The treatment of the defending champion is indeed extraordinary.
Originally, Gao Wen thought that he could keep a normal mind; moreover, he had experienced numerous storms and waves, so he could face any challenge calmly and calmly again.
But when I actually arrived at the press conference, the whole atmosphere was different after all. It was completely different from any Grand Slam experience in the past.
Especially when the reporter mentioned the "defending champion", the joy and excitement were like fireworks burning in his lower abdomen. From position to state to maturity, everything was quietly changing.
Only then did Gao Wen realize that this was indeed the first time he had defended his title.
"Hehe, sorry, it's only now that I realize I'm the defending champion. I feel a little weird."
"I feel like I'm wearing a funhouse mirror filter now, and the world in front of me is different."
There was no greeting or politeness. As soon as Gao Wen opened his mouth, he showed his honesty and humor. The reporters at the scene started to make a noise.
There is no doubt that Asian journalists make up the majority and are more supportive than anyone else because this is also a brand new experience for them.
"Of course, it's different. Everything is different now."
"First of all, my world ranking is different. This time last year, I was ranked 193rd, which should not be on anyone's radar."
Boom! There was laughter and shock.
You wouldn't know it until you look back now, and you realize that for a whole year, Gao Wen started with no world ranking and participated in his first professional tournament as 193rd place with a wild card. Now it's been a blink of an eye, and it feels like a lifetime ago. Everything happened too fast.
"Although this is not my first time competing as the second seed, being the defending champion is indeed a fresh experience. I look forward to getting familiar with this role in the future. This is a good opportunity to see how I perform, which may serve as a small reference for the future."
There is a little bit of arrogance in the humility——
The subtext is that he expects to win more championships, and naturally, he will have more opportunities to compete as the defending champion.
Really clever.
"Not only now, I have been able to slowly feel the difference in the situation since before."
“People look at me with a mentality of celebration, praise and expectation: since we achieved unparalleled results here last year, we should also be optimistic this year.”
"But we all know that last year is last year and this year is this year, and they are two different things."
"I know how difficult it is to get back into the semifinals, finals, or even win the championship. If I think too much, those thoughts will slowly take over my brain and consume my concentration and commitment in the game. I won't think about defending my title now. I will try to focus on what is happening right now."
"For example, I just passed by the players' restaurant, and dinner has been served one after another. My stomach is protesting. While talking to you, I started thinking about dinner options. For me, this is what I need to consider right now."
ha.
There was a burst of laughter.
Immediately afterwards, a reporter raised his hand and brought up a very interesting topic.
"There are some players who believe that they were successful last year following this model, so they replicate the same model this year and expect to be successful as well."
"Do you have this idea? Copy last year's model and also copy last year's feat."
Gao Wen shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, no," and a smile also rose.
"I don't want to repeat last year's model. One draw like that is enough."
The whole audience burst into laughter.
"As I just said, this year is completely different from last year, everything is brand new."
"I don't want to follow last year's pattern, I'm looking forward to making some changes, continuing to improve and taking on new challenges."
"You should look at it this way: a brand new ranking, a brand new position, a brand new situation, and even a brand new team. I am also a brand new me. So, I also choose a brand new hotel and a brand new daily routine. Oh, by the way, because of injuries, my plans are disrupted, which is also a brand new experience."
Haha, hahahaha——
The words themselves were meaningless, but Gawain's tone, which was relaxed and self-deprecating, was full of humor and made people laugh.
“I am also looking forward to a brand new tournament.”
Finally, Gao Wen put a period to his question, but the reporter was obviously not satisfied and asked another question.
"Injury is indeed an emergency. There are many expectations from the outside world, but also many doubts. Does this have any impact on you?"
This was an expected problem and Gao Wen was not surprised.
"Of course, the impact exists objectively."
"I need to adjust and adapt. I have started to resume training, but there are no official games. I am not sure how I will perform after entering the game."
"Pete and Andre have given me so much advice on this situation and I am always grateful for their generosity."
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"The first round of a Grand Slam is always difficult, with some nervousness and awkwardness. You don't know your own condition or your opponent's condition. You always hope to enter the game as quickly as possible and control the situation, but the reality often leads to unexpected situations, so you need to stay calm."
"For Grand Slams, the best-of-five format gives us more time to think and adjust, which is very important."
"Add to that injuries, and there will be more uncertainties, and more things that need to be explored and adapted to."
"So, the semi-finals, championship, and title defense are all too far away for me. I hope to be down-to-earth and focus on the first round first."
"To make an objective assessment, now is definitely not the best time in my career, but I believe that I am still a threat worthy of attention."
Being so modest is definitely being polite.
"As for the outside voices, hey, you should know that I am still living in the last century, right?"
This joke successfully caused whistles and applause in the press conference room.
The reason is very simple.
As everyone knows, all of Gawain's social network accounts are operated by professional teams, and only in very rare cases does Gawain post messages himself, so fans have complained that Gawain is an old grandfather living in the last century.
Now Gao Wen responded in this way. He never cared about, would not care about, and did not intend to care about the doubts and attacks from the outside world.
In the era of social networks, being able to completely put aside distractions and focus on the game requires maturity and wisdom, which is very rare not only among players of the same age, but even among the top ten players in the world. Djokovic and Murray are still plagued by negative online comments.
At this time in the press conference, Gao Wen still adhered to his usual principles -
Ignore the hate speech.
It was not out of cowardice or escape, but disdain, because Gao Wen knew that any little bit of attention, even rebuttal or attack, would become fuel for those hateful speeches to gain more attention and gain more firepower.
Then.
The most important topic of the pre-match press conference that you absolutely cannot miss is on stage:
"…In the pre-fight press conference, Sasha said, sorry and I quote: 'I don't mean to be arrogant, but I think I can beat him'."