Chapter 192 Suspected Civil War
"Come-On!"
On the first match point, Gao Wen successfully scored a forehand winner, and then he jumped high, roaring and screaming passionately. The passion and blood in his chest continued to spurt out. The tension and concentration that had lasted throughout the game finally found a way to vent and was released without reservation.
The semifinals of the U.S. Championships! The dream that was once out of reach is now being realized step by step. He will not stop his steps. He is still looking forward to being able to step onto a higher stage to show himself. He still holds the craziest expectations deep in his heart. The world of dreams has just opened a door.
Top four?
Here I come! The answer to the “Dark Horse Star vs. Dark Horse King” was finally revealed. In the end, it was Gawain who was in better form who won the game and advanced to the final four.
The pace of the whole game was very fast, with close combat and sparks flying, but Gawain, who rose strongly in the second half of the season and showed top level, still withstood the impact of Sarkisian. With a more outstanding performance, he defeated Sarkisian who shined in Athens and proved himself amid doubts.
After the game, the media exclaimed in amazement.
"Gavan of the Bruins is coming on strong without losing a single set since arriving in Athens."
"Gao Wen has won 20 games in a row in the U.S. Championships. He is in hot form."
"The biggest dark horse of the season has made it to the semi-finals. Gao Wen is ready to be the dark horse to the end."
"The freshman turned out to be a star, Gao Wen proved himself through the competition."
"The odds of winning the championship are rising, and Las Vegas is optimistic that Gao Wen will win the championship."
"With a perfect performance, he defeated Darkstar and showed his potential as a champion."
Admiration! Shock! Compliments! Cheers! They flocked to the event.
It is hard to imagine that just a dozen hours ago, these same media outlets were shouting "Gao Wen is in danger" and "Nemesis is coming", as if they could foresee the future and saw the result of Gao Wen's defeat and elimination early on; but in a blink of an eye, all the doubts and pessimism disappeared.
Instead, there is a prosperous era, and one can even see "championship declarations" popping up like mushrooms after a rain.
It's really laughable.
But this is competitive sports, where the winners take the cake and the losers take the cake. A win or a loss can put the two sides in completely different situations. Those curses, accusations, and complaints can only be temporarily endured, waiting for the next showdown to come, and then make a comeback.
After all, there is only one champion.
After every tour, only one person can think of the end.
So, who will have the last laugh in this year's U.S. Championship? Maybe... Gao Wen? Advancing to the semifinals means retaining the chance to compete for the championship, but the premise is that there are still two games to be completed and three opponents to advance together.
Here, Gawain defeated Sarkeesian to advance to the semi-finals.
Over there, the other three quarter-final matches also started in full swing.
Another matchup in the lower half was between two unknown dark horses, Florent-Diep from the University of Florida and Dennis-Nguyen from Harvard University.
Both universities performed poorly in the team competition this season and both missed the U.S. Championships, but the two singles players qualified for the singles competition with their outstanding performances. They were the only players from their respective schools participating in the singles competition, and they reached the quarterfinals in a draw full of upsets.
Overall, the performances of Dipu and Nguyen did not face much test, because the two players did not encounter any seeded players on the way to the next round, and the players across the net were all dark horses, which made it difficult for people to make an accurate judgment on their strength and status, and it was also difficult for the media to predict the results.
In the end, Dennis Nguyen performed better and reached the semi-finals after defeating Dipp.
Thus, the matchups in the lower half were settled:
"Gao Wen vs Dennis Nguyen".
As the name suggests, this is a confrontation between two Asian players. Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American player. The semi-final showdown will also be a spectacular sight at the U.S. Championship.
The two matches in the upper half were a different story, with both matches being unseeded players challenging seeded players.
One match is between McDonald and Hess Olesen.
This game was a roller coaster of ups and downs.
In the first set, Hess Oleson played well at the start and took the lead of "3:0", but then McDonald won three games in a row and the two sides returned to the same starting line. Unexpectedly, Hess Oleson made another effort at the end of the set and won three games in a row, winning the first set with a strong "6:3".
In the second set, McDonald launched a Jedi counterattack and performed perfectly. He cleared the game in just 24 minutes and delivered a donut to tie the score. The thrilling and ups and downs of the game made the audience flock to the venue, looking forward to the decisive game.
Unexpectedly, McDonald was obviously exhausted and almost collapsed in the deciding set. He tried his best to save some face, but finally won the game with a score of "2:6". He was unable to keep the suspense for too long and his performance in the deciding set declined significantly.
As expected, the fierce competition in the team competition has an objective impact on the main players.
The University of Texas, where Hess Oleson is located, was eliminated in the round of 16 in the team competition early on, which also made their physical reserves in the singles competition even better, allowing them to easily win the deciding set.
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The other match is between Geelong and Ben-Mclachlan of the University of California, Berkeley.
This was a clash of old rivals, as they are in the same Pac-12 Conference and played against each other twice at home and away during the regular season. Gillon and McLachlan had also met before. Obviously, the Bruins had the upper hand, winning easily at home and away, with the only point lost coming in the doubles.
By the way, although McLachlan's name does not look Asian at all, he is actually of Japanese-American descent and holds a Japanese passport.
Before the start of the first half of the competition, the top four places in the bottom half had been determined. Gao Wen and Ruan each defeated their opponents to enter the top four, which also made the players in Athens excited.
If McDonald defeats Hess-Olesen and then McLachlan defeats Geelong, the U.S. Championship will create new history, with four Asian players joining forces to occupy the semi-finals. Once achieved, it will undoubtedly be a classic moment worth writing about.
After all, the U.S. Championships still represents the highest level of NCAA tennis in North America.
However, record-keeping is difficult precisely because it is difficult.
McDonald was the first to miss victory, and soon after, McLachlan was also defeated.
Because they knew each other well, the final match of the quarterfinals went very quickly. Jilong continued to ignite his inner energy, and in just 49 minutes he had already won two sets in a row with scores of "6:1" and "6:2", easily sweeping McLachlan and advancing to the semi-finals.
At this point, the matchups in the upper half have also been revealed.
"Geelong vs Hess-Olesen".
Wait, does this mean… “Govan vs Geelong” is also an option?
First update.
(End of this chapter)