Xiao Bu s tiebreak dilemma continues in Paris

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Zhang Bendou

Buyun Chaoket lost 1-3 to qualifying player Misolic, two data were quite dazzling: Xiao Bu, who had many chances of winning in this game, finally gave a break rate of 15 and 2; Xiao Bu, who had lost too many tiebreaks this year, lost two tiebreaks in the second and third sets.

Xiao Bu once laughed at himself during the Rome Masters that he might still need to play 50 tiebreaks before he could learn how to play. He continued to laugh at himself: "I played two more today, plus one in the Turin Challenge, so I need to play 47 more to continue learning."

In his youth and the ATP Challenge, Xiao Bu did not have a tiebreak problem, which is a new problem after entering the tour. He himself was also confused, and such sentences were interspersed in his post-match interview - "I don't know why", "I don't know exactly where I'm not doing well", "I don't know what to do".

Xiao Bu has thought of a solution. "In the first few months of the season, I was not doing a good job, and the success rate of one serve was relatively low, and I was anxious. Later, I tried to play more patiently in the tiebreak to ensure the success rate of the serving, but I still didn't win..."

If it was a tiebreak problem on the hard ground, Xiao Bu might be more proactive in trying more strategies. But in the first clay tour season of his life, "My coach (Espanyol) clay is an expert, and I still have to listen to him." So Xiao Bu also thought that if he did not implement the coach's ideas well, he still needed to do better; but if there was no big problem in execution, then perhaps, both he and the coach need to make some changes in their thinking and coping strategies.

However, although he has lost 11 of the 12 tiebreakers at the tour level this year, Xiao Bu also said: "It may not be necessary to make a conclusion too early. After all, you can only score in the tiebreaker with a certain strength." But he also admitted that the heartbeat and situation in the tiebreaker are indeed difficult to simulate in real training. "Maybe I want to find a player with a very high tiebreak winning rate, go and ask for advice!"

In this game where Xiao Bu was reversed 7-5, 6-7, 6-7 and 1-6, he said: "My serve in the first three sets was easier than him, and he gave him few opportunities." But he only caught two of the 15 breaking opportunities he faced. "If I catch a few, maybe I am still playing in the fifth set now." Xiao Bu said when he had already arrived at the press conference after the game. Apart from one or two offensive ball mistakes at the break point, he doesn't feel that he has made too many mistakes.

Originally, if the French Open could be played better, Xiao Bu considered that the grassland season would start a little later and could return to China for a little rest. After all, he had played 17 stops in the first five months. Now, he failed to win the first singles win of the Grand Slam in the French Open. He considered taking a few days off and continuing to work in training and grass season, and may return to China after Wimbledon.

Maybe it is indeed time to stop and take a breath. Xiao Bu also said, "Stay a break, think about it, and study it may also be of some help to me win the tiebreak in the future."