"Match Point(

Obviously, serving is not Gao Wen's strongest weapon. There is no such player in the top 20 on the ACE list, and it is even worse than other serving cannons who have only played two or three games. For fast and hard courts, the serve advantage can indeed be further amplified.

However, looking at the number of ACEs, there are still unexpected gains. Raonic and Cilic are in the top two, Kyrgios is third, Wawrinka is fourth, Federer is fifth, and Djokovic is in the top two. tenth.

In addition, Isner, who was upset after only one game, issued 26 ACEs, and Karlovic, who was eliminated in the second round, issued 55 ACEs. He is the king of efficiency, with an average of ACEs per game. Lead the pack.

A small set of data can reveal an interesting fact:

Isner, Kyrgios, Wawrinka, Djokovic, all lost to the same opponent.

Then look at another list of technical statistics. Federer, Murray, and Gawain rank among the top three of all male players in first serve return scoring rate; Qi ranked in the top three of this year's US Open.

A cross-comparison of the two data reveals that Gao Wen is not afraid of facing the Serving Cannon at all.

So, the beginning is a bit interesting.

Gao Wen, who is not good at serving, chose to serve first, and then kept the serve straight for four points; Gao Wen, who is good at receiving the serve, was about to face Cilic, one of the best serving players at the US Open this year, but he didn't know Cilic's serve What's the status, are you ready?

The two sides exchanged venues, and Cilic quickly prepared to serve.

Cilic's overall playing rhythm is relatively fast. Like the cannons who serve well, the entire preparation process is relatively simple, but he still has his own customary routine:

Move your toes, look up at your opponent, slap the tennis ball twice, move your toes again to glance at your opponent, and toss the ball.

The progress of the whole process is fast, but every time you have to repeat all the details to start, it is as regular as his hitting style and returning the ball; moreover, Cilic's serve speed is not the kind of explosive, he It is more inclined to a steady and uniform speed. The service speed of the whole game can be kept fluctuating around 135 miles (200 kilometers), not too fast but also unable to fall.

Stable, solid, and sharp.

Therefore, watching Cilic's games often lacks a little passion and turmoil, but he can indeed guarantee competitiveness. This is true for two wins in three sets and three wins in five sets. Until the final stage, there are few ups and downs.

boom!

For the first point, Gao Wen grabbed it very hard. He raised his forehand and hit a diagonal line, aiming at the deep area of ​​the bottom line and smashing it. Unfortunately, the control strength was not adjusted well, and the return ball went out of the bottom line and went out of bounds, giving it to Cilic. A straight serve.

In the second point, Gao Wen grabbed a return serve again. Facing Cilic's serve, he also used both hands to backhand the bottom line. one cent.

"30:0".

really!

The conjectures of professionals and senior fans have been confirmed. This is the grand slam final and also a confrontation between the two sides. The slow heat and trials in the opening stage are inevitable. Gao Wen was able to keep his serve in the "love-game" because of Cilic Still looking for a rhythm, Gao Wen also adjusted his hand in Cilic's serve, so the whole game progressed very quickly.

Because it is too fast, it is a bit messy.

But this is normal, all newcomers to the Grand Slam finals need to go through this process, and it is precisely because of this that neutral fans don't like such dark horse duels, and the excitement is indeed greatly reduced.

In the third point, Cilic failed to score in the first serve, and the second serve pressed a close forehand. As a result, Gawain returned the ball back and hit a small diagonal forehand. Scoring this point was more or less a bit of luck, because in fact Gao Wen's shot did not hit the sweet spot, but instead created an unexpected small slash effect to form a score.

pretty.

However, the Arthur - Ashe Stadium interest is not high.

Tennis is the same as table tennis and badminton. Serving and receiving are indeed very important confrontation links, the first step for the two sides to compete for the initiative. But if the game is always focused on this, and the round ball confrontation cannot form a stalemate at all, it will be too boring. .

No spectator likes to watch two players go back and forth to practice serving and receiving, and the caddy may spend more time on the stage to grab the attention. Only when the two sides attack and defend, and the transition between offense and defense collide, the game will be exciting.

Therefore, the audience was not too excited even though Gao Wen returned the serve with an ace; however, the audience still applauded and whistled to cheer for the two players, expecting them to enter the game state as soon as possible.

Only Cilic looked up at Gawain, and he could sense that for the three servings so far, Gawain's receiving position was undergoing slight changes—

Generally speaking, the more backward the position is, the more defensive the posture is, and the success rate of receiving and serving will increase while the attack will decrease; the more forward the position is, the more offensive the posture will be, and the success rate will increase while the attacking threat of receiving and serving increases. violent fluctuations.

Watching Serena Williams's game, she often enters the bottom line to catch a second serve, and then kills directly with one shot.

Facing Cilic's powerful serve, Gao Wen's position was about one step away from the bottom line, neither too far behind nor too close, and he made fine adjustments three times Cilic's serve tactics, but to adjust the attack strategy centered on himself, the strategy of serving three times is different.

Cilic can feel the pressure.

In the first game, Gao Wen simply kept the serve and basically did not give Cilic any chance, not only an opportunity to attack or defend, but also no chance to adapt to the atmosphere of the game.

Compared with Gao Wen, this is only the second time that Cilic has entered the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The light refraction brought by the sunset at 5 o'clock in the afternoon is completely different from other courts. Coupled with the enthusiasm and tension of the final atmosphere, Cilic Qi was indeed a little ignorant and dizzy.

Then the first round ended in a daze, and then the second round started. Cilic felt that he needed a little time to sort out his thoughts.

But obviously Gao Wen's return serve did not give him time and space, as if... as if Gao Wen had been improving the rhythm of the game.

But the problem is, among the two of them, Cilic has always played faster, while Gao Wen prefers to slow down the game. Why does Gao Wen seem to be more impatient and urgent than Cilic now?

Messy thoughts were swirling in my mind.

The only good thing is that Gao Wen currently makes a lot of mistakes, and the pressure has not resulted in a score. Cilic still holds the initiative of the score in his own hands, so the pressure has not yet broken the balance.

What if Gao Wen continued to attack?

call…

Cilic realized that he needed a shot. Although Gao Wen grabbed both the first and second shots, after all, the first shot was a big threat, and it was relatively difficult for Gawain to succeed, so he needed the first shot to protect himself, and at the same time, the first shot returned Quality needs to be guaranteed.

One shot. quality. One shot. quality.

Taking a deep breath, Cilic adjusted his thoughts and was ready to serve.