Match point

Chapter 1185
a district.

One shot.

Gao Wen was thinking, if this was an official match, it would be the quarter-finals or semi-finals in Monte Carlo, and then the critical moment in the first set.

So, how will he arrange it?

Of course, Gao Wen also has some tactical routines at the bottom of the box, but now he needs to go further. If he wants to make some adventurous attempts to enrich his arsenal and tactical layout, then how will he choose?Find a balance between "adventure and safety" and regain the initiative?
Fortunately, he has some ideas to test.

Inside corner, hit Nadal forehand.

Obviously, it is not a common tactical choice to confront Nadal’s forehand head-on in the first zone. If you choose, the angle and rotation are very important. It is necessary to avoid Nadal’s ability to find a comfortable hitting point and attack directly. Otherwise, the situation will become passive.

Generally speaking, it is easier to develop a tactical layout when the outer corner suppresses the backhand. Choosing the inner corner requires courage and layout.

The speed is not fast, 176 kilometers per hour.

From this, it can be seen that Gao Wen mainly focused on controlling the landing point, and the serve landed on the outer sideline of the service area accurately, and bounced off the line.

This kind of control is not common among players of Gao Wen's height. The height of 193 cm often chooses heavy artillery to serve, and rarely takes the control route, including the later Zverev Jr., Medvedev, Sisipas, etc. The representatives of the new generation are also not like this, which is also the special feature of Gao Wen:
Serve variety.

Of course, this is also a suggestion from Agassi and Graf, they need Gao Wen to seek more different serving combinations in their own serving games.

Previously, on hard courts, Gao Wen would occasionally match such a combination; but now on clay courts, it is necessary to increase the proportion of different serve types.

Nadal was a little surprised, and his footsteps moved a little slower, and the forehand had no time to complete the complete lead——

If it is an official match, Nadal may be a little more conservative, use his wrist strength, follow the movement inertia of the body to hook a backslash, and then pull out a strong topspin, even if the landing point is shallower, but as long as Gao Wen enters The stepping speed within the baseline is slightly slower, and after the strong spin is released, the hitting point will be very awkward.

But this is a scrim.

Nadal also made a different attempt, and actually made a rare side cut with a forehand.

Slash!

Gao Wen was completely caught off guard. Nadal's forehand slice is really too rare. Anyway, Gao Wen and Nadal met twice, including doubles matches and practice matches. This was the first time he saw Nadal. Dahl cuts the ball forehand, and also cuts to the big triangle of the bottom line.

Fortunately, Gao Wen's attention was kept absolutely focused, accidents were accidents, and his footsteps were still very fast.

In addition, Nadal chose to cut the ball with a strong topspin. Not only did his speed slow down, but he continued to release strong spins after landing.

This also means that Gao Wen has enough time to complete the movement——

The real difficulty of moving on clay soil is the sudden stop and turn. If it is moving at a constant speed, the difference from hard ground is not as obvious as imagined; but when sudden acceleration or braking is required, the soles of the feet are prone to slip due to lack of grip. require special handling techniques.

Otherwise, starting speed and moving speed may be affected on the one hand; easy to be injured is another.

This is the origin of the Graf warm-up game. It is specially used to train the foot control of sudden stops and quick turns in a small area, and at the same time avoid more potential injuries after the acceleration is increased to a certain level. Take control and take the pressure off your ankles.

At this time, Gao Wen was moving at a constant speed, and his footsteps were not affected at all. He rushed there immediately, and even had time to observe.

In fact, in this shot, Gao Wen had an opportunity to attack, because Nadal's feet were in the center of the court, and he was adjusting to keep his defensive position; but the inertia of the whole body was moving to the left, which is Nadal's normal position. hand, which also means that Nadal's backhand position is empty.

If it is a hard court, Gao Wen will choose a straight backhand with both hands, directly find the big triangle on the bottom line, improve his strength and speed, and aim for the winning point to attack.

However, Gao Wen changed his mind this time.

Backhand with both hands.

straight line.

The same line, the same position, but Gao Wen did not increase the speed and power, but chose a light shot to control the landing point.

Snapped!
Because of the improved control, the whole shot appears light and clever, hitting the dead corner accurately, and pressing the baseline and sideline at the same time.

Nadal, rush to—

Footsteps, movement, and hitting the ball, the whole movement is done in one go, without even sliding, a side-slip brake on the right leg, kicking up a piece of red soil and dust, and the backhand with both hands has accurately completed the hitting, and pushed the tennis ball out in a straight line again , repeat the landing point, and return to Gao Wen's backhand.

Lines, straight.

Drop point, deep.

This shot returned the ball and successfully squeezed Gao Wen's backhand. At this time, a small detail can also be seen that Gao Wen still has not completed the clay conversion:
Footsteps, no retreat.

On hard courts, in order to control the rhythm and compress the time, the footsteps often refuse to retreat, and more often they stand on the bottom line and choose to hit the rebound ball.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing this on clay courts, improving the rhythm of the shot and increasing the pressure of returning the ball.

But the point is that the speed of the clay court is not fast. Even if you stand on the bottom line and hit a rebound ball, the hitting effect will be greatly reduced compared with the hard court. Players try to increase the tempo to put pressure on the opponent, but the effect is often not Obviously, on the contrary, he may fall into a passive position due to the decline in the quality of the ball returned.

So, what should clay courts do?
Often players will choose to retreat half a step to one step, or even more, to get out of the position slightly to gain more space for hitting the ball. Instead of improving the rhythm of the shot, it is better to improve the effect of the shot.

Here, it is not just a question of tactical choice, but more of a question of understanding the court——

On hard courts, the pursuit of a quick decision is often straightforward and straightforward.

On clay, it is often necessary to be patient, and haste makes waste.

It should be noted here that objectively speaking, it is completely possible to play clay court with hard court tactics, and it can also win.

The point is that it is more laborious; in addition, it may not work in the face of real clay masters.

Gao Wen has yet to complete the change in tactics.

He refused to step back, and when the backhand was squeezed with both hands, he relied on the rotation movement and took a clockwise shot, sweeping the tennis back with skill.

Slash!

Diagonal!

Soon, Gao Wen realized that the effect of the same shot on clay was far inferior to that on hard court, and Nadal's figure appeared shortly thereafter.

a slide.

A hook.

Nadal hooked Gao Wen's attempt to increase the speed back to the court without any effort, which immediately sounded Gao Wen's alarm bell:

Tactical consciousness is still a little impatient.

Calm down, he needs to calm down.

(End of this chapter)