Championships, victories, rankings are very important, extremely important, but they are not everything.
Back then, Nadal emerged out of nowhere and made a strong debut as a Mallorcan wind-chasing boy at the age of 18. In just two years, he had established himself among the top ranks and had a youth career comparable to that of Bjorn Borg. He had created countless miracles before the age of 20.
From professionals to professional players to veteran fans, many people think that Nadal can be compared with Federer. Why is this? Is it because Nadal won two Roland Garros titles?
No.
To be precise, the two French Open titles are indeed part of the reason, but the more important reason lies with Federer.
Two pieces of data.
First, from the 2005 Wimbledon to the 2007 US Open, Federer had a record of 68 wins and 2 losses in Grand Slam tournaments, sweeping eight championship trophies, with only two losses, both coming in the French Open final against Nadal.
Second, in 2006, Federer had 92 wins and 5 losses throughout the year, which is still the most incredible and unparalleled season in tennis history. Four of the five losses came to Nadal, and the other one was a loss to Murray in Cincinnati.
Because of this, there was once a popular joke on the Internet that in Federer's tennis world there are only two kinds of players, one is called Nadal, and the other is called everyone else.
From 2004 to 2008, Nadal was almost the only player in men's professional tennis who could compete with Federer without losing at all.
In the early stage, Nadal only suppressed his opponent on clay courts; in the later stage, he slowly eroded Federer's advantage on hard courts, and reached its peak in the 2008 Wimbledon final. It was the first time that Nadal defeated Federer on grass and at the centenary All England Club, overthrowing Federer's dominance.
In fact—
Wimbledon in 2008 was Nadal's first Grand Slam title outside of Roland Garros.
Before that, Nadal had “only” won four French Open titles, four consecutive titles that were mediocre.
But this does not prevent people from placing Nadal in the position of a giant, on par with Federer, because Nadal is the only player who can challenge and compete with Federer, and also because every meeting between Nadal and Federer always presents a wonderful confrontation.
Now, the same thing happened to Gawain.
Perhaps, in terms of the number of Grand Slam Masters titles and the length of time he has been among the top players, Gao Wen is indeed far from enough. Both he and Wawrinka need more time to be tested.
However, judging from the winning rate in peak matches and the quality of the competition between top players, Gawain has surpassed Wawrinka and entered a whole new realm.
2014 US Open, defeating Wawrinka and Djokovic.
At the 2015 Australian Open, he defeated Nadal, Murray and Djokovic.
At the 2015 US Open, he defeated Federer and Djokovic.
These are the highlights on the road to winning the championship, all of which are victories at the giant level; moreover, on the Masters stage, Gawain's three championship trophies were all won by defeating giant players.
Putting aside the victories and championships, Gao Wen has won more than he has lost against the top ten players in the world. Except for the Shanghai Masters after winning the US Open last year, Gao Wen has reached at least the quarterfinals in all Masters and Grand Slams. This transcript is nothing short of amazing.
In addition, this year's victory over Nadal at Roland Garros and over Murray at Wimbledon not only improved his outstanding record against the Big Four; but these two games were completed in Nadal's backyard and Murray's home court respectively, further proving his big heart.
Even if we only talk about those losses, losing to Simon in Shanghai, Djokovic in London, Wawrinka in Paris, and Federer in Wimbledon, every game was a classic and a legend. Even if he didn't win, Gawain relied on his hard work to raise the quality of the game to a higher level.
What's more, there is the feat of Toronto defeating Tsonga despite an injury.
Like Nadal back then, Gawain has opened up a new path by competing against top players and by delivering an exciting quality of play.
Indeed, it has only been a year since Gawain emerged, but his achievements are already comparable to those of Borg and Nadal.
It is true that Gao Wen's performance in the Masters Grand Slam still has room for improvement, but he did win two Grand Slams this year by defeating giants.
In particular, the finals of the Australian Open and the US Open pushed the quality of the peak confrontations of the 2015 season to a new height. Under extremely difficult, extremely dangerous and extremely desperate conditions, Gawain tapped 200% of his potential and entered the God of War mode, giving a new color to the word "fighting" with his own actions.
Classics never go out of style. The 2008 Wimbledon final and the 2012 Melbourne Park final have long been recorded in history. Now, two more legendary matches have been added since the new century. Even after ten or twenty years, they are still worth watching again and again and paying homage to.
This is enough——
What's more, Gawain is following in the footsteps of Djokovic and Murray who became giants, breaking the monopoly of the world rankings, firmly holding the second place in the world, demonstrating his abilities in the most intuitive and simple way, and having his own place in the golden age when giants shine.
then!
"The old king lives on, and a new king is born!"
"Men's tennis is entering its best era."
“From the Big Two to the Big Four to the Big Five, the era of giants continues to climb to new heights, so who’s next?”
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
"Gawain, the birth of the fifth giant."
"Five-set final, another epic showdown."
"A thrilling showdown! Gawain, witness the best of times."
One after another.
One wave after another.
Although there are still a few discordant voices trying to act as rationalists with a calm and objective attitude, the mainstream trend on a global scale can no longer be stopped.
There is no doubt that Gao Wen is now the fifth giant, and the "Big Four" has officially evolved into the "Big Five".
In this regard, Chinese fans said that the East Evil, West Poison, South Emperor, North Beggar and Central Magical Power, it turns out that Mr. Jin Yong is the real prophet and made accurate predictions.
Wait, if Gao Wen has become a giant, then where will the annual focus of "Big Four vs. Challengers" go? In this regard, a small number of media believe that the remaining five months of the final stage will still be "Big Four vs. Challengers", and next year will be the first year of the Big Five.
A small number of media outlets believe that "The Big Five vs. Challengers" would also be a good idea, or that a new theme of "The Battle of the Giants" would also be a good idea.
Most media outlets have said that there is no impact, because the biggest highlight of the remaining season of 2015 has quietly shifted. Although the story of the Challenger Alliance's impact on the top group will continue, the real highlight now should be the competition for the world's number one at the end of the year.
The hot topics that once sparked countless discussions during the clay and grass seasons disappeared for a time. As long as Djokovic won the US Open, he would be able to lock in the year-end world No. 1 title five months in advance; but now with Gao Wen defending his title, everything has changed.
Gao Wen's steps to become the world's number one and completely overturn the era of giants are catching up again with big strides -
The war has reignited.