Chapter 1107 The arc of a smile
Victory belongs to Gawain.
This means that after the Australian Open, Gao Wen has achieved the feat of defeating members of the Big Four consecutively to win the championship for the second time, and within just two months.
This also means that one hundred and seventeen days after turning nineteen, Gawain unlocked the achievement badge of "Defeating the Big Four", three of which came from Grand Slams.
It also means that Gao Wen has become the second youngest player in history after Nadal to achieve the feat of "winning back-to-back consecutive Masters titles immediately after reaching the top of the Masters for the first time".
It also means that -
Media, shut up.
History is being written again! As of the distant future that Gao Wen knows, in the past 20 years, there are only 13 players who have unlocked the achievement of "beating the Big Four":
Wawrinka, Del Potro, Cilic, Berdych, Thiem, Nishikori, Tsonga, Dimitrov, Simon, Kyrgios, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Medvedev.
above.
Among the tens of thousands of players in professional tennis, there are only these thirteen. From a side view, this once again proves the grandeur and greatness of the Big Four era.
Among them, the players who have accomplished such a feat in the Grand Slam tournaments have quickly narrowed down to three: Wawrinka, Berdych and Tsonga.
In addition, when the Big Four were No. 1 in the world, there was only one player who accomplished such a feat, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Data doesn't lie.
A simple inventory shows that the difficulty of obtaining the "Defeat the Big Four" badge is no less difficult than the Grand Slam, and may even be more difficult than the Grand Slam.
So, what if we move the timeline forward to 2015?
That is, right now——
So far, there are only five players who have the honor badge of "beating the Big Four clubs" in their careers:
Wawrinka, Berdych, Del Potro, Simon, Tsonga.
period.
Literally, "can be counted on one's fingers".
today!
A new member was added to this club, Gao Wen, who was born in 1995.
The young wave is coming.
Of course, if the media just wants to make trouble and continue to complain, there is no problem - Gawain has never defeated Federer in a Grand Slam; at the same time, Gawain has never defeated the other three giants when they were ranked world number one, and his achievements are still not as brilliant as Tsonga.
The lists and comparisons are endless.
But this time, the media won't.
The reason is very simple: Gawain has achieved a feat that Tsonga and Berdych have not been able to accomplish so far, winning the Grand Slam championship, and the number of championship trophies has tied Murray with two.
Without a doubt, this is the best proof.
So, all those noisy sounds disappeared in an instant, the world finally became quiet, and the cheers, applause and applause became clear again.
Moreover, this time it was in Indian Wells, Gawain's second home court, which was of great significance. More than 30,000 spectators were present at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to witness it.
The final match point was one point, which was incredible. To end the game in such a way once again proved that Gao Wen deserved it.
but!
The unexpected incident at the end of the game interrupted the passion and heat wave that was surging.
Gao Wen was completely immersed in the game and really forgot the score. He was still preparing for the next point meticulously, completely unaware that he had already won.
Gao Wen's eyes widened in disbelief, and he subconsciously looked towards the players' box.
Sampras was laughing particularly happily, carefreely; Agassi and Pelt were also chatting and laughing in a relaxed manner, with a light and natural look on their faces.
They seldom saw Gawain act so silly, and one could imagine that this would become a joke for them to tease Gawain for some time to come.
These expressions also confirmed to Gao Wen:
The championship is indeed won.
The whole audience burst into laughter. Who could have thought that Gao Wen would actually show such a simple and honest look? Gao Wen: Look up at the sky.
He scratched his head embarrassedly, and then he revealed an incredible smile, a little awkward and a little clumsy, and then he laughed.
Just as he was about to take a step forward, he remembered something, turned around, walked towards the caddy, and gave the innocent child a big hug.
"Sorry, I was clearly not in my right mind, you did a great job."
The caddy had not expected such treatment at all. He was so excited that he didn't know what to do. He stammered, "No, no, no."
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Gawain simply handed his racket and the tennis ball to the caddy, saying "a small gift", then patted the caddy on the head, turned around, and trotted towards the net, where Federer was already waiting.
The caddy was stunned. He looked down at the racket in his hand, then turned to look at his caddy partner. He didn't react for a while.
Then, he noticed that the audience in the stands around him were looking at him with envy, and some were even whistling. Only then did he finally feel the reality.
Happiness and joy suddenly burst out, and the caddy held Gao Wen's racket tightly in his arms, as if hugging the most precious gift in the world.
Gao Wen, jogging along, shook his head gently, and gave Federer an apologetic smile from a distance, apologizing for this little episode.
Despite losing the game, Federer's face blossomed with a kind smile. He took the initiative to stretch out his right hand and tightly hold the right hand that Gawain extended to him.
Pulling him along, giving him a hug and patting him on the back, Federer said with a smile, "Why, are you ready for another set?"
Gao Wen also laughed out loud, "Why not leave it for next time? Actually, my knees are shaking right now, and I've used up my last bit of strength to maintain my image. Hush!"
As he said this, Gawain put his finger on his lips and made a secret gesture, which made Federer laugh happily.
Compared to such polite remarks, this little joke is obviously more wise and clearly expresses Gawain's respect for Federer:
In this game, both sides really gave their all.
Although it was a best-of-three match, and the score in each set was not "seven" - that is, "7:5" or "7:6"; but each set was very rich in content, and both players had already performed to the extreme within their own state and burned all their energy.
Win? Lose? Maybe there must be a winner in a game, but there can be more than one champion.
Federer could immediately hear the respect in Gawain's words, and a smile welled up in his eyes. He looked at Gawain and spoke sincerely.
"You deserve this victory."
"I'm already worried that next year when I come to Indian Wells again, this home court will have to be subtracted from my empire."
Responding to a joke with a joke, Federer made fun of the "global home court" joke, but the subtext was to praise Gawain for conquering the audience with his excellent performance.
Heroes appreciate heroes.
In just a brief encounter, the two players were able to deeply feel their respect and admiration for each other in just a few words.
They all knew that these victories and defeats were just the beginning of countless battles and confrontations in the future.
(End of this chapter)