If it was in the 1990s, playing before the net was a skill that athletes must master, then after the 21st century, the bottom line has become the most basic tactical game in tennis.
The bottom line of tennis is mainly divided into two types which were bottom line offensive play and bottom line defensive play. The representative of the bottom line offensive play is Federer, and the representative of the bottom line defensive play is Nadal.
Technique wise, Federer is indeed a versatile player. However, of the many offensive methods, Federer has mastered, the technique of bottom line attack is undoubtedly his best. Federer is known as the strongest forehand in history. His forehand is also known as the "hand of God". Under his strong forehand, the bottom line pulls the attack and turns sideways to become Federer's sharpest weapon. This style of play can often move opponents across the court, and the viewing is also very good, so people will say that Federer can always play a gorgeous offense.
Federer's bottom-line pull to sideways attack requires a strong forehand in addition to good skills. Many players are trying to learn Federer's play, but their technique is not as good as Federer, and at the same time lack the strongest forehand in history, so naturally they can't do it.
At the peak, Federer used this bottom line to play, which can be said to be a nightmare for all players. Also, Nadal can use the clay court to compete, for other players, there is no solution to Federer's bottom line tactics.
Davydenko is very afraid of Federer's bottom line tactics. Davydenko's style is often counter by Federer to traverse back and forth with this tactic. More importantly, Davydenko is not a talented player. After a long return, Davydenko's unforced mistakes will have a substantial increase, especially in the last few games of each set, Davydenko will continuously concede the ball.
So when Davydenko discovered that Zhang Guan was also using the bottom line to pull to the sideways attack, the first thing he thought of was Federer. Davydenko's impression of Federer's style of play was so deep because he lost nine times in a row, how could it not be impressive!
At this time, Davydenko suddenly panicked. He made a mistake on his first shot, and his subsequent second shot was received by Zhang Guan. Then he scored several consecutive bottom lines pulls.
"Oh no, Zhang Guan is going to attack the diagonal sideways again!" Davydenko had already expected the shot, but was caught off guard and lost his serve.
...
"Zhang Guan would even use Federer's tactics, which I didn't expect this before the game. I thought Zhang Guan would use pre-net play." Davydenko took a deep breath, "There are too many people in this world learning Federer's style of play, but no one can do play it like Federer. I think Zhang Guan at most just learned something, he can not have Federer's good judgment and such a strong forehand. So I need to calm down, don't panic, continue to fight steadily, and look for opportunities!"
Next is Zhang Guan's serve. Although Davydenko tried hard to score a goal, he still failed to break the tie. At this time, the score came to 4-2. For Davydenko, there is no room for loss in serve, and Davydenko must also find a way to break Zhang Guan's serve.
In the seventh game between the two sides, Davydenko successfully defended the service, but the whole process was very difficult. He was still transferred by Zhang Guan using the bottom line to playback and forth. Thanks to Davydenko serving, this round was still stable, otherwise, it may be broken by Zhang Guan again.
In the eighth game, Zhang Guan began to strengthen the offensive in front of the net but did not achieve any good results, and it was scored by Davydenko, then Zhang Guan turned to the bottom line offensive play and finally won his serve.
At this time the score came to 5-3, the next game is a crucial game for Davydenko, if he can not keep his serve, he will lose the first set.
However, it was also in this round that the last thing Davydenko wanted to see had happened. Under running back and forth, his unforced errors increased, and in one round he appeared there were three unforced mistakes, which can be said to be fatal in tennis, he also lost his serve, and also lost the first set game of both sides.
...
At this time, Davydenko felt very depressed, not only because he lost the first set game, but also because the feeling of loss was almost the same as when he lost to Federer.
"Zhang Guan's bottom line offensive play is the same as Federer's as it was carved in a mold! Did Federer teach Zhang Guan how to play tennis before? I haven't heard of any news in this regard, but why did the two men play the bottom line? It's like this. Zhang Guan's forehand spin accuracy is no worse than Federer's, and his footwork moves faster so that it is easier to catch the ball with his forehand. In this way, Zhang Guan became a stronger version of Federer!"
This idea shocked Davydenko. Now Federer is strong enough. If Federer can move faster, I am afraid that even Nadal on the clay court is not Federer's opponent.
"How come there are so many young players better than the ones at first, first there is Nadal, then Djokovic comes out, and now there is Zhang Guan, it seems that Federer will not lack a challenger in the future!"
Davydenko replaced a new racket and stepped onto the field.
At the beginning of the second set of the two sides, Zhang Guan still insisted on using the bottom line of attack, but he joined in more attempts.
"No wonder Davydenko never won against Federer. Federer's tactics are effective against Davydenko. Davydenko's physical talent is average. Once mobilized, there will be more mistakes. Next, I try a more extreme landing point." Zhang Guan swings the ball and hits the ball this time, the ball's landing point directly flew past the position of the sideline.
Davydenko made a big step and ran past, but still one step behind, only to watch the ball fall on the sideline, and then bounced out.
Next, Zhang Guan still chose the landing point closer to the edge, three consecutive goals, twice in the boundary and once outside the boundary.
However, Davydenko seemed very embarrassed, his footsteps did not seem to be as agile as the opening game, and the number of turnover errors during the run was increasing.
The final score of this set was 6-2, Zhang Guan won again.
...
"My foot hurts a little." Davydenko knew that the mistake of returning the ball during his running was due to a problem with his foot.
In the winter, Davydenko had been examined by a doctor. At that time, the doctor had informed Davydenko that his foot was at risk of stress fractures, and advised Davydenko not to participate in competitions with such high frequency. It is best to take a rest half a year off. However, Davydenko did not follow the doctor's advice. Just in 2007, Davydenko first ran to Qatar to participate in the Doha Open, competing for high prizes and then participated in the Sydney International Championship non-stop, and the result was in the second round that he chose to retire because of discomfort in the foot.
Now, the Australian Open has reached the quarter-finals. After being continuously transferred back to run, Davydenko feels the discomfort of his feet again.
"I'm already 2-0 behind. Zhang Guan's bottom line offensive play is no worse than Federer. It seems that today's game is impossible to win. It is more important to protect myself from injury."
In the next third set, Davydenko gave up his resistance after retaining his first two serves and lost the game again. Zhang Guan therefore successfully advanced to the semifinals.