Chapter 129 makes a grand entrance
Gurgling.
Gurgling.
The air is boiling.
The lemon-yellow sunlight poured down unhindered. The azure blue stadium was like a tranquil lake, reflecting the dazzling light with ripples. Dense crowds of people spread out around the stadium, filling every corner of the sight. In a trance, the world seemed like an overturned palette, filled with mist.
“Ahhhh!”
“Roar, roar, roar!”
“Ahhhh!”
The bustling screams, cheers, and noise filled my ears. I seemed to be able to catch some fragmented words vaguely, but there was no way to distinguish them accurately. So there was only a noise surging on my eardrums, and even the beating of my heart became chaotic.
Gao Wen's steps as he walked into the court seemed to be stepping on cotton candy, light and airy, without any firmness.
Now, he finally understood what McDonald felt. It was different, indeed different.
The number and enthusiasm of the spectators, the atmosphere and pressure of the U.S. Championships, the space and feel of the venue... every aspect was different from any previous competition. Just by taking the stage, I could feel the blood rushing to my chest and I became uncontrollably nervous.
When Gao Wen watched the Grand Slam finals live on TV, the commentator said more than once, "Even the Big Four would be nervous on such a court, especially when it comes to crucial points, they would also fluctuate."
At the time, Gao Wen was puzzled. The Big Four had already stepped onto the stage of the public's attention countless times, and had stood on the stage of the Grand Slam finals and even won the championship more than once. Why would they still be nervous? Shouldn't they be familiar with it and used to it?
Now, Gao Wen vaguely understood something.
Every game is different. Even if it is the same venue and the same opponent, when a new game begins, it means starting from scratch. Even a steel god of war who has been tempered thousands of times needs to remain humble when standing on the big stage, because this is the correct attitude to strive for victory.
The tension comes from desire and also from reality.
Although the U.S. Championship stage cannot be compared with the Grand Slam, Gao Wen still felt nervous and his muscles tightened slightly.
No wonder, no wonder the Bruins experienced some ups and downs in the previous doubles matches and MacDonald’s first singles match.
The team dropped one doubles win but managed to pull off the other two close victories—the scores were both very close, but the doubles points went into the Bruins’ pockets.
McDonald played as the fourth singles player against a player who was not ranked in the United States. He fell behind 0:3 at the start and had no feel for his batting, clearly out of form. Fortunately, his opponent was relatively limited in strength, and after McDonald gained a foothold, he turned the situation around little by little.
“6:4”, “6:4”.
McDonald still won the game smoothly, but when he returned to the locker room, he saw Gao Wen waiting to play, and he sighed with lingering fear on his face, "It's really different."
Then, it was Gawain's turn.
The University of Tennessee really lowered its posture and stood in front of the Brown Bears as an attacker, which made them more relaxed and more engaged, so they were able to exert their full strength and seize the initiative in the confrontation.
In the previous doubles match, they were just a little bit short of winning two games in a row, but the match against McDonald was a bit regrettable. The strength gap at the fourth singles position was still quite obvious, and they were unable to turn the game around. But now it is the team's second singles player who is even stronger, and the chances of an upset are also increasing.
Gawain cannot take this lightly.
The Bruins are still adjusting their lineup today, with Thompson as the first singles player, Gowen as the second singles player, and Gillon as the third singles player. Facing a team like the University of Tennessee, they cannot just be satisfied with winning, but also need to fully adjust and prepare for subsequent games.
"Come on, let's play some tennis!"
There were booing sounds coming from the stands. They were probably not from the fans of the two teams, but simply neutral spectators who wanted to enjoy the exciting match. Then the entire audience whistled in response, and bustling shouts rang out, making the scene very noisy.
This was something Gawain had never experienced before.
In his previous life, although he returned from injury and made it to the U.S. Championship in time, Martin did not include him in the roster for every game because he had just recovered from the injury and his condition was unstable. He was included in the roster for the first three games but because the team won early, he did not get a chance to play.
In other words, this is the first time in his two lifetimes that he has played under such a spotlight, and emotional fluctuations and mental ups and downs are inevitable.
Gao Wen couldn't help but look towards the stands.
Unfortunately, the dense and surging crowd blocked his vision and he was unable to find his target. His heart beat a little faster.
call……
Gao Wen let out a long breath, clenched his fist secretly, encouraged himself, and then walked towards the court to prepare for the coin toss.
The player that Gao Wen is about to face today is the second singles player Mikelis-Libietis of the University of Tennessee, who is ranked 34th in the singles in the United States. Although he is not one of the top players, he is very strong and has also been shortlisted for the singles competition of the US Championships.
In the previous life, the Bruins played against Lipitis. Although Giron still won the game, the process was very difficult. In both games, he only had an advantage of breaking serve, and the game took a long time. Obviously, Lipitis was prepared to do his best and did cause trouble.
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The coin toss was over, and Lipitis guessed correctly, and he chose the court position, which meant receiving the serve first.
Small details can show the attitudes of both sides towards this game. Lipitis did not take the lead in attacking with full confidence, but was prepared to resist the attack in a low-key manner and then launch a counterattack.
Gao Wen served first.
Walking to the back of the baseline, with his back to Lipitis, Gawain closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing, temporarily shutting out the noise in the venue and concentrating on the next serve.
Everything is new. Putting aside the thoughts of the previous life, putting aside all the previous games of this season, and even putting aside the pressure of the US Championship, and then... start to get excited.
Rather than feeling nervous, I felt more excited to try.
finally!
He has finally come to this stage step by step, so let the show begin!
When Gawain turned around, his eyes focused again, sparkling.
Standing at the baseline, Gawain hit the tennis ball regularly, then raised his eyes to look at Lipitis's position.
Push off the ground! Throw the ball! Bend your knees! Turn your body! His arms swung out like whips, a force rushed from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head, and then poured into his right arm, suppressing it with all his strength.
Whoosh! The tennis ball turned into a streak of light and flew towards the opposite corner of the team. It was so fast and heavy that it disappeared in the sunlight in the blink of an eye.
“15:0”! ACE opens the game.
Fourth update.
(End of this chapter)