In competitive sports, everyone hopes to be immune to injuries, but everyone knows that this is impossible.
In fact, injury is the most difficult, terrifying and nightmare challenge in competitive sports, both on and off the court.
In the past year, Gao Wen's career had a perfect start. He was not only healthy and in good shape, but also continued to grow. This made it difficult to surpass or replicate a year. But this is just the beginning. The next step is the real challenge.
From a freshman to a sophomore who has fully adapted to the game, from an unknown to the world's number two, from a dark horse to the first title defense, everything will open a new chapter, and this is the real beginning of a professional career.
A brilliant year, but that's just a shooting star.
From Janowicz to Safina and then to Bouchard, these rising stars who carried countless hopes were submerged in the tide of history in the blink of an eye. Their brief brilliance gradually faded in the long time. What they showed was the beauty of competitive sports, but also the cruelty of competitive sports.
No one wants to be a shooting star, like a firework.
The Big Four are called the Big Four because they have proven themselves over a long period of one, two, three...five years.
Gawain's test has just begun.
Agassi, believe in Gawain.
Despite the numerous difficulties, and now the injuries that are making matters worse, Agassi has become more determined precisely because of the difficulties that have emerged all at once.
“Pete, a year ago, no one believed that Gawain could be where he is now, including you and me.”
"But Gawain did it. Not only did he do it, he went far beyond expectations."
"The real battle begins now."
Simple words, but with a strong power.
Sampras also couldn't help but get excited and full of enthusiasm -
He is willing to accompany Gawain on this journey. No matter the peak or the trough, no matter the glory or the difficulty, he is ready.
On the court, Gawain returned.
From the surface, there is absolutely no difference. The jersey covers the position of the abdominal muscles and also blocks the line of sight. The steps are also light again and there is nothing abnormal. However, true professionals know that they still need to watch the next game before they can make a judgment.
"Gawain!"
"Ah, ahhh, Gawain, I love you."
“Come on, come on, come on!”
The shouts came one after another, lingering over the entire stadium for a long time.
In Gao Wen's player box, everyone stood up and cheered for Gao Wen with applause. They were Gao Wen's strong backing.
The whole audience roared.
Returning to the court, Gao Wen quickly packed up his towel and racket and trotted into the venue.
Tsonga has been waiting for a long time.
As there was no sign of Gawain for a long time, Tsonga simply returned to the court and kept his muscles warm by doing serve training.
When Gao Wen reached the baseline, the first thing he did was to raise his racket towards Tsonga to express his apology.
This was also new to Gawain—
During the game, he left the field for treatment due to a medical timeout, and then returned to the game. After a short interval and adjustment, he immediately regained his concentration on the game.
This is not easy.
And there's another problem. The muscle tape binds the muscles so tightly that the stretch and extension of the entire hitting action feels different.
As a result, one is afraid to move, so the range of movement is inevitably reduced; secondly, the feel of hitting the ball is abnormal, everything from touching the ball to controlling it is different.
New experience, new test.
It can be seen at this point that Tsonga has rich competition experience. From self-adjustment to maintaining concentration, he quickly gained a foothold.
"40:0".
In his own serve game, Tsonga played steadily and step by step, getting three consecutive set points, and the second set was about to end.
Afterwards, Tsonga's condition fluctuated and he was a little soft. He made two unforced errors of his own and a forehand return winner from Gawain. The three set points were exhausted before he could even blink.
The whole audience took a deep breath.
However, Tsonga still stood firm and won two points in a row, and finally cashed in on the fourth count.
"7:5".
The second set victory belonged to Tsonga.
This quarter-final match will enter the deciding set.
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The suspense of victory or defeat is reignited.
During the break between games, the commentary booth was bustling with activity.
“The situation is hard to predict right now.”
"Injuries play a big role, but not just the normal reasons that we know about."
"Of course, due to injury, this may affect Gao Wen's performance. We have no way of knowing the specific situation of Gao Wen's injury now, but there is no doubt that this will change the game."
"The most obvious point is that Gao Wen will not continue to play at his original pace because injuries have become an unknown constraint."
"So, facing Tsonga's ball, how will he choose to hit the ball, what rhythm and tactics, including the entire tactical layout, everything will change. This is completely different from his original game. Not to mention Tsonga, even Gawain himself cannot predict it."
"That's why the decider might be a little strange."
"The key now is how Gawain sets the game and how Tsonga breaks it."
"For Tsonga, the most important thing is to continue to stick to himself and finish the game at his own pace, but we all need to put a question mark, will Gao Wen allow it?"
"When a player is injured, it not only tests his willpower and fighting ability, but also tests his bottom line. If one tactic doesn't work, how should he choose and how should he adjust?"
"There is no doubt that the key to the final set should be Gao Wen's serve. The key lies in whether Gao Wen can hold his serve and how many times he can hold his serve. Once Gao Wen can hold his serve continuously and push the game into the second half, the situation will usher in a completely new change."
"Let's wait and see."
The professionalism of the commentator is beyond doubt——
At the beginning of the third set, Gao Wen served first, and encountered a serious crisis in his first service game.
"0:40".
This was also Gao Wen's first serving game after receiving the medical timeout. It can be clearly seen that Gao Wen's serve power has decreased and he dared not exert force: the speed of the first serve directly dropped to about 160 kilometers per hour. For Tsonga, there was no threat and the first serve could be used as the second serve for attack.
Fortunately, Tsonga is not a player like Serena Williams who likes to attack the serve. Although he often goes to the net, he is still a baseline player in essence, so he did not directly attack as soon as he caught Gao Wen's serve.
But in fact, Tsonga doesn't need to attack at all. He can directly start the round from the baseline, take the initiative and launch the first attack.
Not only his serve, Gao Wen's two-handed backhand was obviously unable to withstand the ball, and the whole hitting action was indeed affected.
Thus, in the blink of an eye, the game did not even reach a stalemate, and Gao Wen had already lost three points in a row and fell into a desperate situation.