Chapter 1492 Please stay tuned
Before the start of the clay court season, Djokovic was far ahead in the world ranking points, with a lead of 3,270 points over Federer. The points of a Grand Slam championship plus a Masters championship are still a gap that cannot be caught up. The world's number one throne is absolutely secure.
Later, in Monte Carlo, the first stop of the clay court season, Gawain overtook Federer, sparking a frenzy among the news media about the battle for the world's number one spot. The heated discussions lasted throughout the clay court season and finally came to a temporary end at the end of the French Open.
After the end of Roland Garros, Djokovic's world ranking points are still 2,185 points ahead of Gao Wen. Although the lead has shrunk significantly, it is still obvious and even astonishing.
Everyone: ...
Is this possible? Is it true that the ATP world rankings are correct? What's going on?
In fact, Gao Wen's performance in the clay court season has been able to rank among the first tier. He reached the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo and Rome, the semifinals in Madrid, and the championship in Barcelona. In addition, there is the most important Roland Garros semifinals, starting a strong points sweeping and catching-up mode.
However, Djokovic performed even better and actually went one step further than last year. Even though he missed Madrid, he still gained more than 700 points in the end, and managed to stop Gawain's crazy momentum of catching up.
Of course, Gawain's performance has been very, very good. He has narrowed the gap by more than a thousand points throughout the entire clay court season. Djokovic seemed to be the leader in another dimension, but now he is back to the same dimension and no longer seems to be out of reach.
Moreover, the world ranking points of both Djokovic and Gao Wen have exceeded 10,000, which is undoubtedly a benchmark.
The last time two players achieved such a feat at the same time was two years ago, in the 2013 year-end rankings, when Nadal and Djokovic ranked top two in the world, and both had ranking points exceeding 10,000.
Now, with the addition of Gawain, the world's second-best player is absolutely genuine. The stronger Djokovic is, the more it proves Gawain's excellence.
There is no doubt that Djokovic can clearly feel Gawain's relentless pursuit, which also means that the competition in the second half of the season will be closer and more intense.
Perhaps the only regret in this year's clay season is that Gawain was not able to play against Djokovic again and failed to compete on clay. But instead, Gawain and Nadal met twice and wrote history at Roland Garros, sparking countless heated discussions.
Only the second player ever to defeat Nadal at Roland Garros.
But the amazing thing is that neither Soderling nor Gawain were able to win the championship after defeating Nadal. Is this the curse of the King of Clay?
Eyes are on returning to the world rankings.
Although Gao Wen performed very well in the clay court season, Djokovic still put in an even better and stronger top performance to withstand the pressure, seize the limited space for point increase and take the initiative, winning himself more room for breathing and adjustment before the arrival of the North American summer hard court season.
Now, Djokovic leads Gao Wen by more than 2,100 points, which is a huge advantage.
Next up is the grass season.
Firstly, there is no Masters, the highest level is the 500 points event, and then there is the crown jewel, Wimbledon, which has limited points.
Second, the entire grass-court season lasts only five weeks, including the two weeks of Wimbledon. Even if you play non-stop, you can only participate in four events.
In other words, compared with the clay court season, the room for points gain in the grass court season is very limited.
Unless Djokovic fails to win a single game in the grass-court season and is eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon; and at the same time, Gawain can win two grass-court tournaments including Wimbledon, the world No. 1 throne will change hands. Otherwise, Djokovic's world No. 1 status will continue until the North American hard-court season.
Once we enter the North American hard court season, things will change slightly.
Although Gao Wen still has a lot of room for point gain before the start of the US Open, at the same time, Gao Wen's window for pure point gain without the pressure of maintaining points will gradually shrink, and he will soon face the huge pressure of 2,000 championship points in New York. The pressure on and off the court will play the role of an unknown variable.
By then, it will be exponentially more difficult for Gawain to reverse Djokovic.
At least, for now, the 2,100-point lead is enough to ensure that Djokovic's world No. 1 status continues until the end of the grass-court season.
This is clearly evident from the championship points ranking.
Unlike the world ranking, championship points only count the points of events within the natural year, that is, the points starting from January 1, 2015.
In the first quarter, Gao Wen won the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open consecutively, leaving the rest far behind.
In the second quarter, Djokovic won the Monte Carlo and Rome Masters tournaments consecutively and once again reached the final of Roland Garros.
At the same time, don't forget that Djokovic's performance in the first quarter of the hard court season was not inferior to that of Kovan. On the contrary, Kovan's performance in the second quarter of the clay court season was far inferior to that of Djokovic. After adding one and subtracting one, the gap between the two players in the championship points list is already very small.
First, Gao Wen, 6410.
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Second, Djokovic, 6345.
Numbers are the most direct and clear.
It can be seen at a glance that Djokovic has quickly narrowed the gap with his amazing performance in the clay court season, and the chance to overtake Gavin is at hand. The upcoming grass court season will still be Djokovic's home court, and the fledgling Gavin will still face challenges.
It can be seen that in the battle for the world's number one, Djokovic still firmly holds the initiative, as can be seen from his continued strong performance in the first half of the year. If the challengers want to subvert the complete dominance of the Big Four, whether it is Gawain or Wawrinka, there is still a long way to go.
Of course, Djokovic also has his own pressure.
He is the defending champion of Wimbledon, and so far this year, he has reached the finals of two consecutive Grand Slams but lost to Gawain and Wawrinka respectively, and has been runner-up in a row. This is obviously not a good sign. He also has his own battles and his own difficulties.
Perhaps, the world's No. 1 throne will not change during the grass season, but the performance in the grass season will lay the foundation for the players' position before entering the North American hard court season. Just like a 200-meter race, the cornering technique will determine the position in the final straight sprint, which is crucial.
The grass court season, which lasts only one month, is just a bend. Many changes may occur every week. It is still worthy of attention and focus. The era drama of the Challenger Alliance impacting the Big Four is still full of climaxes, and the most exciting moment is far from coming.
It's tense, exciting, stalemate and full of suspense. Who can easily refuse it?
(End of this chapter)