this mean the beginning of a new era?
Perhaps, the "age of giants" is still the same, but the protagonist needs to be replaced?

however!
The 2017 season opened, Federer and Nadal both returned from injury, and in the first Grand Slam event at the beginning of the year, they reached the final together. In the end, Federer reached the top and dominated Melbourne Park, suppressing all the controversies and chaos, proving once again The power of the two giants.

Greatness requires champions and battles to write, but it is not limited to the champion itself. At the same time, it also has the grinding and setbacks to return to the championship track after falling into a trough. That kind of unyielding, that tenacious, that kind of belief, continues Constantly challenge the limit and interpret the spirit of the champion.

Of course, now, the trajectory of history has changed. A butterfly flapped its wings and caused an uproar in the professional tennis world. Everything is different; but Gao Wen still believes that champions are still champions, fighters are still fighters, some spirits and some souls will not change.

However, this is already a later story, the line of sight, returning to the present moment——

indeed!

Nadal has been plagued by injuries. From the Australian Open to the Sunshine Double Crown, he has always been in poor condition. This is a fact.

Leaving aside the historical trajectory that Gao Wen is familiar with, people can also see now that Nadal still has not found his best form.

But it would be naive to think that beating Nadal would be so easy, so easy.

More than one player has said that even Nadal, who played with an injury, must not be underestimated. The "Spanish God of War" is not just talking. Just look at the match between Govan and Nadal at this year's Australian Open.

What's more, it's still clay.

"The name of the God of War" is because Nadal never gives up lightly, never stops fighting, even if he is at a disadvantage, even if he is absolutely passive, even if he is in a desperate situation, even if he goes into battle with injuries, he will never disarm without a fight Surrender, that is a kind of tenacity and unyielding in the bones.

As Roland Garros said, victory belongs to the tough. This is the core mystery of clay, and it is also the essence of Nadal.

Therefore, Gao Wen is looking forward to meeting Nadal, and even more looking forward to meeting Nadal on clay, so as to truly feel the ultimate challenge of tennis.

Even...Gao Wen has only been on the red clay for less than four days, and he is basically at an elementary level, so it doesn't matter if he challenges the hell mode as soon as he comes up.

Anyway, either this week or next week, or next week, in the next two months, it may happen at any time, there is no time to slowly start psychological construction, straight to the point, a shocking education, and then encounter other There is no need to panic in Nightmare Mode and Hard Mode.

however--

There are some things that cannot be dealt with smoothly just by being mentally prepared.

Some things cannot be opened with the spirit of challenge.

It's hard, it's really hard.

Difficult beyond imagination.

Throughout the timeline, from Federer to Nadal to Djokovic and Murray, they all later suffered serious injuries that could destroy their careers, and after returning from injuries, they had to criticize their own style of play and Tactics were adjusted and different styles gradually developed.

Both Federer and Nadal completed adjustments after 2017, Djokovic in 2018, and Murray in 2019.

Before and after the watershed, the changes of the four players existed objectively. Among them, Djokovic and Murray were slightly smaller and still insisted on their usual tactical combination; but both Federer and Nadal could see obvious changes, not only It's the technique, and even the style that has been tweaked.

Federer's backhand, after replacing the racket with a larger surface, increased the hitting sweet spot, improved the control and pressure resistance of the one-handed backhand, and once won five consecutive victories against Nadal on hard courts.

Nadal, on the other hand, has transformed from a defensive counterattack player to an offensive player step by step. He not only takes the initiative to attack, but also compresses the number of rounds through the Internet more and more. The entire game mode has undergone essential changes.

However, that is what happened later. For now, Nadal is still a typical defensive counterplayer, especially on clay courts.

Two points are the most notable.

First, the first serve is often not pursued in the serve game. During this period, Nadal's victory depends on the second serve, basically not relying on the serve, but completely relying on the bottom line.

Second, he habitually starts every round with defense. Nadal often scores more than [-] rounds, because he is good at defending, and he is also good at pushing the pressure to the opponent bit by bit through defense, accumulating for himself. Enough advantages, the more shots, the easier it is to score——

Moreover, Nadal took less risk.

Of course, relatively speaking, the physical and energy consumption is also more severe. Later, with the growth of youth and physical burden, Nadal's style of play is facing more and more tests.

Why bring this up in particular?
The reason is very simple, because Gawain and Nadal had met twice before, all on hard courts, one win and one loss, he thought he was already a little familiar with Nadal, but it was different when he came to the clay court, maybe it was not the same as heaven and earth. No, but the difference and difference are very clear, and the pressure is layered.

(End of this chapter)