Chapter 1745 Growth and Education
Ah, it's over, it's over just like that——
Somewhat empty.
In the end, Jilong was unable to turn the situation around. He had done his best within his own knowledge, but still could not score.
Sometimes, it was my own mistake; sometimes, it was my own hesitation; sometimes, it was simply that Gao Wen’s performance was a level higher.
To sum it up simply, they lost 24 points in a row, swallowed an invisible egg in an almost absurd way, and then lost the entire game.
The experience of winning the ATP main draw for the first time in his career, a Cinderella-like journey, came to an end in such a miserable way.
It felt like Cinderella was so carried away that she was still lingering at the ball after midnight. The magic of the fairy godmother had disappeared in public, and she was without gorgeous clothes or exquisite makeup and hair, revealing her original gray face, exposed to everyone.
It turns out that everything was just a dream.
Not only embarrassed, but also powerless.
Even some shame.
but--
He let out a long breath, swallowed all the bitterness on the tip of his tongue, and straightened his back again. He had tried his best, hadn't he? Not only in the first set, but also in the difficult situation in the second set, he had tried everything, including the last point. He had been fighting and struggling.
He has already shown everything in his arsenal, and as for the result, that is a reality he needs to digest slowly.
Jilong has been angry and anxious all the time.
The reason is not complicated.
Gillon believes in his talent and ability, and he believes that he should achieve better results. After all, he was a child of destiny during his NCAA days. He and Gao Wen also fought side by side in college. Although there are some gaps, he does not think that it is an unbridgeable gap.
However, in real life, although Gao Wen has reached the semi-finals in all four Grand Slams, he is still struggling in the Challenge Tournament and the Future Tournament.
This is not normal.
To put it another way, even if we don’t compare ourselves with Gawain, but with Jillong’s expectations of himself, the reality is far from meeting his own standards.
Jilong does not expect to transform himself overnight and reach the level of Gowen, but at least his world ranking should be in the top 100; and he should find his place in ATP-level events instead of struggling in Challenger and Hopefuls-level events.
Therefore, when things do not go according to one's wishes, the anger, the unwillingness, the anxiety, and the frustration will almost destroy oneself.
Until today.
Things are completely turned upside down.
Playing against Gao Wen is not just a matter of winning or losing a game, but also a matter of winning or losing when one's confidence and condition reach their peak.
More importantly, although the two teams were evenly matched in the first set, they were crushed in the second set even though they maintained a high-intensity and high-frequency state.
A complete crush and one-sided destruction.
For Jilong, this was a shocking education.
On the one hand, he truly realized the gap between himself and Gawain, which was also the gap between himself and the top masters.
On the other hand, he also realized that tennis involves a lot more than just hard power, including the interpretation of the game, the understanding of tennis, the reading of the opponent, and so on.
These parts are the focus of professional competitions.
In the NCAA, talent alone is enough to form a competition; but in the professional arena, what is most lacking is talent. Not only is there no shortage of talent, there is also no shortage of diligent and hard-working geniuses. Talent is no longer a weapon, but a foundation. Things are fundamentally different.
However.
After a whole year in the professional arena, Jilong did not realize this and did not make any progress.
So, being stuck in the Challenge and Hope tournaments is what Geelong deserves.
He should not be angry or aggrieved. He reaps what he sows. All these results are caused by himself.
call.
Jilong took another deep breath.
As bitter, embarrassing and shameful as it was, losing 24 points in a row and ruining a victory in such a way is indeed worthy of being recorded in history.
Now you can imagine the heated discussion on social networks. They might even edit a 24-minute counting video and keep it online forever as a means of flogging the corpse. What's worse is that the protagonist is Gawain, and people may not even remember the name of Jilong, the background board.
However, he needed such a moment, a shock, a lesson, and a bang against the wall to really wake him up.
Only when you hit rock bottom can you realize the nature of the problem.
Looking up, Jilong could see Gao Wen already standing in front of the net. He didn't cheer or celebrate, but just stood there with a smile on his face.
It was obvious at first glance that Gao Wen had given him some face.
Giron couldn't help but think of Gawain's image as a god of war at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. A smile rose slightly on the corners of his mouth. He regrouped, trotted all the way to the net, and faced the result of the game calmly with his head held high.
Without any words, Jilong opened his arms and gave Gao Wen a big hug.
One year.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
So long yet so short.
Jilong always felt that Gao Wen seemed to be different, so he reduced contact as much as possible, quietly distanced himself and kept space.
But now when I look closer again, I find that it is actually myself who has changed, while Gawain has not changed much. At least Gawain is still the Gawain of the Brown Bears.
"Thanks, man. Actually, you could have given me a little more, but you didn't, so thank you."
If it was the Jilong of the past, he would not choose to say the second half of the sentence, a simple "thank you" would be enough; but after thinking about it, he still wanted to say it.
Maybe, change starts from here.
It was just a simple sentence, but Gao Wen could feel the complexity and relief behind it.
He didn't know what Jilong had experienced and was going through, but he knew that the road of competitive sports was destined to be lonely and they needed to face it on their own.
"You're welcome."
"Honestly, it's not easy for me to lose one or two points. There's nothing I can do. The ability is there."
This arrogant boast succeeded in making Jilong laugh happily.
Sure enough, Gawain still looked the same as in his memory.
Jilong was still not good at joking. He tried to show his wit but didn't know how to start, so he gave up in the end.
"Now I finally understand why Mike and the others call you the Big Devil."
"Hey, big devil, keep working hard and keep improving. I'm not sure if I can keep up with you, but be patient, I will keep trying to catch up."
Simple and sincere, Jilong finally spoke out his true thoughts.
Gao Wen opened his arms, looked into Jilong's eyes, and then stretched out his right hand, showing a smile, "I hope we don't have to wait a year when we meet next time."
It is a challenge and also an encouragement.
Jilong held Gao Wen's right hand, and a smile rose. "I'll try my best."
Bang!
Bang!
The audience watching this scene burst into thunderous applause, both for Gao Wen and for Jilong.
(End of this chapter)