Chapter 1985: Experts

’ Battle Amid great anticipation and heated discussions, the Asian season slowly begins, announcing the return of the world’s top competition.

First stop, the imperial capital.

A small surprise, Zhang Ze met Istomin, who has a close relationship with Chinese players. The latter first lost to Gao Wen in five sets at Wimbledon, and then defeated Zhang Zhizhen in the qualifying round in the capital to advance to the main competition. Unexpectedly, he met another Chinese player Zhang Ze in the first round.

Zhang Ze continued his excellent form in the Davis Cup, defeating Istomin in straight sets to advance to the second round, marking his first win in his career in the imperial capital.

But unfortunately, they were swept by Djokovic in the second round.

“6:1”, “6:2”.

When his confidence was at its peak, he encountered a head-on blow, which made Zhang Ze realize the gap between himself and the top masters, but this will also become the motivation for him to continue working hard.

Apart from that, the entire draw list was quite good with some surprises and some unexpected events.

Upper half.

Djokovic defeated Isner and advanced to the semi-finals without losing a set.

Dimitrov defeated Ferrer and reached the semi-finals again after New York, continuing the overall upward momentum since the North American summer hard court season.

Lower half.

Gao Wen defeated Sock and advanced to the semi-finals with an excellent performance without losing a set.

Nadal defeated Fognini in straight sets, avenging his painful defeat at the US Open, and also showing a different mental outlook from the first half of the season.

As a result, the final four teams were released, and they were seamlessly connected to the US Open semi-final lineup, with only Federer replaced by Nadal.

Another giant.

Moreover, all the top four players advanced without losing a single set, which shows from the side that they are in excellent form and are indeed much better than the other players.

The competition in this year's Imperial Capital Tennis Open was exceptionally exciting, easily stealing all the limelight from Japan and becoming the focus of discussion.

In the first semifinal, Djokovic swept Dimitrov 2:0. It was not that Dimitrov performed poorly. In fact, Dimitrov's performance was better than in New York, but Djokovic was stronger.

Professionals can see that Djokovic's potential has been stimulated——

The painful defeat at the US Open was bad enough, and the restart of the battle for the world's number one position is even more exciting. Djokovic has indeed brought his form to a whole new level.

After a short break of two weeks, Djokovic even missed the Davis Cup. He stayed away from the tennis court and focused on recuperation and adjustment. When he stepped onto the court again, he showed an unstoppable attitude, which was similar to the feeling of stepping into the All England Club after the Roland Garros final.

Unstoppable!

Victory can strengthen confidence, but failure can stimulate the whole state.

In the second semi-final, Gao Wen defeated Nadal 2:1. It was obvious from the actual match that Nadal's ball quality was slowly recovering. The most important thing was Nadal's confidence. He seemed to have found his form again.

Like Djokovic, a giant like Nadal can always show his tenacity. After experiencing a low season, he is still fighting and fighting back. No one expected Nadal to perform so well.

Although the final victory of this game still belongs to Gao Wen, Nadal has sounded the clarion call for recovery, which is undoubtedly the first surprise of the Asian season.

No matter what, the final is still what everyone expected.

The number one seed and the number two seed meet!

This scene is actually not unfamiliar.

This is the fifth time the two players have met this season, following Melbourne, Indian Wells, Miami and New York, all in the finals.

And what is certain is that there will be many more in the future, and they should all be the finals stage. The scene before us vividly interprets the meaning of "giant".

From "Federer VS Nadal" to "Nadal VS Djokovic", the world's top two players meeting in the final for a peak showdown has always been a beautiful sight and a solid foundation for the era of giants. Now it is the turn of "Gawain VS Djokovic".

They are indeed the two best players this season, and the last two players in the world's No. 1 competition.

Every time we meet, it’s a final.

In the first four encounters of this season, all of them ended with Gawain's victory, and Gawain has undoubtedly become a major nemesis of Djokovic in his career.

However! This time, just like in Wimbledon, Djokovic, who worked hard and diligently, showed unparalleled faith and determination, and was absolutely strong.

"6:4", "7:6(9)".

Victory belongs to Djokovic.

This victory not only ended Gawain's 13-game winning streak, but also marked his first loss to Federer in three months since the Wimbledon semi-finals; it also ended Djokovic's four-game losing streak against Gawain, and he defeated Gawain again after last year's year-end finals.

Moreover, he won in straight sets! In this year's Imperial Capital, Djokovic really showed an unstoppable momentum, not losing a single set throughout the whole process, and won the championship with an absolutely strong attitude.

——The capital and New York, everything is too similar. It is also Gawain's "home court", the whole world is standing against Djokovic, Djokovic is getting better and better, taking the initiative and having the opportunity to end the game, and Gawain improves his condition at the critical moment to hold on to the game.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

However, Djokovic did not make the same mistake this time.

In the second set tiebreak, Djokovic saved two set points and seized the second match point to win. In this rare moment, Djokovic lost his composure.

Ah! Roar, make a sound.

Djokovic clenched his fists and launched a counterattack with the world's number one response to the home audience. One shout after another, facing the home audience's overwhelming cheers, he once again completed an impossible challenge, fighting against his opponent, himself and the audience, and he had the last laugh.

Ah! Ahhh! It was anger, passion, and catharsis.

The eyes of the world's number one were burning with murderous intent.

The momentum of the entire venue was severely suppressed.

The crowds of people who were eating melons said one after another——

The horn sounds!

This is the response from Djokovic.

It can be seen as a declaration, a challenge and a position in the year-end battle for the world's number one. Djokovic is still the most stable, outstanding, top and strongest player in the ATP this year, and all doubts can be shut up.

The flames of war are burning fiercely.

Everything is too similar to Wimbledon.

After the defeat in the Roland Garros final, the media couldn't wait to criticize Djokovic. They were wondering if losing two Grand Slam finals in a row meant that his peak form lacked a bit of explosiveness. They were also saying that Gawain and Wawrinka could team up to break the dominance of the Big Four. Even harsher words were heard.

Then, in the Wimbledon final, Djokovic defeated Federer in four sets to win the championship.

Now, it is like this again.

From the bitter ending in New York to the start of the battle for the world's number one spot, Djokovic gave the strongest counterattack with his performance on the court.

There are give and take, winners and losers, and a lot of suspense. This is the most tense, exciting and best-looking part of the fight between masters, and no one should miss it.

Djokovic made his statement, so how does Gawain respond? (End of this chapter)