Chapter 1161: Approaching step by step
World No. 1!
As Gao Wen said, every player who learns tennis should have imagined at least once that he or she would become the world's number one player.
It is a dream, a distant dream, a wonderful dream, a dream that everyone desires but not everyone can realize.
When Gao Wen entered the semi-finals of the Miami Masters, the news media had already noticed this possibility first.
Gawain is approaching.
Throughout the spring season, Gao Wen has been advancing triumphantly and unstoppably, especially with his outstanding performances in Grand Slams and Masters, leading the championship points list all the way.
Naturally, the world ranking also soared, and in a blink of an eye it had reached the third place in the world, and was not far from reaching the top.
It is worth mentioning that since the ATP and WTA launched the ranking system, in the half-century history ending in 2022, a total of 26 singles world No. 1s have emerged, 26 men and 26 women, but no Asian player has ever reached such a height.
There were players who were very close to the throne. The male player was the famous Chinese-American Michael Chang, and the female player was the famous Chinese player Li Na. Their highest world ranking had once been second, and they were only one step away from the throne. But unfortunately, neither legend was able to go any further.
So close, yet so far away.
It's a pity.
Now, Gao Wen is only one step away from tying the best record of his predecessors. From third to second in the world, it seems not so far away.
But, from the world's second to the world's first? It's just a short step, but it seems like a chasm.
Can Gao Wen really achieve such a breakthrough? From Indian Wells to Miami, Gao Wen is moving towards his goal step by step, and the media is also excited.
The "Sunshine Double Crown" is a turning point, and also a tactic, strongly declaring that Gawain is heading for a higher goal.
A very, very important point is that Gawain has already seized the initiative in this battle that will write a new history.
The reason is simple: from April to the US Open in August, in the next nearly five months, Gao Wen will still have the opportunity to continue to improve his world ranking points.
During this period, Gao Wen did not have any points to defend, and any results in any competitions and all points would become the cornerstone for moving forward.
It was not until the US Open that Gao Wen had to face the burden of 2,000 points as the defending champion.
This is the advantage.
Whether it is Djokovic or Federer, including Nadal, Wawrinka, Murray, Raonic, Dimitrov and all other players, they all have points that need to be defended. If their performance in this year's tournament is not as good as last year, they will face points loss and affect their ranking.
On the one hand, Gao Wen can only continue to gain points.
On the one hand, other players may face losing points.
With this addition and subtraction, it is obvious that Gao Wen has already occupied an absolute advantage. The throne of the world's number one seems far away, but it is not that far away.
At this point, it is no longer a theoretical possibility, but a fact that is truly before our eyes: the decade-long rule of the "Big Four" may really be overturned.
Therefore, even the Los Angeles Times is no exception, and it has long put forward an objective fact: the clay court season and the grass court season are excellent opportunities for Gao Wen to increase his points, and may even become a key moment for the world's number one to change hands.
Everything is possible.
History is happening.
MacDonald thought he was able to face all situations calmly and nothing would surprise him because it was all what Gawain deserved.
However, after hearing the discussion about "the best in the world", he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion and his words were filled with anticipation.
For every tennis player, even young players who have not yet entered the professional arena, NCAA players, and veterans who have been in the challenge tournament for many years, "world number one" is an unattainable but passionate dream. No one can be an exception, even if it is just a possibility.
"What is the current world ranking points situation?"
This time, McDonald did not get a response. Three or four people nearby hurriedly spread out the newspaper, turned to the sports page, and displayed it directly.
On it, the latest ATP world rankings and championship points are published.
World ranking.
First, Djokovic.
Second, Federer.
Third, Gawain.
Fourth, Murray.
Fifth, Kei Nishikori.
Sixth, Nadal.
Seventh, Raonic.
Eighth, Ferrer.
Ninth, Berdych.
Tenth, Wawrinka.
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It is clear at a glance that the "Sunshine Double" has come to an end. Dimitrov has fallen out of the top ten due to his poor performance in the tournament; Nadal has also fallen out of the top five due to injuries; similarly, Wawrinka is in a slump and Federer simply withdrew from Miami, and their points have been affected to varying degrees.
Obviously, the changes in the rankings of the top ten are quite obvious.
Among them, the most eye-catching is undoubtedly the competition for the top three.
In addition to the points from the Sunshine Double Crown, there is also the Davis Cup competition ahead. According to the agreement between ITF and ATP, the Davis Cup also has points.
The points for wins and losses are calculated based on the number of appearances, and the points for singles and doubles are also different. If you play in every game and win, you will get 40 points for one game; but there is also a hard rule that the maximum score for a round of Davis Cup is 80 points.
Not much, but still a drop in the bucket.
So, after the Miami Masters came to an end, the top three points were as follows: Djokovic, 12165.
Federer, 8895.
Gao Wen, 8680.
Numbers are always the most intuitive——
There is only a 215-point difference between Gawain and Federer. The points from the semi-finals and finals of a Masters tournament are enough to overturn this ranking.
This also means that in the clay court season, Gawain may overtake Federer at any time and break the Big Four's ten-year monopoly on the top two in the world.
Even if Federer wins every tournament, as long as Gawain can perform well, his points will increase quickly and he will overtake Federer.
In other words, this thing is happening, the only difference is the time. A foreseeable historical change is gradually approaching.
There is a clear gap between Gawain and Djokovic, a gap of nearly 3,500 points, which requires championship points from two Masters tournaments and one Grand Slam; moreover, the premise is that Djokovic's performance in these tournaments is all worse than last year, while Gawain wins all the final championships.
The difficulty can be imagined.
It is precisely because of this that the media emphasizes that overtaking in the clay court season is a theoretical possibility; the full continuation from the clay court to the grass court season is a more realistic consideration. If Djokovic performs well all the way, then the competition for the world's number one will continue into the North American season.
After all, the next five months would be a period of pure point growth for Gao Wen, which would give him an advantage.
Becoming the second in the world is a foregone conclusion; it is only a matter of time.
The world's number one, undecided, with endless possibilities.
Step by step, approaching! (End of this chapter)