Philippe Chatrier Stadium.

The whole venue was in complete silence. The sounds of footsteps rubbing against the red clay, rackets hitting tennis balls, sweat running down the temples, and electricity flowing through the body surged in the gentle breeze. In a trance, I had forgotten to breathe and feel my heartbeat.

Then--

"ah!"

Nadal did an extended split, caught a shot with his forehand, and spun around with his head, trying his best to increase the rotation and angle, and barely returned a diagonal shot.

However, Gawain's footsteps have already entered the court.

Cross the baseline, cut into the midfield, and use a two-handed backhand to attack with all your strength.

straight line.

Whipping.

The tennis ball penetrated into the gap of Nadal's backhand and ended the point cleanly and neatly.

The whole audience was boiling with excitement. Break point, another break point, the fifth in this game.

In the fourth set, Nadal served first, and both players successfully held their serves. However, Gawain immediately found an opportunity in Nadal's second service game and continued to put pressure on him. This game was swinging on the tightrope.

Very, very rarely, Nadal's footwork seemed to be a little slow to keep up.

Could it be that the physical limit has appeared again?

At the beginning of his career, Nadal's bull image left a deep impression on fans. The labels of speed, endless running, and covering every corner of the court have surpassed Nadal's forehand and become his trademark.

More than one or two commentators, more than ten or twenty industry professionals have questioned that Nadal's playing style is too desperate and too rough. Such a physically demanding way of playing destroys the tennis formula and is completely opposite to Federer's elegance. "Is he really prepared to keep playing like this?"

People have predicted that Nadal's professional career may not last long, at most three to five years, and Nadal will be overwhelmed by such a playing style and be eliminated, and he will never be seen again.

However, five years have passed, ten years have passed, and the wind-chasing boy is still running on the field, and has proved with practical actions that the judgments and criticisms of those experts are all wrong, and the God of War is still fighting.

Slowly, slowly, people began to believe that Nadal is a man of steel, a god of war forged with tenacity and perseverance, passion and hard work, who never gives up, fights to the end, and never gets tired.

That has become a belief, shining because of the soul of Rafael Nadal, who joined forces with Federer to completely change the sport of tennis.

One is elegant, the other is rough; one is light, the other is tough; one is agile, the other is heavy, just like a song of ice and fire.

Until now.

People seem to have finally realized that Nadal is also a man of flesh and blood, that Nadal can also feel tired, exhausted, and unable to do what he wants. It turns out that Nadal's body has its limits after all, and the former god of war has finally slowed down because of injuries.

Is this a good thing?

In this game, Nadal saved four break points, but he could not see the game point and could not get out of the predicament. As soon as the quality of his return ball dropped slightly, Gao Wen seized the opportunity and the fifth break point appeared again.

Nadal is tired.

After hitting the forehand, he tried to push off the ground for a second time to continue defending the backhand, but his feet did not stick to the ground and he almost fell.

After barely catching his feet, Nadal very rarely used his racket to support his body. He folded his hands on the handle and bent his upper body completely like a heavy ear of rice.

Click, click.

Beads of sweat the size of beans fell one by one, and the whole person looked like he had been fished out of the water, panting like a cow, and a trace of painful struggle appeared on the side of his face.

Time slowed down a little for Nadal.

Seeing this, Gawain did not celebrate the score, but quickly walked to the net and looked at Nadal worriedly.

Because Gawain knew Nadal, who was a person who was very good at enduring pain. For most of his career, he gritted his teeth and endured the pain to play in the game. He himself said that he was used to the pain and it had even become a part of his body. He couldn't even remember when his body was completely free of pain.

If the pain wasn't extreme, Nadal would never show it.

Nadal is an honest man. He never uses injuries to make excuses for his failures, nor does he use injuries to discredit his opponents' victories. He is always upright and aboveboard, facing victory and defeat calmly. He knows that those injuries are the price of his choice.

It is also because of this that Nadal rarely discusses his injuries on and off the court and refuses to use injuries as an excuse.

But at this moment, Nadal bent down, stopped, and stayed where he was, without moving, while the game was in progress.

As an opponent, as a friend, and as an ordinary fan who likes Nadal, Gawain's heart curled up and he couldn't help but show his worry.

There was silence in the entire audience.

Is this definitely a good thing?

Perhaps, those commentators and professionals have been slapped in the face time and time again, and they also want to prove that they are right and their predictions are wise. They waited and waited, until now it was finally confirmed that, although it was delayed for five years, their judgment on Nadal was correct after all.

They should be happy, right? But at this moment, witnessing this scene, no one cheered.

So tragic and yet so brutal.

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On Nadal's bent back, they saw an indomitable will and tenacious belief, as well as a desire for victory and high morale, but ultimately he had to stop temporarily because of his body's protest. That scarred back embodied his determination to challenge his limits and himself.

The world of competitive sports is so cruel. People can only see the smile of the winner, and rarely see the sweat, blood and tears behind the victory. Those pains, struggles and torment have built the glory of victory bit by bit, but no one should erase those efforts, persistence and battles because of failure.

Nadal did not give up. He was still fighting, struggling and burning with energy. The firm belief in his bones was still shining, but his body was protesting.

This scene made the hearts of the entire audience stop beating briefly.

The wind is still blowing, but time seems to have stopped.

"Rafa!"

Gawain shouted.

No response.

Gawain was very worried and walked around the net and straight towards Nadal.

"Rafa."

He called out again, and then Nadal could be seen standing up straight, his face full of pain, forcing a smile towards Gawain and raising his racket to signal.

Despite this, Gawain came to Nadal and asked in a low voice.

Nadal put his arm around Gawain's shoulders, patted him gently on the chest, reiterated that he was fine, apologized for delaying the game, and advised Gawain to go back so that they could continue the game.

Gao Wen gave Nadal a hug before turning around and walking back to his own half of the court.

"Pah! Rafa!"

"Pah! Rafa!"

The applause was thunderous.

Cheers, all around.

It was for Nadal, for Gawain, and for this game. The audience was looking forward to this wonderful match coming to a perfect end.

The Philippe Chatrier Stadium was once again filled with frenzy, cheering for Nadal.