The score of the third game changed from 2:2 to 4:2 in just one minute, and Wang Chao scored consecutively.
As Luo Jiu judged, Wang Chao has a unique advantage in his own serving round.
Next is the serving wheel of Luo Jiu.
Another minute passed and the score became 3:5.
This time, one player from both sides scored a point.
Wang Chao got the right to serve again and scored consecutively in the next minute, turning the score into 3:7.
Luo Jiu got the right to serve. This time he played very slowly, with a lot of thinking and small movements, which delayed a lot of time. In the end, it took him two minutes to try his best to bring the score back to 5:7.
He finally got two points again in his serving round, but he looked like he had exhausted all his options.
The game began to slow down.
Because when Wang Chao was holding the ball and ready to go, Luo Jiu, who was already ready to catch the ball, suddenly stood up from a slight crouch, raised his hands and made a waiting gesture. He took deep breaths continuously, then smiled apologetically at the referee, ran around his half of the court again, and then came back.
The referee made a very subtle frown, but did not say anything superfluous, because the referee also knew that this was the final, and it was very likely to be the most exciting game so far this year. This kind of game, everyone is willing to wait, just to see the highest level of duel.
So even though he knew that Luo Jiu had traces of acting, he acquiesced.
In fact, although the referee could see that Luo Jiu was stalling for time, he did not know why Luo Jiu was stalling for time.
He thought Luo Jiu was thinking about ways to break the situation, but in fact Luo Jiu was not thinking about anything. He was just resting.
He couldn't hold it any longer.
From the beginning of this game, he found that every point was so difficult.
If this game is viewed as a marathon, then he is the one who was lured by his opponent into sprinting early in the opening stage. He runs at the front of the marathon team, which looks very impressive, but in fact it is meaningless because he is consuming his own potential.
If he does not want to be overtaken by his opponent in the final stage, he must find opportunities to replenish his energy.
Wang Chao serves, throws high.
Luo Jiu swing short.
Wang Chao is picked on the stage.
Luo Jiu blocked.
Wang Chao hits the forehand again.
Luo Jiu push block.
Wang Chao backhand fast twist on the table.
Luo Jiu backhand flick.
Wang Chao then turned to the forehand and charged forward.
Luo Jiu fought hard on the stage, but it was all in vain, and he lost another point.
5:8.
Wang Chao Get ready to serve.
Luo Jiu pointed to the surface of the table, indicating to the staff to wipe the excessive sweat on the table, then stepped back, tied his shoelaces, and walked around the court for half a circle.
For all his little moves, both the referee and his opponent Wang Chao chose to wait quietly.
Even He Jingping and Sun Tianlong sat in the audience without saying a word.
In fact, the world table tennis community has always had mixed opinions on these common delaying tricks in professional competitions, and professional players have always had completely different attitudes.
If you are a layman fan who has just come into contact with table tennis and sees such endless delays, your first reaction will actually be a little disgusting, because you will instinctively feel that this kind of behavior is very ungraceful and a bit like you cannot afford to lose.
But this is because they don't know how much professional players value the outcome of the game, and how much effort they put into a game.
As long as it does not violate the rules of the game, anything you do that seems disgraceful on the surface is understandable as long as it is not a foul.
It can be said that this is the ultimate expression of utilitarian style of play.
In the history of Chinese table tennis, there was a certain top player who got a bad reputation in the table tennis world because he was too calculating in this regard. But even so, no one dared to question in public that the honor he received was not worthy of the name. At most, they would only complain a few words in private.
Of course, the players themselves will have their own opinions on this matter.
Just as some people think that shaving your head during competition is an unfriendly act, others think that shaving your head is a sign of respect for the opponent.
There is no right or wrong. The benevolent sees benevolence and the wise see wisdom.
For example, Sakura Country's Niuwa Xiaoxi player never delays time. Sometimes he even hurriedly delivers the ball before the referee blows the whistle. This shows that he is actually very sensitive and pure at heart. He is afraid that he will be known as a procrastinator because he accidentally serves slowly. He does not accept this reputation. This is some kind of psychological mysophobia.
It is also for the same reason that he hardly shows any expression of frustration after losing, because this will also give people the impression of being a loser and having no grace, and his psychological mysophobia also does not accept this reputation.
So if we must draw a conclusion, this kind of procrastination can barely be classified as a personal moral issue, but it is definitely not a professional ethics issue.
As for Luo Jiu, he is actually very bright at heart.
He has always been smart, but not cunning. He is not a utilitarian player. When he encounters difficulties while playing, he usually bites the bullet and carries on. When he really can't handle it anymore, he calls a timeout, thinks about countermeasures within a reasonable time allowed by the rules, and seeks guidance from off-court coaches.
He has not been procrastinating much in the past seven years.
Even in the final of China Open in February this year, he was beaten badly by Hook in the first three games, but he did not delay deliberately. As for later, he followed Wang Chao's advice and served consecutive tennis balls. This is a reasonable tactic in which the referee will never blow the whistle and give cards, and there is no moral issue.
But today for the first time, he started to step on the red line of the rules to delay time.
And the delay was so insane that if it weren't for the fact that this was the Men's Singles final, he would probably have gotten a yellow card.
The audience was still talking about what was going on, and even had a heated discussion on "Can Wang Chao, which is at a huge disadvantage, be able to get back in the game?" However, those who really understood the inside story felt a little uncomfortable in their hearts.
A sunny boy like Luo Jiu is a famous social butterfly, big mouth, and funny man. He has been playing football for so many years. He always wins easily and loses decisively. How has he ever done such a sticky thing today?
Fan Xiaoxian Sitting on the sofa in the living room at home, looking at the big screen in front of him, he felt his eyes were a little sore, and couldn't help but find a tissue and dip it into the corners of his eyes.
At this time, the cell phone beside her rang, and she answered it. The voice inside was Lu Jia shouting, "Sister Xian Sister Xian, the latest report from the front, Tian Zhengguang lost to the opponent's single Wang Bo in the fourth game, so in the last game Brother Geng played as the opponent's substitute. We have a good chance of winning!"
Fan Xiaoxian said "Oh". She should have said a few words of congratulations, but she didn't dare to speak. She was afraid that the other party would hear something was wrong in her voice as soon as she spoke, so she took three deep breaths and then whispered, "I have a cold... I won't talk about it for now, just fight well."
She heard that her voice did have a strong nasal tone.
And in Yangcheng City, Guangdong Province, thousands of kilometers away from Jiangcheng City, Qin Huachang, who had been talking endlessly, suddenly became quiet. Although the barrage was beating wildly, he just silently stared at the 27-year-old veteran who was still wiping the sweat on his forehead with his sleeves, with a hint of unbearability in his eyes.
In another part of the auditorium, Wang Lu suddenly turned his head and asked, "Head coach, who do you want to win?"
Cai Guodong did not hesitate and said, "Wang Chao."
Wang Lu bared his teeth, as if he couldn't bear it, and said, "But have you ever thought that this might really be Luo Jiu's last chance."
Cai Guodong glanced at him lightly. "But Luo Jiu can still fight for four years at most, but Wang Chao can fight for at least ten years."
The score jumped to 5:9 in the third game.
Even after such a long delay, Luo Jiu still failed to score a point in Wang Chao's serving round.
In his next serving round, he once again had a record of one win and one loss, rewriting the score to 6:10.
At this point the overall situation has been decided.
Wang Chao held four game points and regained the right to serve, but this time he did not win directly in his serving round. Instead, he lost one point first, then gained another, and finally won 11:7.
The audience cheered and celebrated that the one-sided game had finally been reversed. They hoped that the game would be more brutal.
Only a few people noticed the last point lost by Wang Chao.
It was a seemingly ordinary offensive mistake. After Wang Chao took the offensive initiative with a high throw, he attacked for three consecutive boards and directly pulled the ball into the net on the third board.
This is actually not ordinary.
Because this pulling the ball into the net was not a forced error, but an active offensive error.
This shows that Wang Chao is not as calm as outsiders see. He has also reached a certain critical point, which affects the stability of the technology.
When the fourth game resumed, Wang Chao still maintained the same style of play as in the third game, but the game became chaotic.
Luo Jiu got the right to serve first and tried his best to score two points first in his serving round.
2:0.
Wang Chao took back the right to serve. Everyone who understood the details of the game thought he would tie the score without any suspense. But in the end, he scored one point and lost one, and the score became 3:1. Luo Jiu still led.
Then Luo Jiu served, winning one and losing one, and the score became 4:2.
Wang Chao served and scored consecutively, tying the score at 4:4.
Luo Jiu served again, but unexpectedly Wang Chao took the initiative to attack the ball continuously. Both balls were fought desperately and the score was finally scored.
The score became 4:6, and Wang Chao directly took the lead.
But then, in Wang Chao's serving round, Luo Jiu returned the favor and also started fighting desperately, and also scored two points in a row, once again chasing the score to a 6:6 tie.
At this point, both the lay fans who can't understand and the professional players who can understand have clearly realized one thing: both sides of the game have entered a period of exhaustion.
Although the game only lasted for more than 20 minutes, the two sides fought too hard in the first few rounds. The high-intensity storm-like calculations and non-stop transitions of offense and defense had already consumed their most important brain power and energy.
Wang Chao maintains better energy.
Luo Jiu maintains better brain power.
There was no problem with the physical strength of the two, but after so many consecutive shots and hundreds of rounds, at this moment, at least they could no longer achieve the heyday of vigor and fierceness they had at the beginning.
Then the mistakes on both sides began to increase.
Wang Chao should obviously be great in his serving round, but after he seizes the opportunity, he cannot guarantee that his offense will be strong enough, and he will even make offensive mistakes.
Luo Jiu performed more stably, but he suffered a bit of a technical disadvantage. This was mainly reflected in the return of serve. He was very uncomfortable with Wang Chao's serve, while Wang Chao was much more adaptable to his serve.
Therefore, it is obviously a very strict game in theory, but until now, there is a lot of luck involved, and the volatility has increased significantly.
Five minutes later, the score became 9:9.
The movements of both sides slowed down, not only Luo Jiu was dragging, but Wang Chao was also dragging.
In fact, when both sides started to make mistakes, the game entered the next stage.
How do you play the game when you're playing perfectly?
How to play the game when your performance is inconsistent?
These are actually two completely different systems of thinking.
For example, if the opponent reveals a fleeting flaw, you need an extremely difficult attack to catch it, but once you catch it, you will definitely be killed. So, do you want to fight?
The answer is, if your performance is perfect, then you must play, but if your performance is unstable, it is better not to play.
Therefore, the handling of many balls is actually a matter of probability. When the premise changes, the probability also changes, and then the entire idea of handling the ball must be readjusted.
The two brothers were exhausted, tacitly procrastinating at both ends of the table, making various small moves, just to reconstruct their entire strategy in the shortest possible time.
The score climbed hard to 10:10.
Luo Jiu held the ball, took a deep look at the junior on the opposite side, threw the ball high, and used the back of the racket to pull out a backspin ball that he rarely served.
Wang Chao chose to fight directly.
He didn't have much choice.
Luo Jiu's serve is not complicated, and there is no fake move, but because he has never served it before, now it is suddenly revealed and it becomes a new trick.
When everyone is running out of brain power, any slight change is very troublesome, because you at least have to think about it.
But Wang Chao didn't want to think about it. He knew that this serve was not powerful and there was no backspin factor, so it was better to attack directly and take a simple and rough route.
Luo Jiu also has a headache, because he is almost certain that Wang Chao will fight, but he still has to spend a lot of energy to deal with it.
After all, the fighting ball is too fast and powerful, making it a life-or-death winner.
Again, if you consume my brainpower, I will consume your energy.
Luo Jiu chose to leave the channel directly.
He no longer insists on the difficult method of catching the ball on the court, he just wants to be able to catch the ball.
The responses from both sides are new models restructured under the new situation.
Wang Chao succeeded in the fight. The ball was very fast, but because Luo Jiu retreated, it still pulled it back steadily. The force was not great, but the arc and height were suitable, and it did not give Wang Chao a chance to start at full strength.
Wang Chao Select the right one.
Luo Jiu reverse pull.
The two sides did not change their moves, and just relied on their basic skills to start the stalemate in the middle. From the forehand to the backhand, from the forehand to the backhand, from the near point to the far point, and then from the far point back to the near point. After seventeen rounds, Wang Chao pulled through Luo Jiu's defense with one stroke.
The final kill was not heavy, it was just that Luo Jiu chose to give up the save under consideration.
11:10.
Wang Chao also served a high toss with reverse side spin, and the action posture was exactly the same as Luo Jiu's serve just now.
Luo Jiu also chose to fight.
However, the fight failed.
At 12:10, Wang Chao won the fourth game and tied the total score at 2:2.
When the audience cheered because the score was tied, in the live broadcast room, Qin Huachang sighed softly, and after a long silence finally said a shocking sentence, "This game is over."
He paused, as if a little unwilling, but also seemed a little happy, and added, "Wang Chao won."
He didn't explain too much, because when he saw this moment, he suddenly felt a little depressed.
He looked at Luo Jiu who slowly walked to the baffle to drink water alone and close his eyes to rest. It was as if he saw himself when he retired, or his disciple who was suffering from injuries and was about to retire completely.
He felt a certain helplessness of a hero in his twilight years.
The last two balls of the fourth game were, in a sense, the final head-to-head confrontation between Wang Chao and Luo Jiu.
10:10 is the limit that they can stumble to. On this starting line that is about to usher in the final victory of the fourth game, they all want to test each other's remaining fighting power.
Between two exhausted warriors, one of them will fall first in the end, and they cannot continue to face each other endlessly.
So they cut each other's swords to see whose knife was sharper.
As a result, Wang Chao proved that he was okay, but Luo Jiu was chopped crookedly.
In these four games, Qin Huachang does not feel that Luo Jiu is lagging behind at all in terms of pre-game preparation and pre-game response.
Even in terms of the stability that Wang Chao has always been praised for, Luo Jiu does better.
Luo Jiu Those successful and unsuccessful hard-fought games showed an extremely strong psychological quality. He dared to make big bets, which is courage. His ability to make successful bets was wisdom. He dared to win again after consecutive failures, which is fearless spirit.
And his various delays in the fourth game seemed ugly, as if he had lost his character in the past seven years, but Qin Huachang believed that this was the true bravery of Luo Jiu.
Dare to sacrifice everything for victory.
Luo Jiu really did it to the extreme.
In fact, Qin Huachang has not been able to figure out who is stronger between Wang Chao and Luo Jiu for a long time. He thought that the two of them could not figure out each other's strengths and weaknesses, so he publicly spoke many times, claiming that any situation in this game could happen.
But at this moment he suddenly figured it out.
It turned out that my judgment was wrong.
It turns out that the two brothers have a clear understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses.
It turns out that Wang Chao is stronger.
——Yes, you read it right. Starting from a month ago, the general perception of the outside world was wrong, because Wang Chao is actually stronger than Luo Jiu.
Precisely because Wang Chao is stronger, when facing the aggressiveness of Luo Jiu, Wang Chao has been choosing to give in since the direct match a month ago.
Because he is stronger, he doesn't care if his momentum is weakened, he can retreat.
It's like two people quarreling, and the one who has no confidence is always the louder.
But Luo Jiu couldn't retreat. He had no intention of turning back. Ever since his two consecutive victories against Wang Chao in the direct match, he had already been put on fire and couldn't get off.
He must take advantage of this breath to pursue and fight fiercely, without giving the opponent any time to delay, until he overwhelms the opponent in one breath. Once there are some twists and turns in the middle, and this breath leaks a little, I am afraid he will not have enough power to break through Wang Chao's defense line.
Luo Jiu has done his best. The whole process was completed in one go. All plans were completed. He sharpened his sword with Hook in Portugal and Lin Zijun in Hungary. He showed his sharp edge and was invincible., greeted Wang Chao at his grandest and most glorious moment, and scored two points in a row with a huge gamble, and his invincible momentum reached a new high. What he actually wanted to do was to suppress Wang Chao's "momentum" and suppress Wang Chao from beginning to end until he died.
In the first and second games, Wang Chao seemed to be deliberately waiting for work, and deliberately consuming Luo Jiu's energy by losing. But looking at it from another angle, it was because he really couldn't suppress it, so he had to take a step back.
It can be said that Luo Jiu is only one step away from victory.
If Qin Huachang were to predict this game now, he would probably tell the audience, "If Luo Jiu wants to win this game, it must be 4:0. If Wang Chao is allowed to win a game, he will lose."
Why?
Because Luo Jiu is already 27 years old.
Yes, in the end, Luo Jiu still lost to age.
He calculated everything accurately and did his best. Today's charge was fierce enough, and he won two games in one breath. If his energy, physical strength, and mental strength were better, he could inspire Yu Yong to keep up his efforts and maintain the state and momentum of the first two games. In fact, Wang Chao could not be suppressed. Wang Chao could only keep retreating, retreat cautiously, and wait for Luo Jiu to decline before trying to counterattack.
At that moment, Wang Chao must have been panicking because he really couldn't figure out when Luo Jiu would decline.
As a result, Luo Jiu fell sadly at the peak of the second game. As soon as the third game started, the tone was lost.
He can't hold on.
Against others, he could last many rounds, but against Wang Chao, he encountered too strong a backlash in the first two rounds and was exhausted.
So in the last two games, Luo Jiu started to play basic skills, while Wang Chao started to make plans.
This is also reasonable, the person who wins always pays more than the person who loses.
After four games, the consumption of both sides is actually about the same. Strictly speaking, Wang Chao's consumption may be more, because he is slightly behind in basic skills, and he must put more thought into making up for this slight disadvantage and maintaining a balanced situation.
But he is only 18 years old after all.
If strength is his weakness when facing most international famous players, then energy is definitely his strong point when facing most international famous players. Starting from the fifth game, he can still continue to calculate, continue to think, stay focused, keep an eye on every ball, never take spins, and never be deceived by fake moves.
But Luo Jiu is bound to be more buggy than this game.
The tide rises and falls, the sun and the moon wax and wane, flowers fade, and young men grow old. This is the common sense of the movement of heaven and earth, and it is something that cannot be undone by human power.
Just like Luo Jiu's situation today, it is actually just lost to time.