"4:1"——

In the last two singles matches that were not related to promotion, Huaxia won one and lost one.

India relied on the young and energetic Bamburi to defeat Bai Yan and get a face-saving point, but it was of no avail in the end. They had to watch China sweep through their home court to advance to the next round and win the qualification for the World Group play-offs.

When the Davis Cup came to an end again this weekend, the smoke of war still had not completely dissipated, because this also meant that the annual men's tennis top team competition would officially enter the second stage, with the troops divided into two groups.

Part of the world group.

United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Belgium.

The top four are announced.

These four teams will compete for the Davis Cup championship this year. The semi-finals will be in September and the final will be in November. The countdown to the championship battle has begun.

Part of the World Group Play-offs.

The eight teams that lost in the first round of the World Group and the eight teams that won the regional competition will be drawn to compete against each other:

The winner will enter the world group next year to compete for the championship; the loser will return to the regional group and make a comeback next year.

The teams that lost in the first round of this year's World Group were the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Japan, Germany, Croatia and Slovakia.

The teams that stood out in the regional competitions were Brazil, Colombia, Dominica, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Uzbekistan.

As for the matchup?

The decision will be made by drawing lots.

This is also a major feature of the Davis Cup. The seed ranking, opponents, home and away arrangements, etc. are all determined by drawing lots.

Luck plays an important role.

Precisely because of this, the World Group play-offs often see bizarre matchups, either a collision like Mars hitting the Earth, or a lucky win by picking up a leak. Similar situations have occurred more than once or twice, and have even become a major highlight of the Davis Cup World Group play-offs.

Some may say that this is unfair; but it is not.

Considering that the Davis Cup lineup is constantly changing, the direct impact of the season-long schedule system is that player injuries, schedules, emergencies, etc. are all unpredictable unknown factors, and not all top players will participate in every Davis event.

Well, such luck and such accidents can often bring some freshness.

for example--

Plagued by injuries, Nadal did not appear in this year's Spanish Davis Cup lineup. Spain, which has always been a top contender for the championship in the past few years, suffered a direct blow. After being dropped out of the world group last year, it was eliminated in the final round of the regional group this year.

"2:3".

Spain lost to Russia by a narrow margin and failed to qualify for the World Group play-offs; whereas Russia, whose main lineup featured rising stars born after 1995, such as Rublev and Khachanov, advanced unexpectedly, bringing a surprise.

then.

It is no surprise that when the World Group play-offs are ready to be drawn, it sparks widespread discussion.

In China, unexpectedly but understandably, the Davis Cup received attention for the first time in history, and social networks reported it extensively.

The Davis Cup has always been treated mediocrely in the tennis world, far from being comparable to the treatment given to top events such as the World Cup and the European Champions League. Tennis is ultimately an individual sport, and the weight and significance of team championships are limited.

What about China?

You know, even a player ranked in the top 100 in the world can't see the past, and the team competition is even more like a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water.

But now it’s different. Gawain’s sudden appearance has completely changed everything.

In the hustle and bustle, all eyes are focused on the Davis Cup. Various popular science and explanations have spread all over social networks, and it even made it into the hot search list, which indirectly shows Gao Wen's appeal.

Under the attention of the public, the Davis Cup World Group play-off draw was released——

How should we describe China's luck in the draw? ... Useless? This description is not quite accurate. It is hard to say it is good, but it is also hard to say it is bad: China drew the top seed as its opponent, and played away.

Judging from these two keywords alone, China's luck in the draw is simply a disaster. They already need to give it a try to win a glimmer of hope, but to make matters worse, they have to go to the away game to challenge the top seed. Isn't this like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth? Relying on Gao Wen alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to carry the team.

But don’t forget that the Davis Cup seeding ranking is entirely based on drawing lots. The number one seed is not necessarily the strongest team. This is also a kind of luck.

China drew the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic led by Berdych.

The Czech Republic has always been a tennis powerhouse and has produced a large number of outstanding tennis players. However, after the millennium, it fell into a brief trough until Berdych's resurgence. After him, the country has been thriving.

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Especially female players, Kvitova, Safarova, Vaidisova, Ka-Pliskova, Krejcikova and so on.

Of course, the male players are equally good, not only in singles but also in doubles, they are at the world's top level.

In 2012 and 2013, they won the Davis Cup for two consecutive years, becoming the team with the second most championships after Spain since the millennium, with outstanding performance.

This year, Czech leader Berdych did not join the Davis Cup team, which led to the Czech Republic losing to Australia, led by young players, in the first round of the World Group. They had to enter the World Group play-offs to defend their qualification to continue to compete for the championship in the World Group next year.

From a negative perspective, the Czech Republic is also the third seed in the world group. Their overall strength is balanced, and they have good strength in both singles and doubles. Even without Berdych, they still cannot be underestimated. Australia only narrowly defeated the Czech Republic with a score of 3:2.

From a positive perspective, the Czech Republic's main singles players are Rosol and Vesely. Both players have been in mediocre form this year and had poor overall performance in the first half of the season, struggling not only in the Grand Slam and Masters, but also in other tournaments.

In other words, China may not be without opportunities.

After the draw was announced, discussions on Chinese social networks spread like wildfire, with experts aplenty, one after another, analyzing the team's prospects in the Davis Cup.

As long as China can defeat the Czech Republic, it will enter the Davis Cup World Group for the first time in history, which is basically equivalent to entering the World Cup finals.

The point now is that the Czech Republic is undoubtedly strong and has a deep foundation, like a mountain in front of China, and can't help but look up at the sky:

Why didn't they pick Slovakia or Japan?

Ultimately, it's just bad luck.

If they only rely on Gawain, they probably still have little hope. Even if Gawain scores two points, it will still not be enough for the team to advance.

After all, a team competition still requires the collective strength of the team. On the one hand, they are focusing on Gao Wen; but on the other hand, they need other players to step up.

In any case, the draw has been finalized and the World Group play-offs will be held from September 18th to 20th, just like in previous years, one week after the US Open.

Before the Davis Cup comes again, the North American summer hard court season slowly kicks off.