Chapter 1813: Give up the spotlight

To some extent, the reactions of social networks and news media prove Gao Wen's point——

Expectations have changed, and voices from the outside world are becoming a major obstacle for the younger generation to stay focused. Obviously, this is a serious problem.

Everything is put under a microscope, and the effect is magnified ten or a hundred times.

A victory may be praised to the sky; similarly, a failure may be sent to hell.

But in the world of competitive sports, victory is victory and defeat is defeat. One or two games cannot represent the entire career.

The media and the Internet need to relax, and young players also need to relax. Only in this way can they grow.

Roar! Roar, roar, roar! The Arthur Ashe Stadium was excited by Gawain's words, and the applause was thunderous.

Courier looked at Gao Wen with a hint of appreciation. He did not continue to dig up more information around the hot topic, but focused on the next game.

"Gao Wen, your opponent for the second round has been announced. Earlier, Mardy Fish had already advanced to the second round..."

Ah! The cheers and roars from the audience interrupted Courier's words. At this moment, it can be felt that Fish is the real home court, with amazing energy.

The corners of Collier's mouth curled up slightly in a smile.

"Next, you will compete with Madi for a spot in the third round."

"Before the start of this year's US Open, Madi had already announced that this would be the last tournament of his career, the last time he would step onto the New York court, and the last time he would step onto the tennis court."

"This is your first meeting with Maddie, and it will also be your last meeting. What do you think about this?"

Oh, oh oh oh.

The cheers and booing at Arthur Ashe continued, and fans could even be seen standing up, raising their hands and cheering.

Obviously, they are already showing great expectations for the next game.

Gawain shrugged slightly and smiled.

“It’s an honor for me, without a doubt.”

"In the next game, I will be a supporting role and the spotlight should belong to Madi."

Just a few simple words easily pushed the atmosphere in Arthur Ashe Stadium to an extreme, with applause and whistles roaring out.

After saying that, Gao Wen bent down and picked up his equipment bag, ending the interview and preparing to leave. There was still a series of work to be completed after the game.

However, Collier waited for a time difference, and saw that Gawain had already turned and left, so he shouted half a beat late.

"Ready to leave now, man? It seems like you can't wait to get rid of me. My problems aren't over yet."

As soon as he heard it, he knew that Collier was joking. Amid the laughter of the whole audience, Gawain had to stop and look at Collier again with a smile on his face.

Courier deliberately kept his mouth shut, refusing to speak, his eyes full of smiles.

Gawain put his equipment bag down and made an inviting gesture.

Collier then put the microphone close to his mouth and said, "I just want to ask about your equipment. This black equipment is so chic and fashionable. Is it imitating armor?"

Gao Wen was dumbfounded.

Haha, hahaha, the whole audience burst into laughter.

It is very rare to see Gawain’s speechless expression; this scene is truly precious.

Courier's face was full of pride.

Gao Wen laughed dumbly, but still approached the microphone with a serious attitude, "Actually, this is an imitation of Darth Vader's equipment. How about it, are you scared?"

The laughter simply couldn't be stopped.

Including Courier.

An unexpected answer regained the initiative.

The next morning, The New York Times reported Gao Wen's first game on his title defense journey with a rare headline like this, which was very shocking.

"Darth Vader's first appearance, the Dark Lord is still the master of Arthur Ashe's night scene!"

Even Gawain himself did not expect that Zverev would become the first victim of the Black Warrior's sweeping victory. Behind the sympathy and regret was an eager expectation, forming a new trend -

The post-90s players, including Zverev Jr., are indeed living in a stressful era, facing the most severe and demanding tests. With the Big Four in front of them and the Dark Warrior behind them, it is truly a dark time.

This... was also something I never expected.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Later, Fish posted a joke on his social networking account.

"Fortunately, I don't have to go through the Darth Vader era, etc...."

It was concise and to the point, but it created an amazing teasing effect. Players including Roddick and Federer forwarded it, and it became a new trend on social networks.

The reason is very simple -

Mardy Fish, born in 1981, belongs to the same generation as Federer, Roddick, Safin, Ferrero, Hewitt, Nalbandian and other players, to be precise.

At the beginning of the century, in the short five years before Nadal's rise, this group of players was hailed as the golden generation. They complemented the generation of Sampras and Agassi who had not yet retired, and began to seize power in an all-round way, ushering in a glorious period of shining stars.

In 2004, Fish won the men's singles silver medal at the Athens Olympics. He and Roddick were once known as the twin stars of American men's singles, and became the number one men's singles player in the United States in 2011.

Fish and Roddick grew up together, trained together, and entered the professional arena together. Not only were they high school classmates, but Fish also stayed at Roddick's house for a whole year. They also experienced an era together.

Of course, everyone knows what happened later.

Like Roddick, Fish and others entered the peak era of tennis together, first Federer and Nadal, and then Djokovic and Murray, so that the former golden generation all became supporting roles.

Roddick became a representative role of the tragic figure in the era of giants. He won the US Open championship in 2003 and was ranked first in the world at the end of the year. However, he lost to Federer in three Wimbledon finals and one US Open final and finished second, and was never able to get through the last hurdle.

It is precisely because of this that people often refer to the golden players of Roddick and Fish's generation as "victims of the era of giants". "What if there were no Federer/Nadal" is undoubtedly the most frequently occurring assumption; but no one would have expected that the players born after 1990 still could not escape the shadow of the giants, and then the younger generation born after 1995 has already appeared on the scene.

From another perspective, the retirement of the golden generation also avoided the embarrassment of a head-on confrontation with a younger and more youthful generation. It can be considered an end. After all, they have suffered too many bitter defeats in front of the Big Four.

Hence Fish's self-deprecating remark, which caused laughter.

Now, the players born around 1980 have retired one after another. In addition, Federer has not won a Grand Slam title for three years. Naturally, there is a faint sadness in the tour that "an era is about to end."

This year's US Open will be the final match of Fish's career.

"Fish vs. Gawain", so, will this be Fish's last game?

(End of this chapter)