Match point

"CCTV, CCTV, audience friends in front of the TV, what you are watching is the last highlight of the Arthur Ashe Stadium on the second match day of the 2015 US Open."

"The defending champion Chinese player Gao Wen will face the youngest German player Alexander Zverev in this tournament. Now the two players are warming up."

"The one in white is Zverev, the one in black is Gawain."

"This is the first time that Gawain has played in a black jersey, which looks slightly different from the past. This is also the second time that the sponsor has specially designed a distinctive jersey style for Gawain after Wimbledon."

On the court, Gawain was dressed in black, and his whole temperament seemed cold. It was very different from the bright sunshine in his impression, but it inadvertently brought out another temperament hidden in Gawain's bones.

Iron blood.tough.sharp.

The Arthur-Ashe stadium has indeed fallen into madness, not only for Huaxia fans, but also for all Gawain supporters.

The short pre-match warm-up is over, and Gao Wen's journey to defend the title is about to begin——

In the coin guessing session, Zverev Jr. guessed right, and he chose to serve first.

A small detail can be seen, the confidence of Zverev Jr.

At this time, the narrators who are familiar with Gao Wen opened up the pictures in their memory:

In Miami, it was the same. Zverev Jr. served first and took a "40:0" lead, but... he suffered a break.

So, come to Flushing, five months later, how will things be?

"0:15".

The double-fault start, Zverev himself did not expect it at all.

At first glance, it is clear that he lacks experience. This should be the first night game of Zverev Jr.'s career. In addition to the impact of the strong wind in New York, the elasticity of the tennis ball will also decrease slightly due to the lower temperature.

In addition, the Arthur Ashe Stadium is really too big, comparable to a football field. The entire sense of space and position also needs to be adjusted, and the feeling of playing the ball is slightly different.

These details are not such a rare secret, but they do work objectively. Players must experience actual combat experience to be able to absorb and transform.

The double fault was due to Zverev Jr.'s lack of overall control of the wind, low temperature flexibility and space, and the deviation of the two serves was more obvious.

The most important reason for Zverev being hailed as a "genius" is his batting touch, which combines Federer's spirituality and Djokovic's package, which also makes his ability to hold on to the baseline easily among the top.

Of course, this also includes serving. His first serve is indeed an important weapon. Although it is not a powerful type, its speed and tail power are still very lethal; and his conservative and cautious character is not only reflected in his habitual bottom line fights In addition, it is also reflected in the softness of the second serve. In order to avoid double faults, the second serve is completely restrained.

At this time, Zverev Jr. also noticed that the first serve was divided into two serve deviations, and he looked up at the Arthur Ashe Stadium——

A moment of dizziness.

Zverev Jr. realized right away that he needed to make a little adjustment.

As a result, Zverev became relatively conservative in his subsequent serves and baseline shots. He needed some time to adapt to the competition environment.

If Gao Wen launches an attack, Zverev Jr. is not afraid of the bottom line. He has a balanced ability on both ends of the offense and defense and is fully capable of maneuvering.

It's just... Little Zverev didn't expect that Gawain would fight with him on the bottom line.

The little Zverev was overjoyed, and it was in his arms!

Then--

The two players began to stalemate on the bottom line.

In fact, for Gao Wen, this is his purpose:

Adjust the feel, adapt to the rhythm, and polish the state.

For one thing, this is the first official game after recovering from a strained abdominal muscle. In a high-intensity confrontation, the body's reaction state is unknown.

Secondly, the training and competition in the past two months have not been very systematic. To return to the intensity of professional competitions, he needs to regain his competition status.

To be precise, a player like Zverev Jr. who sees back and forth is a perfect opponent for Gao Wen. He needs more high-intensity batting.

From the current point of view, Zverev Jr. is a bit like a low-profile version of Murray. He needs rounds, seesaws, and layouts. He is often not firm enough in offensive shots. Instead, the conditioned reflex counterattack when the backhand is passively beaten can show strength But the point is that his layout ability is far inferior to Murray's, and the gap is obvious.

Murray's returns, whether active or passive, are generally purposeful, except for the occasional extremely passive transition ball, but even after the passive transition, he will immediately start to lay out the next shot, and his mind is always spinning.

Zverev Jr. did not. In his stalemate round, he made too many aimless transition balls. Even when he was not so passive, he would subconsciously hit the tennis ball over first without pursuing the layout.

Youth is one thing, character is another. Even if Zverev Jr. matured and gained a firm foothold in the top ten in the world, this habit is still deeply rooted in his bones.

After the opponents in the first round were announced, Sampras and Agassi breathed a sigh of relief, not because their opponents were too weak, but because their styles matched. For Gao Wen, the most important thing now is to slowly adjust his feel through the baseline stalemate round. and status.

Although this is not entirely correct, it is basically equivalent to a training opponent——

An official match played as a practice match.

Zverev Jr.: Right on target.

Gao Wen: Oh, me too.

then.

The back-and-forth bottom-line see-saw just unfolded like a practice match. Judging from the score, it seemed particularly exciting for you to chase each other, but the Arthur Ashe Stadium was a bit...boring.

The wonderful bottom-line round is a game of constant alternation of offense and defense, with dangers everywhere.

In the baseline round in front of me, there are too many transition balls, too many shots without purpose and meaningless shots, too many shots that simply push the tennis ball across the half court, just like a meaningless half-time kick in a football game.

Can't get excited.

But little Zverev didn’t think so.

In the first game, there were three equal points, but Zverev Jr. never sent a break point, and finally kept the serve.

In the third game, Zverev Jr. saved a break point, won the third game point, and secured serve again.

"2:1".

At the end of the first three rounds, the two players kept their serve. Zverev Jr., who served first, returned to the player's rest area with a score advantage and entered the first inter-game break of the game.

It can be clearly seen that the brows of Zverev Jr. are completely stretched, a little relaxed, a little proud, and a little excited, and his smile also rises.

Zverev Jr. turned his head to look at Gao Wen who was separated from the referee's seat. This guy didn't seize the opportunity during the opening period, and then it was time for him to perform.

He was sincere about defeating Gao Wen, and he just wanted to see how the arrogance on that face was shattered.

He couldn't wait, even before the referee announced the end of the break, he had already stood up, stepped onto the court one step ahead of time, and was ready to continue the game.

Confidence flashed in his eyes.