Chapter 1581: Master of Deception
"Gao Wen, do you know a statistic? Since 2006, only five teenagers have advanced to the third round in the Wimbledon main draw, namely Murray and Djokovic in 2006, Cilic in 2008, Tomic in 2011, and Kyrgios in 2014."
A reporter, wearing a plaid tie and dark gray suit pants, looked very serious. He stood up and asked questions with a serious look on his face.
Judging from the accent, he should be... from the German-speaking area?
Gao Wen and Tim are very familiar with each other. He always feels that the accent of the reporter in front of him is somewhat similar to Tim's, especially the formal way of presentation.
But, what’s the problem?
This reporter probably didn't just want to ask Gao Wen if he knew this data? Obviously, this was a foreshadowing, and the real problem was behind it.
"Teenager, oh, sorry, I almost forgot about it." Gao Wen showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, and instantly triggered laughter again.
At nineteen, strictly speaking, Gao Wen is still a teenager.
Of course, as Gao Wen said, because of his brilliant record and outstanding achievements, no one now regards Gao Wen as an ordinary teenage player.
Amidst the rustling laughter, Gao Wen shook his head slightly, "No, I don't know this data."
Gao Wen stopped at that point and did not speculate on the reporter's intentions. Instead, he patiently waited for the reporter to bring up the next topic and then made a corresponding response.
The reporter was still meticulous and serious. "So, do you know that this year's Wimbledon may create a new history?"
At Wimbledon, because there are fewer and fewer grass court tournaments and more and more hard court tournaments, young players' performance on grass is getting worse and worse. Compared with the other three Grand Slams, it is becoming increasingly difficult for young players to achieve good results at Wimbledon. The past decade is a microcosm of this.
Only when young players grow up, adapt to the rhythm of the tour, and participate more in grass court events, their performance will gradually improve.
Such a predicament is really hard to imagine.
You know, there was a time when Wimbledon was the center stage for geniuses to shine. McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Becker and others all became famous at a young age on this grass, emerged out of nowhere, and started their legendary careers; however, now it is gone forever.
"This year at Wimbledon, six young players qualified for the men's singles main draw, and three of them made it through the first round to the second round."
“And in the next games, we have great hope of advancing to the third round together. If this happens, this year will surpass 2006 and become the first year in the past 15 years that three young players have entered the third round.”
"What do you think about this? Do you think that players born after 1995 have stepped onto the historical stage and joined the top competition?"
"These three players are Zverev, Cilic and yourself. Do you think you can represent the new generation? What are your prospects for the next round?"
Gao Wen: ...
This was a very winding question. Aren't German journalists known to be straightforward? But this roundabout question really took a long way around.
Now, Gao Wen was sure that the reporter in front of him should be from Germany. After all, Zverev had also embarked on the journey of making history.
Gao Wen only knew one side of the story.
At this year's Wimbledon, on the one hand, Zverev, who just turned 18 last month, shoulders the hopes of Germany's future leader. For the first time in his career, he qualified for the Grand Slam main draw based on his world ranking and won in the first round. He is even younger than Gawain was at the US Open last year.
On the other hand, 37-year-old German veteran Haas became the oldest men's singles player to win at Wimbledon since Connors in 1991 after advancing to the second round. This is also his first Grand Slam after a one-year break due to shoulder surgery after the 2014 French Open.
In the upcoming second round, the 18-year-old player will face a wildcard player and has a very good chance of continuing to advance; and the former world No. 2 will challenge Raonic, who has also returned from injury and is far from his best form, so Haas may not be without a chance.
Zverev is currently the youngest player in the top 100 of the ATP world rankings; Haas, at the age of 37, continues to break records.
No wonder the German media was so excited. After the first round of Wimbledon ended, they started discussing it one after another.
As the leader of the new generation, the German media will naturally not miss Gao Wen. After all, Zverev's short-term goal is Gao Wen.
--interesting.
The corner of Gao Wen's mouth curled up slightly, with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Then, he nodded slightly and showed a polite smile.
"No, no, no, no, I don't think I can represent the new generation. I think no player wants to be represented because everyone has their own characteristics and personality, and everyone has their own career. I don't want to and can't represent them."
Why is that serious look of drawing a line in the sand... a little funny? "Of course, we have been discussing the new generation since last year, including Sasha Zverev, Borna Coric, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Rudd and so on and so forth."
With a series of crackling noises, Gao Wen threw out a series of names, leaving the reporters at the scene in bewilderment.
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Who? Wait, who?
Those names that will be familiar to everyone in the future are still competing in the Challenge Tournament and even in the youth arena. They are inconspicuous among the bustling crowd of players and are completely unfamiliar to most reporters. Now that Gao Wen is bombarding them with such a rapid-fire attack, they can't keep up and their brains are frozen.
Including the German reporter, his eyes were wide open and he couldn't keep up with the pace at all.
"Look, players born after 1995 have begun to enter the professional arena one after another."
“I think that’s a good thing.”
"We have the post-80s who are in their prime, the post-90s who are rising, and the post-95s who are ready to fight for a place in the tennis world. Of course, we must not forget the post-70s who are still fighting and struggling, and the post-00s who are eager to enter the professional tennis world..."
"For professional tournaments, the more participants the better. We are all young people, we are the future, and we are the hope of tennis."
"So I wish Sasha and Borna good luck in the next round."
"I wish I were a prophet and could wish them great success, but now I can't even predict my own future in the next round of competitions, so I'm afraid I can't help them. Let's pray together that all of us can have a bright and glorious future."
Blah blah blah, there was a sudden storm, and the whole press conference room was fooled.
I always felt something was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Is it really okay? The German reporter nodded in confusion, "Thank you for your blessing. I also wish you good luck in the next round."
(End of this chapter)