There are many lawn tennis courts in the UK. After Zhang Guan arrived in the UK, he rented a lawn tennis court in Newbury, Berkshire. Newbury is not far from Wimbolton, and it is a very suitable place for vacation in the UK. It is the best place for Zhang Guan to undergo adaptive training.
"Mr. Zhang, are you quite satisfied with this venue? I just tidied the lawn, and it's definitely no worse than Wimbledon's!"
The man who spoke was Richard Cofield, the operator of this tennis court.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Cofield. This is a great place and very suitable for me to train." Zhang Guan replied.
Zhang Guan actually doesn't know much about grass fields, but Coach Zhang is obviously very satisfied with this field.
"If you have any other needs, you can call me at any time. I live nearby." Cofield continued: "Newbury is not big. If you encounter any problems here, you can come here." Find me."
Cofield seemed very enthusiastic, not like a traditional British person at all, but it made Zhang Guan a little uncomfortable.
At the entrance of the stadium, a girl of thirteen or fourteen looked into the stadium, and then she shouted to Cofield: "Dad, mommy asked you to buy some lettuce on the way back."
"Okay, dear." Cofield waved and motioned for her to come over, and at the same time said to Zhang Guan: "This is my youngest daughter Hermione, she is fourteen years old this year. I also have an eldest daughter and a son. "
The name Hermione is very common in the UK. In Zhang Guan's memory, there were several Hollywood female stars with this name.
Hermione is very beautiful, with long blond hair that is slightly dark brown. She is almost 1.65 meters tall, which is relatively tall for her age of fourteen, but she looks a little thin.
"Oh, you are Zhang Guan!" Hermione walked closer and looked surprised when she saw Zhang Guan. Then she said to Cofield: "Dad, the one you said this morning was going to rent the tennis court. Is it Zhang Guan?" Crown?"
Before Cofield could speak, Hermione stepped forward and said, "Zhang, can I take a photo with you?"
"Of course." Zhang Guan nodded, and Hermione immediately took out her phone and stopped Zhang Guan from taking various selfies with an excited look on her face.
Cofield spread his hands helplessly. Little girls of this age like to show off the most. These group photos will probably let Hermione show off in school for several days!
…
Coach Zhang pointed to the court at his feet and said: "The grass court is the court with the least friction, and the ball's bounce is also the lowest, only about three-quarters of that on the hard court."
Zhang Guan nodded in agreement. The friction between a tennis ball and the ground depends on the smoothness of the ground and the contact area between the ball and the ground. Red soil is naturally the least smooth and has the largest contact area, while grass is the smoothest and has the smallest contact area.
Just listen to Coach Zhang continue to say: "In a grass field, after the ball hits the ground, there is an obvious slipping phenomenon, which greatly reduces the time for players to prepare to hit the ball. At the same time, the grass cannot be covered evenly like other fields, and the foundation is also uneven. It is uneven, so the bounce of the ball on the grass is very irregular. In addition, as the game progresses, some areas of the grass will be worn away due to long-term running by the players, so it is more difficult to grasp the direction of the ball. This is also In addition to being familiar with grass performance, athletes are required to have good predictability and agility to adapt to changes."
"When playing on grass courts, you should try to use chipping and netting as much as possible. The power of chipping on grass is more threatening than other fields, but it is difficult to play on the net. Because the ball moves back and forth quickly, and the ball on the net is difficult to hit. There is not enough time. Even when he gets to the net, he has to adjust his physical skills in a hurry when faced with the return of the ball that is much faster than other courts. His confidence in volleying in front of the net is not very high. Even Sampras would have done it. There are a lot of inexplicable mistakes. But if you don’t choose to play at the front of the net but stay at the baseline, because the bounce of the ball is too low, it will be more difficult to deal with the rebound of the ball than playing in front of the net.”
"Wimbledon recommends you use the baseline style of play. Even Federer relied on precise chipping and frequent surfing to win four consecutive Wimbledon titles. In the past thirty years, Wimbledon has only Three pure baseline players, Connors, Agassi and Hewitt, have won championships.”
"In addition, a very advantageous point of the grass court is that the power of the serve is much greater, especially the high-speed flat serve, which is the most deadly weapon at Wimbledon. On the one hand, receiving the serve faces many difficulties, the friction speed of the ball through the grass The loss is very small, and the bounce height is still low, leaving very little room for the receiver to react. You have a huge advantage at this point."
"In general, when playing on grass courts, you must attack. Whoever has a sharper attack will win." Coach Zhang paused and then said: "So I think Wimbledon is a paradise for you! You have the strongest serve in the world, and you also have the most powerful skills at the net in the world. You also have the latest running and attacking style, which can make up for the shortcomings of the game at the net. At Wimbledon, your strengths are all Being so big by multiples, I even think I can celebrate you winning the Challenger Cup at Wimbledon in advance!"
In the following days, Zhang Guan started training on the grass court. As Zhang Guan gradually became familiar with the characteristics of the grass court, Coach Zhang seemed a little unqualified as a sparring partner. As a player, Coach Zhang was right He is not very good at grass courts. Now that he has retired, it has become difficult for him to serve Zhang Guan on grass courts.
…
Zhang Guan walked off the court a little tired. After practicing for an entire afternoon, Zhang Guan felt a little tired even with his physical fitness.
"Would you like some water?" The little girl Hermione came over with a bottle of water and handed it to Zhang Guan.
"Hermione, when did you come? Didn't you go to school today?" Zhang Guan took the water bottle.
Hermione is now a frequent visitor to the stadium. She often comes to watch Zhang Guan train and sometimes brings one or two classmates with her. Zhang Guan doesn't take this seriously. In European and American families, girls of this age are probably the main force chasing stars.
"Today is the weekend. Mom said I can stay here all afternoon. I have been watching you practice!" Hermione raised her head and looked at Zhang Guan with wide eyes, waiting for Zhang Guan to drink down a bottle of water. He took the empty bottle again.
At this moment, Coach Zhang’s voice sounded: “Zhang Guan, look who’s coming!”
Zhang Guan looked toward the entrance and saw Sharapova walking in with her bag on her back.
After the French Open, Sharapova went to the Birmingham Classic to warm up for the upcoming Wimbledon, so she was temporarily separated from Zhang Guan. The Birmingham Classic just ended yesterday, but Sharapova lost to Jankovic in the final and had to settle for runner-up.
"Hermione, that's Sharapova, do you know her?" Zhang Guan said as he walked towards Sharapova.
"Of course I know you! She's your girlfriend..." Hermione pouted dissatisfiedly.
…
Sharapova leaned on Zhang Guan's shoulder, looked at Hermione's leaving back, and said naughtily in Zhang Guan's ear: "I feel that that little girl likes you very much!"
"Like me? Don't be kidding, she is still a fourteen-year-old child." Zhang Guan put his arms around Sharapova.
"She's fourteen, but she's only seven years younger than you." Sharapova glared at Zhang Guan.
Zhang Guan was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile: "Oh my God, Martha, you are jealous, are you? My beautiful and sexy goddess is jealous of a fourteen-year-old girl."
Sharapova did not respond, but continued: "You have to trust me and trust a woman's intuition!"
(End of chapter)