Chapter 1491 Ranking Observation
An interesting but frustrating fact is that
although Wawrinka and Gawain have successively broken through the blockade of giants and won the Grand Slam, and have made breakthroughs in both the Masters and the world rankings, and have won a place in the top field of ATP; however, the controversy and doubts surrounding them have never stopped.
Of course, Murray is no exception.
A series of media have repeatedly referred to Murray as a member of the giants, but the voices of provocation, questioning and cursing are always lingering. There are constant complaints about "unworthy of the position" and "should be the Big Three instead of the Big Four". Even Murray needs to keep proving himself.
However, now the situation has changed slightly.
At the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, Gao Wen defeated three giants, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic, in succession and won the championship. His strong performance once again completed his transformation.
At this French Open, Wawrinka defeated the world's third, second and first players in succession to complete the three-level challenge and win the championship, being crowned again.
Moreover, we must not forget that this year, Wawrinka has advanced to the semi-finals at the Australian Open and Gao Wen has advanced to the semi-finals at the French Open. Their performance in the first half of the year was absolutely outstanding and they have undoubtedly established themselves among the top ranks.
Thanks to this, the flies around Wawrinka and Gawain have obviously decreased, and the bustling doubts and complaints have shut up. This is the world of competitive sports. If you want to shut up the haters, victory is always the best way. A championship can solve everything.
If it’s not enough, then build another one.
In the blink of an eye, Murray, Gao Wen and Wawrinka have quietly equalized the number of Grand Slam titles, with two each.
So who will be the first to break through and complete the transformation and win the third Grand Slam championship trophy? However, this does not mean that Gao Wen and Wawrinka can be compared with Murray, nor does it mean that they can be promoted to the ranks of giants.
The title of "giant" requires not only strength but also stability.
Just look at one of Murray's statistics and it will be clear: since reaching the final of the Australian Open in 2011 and completely completing his transformation, Murray's performance in the Grand Slam tournaments has always been stable. Except for missing the French Open due to injury in 2013, he has reached the quarterfinals 17 times in a row. Among them, he advanced to the semi-finals six times, the finals four times, and won the championship twice.
In other words, for nearly four and a half years, Murray's Grand Slam performance was at least reaching the quarterfinals, which also included a period when he fell into the trough of his career due to injuries. However, Murray's performance in top competitions remained stable, and his world ranking has always been stable in the top ten.
Therefore, even though there are frequent controversies and opinions, the mainstream media still has no hesitation in listing Murray among the giants.
In other words, the performances of Gawain and Wawrinka are already good enough, very, very good. They have both proved that they have the ability to defeat giants; they also have the ability to defeat giants consecutively in the same Grand Slam tournament. Their highest level has already touched the threshold of the Big Four.
However, they still lack consistency.
Wawrinka was eliminated in the first round of the French Open just last year, and Gawain has only played three Grand Slams in his career. It would be too hasty to call him a "giant" now.
But no one can deny that the levels of Gawain and Wawrinka are very close to Murray. They just need to continue to perform at the top level and keep producing in Masters and Grand Slams. Then, the ATP's peak structure will slowly change. The storm is coming.
There is no doubt that the drama of "Big Four vs. Challengers" is becoming more and more exciting.
The annual Roland Garros finally came to an end, but it ended in a way that surprised everyone -
Serena Williams won her 20th Grand Slam title at the French Open, the event she is least good at and where she performed worst, and the chaos in the WTA officially came to an end.
The ATP battlefield was filled with smoke. It was not Nadal or Djokovic, but Wawrinka who broke out again and dominated the competition with his super-god state.
In 2015, the season is halfway through. There have been some surprises and unexpected events, but it is still exciting, especially the battle for the "world's number one" title, the trend of which is a little unexpected.
Throughout the clay court season this year, a core theme throughout the season is how will Gawain perform and whether he can challenge the world No. 1 throne?
The clay court season has just begun, and Federer's upset in Monte Carlo has handed over the world No. 2 throne to Gawain, breaking the ten-year monopoly of the giants. This also sounded the clarion call for the "world No. 1 battle" in advance, and the pressure is pouring down on Djokovic and Gawain.
However, judging from the results——
Gao Wen is still too young, at least on the clay court, he has not been able to continue his dominance on the hard court, but it doesn’t matter. His professional career has just started, and there is still a long time in the future to slowly adapt and continuously improve his competitiveness on different courts. The first clay court season brought positive feedback.
Djokovic is still the strongest and best player in the world. He has won two Masters titles in Monte Carlo and Rome, plus the runner-up in Roland Garros. His overall performance is even better than last year. He seized the opportunity when Nadal was in a slump and became the new ruler of clay.
Experts have already analyzed the situation before.
Indeed, Gao Wen's entire clay court season and grass court season are full of room for point growth, and any performance can improve his ranking points.
But don't forget that Djokovic still has room for improvement in the clay court season, and he is not necessarily in a passive state.
Facts also prove this point.
On Monday, June 8, 2015, ATP released the latest world rankings:
As expected.
First, Djokovic, 12805.
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Second, Gao Wen, 10620.
Third, Federer, 9415.
The rankings of the top three remain the same as after Monte Carlo, but the specific scores have changed dramatically and the gaps are now completely different.
Moreover, it is bidirectional.
Before the start of the clay court season, Federer was 210 points ahead of Gawain; at the end of the clay court season, Gawain was 1,205 points ahead of Federer.
This also means that until the end of the grass court season, Federer will not be able to overtake Gowen. After all, Federer reached the final at Wimbledon last year but unfortunately lost and ended up finishing runner-up. Even if he wins the championship this year, his room for point increase is very limited and he will not be able to reverse the 1,200-point gap.
Kovan's world No. 2 ranking is as stable as a rock, and he will have to wait until the North American season to make waves again; but obviously, the media's main focus is not Kovan and Federer, but Kovan and Djokovic. Will the exciting battle for the "world No. 1" be decided in the grass season?
Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Djokovic has firmly held on to his throne with his unparalleled performance in the clay court season and has once again proved his strength with practical actions. No wonder after losing the French Open final, Djokovic was very disappointed but still full of confidence, believing that he can make a comeback and win the championship next year.
This confidence is not just talk. He has the ability and has also demonstrated such strength.
(End of this chapter)