Chapter 1812: Playing with memes
Boom! Boom boom boom!
Arthur Ashe Stadium has truly turned into a party scene.
Typical New York, typical US Open, you can even see spectators raising their beer mugs high to cheer and celebrate, the generosity and joy of drinking them all in one gulp, presenting an atmosphere completely different from the other three Grand Slams. It may not be in line with the gentleman culture of tennis, but the moment you are in it -
Who could refuse?
Obviously, Gao Wen's words were a double entendre, thanking the audience and at the same time implying other away teams. In an instant, the entire audience was boiling with excitement.
Collier was not surprised at all, that was part of Gawain's charm.
Next, Courier asked some official questions as usual.
For example, how is the injury recovery going? Whether the injury so close to the US Open disrupts the preparation plan? How does it feel to return to the Arthur Ashe Stadium after a year? How does it feel to start the Grand Slam journey with a night tournament?
And so on and so forth.
It was pretty much the same as a pre-match press conference - just a little more relaxed after a first-round win.
There will be a lot of overlap with the post-match press conference later - the most important difference is the interaction, the interaction between Gawain and Courier, and Gawain and the audience. Compared with the questions, the atmosphere of Arthur Ashe Stadium is the key.
In fact, you can just understand it as a fan meeting.
After all, the night game ended early tonight, and the night tickets were much more expensive than the daytime games. As a result, we only watched less than three hours of the game, which was really a pity. Now the interaction between Gawain and Courier was also obviously extended as a small benefit to give back to the enthusiastic support of the audience.
Especially considering the brilliance and grandeur of Gawain's debut tonight, the tournament organizers were also keenly aware of the intentions of Gawain's fans.
Naturally, Courier also received instructions to visit Govan as the defending champion and with home treatment. The fans' regret and uneasiness quietly turned into joy and happiness. Even the cold wind at night was no longer a problem. The entire Arthur Ashe Stadium turned into a party scene in Ibiza.
Then, after a slight pause, Courier brought up the focus topic.
"Man, let's talk about tonight's game, you know I had to ask."
"Sasha is a very talented player, but you seem to have your head planned out and know exactly how you are going to respond to every situation when you are on the court."
"Before the game, many people were talking about this game. You will lose a few innings in the end, just like in football. It's a pity that the record you once held was broken."
Courier is different from reporters. The topic of "highest consumption" has to be mentioned, but he will not blatantly sow discord, fan the flames, or gloat over other people's misfortunes. He appears reserved from beginning to end, and with his gentle smile, the atmosphere of the whole conversation seems much more relaxed.
Gao Wen's face was serious.
“It’s a bit regrettable.”
……Really?
"In fact, I don't think the content of this game is as simple as the score. The confrontation and rounds of the game continued from the first point to the end."
"At the same time, I also think this match is a very important start for me. The first round of a Grand Slam match is not easy at any time, not to mention that this is my first match back on the court, and I am facing an opponent like Sasha. Victory is a very important step."
“I think people need to go easy on us.”
"Sasha and I are of similar age. Other players in the same group include Borna, Andre and many more. They are all very talented and very focused on the court. I think both me and them just need some time to adapt to the game, to explore themselves and finally to grow and transform."
"The situation has changed a little bit now."
"I've noticed that more and more people are paying attention to our group of players, and everyone's expectations are getting higher and higher. I understand that we are in a golden age. Roger, Rafa, Novak, Andy, Stan and so on, these excellent top players have been refreshing our understanding of tennis. Naturally, there are higher expectations for other players."
"Inevitably, with the expectations and pressure from the outside world and from ourselves, our understanding of tennis and our focus on the game have changed to some extent."
"I need some time, and so do they."
"So if you guys stop drawing all the attention to yourself by asking questions about defending your title, that should help a little bit."
A light joke made Arthur Ashe Stadium cheerful again.
In fact, Gao Wen did not mean to excuse Zverev. Of course, he had no interest in continuing to provoke a war of words. He just stated a fact.
Attention can be a pressure or a motivation, especially for young people, who need some time to learn and space to grow.
Courier has got the answer he wanted -
Gao Wen was not prepared to add insult to injury, and was still trying to relieve the pressure on the young players. However, in a self-deprecating way, relieving the pressure of defending the title, such a response was perfect.
So, Courier didn't ask any more questions and changed the subject.
But other journalists and social networks were not willing to let it go easily. It would be a pity to miss such a good topic.
"The curse of 'maximum consumption' has finally been broken, from a maximum of two games to a maximum of three games, a qualitative leap!"
"Sure enough, young people are rising rapidly, and the gap is narrowing little by little."
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"It's a bit regrettable that Gao Wen 'actually' lost three games this time!"
"How hypocritical, Gao Wen, you obviously don't like Sasha Zverev at all, but you still say good things about him."
"They seem to be trying to smooth things over on the surface, but behind the scenes they probably won't talk to each other in the locker room. These young people are really interesting."
"No means no. Zverev was provoking Gawain from the beginning to the end, and Gawain slapped him in the face."
“For the generation born after 1995, Gao Wen is still the benchmark.”
"I foresaw victory, but I didn't expect the process or the result. I didn't expect the gap between Gao Wen and other 'post-95s' to be so obvious."
"Such a score is really surprising."
"It's not easy to achieve a soccer score in tennis."
Chirping and bustling.
All kinds of jokes are flying all over the Internet. In the surging tide of public opinion, there is also a small number of haters who dislike Gao Wen and speak for Zverev Jr., complaining about Gao Wen's hypocrisy and affectation. But there is no doubt that there are countless jokes about Zverev Jr., and they are almost ruining it.
Even the reporters did not let Zverev go.
After all, in a Grand Slam best-of-five match, he only won three games. This is really unacceptable and the gap is too big compared to the expectations.
Once out of the circle.
Those netizens who have no interest in tennis and no concern for competitive sports have also joined the ranks, and the "highest consumption" stalk cannot be overcome.
It is conceivable that for a long time to come, "highest consumption" will still be a curse, a topic of conversation, and a topic of relish.
(End of this chapter)