Match point

Chapter 1213
The 2015 Monte Carlo Masters officially kicked off.

To be precise, the clay court season has already started last week, and the two races in Houston and Casablanca, as always, started the first shot of the court conversion.

However, the Masters is different after all, because it means that the top ten players in the world will come out and officially join the clay court season.

and so--

This year's clay court season, is Nadal still ruling the roost?Can Nadal, who was obviously in poor condition in the first quarter, recover quickly on the clay court?
What about Djokovic, who has won two runner-ups and two semi-finals at the French Open in the past four seasons?Will it finally come true in Paris?After losing to Nadal for three consecutive years and finishing second, Federer finally defeated Soderling to reach the top of Paris in the fourth year, and Djokovic is already in the fifth year.

What about Murray?What about Federer?What about Wawrinka?
What about Ferrell, Berdych, Kei Nishikori, etc.?

In the past few years, because of Nadal's absolute dominance, the terms "clay court master" and "clay court expert" seem to have disappeared from the ATP. No one dares to call himself a "clay court master" in front of Nadal easily. No matter how brilliant a player shines, he can't match Nadal.

So, is it possible to see some wonderful performances from some clay experts again this year?
What about the new generation headed by Raonic?What about the new generation headed by Gao Wen? The "Sunshine Double Crown" has seen more "post-95s" one after another. Will there be more fresh faces and surprises in the clay court season?After all, the possibility of an upset on red clay is more likely.

All kinds, all kinds, with the opening of the Monte Carlo Masters, all the mysteries will be revealed, and it will be another exciting clay court season.

The first to bear the brunt were naturally Gao Wen and Federer——

In the Monte Carlo Masters, the top eighth-seeded players enjoy a first-round bye, so they go directly to the second round and wait for their opponents.

On the other side, the French player Chardy and the "post-90s" player Schwarzman who passed the qualifying test competed for a chance to compete with Federer.

It's a pity that Schwarzman, representing the youth storm, still didn't fully adapt to the rhythm of the ATP. He lost in two sets, and Chardy became Federer's opponent in the first round.

In this box, Tim, born in 1993, and Puy, born in 1994, faced each other in the first round. The winner will face Gao Wen and start another youth duel.

From Indian Wells to Miami to Monte Carlo, more and more young players are emerging and starting their professional journey with Gao Wen as the goal.

Undoubtedly, the "Youth Storm" has indeed become more and more intense, and is slowly taking the stage. This time, it is not the "post-95s", but there are more "post-90s".

There is only one year difference in age between Tim and Puy, but Tim has made a name for himself last year, and Puy’s rise is a little slower. This time in Monte Carlo, only relying on the world rankings, he missed the main match, and Puy won. Received a wild card from the sponsor and entered the draw.

Obviously, Tim is the more optimistic side; moreover, the "Tim VS Gawain 2.0" friend battle is also more valuable for the media to discuss.

however--

Backfired.

"6:4", "6:4".

Pui, had the last laugh.

The match was very, very close. Tim had tried his best, but unfortunately, he still lacked a little bit after all, and missed the opportunity to play against Gao Wen.

In fact, between Puy and Tim, it can be said that the style of play is against each other. According to history, Tim has lost against Puy twice in his career, and he has not won a set; The two encounters happened before Tim's full-scale transformation and rise, and the reference value is not great. Even so, it can still be seen that Puy's game style just restrains Tim.

As I said before, Tim is a game with wide opening and closing and full strength. Therefore, for Tim, footsteps are very important. If there is not enough space and insufficient force, his competitiveness will drop sharply.

Pui, on the other hand, is precisely a bottom-line player with a fast-paced connection style of play. Simply put, he suppresses opponents by continuously improving the rhythm of the round.

Therefore, when Tim and Pui faced each other, Pui always improved his tempo, compressed the hitting time and moving space, and compressed Tim's chances to exert force, so that Tim couldn't exert all his strength, even if his footsteps He couldn't keep up with the gradually shortening rhythm of the rounds, and was very passive.

The style of the ball is against each other, which is indeed very difficult.

Puy was unknown in his youth, and his highest world ranking was only 23; there were no bright spots in the youth competitions of the four Grand Slams. Therefore, in front of the star-studded player lineup of the French Golden Age, Puy, the "post-90s" "Far from being able to get noticed.

After turning to the professional arena in 2013, Puy has never had too many outstanding results. It was not until 2015 that he entered the top [-] in the world ranking for the first time.

However, Puy, who is so mediocre, ushered in a full-scale explosion in 2016, defeating Del Potro at Wimbledon, defeating Nadal in the tie-breaker at the US Open, and broke into the quarter-finals in two consecutive Grand Slams; In 2018, the world ranking broke into the top ten for the first time; in 2019, the Australian Open entered the semi-finals.

What is the reason behind it?

One is the maturity of his technical style. He is a typical hitting point player. Every time he hits the ball, he needs to grab the hitting point. It may not necessarily be the rising point, but adjust the rhythm according to his own tactics. , It is more to form a dense offense through the connection of rhythm.

Therefore, this puts strict requirements on game reading, shot selection, tactical awareness, etc. He needs enough games to accumulate experience.

The second is a strong body. In adolescence, the body was very thin, and there was no advantage in the youth game that relied on talent for food. After turning to the professional arena, he continued to gain weight, lose fat, and increase his muscle content. Elevate, change the situation.

Although Pui does not rely on active force to score points, strength is a necessary condition in a stalemate.

In addition, muscles also help Pui improve the offensive power of forehand and serve, which is also the basic necessary ability of the new generation of top male players.

From a certain point of view, Pui can be seen as Kei Nishikori who is stronger but a little less spiritual. Of course, his serve is more solid, and a good serve is the guarantee; but also, because of grabbing the ball, The unique style of controlling the rhythm, so injuries are particularly frequent.

After entering the top ten in the world in 2019, Pui has been plagued by right elbow injuries for more than three years and has not found a way to recover.

For Gao Wen, neither Tim nor Puy were easy opponents to deal with. After all, both of them had better clay court experience than him——

Tim, of course, needless to say; Puy, he grew up in the Roland-Garros tennis training camp set up by the French Tennis Federation. Obviously, their understanding of clay is far better than that of Gao Wen.

Anyone who faces Gao Wen, who is stepping on clay for the first time, has the ability to be upset.

(End of this chapter)