Chapter 161: Forbidden City
"Dear viewers, you are watching the ESPN Tennis Channel now. I am your host, David Sofar. I am currently in Athens, Georgia, bringing you the team finals of the 2013-2014 U.S. Championships from the front."
“The two teams facing each other are the Los Angeles duo, UCLA and USC.”
“This is also the final match between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds of this season. It is undoubtedly a meeting between the two best teams this year. For fans who love NCAA tennis, it can be said to be a peak matchup that everyone has been looking forward to. The outcome will depend on the performance on the spot.”
"Today, our guest watching the live broadcast of the game is Pete Sampras."
Sampras, who was quietly waiting for his turn, skillfully took over the topic from Sofar.
"Hey everyone, I'm Pete. This is my nth appearance this season. I hope the audience hasn't gotten too used to my appearance and lost interest."
The conversation started with a small joke, which successfully made Sofar laugh happily. Then, they talked about the women's team final that had just ended.
In the final, Sampras's sister Stella Sampras led the University of California, Los Angeles to a thrilling victory over the University of South Carolina with a score of "4:3", winning the second women's team championship in the school's history. It was also the first time they won the championship again after six years since 2008.
This is undoubtedly good news for the Bruins.
Gurgling.
Gurgling.
In an instant, all the bustling and burning eyes were focused on the men's team finals.
In the modern history of NCAA tennis, Stanford University completely dominated the team championship in the second half of the 1980s. In the five years from 1986 to 1990, it only lost the 1987 men's team championship, and won all other men's and women's team championships.
By the way, in 1987, it was the University of Virginia and the University of California, Los Angeles that broke Stanford University's monopoly, and both teams broke through the blockade and entered the men's team finals.
However, after 1990, for a full 24 years, no team was able to win both the men's and women's team championships.
There was not even a chance of getting close, as a number of strong tennis teams had a serious imbalance in strength. Either the men were strong or the women were strong. Almost no team could maintain a balance in both the men's and women's team competitions. Stanford University's feat was also considered to be impossible to replicate.
Until this year.
During the previous semi-finals, everyone was paying attention to the performance of the two teams from the University of California, Los Angeles. Now, the women's team has taken the lead and the men's team is the favorite to win. The feat that has been dormant for 24 years is about to be realized, and the whole of Athens is boiling with excitement.
Therefore, when the men's team final kicked off, the entire center court was packed with crowds of people, and the bars and restaurants were filled with bustling crowds of people, with everyone looking forward to witnessing the moment of history.
The attention and eager expectations are both motivation and pressure.
"... pressure and motivation, that's the constant theme in the key games, and it's still the balance I need to deal with mentally until the end of my career."
"From the current situation, the Bruins are well prepared. They know they are the top seed, they know the Trojans will do their best, and they also know they have the strength to defeat their opponents. After the women's team won the championship, the morale reached a new boiling point."
“So, the doubles match was won cleanly and neatly, and this should be the best doubles performance of the Bruins this season.”
As Sampras said, the Bruins took the lead in the doubles point.
Moreover! In the three doubles matches, the Brown Bears had already won two games in a row after only two games. One of the games went to a tiebreaker, but in the tiebreaker, the Brown Bears shaved their opponent’s head and won the game with a score of 7:0. They won the game with great momentum and won the doubles match to the end.
The overall score is “1:0”.
The Bruins and Trojans have played against each other three times this season. The away team won the doubles point in the first two games, but was overturned by the home team. But in the third game, in the final of the Pacific 12 Conference, the Bruins won the doubles point and won the final victory.
So, what now?
Sofar gave a brief summary of the game situation.
“Based on the pre-game layout, the doubles match was a must-win for the Trojans, but Coach Martin disrupted Coach Smith’s plan.”
“The Brown Bears have been an unstable doubles team since arriving in Athens, but when they faced their arch-rivals in the final, they really showed their best form and won the first game.”
"Of course, the Los Angeles derby is always full of variables. Before the last point is settled, everything is possible. Never underestimate any side."
Sampras seized the opportunity in Sofar's words and continued speaking.
"Next, the first singles players of both teams will be on stage. This will also be a match that will set the momentum for the singles showdown between the two teams. It can be described as a collision between Mars and the Earth."
Gurgling.
Gurgling.
The air was burning, and under the blazing gaze of the entire audience, two players came on stage one after another.
Govan vs. Sacramento!
The two players shook hands and greeted each other in front of the net, shook their palms tightly, their burning eyes collided, and sparks immediately burst out.
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Oh oh oh! Ah ah ah! At this moment, a cheer came from the sidelines.
"Dear viewers, the team that appears on camera right now is the Brown Bears women's tennis team that just won the championship. The girls came here specifically to cheer for the men's team."
Gao Wen retracted his gaze, looked at Saramento, and said with a smile, "Be careful."
Sacramento responded without hesitation, "Sound the alarm, danger is coming."
One comes and one goes.
There was no friendly pretense, the desire for victory was displayed, and then both sides turned around, trotted towards the baseline and began to warm up.
In the coin-tossing session just now, Gao Wen guessed the front side, so he took the serve right and took the lead in attacking.
The fighting spirit is high and it is clear at a glance.
Unlike other opponents, Govan has played against Sacramento twice this season. In addition, as they are rivals in the same city, they have studied a lot of game videos and are very familiar with each other. This also means that there is no need for the two sides to slowly feel out the situation and they can get straight to the point at the start.
Of course, every game is different, even if the opponent is the same, but a new game is a new beginning, just like the second time the two sides met, Sacramento's style changed drastically, the entire game rhythm, batting tactics, and line combinations are all different, and the content of the game is naturally different.
But because the two sides are more familiar with each other, the probing in the opening stage also has a different feeling.
Today, in the first game, Gao Wen chose to serve, ready to advance the game in his own way and take the lead!
So, Gao Wen played very actively and proactively at the beginning.
First update.
(End of this chapter)