Match point

Chapter 415 Showdown in Asia
"... Viewers, welcome to ESPN, what we are broadcasting for you is..."

"...This is the first Asian matchup in the history of the Grand Slam Men's Singles Quarterfinals. Regardless of the outcome of the match, the winning side will make history and become the first Asian to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam Men's players, today's opponents are Gao Wen from China and..."

"...After the US Open draws this year, obviously no one could have expected such a quarter-final matchup, with No. [-] Wawrinka and No. [-] Raonic sitting in two quarters that were hailed as death Division, but the two big seeds both stopped in the top [-], and broke out a shocking upset..."

"...It can be said that the breakout of the two dark horses disrupted the draw in the two quarters, which also made the matchup in the top half an interesting tilt, with 'Djokovic VS Murray' on one side Face-to-face dialogue, on one side is the dark horse encounter of 'Gaowen VS Kei Nishikori'..."

Rustling.

Rustling.

While the two players were warming up on the court, the commentary booths of the major TV stations started their preliminary introductions one after another, bringing the audience this history-making "Asian Showdown". From all aspects, this is a well-deserved absolute focus.

However, compared to the two blockbuster night games, the attendance at the opening stage of this game is average. After all, the duel of "Wawrinka VS Raonic" did not come as expected. The audience was still slightly less attractive; but the Asian faces in the auditorium quickly filled the gap.

Visible to the naked eye, the number of Asian spectators has increased significantly, and during the warm-up stage of the players, there are still spectators entering the stadium——

Since the local audience is not very interested, it also means that there is still time to buy tickets on the spot temporarily. Naturally, we can see many Asian audiences who come to Flushing to watch the game on a temporary basis.

Such a scene is indeed a rare sight in a professional tennis arena, and Arthur Ashe Stadium is fortunate to witness history, which is undoubtedly even more special——

Arthur Ashe, the three-time Grand Slam champion, is black.

He is the first African-American player to represent the United States in the Davis Cup, and the first African-American world No. [-] after the official introduction of the world ranking system; at the same time, he is also one of the main initiators of the ATP organization, the purpose is to maintain players interests and rights.

In recognition and tribute to the legend who changed the professional tennis world, the US Open named its center court after Arthur Ashe.

Today, the Arthur-Ashe Stadium will witness the first Asian matchup for the semi-finals in the history of the four Grand Slams, which is indeed of great significance.

"... Kei Nishikori, ranked No.11 in the world before the start of the US Open, and ranked No. [-] in this tournament."

"The player born in 1989 first ushered in a breakthrough in the Grand Slam in the 2012 Australian Open, which was the first time he broke into the quarter-finals; after that, his performance was slightly lower than expected."

"The Australian Open is his best performance in a Grand Slam. He successfully advanced to the fourth round last year and this year. In addition, the French Open and Wimbledon also had a fourth round performance. Unfortunately, he has always There is no way to break through the shackles of the last [-]; and last year's US Open and this year's Wimbledon were both eliminated in the first round."

"This year, in Flushing, Kei Nishikori performed well again and came to the quarterfinals for the first time. He not only created the best result in the US Open, but also tied the best performance in a personal Grand Slam. Obviously, he is looking forward to going further and continuing to Refresh your best performance and make new history."

"This is indeed Kei Nishikori's best chance, because standing in front of him is the biggest dark horse in this tournament..."

Rustling.

Rustling.

The commentary that introduced the background information of the two players in detail spread to all corners of the world through radio signals, but when it was introduced to the high-level part, you will find:
The content is really too little, less than the size of a slap of tofu, even if you want to analyze it in depth, it is very difficult.

However, it is precisely because of such stark contrast and huge gap that this historic Asian duel is full of unknown fun.

From the analysis of strength on paper, Gao Wen is naturally at a disadvantage, but this is where the magic lies. Facing any player in the men's singles draw, Gao Wen is at a disadvantage, but Gao Wen has passed all the way. At the top eight stage, how should we judge and analyze it?
Kei Nishikori is feeling hot at the moment, but Gao Wen is also in good shape, so, what will happen in the encounter between the two sides, it still needs to be played by both sides to know.

The game started and Gao Wen served.

In the coin guessing session, Kei Nishikori guessed heads, but he chose the backlit side of the field, and Gao Wen will naturally serve first.

One choice, two signals can be seen.

First, Kei Nishikori is still the same as before. He often starts by receiving the serve because of his own weak serve and because he is used to defending and counterattacking.

Second, Kei Nishikori considered the problem of light.

The tennis game avoids the influence of light and wind direction as much as possible, and the venue is changed every two games, which also minimizes the environmental impact; but it is undeniable that the glare of the sun will still have a direct impact.

At this time, it was three o'clock in the afternoon in New York local time, and the sun was just right. Kei Nishikori chose the backlit side, and Gao Wen needed to serve the ball facing the sun. Before the opening stage had time to enter the state, the environmental impact would be further affected. enlarge.

It can be seen that Kei Nishikori is going to start the game.

Throughout Nishikori's career, he can adapt to different surfaces, but his best performance is on hard courts, because he grew up at the famous Bollettieri Tennis Academy in the United States - the largest professional tennis court in the world. Academy, bar none, this is a hard court tennis academy.

Therefore, apart from the Australian Open, Kei Nishikori’s best performance is actually the US Open. In 2008, he entered the fourth round for the first time in the competition, but his performance in the past four years has been very unstable. The third round, the first round, the third round Round, first round, why?

The Australian Open and the US Open are both hard courts. The main material of the Australian Open court is plastic, which is considered a slow hard court; the main material of the US Open court is concrete, which is considered a fast hard court. The main difference lies in the jumping height after landing——

Overall, the U.S. Open's return has a relatively lower rebound height and a faster forward speed after the rebound; at the same time, it is more beneficial to players who serve well.

The material of the U.S. Open court is also determined. There are more variables, more difficult control, and more intense competition. In 2009, Del Potro, who was only 20 years old, defeated Nadal and Federer consecutively on this court to win his first Grand Slam championship trophy, and at the same time broke the monopoly of the Big Four.

From a technical and tactical point of view, the U.S. Open venue is more suitable for Kei Nishikori’s style of grabbing rising points, but the premise is that Kei Nishikori needs to maintain absolute concentration and run his brain all the time; Zhigui's style has a very low error tolerance rate.

Therefore, Kei Nishikori's best and worst results in the Grand Slam were all at the US Open.

This year is undoubtedly Kei Nishikori's best year. From the opening choice, you can feel the confidence rushing to your face. It is a kind of determination that is very focused and dedicated.

Even before he started hitting the ball, the alarm in Gao Wen's mind had already sounded.

(End of this chapter)