Chapter 1536 Warm-up stops
No move is better than a move——
When it comes to the media, this is often the truth.
It was precisely because of Gawain's calmness and composure that not only was he generous in the post-match press conference, but his subsequent training and daily life did not change. Those sensational rumors had not even had time to burn, and their enthusiasm had already been quietly extinguished. After all, it takes two to tango.
However, what happened later confirmed Gawain's conjecture.
Lawrence seemed to be aroused by his pride.
In Gao Wen's second round match, Lawrence appeared in the audience stands again, continued to watch the game, and greeted all eyes with grace and grace.
really!
Gawain is right. Lawrence is stubborn and not so easy to convince. He also has a childish temper. If he is forbidden, he will try it anyway. He loses his mind when he sees the red cloth waving in front of him. He insists on his own way and challenges Gawain's bottom line.
But does Gawain care?
No.
Since this is a public place, the doors are open and everyone is welcome to watch the game, there is no need for them to make a fuss about the attendance of one person.
After all, the stadium is so big that when Gawain was running wildly on the field, he didn't pay any attention to the sight above the stands. This is not a Hollywood movie with spotlight effects anytime and anywhere. Even Lawrence is just an ordinary spectator in a stadium with thousands of people.
Gao Wen: Jennifer-who? The coaching team headed by Sampras was also like this, fully concentrating on Gao Wen's game. After a short distraction, the team's concentration slowly returned.
After all, Gao Wen faced a tough opponent for the second consecutive round.
In the grass season, because warm-up events are limited and there are not many options for players, top players often gather together. It is even possible to encounter players ranked in the top 30 or 20 in the world in the first two rounds. The competition in a 500-point event is even more intense than that in a 1,000-point Masters tournament.
This is what is happening right before our eyes.
After facing Kyrgios in the first round, Gawain will face the world's 18th-ranked South African Kevin Anderson, a tough opponent, in the second round.
Anderson has an excellent serve, a strong forehand, and a balanced offense and defense, but he lacks variety, is rigid, and is honest.
In fact, he can be seen as a combination of Berdych and Isner. His solid basic skills and excellent strength make him a typical hard court baseline player.
Overall, he is slightly inferior to Berdych or Isner in terms of talent, but his strong mental state can bring about stable performance, and as long as he is in good shape, he can continue to perform well; therefore, although the time he stayed among the top players throughout his career was far less than that of Berdych and Isner, his performance in his peak period was even better.
In the eyes of professionals, Anderson's historical status is certainly not comparable to Berdych, and is inferior to Isner; but in the eyes of ordinary fans, the highlights of Anderson's career are far better than Berdych and Isner.
At the 2017 US Open, Anderson relied on excellent draw luck and solid performance, and did not encounter any top ten players in the world. He made it to the final and achieved a breakthrough in a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, he lost three consecutive sets in the final and was swept by Nadal, finishing second.
Perhaps, in the eyes of fans, Anderson was the dark horse in this US Open, and his luck in the draw helped a lot and was not worth mentioning, but soon, Anderson proved himself.
At the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, Anderson first defeated Monfils for the first time in his career in the fourth round, winning for the first time in six encounters. Then, in the quarter-finals against defending champion Federer, he saved a match point after losing the first two sets, and finally reversed the game 13:11 to eliminate the Swiss king. This was also Anderson's first victory against Federer in five encounters.
In the semi-finals, Anderson faced Isner. In the first four sets, the two players were evenly matched, "7:6 (6)", "6:7 (5)", "6:7 (9)", "6:4"; the deciding set was still very close, and finally entered a long set again. The two serving cannons refused to give up an inch.
In the 49th game, Anderson accidentally fell while receiving the serve but did not give up. He stood up again and received the ball with his left hand. His unremitting running finally waited for Isner to make an unforced error. In the end, he got three consecutive break points in this game and cashed in on the second break point.
"26:24", after breaking the serve, Anderson successfully held the serve, and finally defeated Isner and entered the Grand Slam final for the second time in his career.
Although facing Djokovic in the final, Anderson wasted five set points in the third set and finally lost in straight sets, he still proved himself.
Stability, tenacity, focus and dedication, these are Anderson's characteristics.
Perhaps, his talent is limited, and he is far from shining in the long river of history. He does not have the tragedy of Berdych, nor the strength of Isner's skill; but Anderson still walked out a path of his own. There is no doubt that grass is definitely his favorite surface.
In fact, as early as before his breakthrough at the 2017 US Open, Anderson had already firmly occupied a place in the top 20 in the world for more than three years. He was a regular in the quarterfinals of the Masters and the fourth round of the Grand Slam. He performed poorly in this year's clay court season, losing to Gasquet in the round of 32 at Roland Garros, and his world ranking also slipped to 18th, but in the grass court season, this is still his stage to shine.
This is not the first time that Gawain and Anderson have met.
The two players faced off once in Miami in the first half of the year. In that match, Gao Wen lost the first set but then won two consecutive sets to win.
This time the situation is completely different when the battle is fought in a different location.
It is foreseeable that this is a tough battle, and the facts have proved so -
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Throughout the game, although there were a total of nine break points, no one was able to break the serve.
In other words, both players saved all break points and finally held their serve games, which once again proved the importance of serve games on grass courts. Often a break could determine the outcome of the entire game. In the end, each set had to be decided by a tiebreak.
"7:6(9)", "7:6(13)".
Anderson, the last laugh -
He defeated Gao Wen in two straight sets.
The start of the grass court season was not satisfactory. With a record of one win and one loss, Gawain will embark on his first Wimbledon appearance in a low-key manner.
Although he regretted losing the game, Gao Wen was not depressed.
The entire match took two hours, and the quality of the back-and-forth confrontation showed a high level. From the difficulties in the serve to the challenges in the receive and then to the clash in the tie-break, the game content was also very rich, especially when facing a top player like Anderson who is very adaptable to playing on grass.
It is no exaggeration to say that such a defeat is much better than the first-round victory over Kyrgios.
Of course, it would have been great if they could win after a fierce battle and get a chance to play another game, but it was a pity that they missed the opportunity, and it was two consecutive tiebreaks. Anderson showed the characteristics of grass to the fullest, and it was also a good thing for Gao Wen to experience it personally.
However, it is unknown how the media will view it.
(End of this chapter)