Nadal is undoubtedly the world's most pursued tennis player. His forehand speed is twice as fast as that of ordinary professional players. For this reason, Nadal's forehand hitting is known as the world's most difficult forehand.
Nadal has never encountered an opponent whose forehand rotation speed is as great as his own. That is the forehand spin that Federer, the tennis king, is proud of is still a bit weaker than that of Nadal.
Today's Zhang Guan, however, hit a forehand rotation speed no less than Nadal.
"A very strong topspin!" Nadal was shocked. He had judged from the height that the ball bounced off from the ground that it was a topspin with very high rotation speed. At the same time, he also had a very familiar feeling.
Of course, Nadal will feel familiar, because this high-speed spinning ball was originally Nadal's signature move. He used this trick to defeat countless opponents, but he never thought that someone would use the same trick to deal with himself.
Nadal swings the ball, but when the racket comes into contact with the tennis ball, his expression changes slightly.
"It feels difficult to control!" Nadal found a wavy feeling on the racket. He tried to suppress the racket, but he still couldn't guarantee that the tennis ball would fly according to his intentions.
"It turns out that this high-speed spinning top ball will make the receiver feel so uncomfortable!" Nadal sighed in his heart.
Although Nadal knew that the ball with such a high rotation speed was uncomfortable to catch, since he never experienced it himself, so no one except that Nadal could hit such a high-speed ball. Now, Nadal finally feels a similar feeling in his opponent.
"No wonder everyone said that my kind of topspin is difficult to catch." Such a ball with such a fast rotation speed, even Nadal himself cannot guarantee that he can return a high-quality ball.
30-15, Zhang Guan took the lead, and next, Zhang Guan used his forehand to attack the top spin with high rotation speed. After several consecutive beats, he scored another point and rewritten the score 40-15.
Zhang Guan, who was ready to serve again, was ecstatic, and he found this tactic effective against Nadal.
"Although Nadal is known for his high-speed rotating forehand shots, it turns out that he was not ready to receive this kind of ball. This is his trick, but he can't crack it himself. But think about it too. Why would you try to crack your trick? There is no second Nadal in the world. It is estimated that Nadal is still studying a tactic on how to defeat Federer!"
Zhang Guan continued to serve, and the continuous forehand suppression still created an offensive opportunity. In the end, Zhang Guan successfully won the game and temporarily led 2-1 in the first set.
However, Zhang Guan also knows that the significance of this lead is not great. The key is to find a way to break Nadal's serve. Even if only a break is completed, it is enough to lay the victory in the first set.
In the fourth game, Nadal's feel also became warmer, the quality of his serve improved, and his running became more and more positive. The only constant was the high-speed rotation, which still prevented Zhang Guan from receiving the ball very comfortably. In this round, Nadal was also able to secure his game, and the score came to a 2-2 draw.
In the fifth and sixth games, both players played steadily and successfully saved their respective serve without major mistakes. The score of the set came to 3-3.
At this time, the situation became a bit weird. Both of them used the high-speed topspin of the forehand to attack the opponent's backhand, and through continuous suppression to gain the advantage of the situation, forcing the opponent to appear flaws. This tactic is very safe, especially when both sides play high-speed spins.
In this way, the first eight games were spent in a stalemate, and the score of the first set came to 4-4.
...
In front of the TV, Federer was also watching this game. At this time, he was holding a large plate of fruits and smiling while eating.
"Don't laugh when you eat, you will choke." Mirka kindly reminded me.
"I can't help it! Nadal finally tasted this own medicine." Federer said happily.
Mirka's face was full of doubts, and Federer went on to explain, "A high-speed rotating forehand is Nadal's trick. No other player in the world has been able to achieve Nadal's forehand rotation. The topspin speed of Zhang Guan's forehand is not inferior to that of Nadal. This is equivalent to using Nadal's trick to deal with Nadal. I think Nadal must have a headache now on thinking of a way to deal with his trick!"
"But the score between the two didn't seem to be pulled apart, it seems that the two sides are even. Nadal couldn't find a good way to deal with Zhang Guan's high-speed spin, and Zhang Guan also couldn't deal with Nadal's shot. They can only protect the serve." Mirka said.
"The situation will change, I think the situation will change soon." Federer continued, "Zhang Guan should not have maximized his mobility, and Nadal should also have reservations. The current score is 4 -4, I think in the next two rounds, both sides will choose desperately!"
...
Nadal looked at the score on the scoreboard 4-4, his expression looked dumb, but he was in the tactics of the game.
"The current score is 4-4. If we protect the service, the score is 5-5, then 6-6, and then the tie-break. This is not the result I want. But in this game, if I can break, the score will be 5-4, and then I only need to keep my serve to win the first set game!" Nadal clenched his racket hard and secretly said, "Since this is the case, this game is spelled out for me!"
In the ninth game, Nadal played extremely aggressively at the beginning of the game. He ran very aggressively and was very fast. For the clay court, as long as he ran fast and actively, it means that the defense will be very good.
This is Zhang Guan's serve. Nadal needs a strong defense. The more powerful the defense, the more he would be able to create a chance for him to break.
Nadal suddenly increased the intensity of the defense but made Zhang Guan a little uncomfortable. In a blink of an eye, the score of this game changed by 40-30, but it was not Zhang Guan who led, but Nadal.
"The situation is somewhat passive!" Zhang Guan felt that Nadal was playing hard in this round.
But Zhang Guan was not impatient. In the French Open game, what the laggards need most is not a storm-like counterattack, but a calm mind and tenacious will. What's more, this is Zhang Guan's serve, he has an advantage.
Zhang Guan raised his hand to serve, and in the subsequent return, he also strengthened his movement.
The two sides played a long shot of 27 rounds. Zhang Guan has been in advantage since serving, but still can't knock down Nadal. Nadal showed a strong fighting spirit in this ball, supporting his strong ability to move and can always save the ball. Zhang Guan also relied on his strong mobility to give Nadal another blow.
In the end, Zhang Guan still won this point by continuously accumulating advantages. The score came to 40-40. The two sides came to the same starting line again. Next, one side needs to win by two points before they can win the game.
...
Nadal looked at the opposite king. From the previous point, Nadal also felt that Zhang Guan also increased his speed and movement, which means that Zhang Guan's defensive strength has also been greatly improved.
"Zhang Guan has also started to play desperately. His speed is not worse than mine. The explosive power is even stronger than me. Perhaps I should be ready to fight a protracted battle!"