Chương 376: Quarterfinals
Zhang Guan's opponent in the third round, the American John Isner, is one year older than Zhang Guan. Isner, like Zhang Guan, also transferred to tennis in 2007. However, Isner is not a rookie with no game experience. He used to be the NCAA tennis champion of the American College Sports Association, and he entered the All-American star team every year.
Isner is 2.08 meters tall. He used to be a basketball player when he was in high school, but white basketball players in the United States were very good, so Isner changed to playing tennis and achieved very good results.
Isner caused some trouble for Zhang Guan during the game. Isner's height made him serve very well, and Isner was also very good at serving the net. This made Isner able to play the key ball. The smoother delivery and the tall, long-armed Isner's swinging power are also great, which is very helpful for playing the cement field. At the same time, Isner, like most American athletes, is relatively energetic.
In the first set match between Zhang Guan and Isner, the two sides reached a tie-break. Isner's serve time was very good. Zhang Guan didn't get a break after many attempts, but Zhang Guan also slowly became familiar with Isner's rhythm and pass, and finally won the tiebreak, leading 1-0.
In the second and third sets that followed, Zhang Guan's changeable play and quick offensive and defensive transitions made Isner lose his rhythm. To make matters worse, Isner had several serving errors and failed net access. It also led to Isner's subsequent weakness. He lost the next two games 4-6/3-6.
Zhang Guan advanced into the fourth round of the U.S. Open with no surprises, and the opponent in the fourth round is still not a seed player.
Zhang Guan originally thought that he would meet the 13th seed Frenchman Gasquet in the third round or the 21st seed Spanish Ferrero, but these two seed players were eliminated in the first two rounds. It is another Spanish player Philip Lopez who successfully advanced to the fourth round, he will be the opponent of Zhang Guan's next game.
Philip Lopez is 1.87 meters tall and has a very good image. He has a star face and was once known as a "girl killer".
Lopez is also a strong serve player, and his service is also very hard so he can often issue ACE balls, and this feature of his is also accompanied by more mistakes. On average, whenever Lopez successfully delivers two ACE balls, there will be a double-turn error.
In the game, Lopez's unforced mistakes are also more. Under Zhang Guan's offensive persecution, Lopez's first set of games saw up to twelve unforced mistakes. Facing Zhang Guan's opponents of this level, there are three or four mistakes in a set, and there are dozens of unforced mistakes in a set, basically moving closer to the rhythm of the set.
Lopez caused Zhang Guan less trouble than Isner. In the end, Zhang Guan advanced to the quarterfinals with a score of 6-4/6-4/6/2, and Zhang Guan's opponent in the next game was the fifth seed American Roddick.
Roddick was the 2003 US Open champion. Last year's US Open, he also reached the finals, eventually losing to Federer and finishing second. And this year, Roddick's luck was also very good. He met Argentina Casuso in the second round, but in the match, Casuso retired due to injury. In the fourth round, Roddick faced the 9th seed Czech player Berdych. Berdych also retired due to injury after the game began. Roddick advanced smoothly to the quarterfinals.
...
September 5, the tenth day of the 2007 US Open. The most focused game of the day was the fifth seed Roddick challenged the top seed, Zhang Guan.
The game was settled in the quarterfinals. Roddick was the only remaining American player. The American audience also had high hopes for Roddick, so this game also attracted many spectators to watch the game. Many Americans expected Roddick to win against Zhang Guan to advance to the semifinals.
Zhang Guan also has many supporters. Because the US Open is near the famous Chinese community in New York, Chinese spectators will certainly support Zhang Guan. The momentum on the stadium is not weaker than that of Roddick's supporters.
The first set match between the two sides began. Since the two played for the first time and reached the quarter-finals, the two sides were more cautious in the first four rounds. One was to test each other, and the other was to warm up.
Roddick's serve was indeed great. He made four ACE shots in his first two servings, and Zhang Guan did not let him send out four ACE shots in his first two servings.
After four games, the two sides scored 2-2.
In the fifth game, Roddick's serve, he began to strengthen the offensive, and the service point became more extreme. You must know that Roddick was called "the world's fastest server" on the fast court of the US Open. Roddick's super-fast serve can score as long as he can have a good landing point.
Roddick's service can be called a stunt, but his volley before the net is very rough. No matter the timing of the rush, the choice of the net, the feel of the volley is more general, and the prediction of crossing the ball is more. It was terrible. Many times Zhang Guan played some cross balls. Roddick often judged the wrong direction and ran in the opposite direction. Sometimes, even if the judgment is correct, Roddick's control of the racket, the strength of the control, and the grasp of the angle are not good at home.
With Roddick's failed volley in front of the net, Zhang Guan took the lead to get a breakpoint instead. Then Roddick once again frantically cut the ball and directly attacked Zhang Guan's backhand position, but he did not expect Zhang Guan to have already waited in place. With the tennis ball coming, Zhang Guan adjusted his pace and won with a single blow.
"Although Roddick serves very hard, the ball dealer is average! There is also a problem in judging the ball's landing point. No wonder he has never been able to beat Federer. With Federer's elegant attack, Roddick cannot win." Zhang Guan got a break, he felt that he should have won this game steadily.
The score increased alternately, and Zhang Guan finally won the first set with a score of 6-4 with a break in the game.
Roddick is a very experienced player after all. During the break between the two sets, he adjusted his tactics. He felt that he still had to play his best while avoiding the shortcomings and maximize the speed of his serve.
The second set began with Roddick's serve.
Between Roddick throwing the ball and swinging, the tennis ball suddenly appeared in Zhang Guan's half, and the afterglow of Zhang Guan's eye caught the position of the ball, but then he gave up receiving the ball. The speed of the ball didn't allow Zhang Guan to score at all.
The speed indicator on the side of the court showed a speed of 233 kilometers per hour. At this speed, the ball cannot be received by the receiver unless it is rushed head-on.
The serve of 233 kilometers per hour detonated the audience instantly.
"Serving at a speed of 233 kilometers per hour, this is indeed Roddick! The Roddick we remembered is back!"
On the next ball, Roddick made the same blow again, and a serve of 227 kilometers per hour won another point.
Immediately after Roddick made a mistake, Zhang Guan played the second serve and crossed the ball and sent a point, but then, Roddick still relied on a fast service to rewrite the score to 40-15.
"Good thing it is Roddick! It's time to play like this and play to your strengths. You don't have to pursue a too tricky serve angle. As long as the ball speed is fast enough, the opponent is just as difficult to deal with!"
In the fifth ball, Roddick was a more conservative serve, but the speed of the ball was extremely fast. He also won his serve with this ball.
"241 kilometers! My goodness, the service at 241 kilometers per hour is very close to the 245 kilometers per hour that Roddick himself maintains! This is the strongest serve Roddick has in my impression!" He sighed.
Roddick looked up at the sky and vented the frustration of losing the first set.
"It seems that Roddick is playing well, and the next game will be difficult for Zhang Guan to play."
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