The warm-up games are still those games, but the differences in details can change the training focus of the game and give it a new vitality.

Like now.

On the surface, there is no essential difference between this and footwork on hard ground

At the starting point, Gao Wen needs to step on the bottom line of the service area with one foot, which is equivalent to the starting line/turnback line.

Graf, meanwhile, stands in the middle of the tee box, or near the net, ready to hit the ball.

When the game starts, Graf hits the tennis ball, and Gao Wen sprints forward to return the ball; at the same time, after Graf hits the ball, he needs to turn back to the bottom line of his service area immediately, step on the line, and then turn back Come back, finish the shot, and hit the tennis ball into the Gawain court again.

Simply put, there are three steps:

Hit the ball, return to the bottom line of your own service area to complete the turn-back action, and rush forward again to complete the shot.

Turn back, hit the ball.

Turn back, hit the ball.

So and so, repeated over and over again, both of them need to perform the same turn-back route, in Gao Wen's view, it is somewhat similar to the pursuit of turn-back running on the tennis court:

One person starts first, the other person starts after, the two people make a lap, and then they turn back and forth, forming a chase to see who can catch who, it may be the former who catches the latter in a loop, or the latter Shorten the distance to catch the former, and the return route is a circle.

The only difference may be that there is red soil under the feet, so it may be very difficult to control sudden stops, sudden turns, and sprint brakes.

This should be a game to train the basic skills of clay court movement.

But soon, Gao Wen discovered that things were not that simple.

First of all, this is indeed a kind of basic skill training of footsteps.

The turn-back running on the clay court has completely different requirements for starting, accelerating, braking, controlling, exerting force, etc., and the hard court mode.

If you use the "sudden braking" mode on a hard ground, it is very likely that you will not be able to push the ground at all, and you will slip with a little force, and you will fall if you use a little force. Sprains, in other words, clay should not be too tough.

In fact, hard courts are the most prone to injuries and potential sports injuries, and clay can often alleviate those impacts and protect joints, muscles, ligaments, and force modes within a certain range. Less damage, fewer injuries

but!

If you use the sports method of sudden stops and turns on hard courts, rushing and stopping, and rampage on clay, the possibility of injury will soar.

In the semi-finals of the 2022 French Open, Zverev Jr. played against Nadal at the end of the second set. Zverev Jr. used a hard-court sudden brake method and tried to change the line with his forehand, but his right leg and ankle failed to kick. He also failed to use clay sliding while staying on the ground, so that he pulled the ligament and retired due to injury.

More importantly, this warm-up game is limited to the tee area, and the frequency of starting and braking is consciously controlled within a small range.

The space for switchback running is very limited, basically between two strides and three strides, that is to say, foot control needs to be completed in a short time and narrow space.

If it is on a hard ground, the sudden stop and quick turn, the whole stop and start are very straightforward, without any muddy water, basically no difficulty for Gao Wen; but now on the clay, the sudden stop and quick turn will not work at all, because the hard brake often If you can't control your body, the second startup speed will slow down

In such a small-scale turn-back running process, once the second start speed is slightly slower, or the reaction speed of foot control cannot keep up, it does not take too long, and the gap will be widened in three or five rounds. Then you can no longer keep up, and the gap will be opened step by step.

what does that mean?

This means that during the turn-back run, he needs to judge his target fixed-point position in advance, adjust his footsteps in advance, achieve the purpose of controlling his footsteps through sliding steps or small steps, and avoid sudden bursts of sudden stops and turns. Only in this way can he Maintain balance and keep the center of gravity light and active for the subsequent second and third starts.

observe.

judge.

focus.

Every time you start, every time you run, you need to carefully feel the friction and grip of the clay

For example, is it possible to slide fifty centimeters or one meter this time?

For example, after sliding, the foot stops and the arm is extended, can the racket complete the shot?

For example, after controlling the body, how should I adjust my footsteps, regain my center of gravity, and start the second time?

Etc., etc.

All of this was completely unfamiliar to Gao Wen.

On hard courts, Gawain's footwork is undoubtedly top-notch, and even Pelt is full of praise. It can be seen that Gawain's basic skills are very solid, and he has spent a lot of sweat and effort on his footsteps.

However, when he came to the red clay, Gao Wen's footsteps seemed very clumsy, cautious and careless, his entire control was lost.

In the first round of the game, Gao Wen only persisted for thirteen rounds, and then he couldn't keep up with his staggering footsteps, and he watched the tennis ball jump twice.

In fact, from the seventh and eighth rounds, his footsteps were already messed up. Relying on his solid basic skills, Gao Wen managed to keep up with him for a few more rounds, but the gap was still getting wider and wider, and finally he couldn't keep up at all. Such an embarrassing posture has never been seen on a hard court.

Immediately after the second round, Gao Wen's performance was even worse, he only persisted for ten rounds, and then dropped the ball, so what happened?

Only then did Gao Wen realize that this game is not just about footsteps

Second, this is still a basic training on hitting.

Here, the so-called hitting is not a normal forehand or backhand, but an understanding of rotation, bounce, and control.

In addition to running back and forth with your feet, hand skills are also very important.

After every switchback run, they need to hit the ball, but this time the ball is not simply hitting the tennis ball over the net.

Short lines, long lines, oblique lines, straight lines, unloading, rotation, etc. ~www.mtlnovel.com~ As long as the hitting point is controlled within the bounds of the teeing area, they are all allowed.

In fact, this is somewhat similar to the badminton front-net fighting method. It uses very delicate hand skills such as rubbing, jumping, teasing, dialing, hitting, and buckling to complete the hitting. Hitting Threat:

Or, unexpected by the opponent, such as hitting a long line suddenly, disrupting the opponent's footsteps.

Or, pursue the perfect shot, such as rubbing a small ball on the net, even if the opponent judges correctly and catches up, there is no room to complete the shot.

In other words, the movement of the switchback run is to buy enough time for hitting the ball; the way of hitting the ball is to buy enough time for yourself to move, and to increase the threat and oppression for your own return.

Also, don't forget, this is a clay court

Every time you hit the ball, there may be irregular bounces, and at the same time, the power of rotation will also be brought into play to a new level.

(end of this chapter)