Chapter 1117: Their Dilemma
Here, the partnership of Gawain and Maria Sharapova kicked off the "Children's Tennis Day" in a grand manner, and the packed scene became a scene in the park.
On the other side, the young lineup of Dimitrov, Raonic, Bouchard and Keys continued to take over the "Children's Tennis Day", which was also very lively.
Of course, the real highlight of the entire event was the joint attendance of four top players: Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka.
Everything is planned, and Soler already has a clear plan for the future of the Miami Masters.
The carnival of the Miami Masters has just begun, and "Children's Tennis Day" is just one of the countless related activities.
More importantly, the real highlights are the competitions, the peak showdowns surrounded by the blue sky and sea, which are the highlights of the show.
For any event, the viewing experience is the icing on the cake, but the exciting competition is the reason why the audience buys tickets.
As for Sharapova and Gao Wen? After the event, they parted ways. The business relationship ended without any need for greetings or even eye contact.
Gawain did not say much to Dimitrov. As for what Sharapova would do and whether she would tell Dimitrov about the conversation, it was Sharapova's choice. As a friend, Gawain had done his best, and the rest of the matter still needed to be left to the couple themselves.
However--
Facts have proved Gao Wen's judgment: Sharapova and Dimitrov both need each other to get back on track.
Not only does Dimitrov need Sharapova, but Sharapova also needs Dimitrov.
The impact of that quarrel was objective for both of them.
On the other hand, as the second seed of the tournament, Sharapova had a bye in the first round and will appear in the second round to face her compatriot Daria-Gavrilova.
As a result, Sharapova lost in two sets. This was the first time she was eliminated without winning a single game since her debut in Miami in 2003, and her form continued to decline.
The food poisoning two weeks ago is still the official reason, but only Sharapova herself knows what happened.
As Gawain said, she can deceive the whole world but she cannot deceive herself.
On the other hand, Dimitrov also enjoyed a bye and will face Gawain's opponent in the Indian Wells opener last week, Pospisil, in the second round.
Moving to Miami, Pospisil's draw is still not optimistic, as he will face Del Potro who has just returned from injury in the first round.
After his plan to return to the tournament in Melbourne was thwarted, "Big Brother" chose to resume training for the sake of safety, and eventually chose to return to the tournament in Miami, where he entered the tournament with a wild card. As a result, he faced Pospisil in the first round, which was also a test for Del Potro, who had just recovered from a serious injury.
In the end, Pospisil won in two sets, and Del Potro's road to comeback is still long and difficult.
From this we can see that Pospisil is in pretty good shape, maybe not as good as Kyrgios, but also very tough and not easy to deal with.
Dimitrov performed well and won the game in straight sets, once again sending out a positive signal. It can be seen that his condition is recovering.
But unfortunately, his gradually improving touch could not last long and he failed to play continuously. Then he faced Isner in the third round and lost the game without much resistance in both sets.
Rather than being eliminated, the root cause was the failure to form an effective confrontation in the two sets. Dimitrov's recovery, like Del Potro's, has a long way to go.
This couple sympathizes with each other.
Seeing this situation, Gao Wen couldn't help but sigh, but he had done his best in his position, and the rest was up to them.
What's more, Gao Wen also has his own game to stay focused on.
This time in Miami, due to Federer's withdrawal, Gao Wen was ranked second seed for the first time in his career and was placed in the lower half of the draw.
The third seed Nadal is also in the lower half. If the two can advance smoothly, they will meet in the semi-finals to compete for a place in the final.
After the first round bye, Gao Wen faced his first opponent in Miami.
Andrey Rublev.
What is so special about this opponent?
One keyword is enough: born in 1997.
Simply put, another representative of the “post-95s” generation.
As the focus of media attention has been stated, the generation born after 1990 is seizing power in an all-round way and launching a strong attack on the Big Four; however, before they have the chance to win a Grand Slam championship or become the world's number one, a new generation of young people born after 1995 have already emerged one after another.
According to the official regulations of ATP and WTA, male players can turn professional when they reach the age of sixteen and female players can turn professional when they reach the age of fourteen.
In the past, the age limit was even lower. For example, when Michael Chang entered the professional arena in 1987, he was only fifteen years old.
But later, based on scientific research, when young players are not yet physically and mentally mature, too many competitions may cause irreversible career damage, and ATP and WTA have also introduced age limit rules.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Although young players between the ages of fourteen and eighteen can participate in professional competitions, their number of participations throughout the year is limited due to age factors.
Of course, whether these restrictions are "scientific" has always been controversial. Despite this, major tennis organizations still choose to stick to them.
That is to say, this year, male players born in 1999 can turn professional if their competitive level has reached the standard.
Enter the official competition.
It is precisely because of this that Medvedev, born in 1996, Zverev, born in 1997, Tsitsipas, born in 1998, and many other names who later became familiar names have now entered the professional tennis world one after another.
Among them, Zverev, known as the "genius boy", was the first to emerge, even half a year earlier than Gao Wen. He also became the first representative of the new generation.
The same is true for Rublev.
In 2017, he reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career at the US Open.
In 2019, he defeated Federer in straight sets in Cincinnati, beating a top player for the first time in his career.
In 2020, he had the most wins and championships in a season, reached the quarterfinals at the US Open and French Open, and entered the top ten in the world for the first time at the end of the year.
There is no doubt that he is a very important member of the young players born after 1995.
In the distant future, when people talk about the new generation of players, the "Big Three" Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Medvedev will undoubtedly be the most famous. Their achievements are also more outstanding and have won countless attention, but in fact, Rublev has emerged even faster.
To be precise, second only to Zverev Jr.
While Tsitsipas and Medvedev were still playing in the Challenger Tournament, Rublev had already passed the qualifying round and advanced to the Masters Tournament.
He even made it through the first round with an outstanding performance and advanced to the second round, earning himself a chance to play against higher-ranked players.
(End of this chapter)