Day after day, I immersed myself in training with full concentration. Time flew by and in the blink of an eye, the start time of the competition was approaching.
The second "Grand Slam" of 2015 is just around the corner. When the qualifying round is in full swing, the organizing committee of the tournament has taken the lead in announcing the seeding list.
This year, the men's singles competition was exciting.
Djokovic, Gawain, Federer and Murray are ranked as the top four seeds respectively.
History is written again.
Although reporters had already anticipated this day, when it finally came, it still caused a sensation on social networks: this was the first time since the 2005 US Open that the top two seeded seats in a Grand Slam were not monopolized by the Big Four, but a brand new name appeared.
Gawain!
After his breakthrough in the world ranking, Gao Wen served as the second seed in a Grand Slam for the first time, which also means that if he wants to meet Djokovic, it must be in the final.
Moreover, Gawain's name is on par with the other three giants, and the oppressive feeling of being surrounded by so many heroes brings unparalleled brilliant glory at this moment.
The Chinese media was in an uproar. When they actually saw Gao Wen's name appear in the second seed seat, the feeling was different after all.
Of course, attention also means pressure. If Gao Wen made history by becoming the second seed but ended up losing in the first round, that would be a sensation. But no matter what, after much anticipation and waiting, when it really happened, joy still erupted.
It is hard to imagine that the French Open has become a hot search topic in China just by announcing the seed list. It is truly the focus of everyone's attention.
Outside of the top four seeds, Berdych, Kei Nishikori, Nadal and Ferrer are seeds five to eight respectively.
The most surprising thing is that Nadal's name appeared here.
Seeded seventh, this is Nadal's lowest ranking ever in the French Open. Even when he first participated in the French Open, he was already seeded fifth. But a full ten years later, his seed ranking hit a new low. It can be felt from all aspects that this is indeed Nadal's worst season.
Before the French Open officially opens, if there is any player who can be more talked about than Gao Wen, then Nadal is the only one.
Nadal has indeed been in a slump this year.
First of all, this is the first time in a full decade that Nadal has not won any French Open clay court warm-up tournament. His best result was a final in Madrid - he won the championship on the clay court in Buenos Aires in February, but that had nothing to do with preparations for the French Open.
Secondly, this is the second time after 2008 that when the French Open was about to kick off, Nadal was not the number one favorite to win the championship according to all experts and sports lottery odds; but last time, Nadal finally won the championship and broke all doubts, so what about this time?
Finally, this is the season with the fewest wins and the lowest winning percentage on clay courts for Nadal since he turned professional, with only 17 wins and 5 losses. This may be a very good result for other players, but for the King of Clay, such a winning percentage is not satisfactory.
It is precisely because of this——
Before arriving in Paris, the overwhelming doubts and pessimism had never stopped; after arriving in Paris, the suspicion and distrust from all sides continued to intensify.
If people pay attention to Gawain because he remains undefeated in Grand Slams throughout his career, it naturally makes people wonder whether his winning streak can continue.
The reason why people pay attention to Nadal is that the nine-time French Open champion has created too many miracles at Roland Garros and has only lost one game here so far. Can he continue the same trend this year?
One, young, is adapting to clay, and performed well in the French Open warm-up matches, but not top-notch.
One, plagued by injuries and in poor form, is facing the lowest point in his career and is even considered to be likely to retire at any time.
What kind of performance can these two players show at Roland Garros? Different reasons have caused the same heated discussion and attracted global attention.
Of the two, Nadal is undoubtedly at the forefront, because this is Paris, because this is where Nadal achieved greatness. Even someone as popular as Gawain can only take a back seat here. Even Gawain can feel such tremendous pressure, so what about Nadal?
First of all, everyone was surprised that Nadal fell to the seventh seed.
Secondly, this also means that Nadal and the top four seeds will meet in the quarterfinals in advance. So, which quarter will Nadal enter?
There was a lot of discussion.
Some even suggested giving Nadal special "ranking protection" to improve his seeding and make him one of the top four seeds. This is not only a kind of respect, but also reflects the subtle psychology of the players and the audience.
For the players, no one wants to meet Nadal in advance. Even if Nadal is at low health, no one can guarantee that they can defeat him at Roland Garros.
For the audience, the clash between the top four seeds and Nadal, either the Big Three or Gao Wen, any matchup could have been a potential final level, but the result was that they collided early in the quarterfinals, which was undoubtedly disappointing. At least it should be postponed to the semi-finals to be worth the ticket price.
There is a lot of hustle and bustle and heated discussions on social networks.
Unfortunately, the French Open organizing committee had no intention of giving any player any privileges, so the discussion remained just that and failed to attract more attention.
As a result, the lottery ceremony attracted countless attention, and everyone was paying attention to the same topic -
Which division will Nadal enter? Among the top four seeds, which player will play the role of the clash of the worlds in the quarterfinals?
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
At this point, looking back at the Australian Open draw at the beginning of the year, things suddenly become much more interesting:
The three giants Nadal, Federer and Murray were all drawn in the lower half, among which Federer and Murray faced each other in the quarterfinals, which is also known as the death zone.
However, no one expected that Federer would lose unexpectedly, and Gawain would defeat Nadal and Murray to advance to the final, ultimately making history.
So, come the French Open? Rub your hands.
Boom boom boom, boom boom boom... the war drums sounded, and then all the attention in the world was gathered towards Paris, waiting for the draw ceremony.
Defending champions Nadal and Sharapova will complete all the draw ceremonies by themselves. The luck of the draw will depend on their luck.
First, the top four matchup.
Top seed Djokovic is in the 1/4 zone, second seed Gao Wen is in the 4/4 zone. This is the result of automatic allocation. The focus should be on the third and fourth seeds.
As a result, in the upper half, it is “Djokovic VS Murray”; in the lower half, it is “Gawain VS Federer”.
Applause! The reason is very simple: Djokovic and Murray are hailed as the two favorites to win this year's championship. They are facing each other in the semi-finals, which is likely to be a peak showdown.
Gawain and Federer are in the same situation. They are in decent form but not at the top. They have won titles in the clay court warm-up tournaments, but their performances in the Masters have been up and down. Moreover, the battle between the two players for the world rankings has also added some sparks off the court. Once they meet in the semi-finals, it will be a fierce fight.
In other words, the two players in the best form are in the upper half, and the two players in the second best form are in the lower half, and the entire division's matchup situation appears to be very balanced.
Balance means the game is exciting, so naturally, everyone applauded.
However, the top four matchups are not the main point, the next eight is the main point.