Chapter 1988: All Roads

When the 2015 Vienna Open came to an end, there was a lot of cheers and encouragement——

Although Tim was highly expected, he still failed to find his feeling and his performance was disappointing. He was seeded fifth but was eliminated in the first round, which was extremely regrettable.

But overall, the result of Youth Storm meeting in the finals perfectly met the expectations of the event, and the precise market positioning received wide acclaim from the audience.

The same is true for media reporters.

Ding! Gao Wen's world ranking points rose again, and the gap between the world's first and second points further narrowed. Oh yeah! However...

It is very regrettable that, amidst the celebration, Vienna was ultimately unable to steal the limelight from Basel, and the focus remained there.

Subtly similar to the Vienna tournament, the host favorite was also eliminated in the first round.

This time, it was Wawrinka.

After the US Open, although he won the championship in Japan, Wawrinka's subsequent form declined too quickly. He performed poorly in Shanghai and Basel. The end-of-season syndrome is gradually becoming apparent, and even a tour veteran like Wawrinka cannot avoid it.

But it doesn't matter, because the two top stars have become a guarantee of box office success -

Federer and Nadal marched forward with their heads held high. Although they encountered some challenges and setbacks, in the end the two giants found a way to win.

Successful meeting!

Over there, in the Vienna final, "Gawain VS Dimitrov".

Here, in the Basel final, "Federer VS Nadal".

In Vienna, they were defeated. Even the rising Gawain had to stand aside in front of the legendary "Federer-Nadal Final".

Not to mention Gawain, even the "Derby-Federer Final" and "Derby-Nadal Final", the peak duels that have written countless histories, are still slightly less topical than the "Federer-Nadal Final".

It was with the support of Federer and Nadal that Basel still stole the limelight from Vienna, withstood the impact, and completed another successful event.

In the end, Federer defeated his old rival Nadal in three sets and won the championship.

Cheers, everyone! There is no doubt that the victory or defeat is the focus, and every time Federer and Nadal meet, it is no exception, but this season, it is slightly different.

Beyond winning or losing——

Federer shook off the gloom of his upset elimination in the first match in Shanghai, regained his touch, and demonstrated his competitiveness before the final showdown at the end of the year.

This is even more true for Nadal. After experiencing a terrible and sluggish season, the Spanish bull has recovered strongly, reaching the semi-finals and the Basel final in Beijing and Shanghai, and has quietly returned to the championship race.

The two kings have proved the same truth time and again with their actions: never exclude them easily.

forever!

Originally, everyone was exclaiming that the battle for the world's number one position in the final stage of the year was the only focus, but Nadal's strong recovery once again disrupted the situation and changed the situation, joining the ranks of Federer, Djokovic and Murray, forming a new era with the return of the four giants and the rise of the fifth giant.

Wonderful, wonderful! Just when people thought that the US Open final was the best game of the year, it now seems that the year-end finals are the real hell of the contest.

Just imagining it in my mind makes my blood boil uncontrollably—

Who will be the winner in the year-end finals?

In such a year of fierce competition, who can win the championship? Djokovic and Gawain are undoubtedly the first team, but Federer, Nadal, Murray and Wawrinka should not be underestimated. In a literal sense, they all have the strength to win the championship.

So, before the final battle begins, there is one final warm-up.

The last Masters tournament of the year will be held in Paris.

On this day last year, there were two suspenses.

One is Federer and Djokovic, who will become the world number one at the end of the year?

Second, who can catch the last train to London to compete?

At this time this year, the suspense remains.

However, when being interviewed, Berdych made a rare little joke, "In previous years, I was very happy to go to London to participate in the finals. Of course, this year is no exception. It is an honor to be able to step onto the O2 Stadium; but to be honest, I am not sure if I want to go."

In fact, the seats for the year-end finals have been basically determined.

Djokovic, Gawain, Federer, Murray and Wawrinka, these five seats are all confirmed and they will all appear at the O2 Arena.

Berdych and Nadal have also been basically confirmed. Although the two players' overall performance this season was average, Berdych remained relatively stable, while Nadal rebounded strongly in the Asian season and the European hard court season, which also gave them an advantage in the competition for a place in the year-end finals.

Of course, suspense still exists. After all, starting from the sixth place, the points gap is relatively small, and the points of the Paris Masters can completely disrupt all rankings.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

But overall, the fate of Berdych and Nadal is in their own hands. As long as they avoid being eliminated early, they will be able to secure their seats with their points advantage even if Gawain unexpectedly wins the championship like last year.

In other words, there is not much suspense about the seven seats.

The only suspense lies in the eighth place.

Theoretically speaking, the Paris Masters champion is worth 1,000 points, so as long as you win the championship, you can turn the situation around and there will be more substitutes.

Ferrer, Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, Tsonga, Gasquet and Anderson all have the chance to win the last spot in the finals.

Among them, the fate of Ferrer, Dimitrov and Kei Nishikori is in their own hands. Among these three players, whoever can go further will have a greater chance of advancing to the finals.

It is more difficult for Tsonga, Gasquet, Anderson and others. Unless they can win the championship, they need to perform well while other competitors also perform poorly to be able to catch a glimmer of hope.

The competition is still fierce.

So, what is the meaning of Berdych's words? Looking at the participating lineup, there are four giants who have been at the top for many years, a new giant who has emerged out of nowhere to subvert the situation, and a potential giant who may break out at any time. In other words, no matter how the finals are divided, it is probably a death group, and the intensity of competition is unprecedented.

For Berdych and the eighth player to be decided, they must be under great pressure, not only the media, but also they themselves can feel it -

Perhaps, they went to London to accompany the prince to study?

The year-end finals are the center of attention, and everyone is eager to be at the top of the mountain. But think about it from another perspective. It is precisely on such a stage covered by spotlights that you become a foil and a wallflower. The feeling is probably indescribable. Moreover, what is even more terrifying than the Grand Slam is that:

In a Grand Slam, losing is just one game; in the year-end finals, the group stage is a round-robin match, and if you are not careful, you may lose several games in a row.

That is torture.

No wonder the usually good-tempered Berdych made a self-deprecating joke. He had already smelled the storm without the media or netizens reminding him.

(End of this chapter)