Chapter 1811: All eyes on the audience
Roar! Roar!
Cheers and shouts, applause and whistles, the party officially begins.
The fans who flocked to Flushing from all corners of the world to watch the first step of Gao Wen's title defense journey were really satisfied and entered the party state immediately -
They just like this kind of game. There is no need to be nervous or worried. No roller coaster or big reversal is needed. A simple victory is enough. They come with the mood of enjoying the show, come in relaxed and leave happily. This is a perfect Tuesday night.
The five-star red flag was flying throughout the venue. This bright red color fulfilled the important task of connecting the past and the future, drawing the final period for last year's miraculous journey and sounding the clarion call for a new journey this year. The passionate shouts of unity could be clearly heard in the howling wind of New York at night.
"Gawain!"
"Gawain!"
"Gawain!"
It resounds through the sky, and everything is so simple.
Perhaps, there is only one exception at the scene——
Zverev Jr.
He was not surprised when the last point landed.
The trend of the entire third set had already been revealed, and the end could be seen at a glance. He himself had lost confidence and patience by the end, and the end of the game was actually a relief.
Finally, this nightmare can end, and I can finally leave this stadium. Everything is over.
Before stepping onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Zverev had his own imagination and aspirations. This was the first time in his career that he stepped onto the center court of a Grand Slam, which is also the largest tennis court in the world. Coupled with the match against Gao Wen, the game itself was given more profound meaning.
But.
The cruel reality was nothing like the picture he had imagined; but he couldn't quite describe it, as he had mixed feelings.
Zverev lowered his head slightly, and others could not see his expression and eyes clearly. He walked forward and walked silently towards the net.
He raised his eyes slightly and saw the figure on the other side of the net, then lowered his eyes again, raised his right hand and clapped it hastily, without any pause, and walked around the goal post and straight towards the players' rest area, without even the most basic courtesy.
The handshake after the game was warm and cold, close and distant. If we had to find an adjective, it would be that this handshake was colder than the Siberian winter. From the eyes to the touch of the palms, it was so sloppy and perfunctory, emitting a sense of resistance and rejection from the inside out.
This should not be surprising.
Gao Wen, didn't mind.
In fact, after scoring the last point, Gao Wen did not cheer or celebrate at all. He remained calm and then breathed a sigh of relief.
In the first game after being away from the court for two weeks, I didn’t feel anything special about the abdominal injury and it didn’t affect my performance. The game basically went according to plan, which is the most important thing. An easy victory was the icing on the cake.
After a handshake without any eye contact or warmth, while waiting for Zverev to pass by, Gawain politely shook hands with the referee, expressed his gratitude with a smile, and then returned to the court.
Gao Wen raised his hands and gently tapped the strings with his left hand, in this way giving applause to the audience and thanking them for their warm welcome.
After a year, I stepped onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium again, and the happy memories are still vivid and real. Before stepping onto the court, I was a little nervous, a little numb, a little excited, and a little apprehensive, but after the first game, all these emotions turned into joy in my blood.
Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! As Gawain turned in four different directions, the corresponding stands burst into cheers, lighting up the entire night sky like a human wave.
And when Gawain spun around and returned to his original position, they all cheered.
"ah!"
The rolling waves of cheering and shouting hit the seats in the stadium, causing waves of echoes and soaring into the sky, and the sky above also rolled over.
Boom, boom, boom—
The uniform shouting seemed to have no end in sight, which was truly incredible.
Jim Courier was already standing on the sidelines waiting for action. Even though he was a veteran and had experienced many battles, he still couldn't help but marvel at the scene before him.
This year, the legendary star accepted the invitation of the US Open to serve as the post-match host of the men's singles event on Center Court, interacting with the players on site.
As the game drew to a close, Courier and the TV broadcast team were already ready on the sidelines, but they still needed to give the players some time to thank the audience and complete simple post-match work.
As a result, Courier discovered that the protagonist who won tonight seemed to have forgotten one thing.
"Hey! Hey, that young lady knight, have you forgotten something?"
Collier picked up the phone and quickly greeted.
Gao Wen, who put on a black jacket to keep warm and carried a equipment bag to leave the stadium for post-match recovery training, saw two staff members in front of him waving their hands in panic and constantly reminding the people behind them. He paused slightly and was full of question marks.
Then, Gao Wen turned around and saw the live broadcast team carrying cameras chasing after him. Only then did he realize that the end of the game did not mean the end of everything.
Gao Wen smiled, apologized quickly, came back, put down his equipment bag, and couldn't help laughing while looking at the camera lens.
"Bang! Prank! So, you all fell for it."
He tried to cover up his forgetfulness in such a way that the entire Arthur Ashe Stadium burst into laughter.
Collier had not expected that Gawain would resolve the embarrassment in such a way, and he cooperated very well, "Indeed, we were all fooled."
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He said this while shaking his head.
There was laughter at the scene.
"First of all, welcome back..."
Courier was interrupted by the audience before he could finish his speech.
"Wow, it looks like someone is winning the hearts of the crowd here."
"How is it, how does it feel to step into Arthur Ashe Stadium again as the defending champion? Is there any change?"
The opening was still standard questions, no different from the pre-match press conference. After all, this was the first time in Gawain's career that he appeared as the defending champion.
But Gawain's answer was slightly different.
“Oh, this time last year after the first game, it wasn’t like this.”
Ha! The whole audience laughed.
Last year, after Gawain defeated Isner in the first round, although the boos were not as exaggerated as those from the audience, it must be admitted that the audience needed some time to digest it.
But tonight was completely different.
A smile appeared on Gao Wen's face, and he continued to answer.
"It's definitely different. I just completely forgot about the post-match interview. Obviously I'm still worried about no one recognizing me."
Hahaha.
"The biggest difference is that you welcomed me back in such a warm way, not only as the defending champion, but also as a home away from home."
"Oh, it's been a long time since I last felt this way. It's been a long, long time since I last felt this way."
Wait, is Gao Wen implying the away treatment of the other three Grand Slams?
Roar, boom, ha.
The booing and noise set the whole place on fire.
(End of this chapter)