"Zhang Guan can still run!" Nadal was surprised.
Not far away, the scoreboard showed the score of the second set, 6-4, the winner is Zhang Guan.
In the first two games, when Nadal's explosive power declined, Zhang Guan increased his rhythm and ran more aggressively, playing a continuous offensive, like torrential rain, making Nadal unable to parry. As a result, Zhang Guan won two consecutive games and also won the second set.
In the past, the two men held each other back and forth to win the next ball, but in these two games, Zhang Guan won simply and neatly and did not go through too long of a round of stalemate. Even people who don't know much about tennis can see Zhang Guan has the upper hand in the situation.
Nadal was originally prepared to continue to hold with Zhang Guan, but Zhang Guan's offensive rhythm was completely fundamental, and the two games were naturally lost.
"What's the matter? Zhang Guan's running is just like the beginning of the game, and his physical strength is not consumed at all! This game has been going on for nearly two hours, and the intensity of the game is so big, how can there be no physical strength consumption? Even if Zhang Guan's physical strength is stronger than mine, it should be impossible to have as much physical energy as the start of the game!" Nadal could not understand why this happened, and when he remembered himself being behind 2-0, his heart became more and more anxious.
...
In front of the TV, Federer sighed, "It seems that Nadal cannot achieve his three consecutive French Open titles."
"Although it is behind 2-0, Nadal should have a chance!" Mirka said from the side.
"It's impossible to make a comeback. Have you noticed that in the last two games of the last set, Zhang Guan not only attacked fiercely, but also moved more quickly, which means Zhang Guan still has a lot of physical reserves; in the last two games of the last set, it was a bit out of pace, and his physical reserve was about to bottom out." Federer continued, "The reason why Nadal is considered to be a strong defender is mainly because of his mobility. Powerful, his style of play is also based on strong mobility. Once he can't run, his style of play becomes useless. That time is when Nadal crashed!"
"Can Nadal run?" Mirka shook his head. "It shouldn't be. Everyone can say that Nadal is the best tennis player."
"I don't mean that he can't move, but that he can't keep up with the running rhythm of Zhang Guan. The core of the tactics of both of them is running. Who runs in defense? The more active the defense is, the more secure his defense is, and the more aggressive the attacker is, the easier it is to suppress the opponent." Federer said, his expression became serious, and he continued, "So this in this case, if one party's rhythm slows down, his defensive intensity will decrease, and his offense will also lose its repressiveness. In contrast, his opponent can complete the defense more easily and exert more pressure on the offense."
"So, in the last two games, Nadal lost so simply?" Mirka asked.
Federer nodded, "And I think maybe it's just the beginning. In the third set, Nadal may not be able to sustain for so long! Zhang Guan should soon start celebrating his second Grand Slam title!"
...
At the beginning of the third game between the two sides, Nadal tried to launch an offensive. The rest between the two sets allowed Nadal to recover and some physical strength and the total score of 2-0 behind encouraged Nadal to work harder as soon as possible. Pull back the score.
In the next few games, Zhang Guan appeared to be passive in the face of Nadal's counterattack. He was even suppressed by Nadal in his serving game, but Nadal was still unable to break through Zhang Guan's defense and did not get a break.
In the first six games, both sides successfully saved the serve, but continuous counter-attacks also caused Nadal's physical strength to be consumed again. But Nadal also knew that he had to keep up with Zhang Guan's rhythm. With the play of both of them, once he couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the game, he would crash instantly.
"Come on! You must go on! Run faster!" Nadal, with strong willpower, braced himself to speed up and try to keep up with the rhythm of the game.
However, for the opposite Zhang Guan, there is no slight pause, at least on the surface, Zhang Guan does not show signs of physical weakness.
"How can Zhang Guan run so much? Does he still have so much physical strength? Isn't he tired?" Nadal's eyes showed a trace of perplexity, and he couldn't figure out that he was already tired as a dog, and the opposite Zhang Guan is still full of energy.
The score in the third set came to 4-4. From the perspective of the situation, the two sides are still in the balance, but in fact, Nadal is already supporting this high-intensity run.
"I'm the king of clay, I want to win the French Open three consecutive championships, how can I lose!" Powerful faith supports Nadal, his speed has not slowed down, his forehand is still strong.
Zhang Guan rushed forward again, bringing the receiving point in advance, quickly changed the rhythm of offense and defense, attacking Nadal's neutral gear. Similar to this tactic, Zhang Guan has also used this game many times.
Zhang Guan's tactics of running and attacking are indeed very powerful against ordinary professional players. However, it is of course impossible for athletes at the level of Paid Dele or Nadal to win in one hit, at most, it is to win some advantages. With Nadal's defensive strength, Zhang Guan's running and attacking tactics are like a bale of straw, which looks very large, but the weight is within an acceptable range.
Sometimes, the last straw can crush a camel, not to mention a whole bundle of straw.
And this is not the last bale of straw. Zhang Guan catches the ball again in advance, changes the rhythm of the batting again, and throws another bale of straw to Nadal.
Finally, Nadal's strong camel couldn't hold it anymore, he still fell...
...
Now the score in the third set is 5-4, Zhang Guan leads and has already got the match point, and Nadal's serve is in progress.
Nadal was in a backward state in his service, and before that, the two sides have experienced three equalizations.
Zhang Guan took the lead in the score, and on the court, the two were holding each other with their forehands.
Nadal attacked Zhang Guan's backhand with his forehand. Zhang Guan was also attacking Nadal's backhand with his forehand. When facing his opponent's backhand, both sides ran to a spot where they could use the forehand to catch the ball and then launch their attack.
At this time, the game became a contest of speed. If anyone took the lead one step slower and could not run to a position where they could use forehand to catch the ball, they could only be forced to use the backhand to catch the ball, and once forced to use the backhand to catch the ball. The next thing they face is endless repression until one of them loses the ball.
Finally, Nadal was slower in a catch, he was forced to use the backhand to catch the ball, and of course, Zhang Guan could not miss this opportunity and began violent repression without hesitation.
"Oh no!" Nadal knew that if the ball was dropped, he would lose the entire game and lose his three consecutive French Open titles!
"He was very powerless this time!"