Chapter 1065: A World of Difference
Alexander Zverev doesn’t like Gawain.
This is an affirmative sentence.
And he wasn't prepared to hide that.
He has always been a child of destiny, growing up under the gaze of praise and expectations. From tennis academy to teenage years and then to professional life, he has been successful in everything. Among his peers, he showed the temperament of a king of tennis early on. He has been smooth sailing all the way and has never left the spotlight.
In April 2014, after turning 17 and meeting the ATP minimum age limit, he immediately turned professional, kicking off his professional career.
Brilliant, still——
Youngest Challenger Tournament champion since Tomic in 2009; first 17-year-old to beat a top-20 player since Gasquet in 2004; first 17-year-old to reach the semi-finals of an ATP Tour event since Cilic in 2006; first 17-year-old to finish the year in the top 150 since Nadal and Gasquet in 2003.
The youngest.
first place.
Seventeen years old.
Although his career has just started, surrounding these keywords, he is still the strongest of the new generation, carrying the dawn of hope for the "post-95s".
The media, coaches, fans...even opponents all expressed the same idea, and the whole world was filled with praise and affirmation.
Early on, keywords such as "future world number one", "Grand Slam champion", "history maker", etc. have been tied to the name "Alexander Zverev".
pressure?
He doesn't care. On the contrary, he enjoys the cheers and the halo, he enjoys the praise and the attention, as if he is standing in the center of the world.
The spotlight belongs to him.
No matter where he goes, the halo always follows him, he is sought after and attracts the attention of the public, even in Grand Slam Masters tournaments.
The German media cheered that after Becker and Graf, the hope for the revival of German tennis fell on the shoulders of this 17-year-old young man.
How beautiful.
It felt like standing on the top of a mountain with all the people surrendering to him, everyone crawling on the ground, waiting for him to change the fate of the entire sport.
but!
Gawain appears.
His world was like a sand castle, seemingly grand and magnificent, but it fell apart in the blink of an eye. He tried his best to save it, but it only accelerated its destruction.
Last July, they competed on the Challenge stage together.
Although he lost that game, he didn't care. He believed that he was just careless for a moment and that his poor performance resulted from underestimating his opponent. When they meet again, he can prove himself. He can use practical actions to prove that he is the representative of the new generation of "post-95s".
However……
After that, within just one month, the world turned upside down. All eyes, all lights, all focuses rushed towards Gawain.
Even the German media is no exception.
He felt deeply that he had been abandoned and even forgotten by the world. No one cared about him anymore and he was just rotting and growing mushrooms in a dark corner.
When the 2014 season ended, the professional tennis media was still lamenting that Zverev became the youngest player in the top 150 in the world, and became the first 17-year-old boy to accomplish such a feat after a full ten years since Nadal and Gasquet.
137.
This was his year-end world ranking, but he couldn't laugh when he looked at the number. He even felt it was a shame. "137" was laughing at his embarrassment and incompetence.
Coric, the youngest player in the top 100 in the world, is only five months older than Zverev.
Gao Wen is the youngest player in the world's top ten. He is also the youngest player to achieve the feat of entering the world's top ten since Nadal in 2004.
And Gawain is only one year older than Coric.
There is no harm without comparison.
"137", all the praise, affirmation and expectations surrounding this number turned into ridicule, mockery and attack in Zverev's eyes.
To this end, he worked hard and gritted his teeth throughout the offseason, trying to make a splash after the new season begins and win back his crown.
But...but! After the new season kicked off, everyone knew Gawain's story. Even if they were hiding at the end of the world, the overwhelming news would ensure that everyone heard about it.
So what about Zverev? In the 2015 season, he tried to leave the Challenger Tournament stage and make a breakthrough in the ATP's higher-level events, such as Grand Slams and Masters Tournaments, to truly participate in professional competitions.
The reality was contrary to his wishes. Since the beginning of the Australian season, he has been unable to break through the qualifying rounds and has been struggling. The more impatient he is, the more things go wrong.
anger.
envy.
resentment.
disgust.
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Frustrated.
It's really hard to imagine that they were still players of the same level last July, but eight months later, that guy has become unattainable.
Life is completely different now.
To be precise, Zverev hated Gawain because he took away everything that should have belonged to him, as if he had stolen his life.
In Indian Wells, Zverev Jr. still came to participate in the qualifying round, hoping to pass two rounds of tests, advance to the main competition, and win his own light on the stage of the fifth Grand Slam.
Then, he saw Gawain.
That despicable, insidious, cunning, self-righteous and arrogant villain just stood in the middle of the road, blocking the way for everyone coming and going, as if the entire universe had to revolve around him. His bright smile and smug eyes were filled with the arrogance of a villain who had succeeded.
"He must have thought he was the sun."
Zverev still believes that his performance will definitely not be inferior to that of Koeman. No, to be precise, his career is definitely better than that of Koeman.
He firmly believed that he just needed a little time and accumulation, and his talent, ability and strength would shine.
Suppose, at this moment, he was given a chance to go onto the court and compete with Gao Wen, he believed that he could defeat this arrogant guy.
Humph, they swaggered around the main road and disrupted public order, and then pretended to apologize. That hypocritical smile seemed to be sure that others would buy it, but they didn't know that every move and every expression revealed greasiness and arrogance, which was disgusting and made my stomach churn.
Zverev Jr. simply ignored him, glanced away and muttered something in a low voice.
"Tsk, what's so great about that."
The sound of the wind made the voice spread, and before Gawain could react, Dimitrov's face suddenly dropped without warning.
"What did you say?"
Zverev was a little surprised, but looking at Dimitrov's lackey, he despised Gawain even more. Was that guy hiding behind his friend? Did his friend do the dirty work so that he could continue to pretend to be a good guy? His wishful thinking was really going well.
Will Zverev be afraid?
Of course not.
He simply stopped and turned around. "I say, what's the big deal? Do high-ranking players have special privileges? Low-ranking players can also use the practice field, okay? You occupy the main road like this, disrupting public order, and then expect other players to shut up. Are you not allowed to criticize them?"
The edge is revealed.
(End of this chapter)