Match point

Chapter 1378 Interception
Anticipate!

A very important part of tennis is anticipation. If you wait for your opponent to attack before starting, you will easily fall into a passive position and slow down step by step.

In the final analysis, anticipation is a kind of talent. In addition to intuition and perception, it also has the ability to read games, calculate probability, and draw inferences from one instance.

Of course, everything happens in the blink of an eye, the speed of the brain often cannot keep up with the changes in the shot, and the subconscious still plays an important role.

It is precisely because of this that the more times you play against each other and the deeper your familiarity, the higher the accuracy of the prediction of the hitting line.

One of the important reasons why the Big Four can always dedicate peak duels is:

They have met each other too many times, far exceeding other players, and even topped the historical list. They are really too familiar with each other, their predictions are more accurate, and their routines are familiar. On the one hand, This leads to more stalemate between offense and defense. On the one hand, it also forces players to break their own routines and seek different methods and strategies to gain an advantage.

Sight, back to the present moment.

This is the first meeting between Gao Wen and Tsonga in their careers, and they are not familiar with each other; but the match entered the fifth set, and their respective styles and routines have been fully displayed.

Therefore, the next step is to look at the personal abilities of the players:

Read the game, analyze the game, predict the game.

The past four games are the best data, and it depends on who can extract more nutrients from these data and evolve it into a weapon to break the game.

Coincidentally, this is Gawain's strong point.

Judging from the forehand shot, Tsonga has comprehensive abilities, such as slashing straight balls and high balls, etc., all of which are no problem, and it is indeed his strongest weapon.

However, when Tsonga chooses to change the line, he often relies on his personal strength to forcibly push it, and does not rely on the increase in the speed of the racket head. This way of hitting the ball also leads to a lack of stability in the forehand line-because of insufficient friction, Naturally, the control is weaker.

Therefore, when Tsonga chooses a straight forehand, he tends to reduce the force slightly to increase control and avoid going out of bounds.

Of course, such a difference in details is not obvious in the game. Even if Tson increases the force, the deterrent force of the straight forehand is still very strong.

The real impact is that when Tsonga is ready to launch a full-scale attack and use power to suppress or even win points, he often chooses a slash——

Because this line is the option that does not retain full-blown brute force attacks at all.

In contrast, the forehand straight-line attack is often paired with the net with the ball, creating interference through the pressure in front of the net, and making up for the regret of the slightly reduced force of the straight-line hit.

The takeaway from these experiences is that the key to anticipation is to observe where your return ball lands and Tsonga's footwork.

Then, Gao Wen immediately moved to attack:
Right, forehand.

really!

Tsonga chose the slash.

Even before Tsonga hit the ball, Gao Wen had already moved ahead of time, buying himself time——

Steps, smoothly in place.

Unfortunately, it was still a little rushed and crowded.

Tsonga's forehand attack relies on the instantaneous burst of strength and speed to form a suppression. This is an advantage at the physical level. Even if Gao Wen has moved ahead of time, he can still deeply feel the continuous impact brought by the tail force of the ball. The limited hitting space left for him is still a problem.

Gao Wen, think fast——

Now that I am at a disadvantage in moving position, if I choose to attack vigorously, I will further lose my position, and the subsequent defense may be very passive.

Moreover, Tsonga's position is still in the midfield, and he can attack and retreat or defend. His own breakthrough may not be able to tear Tsonga's blockade.

This is the final set and he needs to play smarter and more efficiently.

In the blink of an eye, Gao Wen had already made a choice based on his strategy for the final set——

cutting.

Under the condition that he predicted in advance that the moving steps were basically in place, Gao Wen did not choose to hit the wall to fight back, but slashed with his forehand.

Rotate, straight line, overcome rigidity with softness.

Gao Wen's entire shot was very light and soft. The footsteps and swing movements that were slightly squeezed were all eased by the cutting action. He regained his center of gravity and completed the adjustment in just a moment. Then, wrapping the tennis ball, cut a backspin.

Light, agile, and dancing.

Tsonga was a little surprised, but his movement was still very timely. He moved from the center of the court to his left, and two large strides were already in place.

Downspin!

Strong downspin!

Tsonga immediately realized Gawain's tactical intention——

If Tsonga is standing on the bottom line at this time, then facing the slice, he can attack directly, catch Gao Wen's weak shot and return the ball to further expand his advantage, and even form a winning point with one shot and kill him directly, because Cutting is tantamount to giving up the initiative.

But at this time Tsonga's footsteps are within the bottom line, at the junction between the frontcourt and the backcourt. From a positive point of view, it is a position of "advance, attack, retreat, and defense", and from a negative point of view, it is "neither up nor down." A little awkward" position depends on how the two players play the game and how to choose.

Gao Wen used a strong backspin to cut a deep ball:

The landing point is basically parallel to Tsonga's position; at the same time, it still spins strongly and falls sharply over the net.

This also means that Tsonga should be stuck in the position when trying to surf the Internet, and it will be too late if he tries to retreat, and he will be in an embarrassing situation.

Tsonga's only option is to move laterally, but then he needs to face the problem of hitting the rebound ball at his feet, which is not easy to deal with.

In a passive situation, Gao Wen slowed down the pace by cutting, which put Tsonga in an awkward position.

However, Tsonga's mind was clear, and he was not nervous or flustered at all.

a big step.

Two strides.

Tsonga, who is 188 centimeters but weighs 93 kilograms, is tall and big, and his movements are always a bit cumbersome. His footsteps are obviously not his best skill.

Even so, the big stride seemed vigorous, and he had already caught up to the position in a blink of an eye, but he didn't intend to brake at all, and continued to walk.

Three strides.

Seeing that, Tsonga was about to collide head-on with Gao Wen's return ball at the intersection, causing a tragic car accident.

But see!

Tsonga took advantage of the opportunity to jump up, and the bulky body that rose into the air gave way to the position, and then the racket appeared in front of the body, and took the initiative to swing the racket forward. With the strength of the wrist and forearm, he spun a spear in front of him and cut the tennis ball back.

It's a volley and a cut.

At this time, Tsonga showed his excellent physical talent. Even though he was bulky, he relied on the strength of his wrist to complete a super-difficult cutting volley in the short time in the air.

It not only resolved Gao Wen’s cutting problem, but also made full use of the court again——

The tennis ball flew out a full parabola, high and floating, with a super spin, flying along a diagonal line, aiming at the dead corner of the bottom line in Gao Wen's backhand position.

From Tsonga's left baseline to Gao Wen's left dead corner, this shot back was a great shift in the universe, and it affected the eyes of the audience to flutter their wings together.

(End of this chapter)