Chapter 1058 Hot Topics
In 2015, the men's tennis world is in full swing, continuing the chaos of last year and presenting a prosperous and lively scene.
The "Challenger Alliance" fights on its own, trying to break the four giants' decade-long rule and reshuffle the cards.
Among them, Wawrinka and Gao Wen are in the same camp, because they have won the Grand Slam championship, and people's expectations and attitudes are more stringent.
It can even be said to be harsh.
Wawrinka's semi-final performance at the Australian Open still failed to silence his haters, and even sparked a wave of discussion about "Sure enough he can't defend his title" and "I knew it was just luck last year", with everyone playing the role of a prophet; the ridicule that followed Gawain's loss to Federer in Dubai seemed insignificant.
At the same time, Raonic, Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, Cilic and others are considered to be in the same camp. Each of them has achieved a breakthrough, but they are looking forward to going to the next level.
Perhaps, every defeat of theirs will not become an excuse for netizens to attack, but every Grand Slam and every Masters will become a new topic:
Once the performance is below expectations, netizens will start to criticize.
In a way, the pressure they are under is even greater because they are already in the spotlight before they can even make a breakthrough.
Naturally, the offensiveness of those sarcastic remarks is sharper, more harsh, and more violent, just like those players in the women's tennis world -
Players such as Wozniacki, Safina, Jankovic, Karolina-Pliskova, Halep and others have all reached the top of the world without winning a Grand Slam title. However, such gold content has also been met with overwhelming doubts and criticized as being counterfeit.
Originally, being "No. 1 in the world" should be an honor, but sometimes, it becomes a harm.
Now, Raonic and others are facing a similar situation.
The dominance of the Big Four is facing a direct challenge. Wawrinka and Gawain have already won the Grand Slam. So, what about them? Fans have made more demands and higher expectations on them. The invisible pressure affects their careers at all times and in every way.
Of course, pressure is the most important aspect of competitive sports, and no one can escape it.
It is precisely because of this that the three players, Raonic, Dimitrov and Kei Nishikori, all had the same experience. Although their results at the Australian Open were lower than expected, their subsequent schedules remained the same: a short break for a week, and then they returned to the tour. Because they were not able to adjust to their best condition in the Melbourne competition, they must stand on the court more often, constantly adjust and improve, in preparation for the upcoming "Sunshine Double Crown".
This also indirectly confirms the important position of the "Sunshine Double Crown" in the first quarter.
Raonic, like Dimitrov, is heading to Rotterdam.
Raonic performed better, advancing to the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in double tie-breaks.
Immediately afterwards, Raonic did not rest and continued to compete non-stop for two weeks.
First, Marseille.
Continuous participation in competitions and continuous travel led to fluctuations in his form. Facing Borelli, whom he had just defeated in straight sets in Rotterdam the week before, Raonic lost in three sets and was eliminated in the first match.
Not only did they fail to win any points, but their plans to hone their match form also encountered setbacks, so things were not going as planned.
Then comes Tokyo.
Like Gao Wen, this week was the Davis Cup event, with Canada facing Japan, and Raonic playing as the number one singles player, with one win and one loss.
Especially the match between the two teams' top singles players, "Raonic VS Kei Nishikori", a five-set battle, in which Raonic lost, and the game was not satisfactory.
However, relying on its better overall strength, Canada successfully advanced with a score of 3:2. This also means that Japan entered the World Group play-offs and must fight a relegation battle in order to stay in the World Group next year.
In fact, challenges are everywhere, and this is also the core of competitive sports.
Not only is the Challenger Alliance attacking the Big Four, the Challenger Alliance itself has also emerged as a target of public attention.
From Wawrinka to Gawain, from Dimitrov to Raonic to Kei Nishikori, and so on and so forth, they all face the same situation: the first bird to stick its head out gets shot, and they are attacked from all sides and surrounded by enemies.
On the one hand, expectations are high, and people are hoping that they can present more exciting games against the Big Four and continue to shake up their dominance.
On the other hand, as the pressure increases, other players become challengers who launch attacks and are full of energy when facing them. This also means that they become defenders and must show their top ten style in the world and put in a better performance to win, and their mentality also undergoes subtle changes.
There is a wolf in front and a tiger behind, just like a sandwich.
In such a situation, how should one adjust one's mentality when facing players with lower world rankings than oneself, and how should one adjust one's expectations when facing players with higher world rankings than oneself? This has become a serious issue.
The media's fanning the flames has only made things more complicated and difficult.
From the current perspective, only Wawrinka and Gawain have maintained their level, while Raonic, Dimitrov and Kei Nishikori are all struggling to some extent.
There were some twists and turns in the relationship between Dimitrov and Sharapova, and the media should have played an important role.
The final performance of the "Sunshine Double Crown" attracted much attention, and it was not only Gao Wen who attracted much attention.
After many twists and turns, after the Davis Cup, Raonic and Kei Nishikori also took the same flight and arrived in Indian Wells, exhausted.
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According to the competition schedule, they all competed for three consecutive weeks. After a short week of adjustment, they continued to compete intensively for four consecutive weeks.
However, the next two events are the finale of the first half of the hard court season, and they are also the "fifth Grand Slam", so they still cannot be taken lightly.
To be precise, the pressure is enormous.
"Hey, good morning. Your practice was pushed back today, and I thought you and Rafa were playing golf."
Indian Wells also has a professional golf course with 18 holes and complete facilities. Many professional tennis players are also good golfers.
For example, Nadal.
In between training sessions, players often go play golf as a means of relaxation and adjustment, which can indeed change the pace of training.
Gawain laughed happily.
"If it's golf, I should be beaten up, right? I think I need a little confidence now, so there's no need to ask for trouble."
The vivid words made Raonic chuckle as well.
It can be seen that Raonic is still quite relaxed. The off-court discussions and the impact of the defeat have not caused the pressure to become unbalanced for the time being. Compared with Dimitrov's embarrassment and awkwardness of failing in both love and career, Raonic is not trapped by love for the time being and his attention is still focused on tennis.
What's more, they just experienced a unique weekend: Davis Cup!
No matter what happens between the ITF and ATP, or how the schedule is arranged, no one can deny that the Davis Cup means something different.
Without a doubt, this is also the hottest topic in Indian Wells.
(End of this chapter)