Chapter 1993: Watching the Wind and Clouds

with a Smile Aiming for the Championship——

Whether it is Djokovic or Gao Wen, both players have only one goal.

In fact, even if we put aside the points, the championship is the only goal.

For Djokovic, it would be a shame if he could not win the final championship and only relied on Gawain to be eliminated early to maintain his year-end world No. 1 position. The memories of the Australian Open and the US Open came back to life again.

For Gao Wen, if he won the championship but regretted not being ranked No. 1 in the world at the end of the year, he is not a loser either. He not only won the championship but also won the future. The world's second is not just the world's second.

World ranking and year-end No. 1 are just extra rewards. What they really care about is still the championship, and the same goes for other players.

However! It is in this context, and when we look at the group draw, it is no wonder that there are wailing and exclamations. It is so shocking that it is hard to say whether to laugh or cry.

Even completely neutral professionals have to admit that the road to the throne before Gawain is indeed a hellish journey full of thorns.

The opponents in the group stage, Nadal, Murray, and Wawrinka, not to mention how difficult it is to qualify. Even if they qualify successfully, there will be no breathing time in the knockout rounds. Not only that, but the difficulty will be even higher. Judging from the high probability event, it will be either Djokovic or Federer, and every game will be a tough battle.

So, does this mean that Djokovic can be declared the fourth consecutive champion of the year-end finals in advance? "Ha, I won't strongly protest for Thomas and David, but have you asked Roger what he thinks? Novak should also be quite dissatisfied with the draw?"

At the pre-match press conference, there was no doubt that Gao Wen became the center of the siege. In fact, on the stage of the year-end finals, every little thing is news, including Ferrer and Berdych who are often ignored by the media. But the focus on Gao Wen is on another level.

Even Federer is outdone.

There is no way. Now all the topics, all the focus, and all the heat are centered around Gawain, including Federer himself, who is also paying close attention to Gawain.

Federer joked in an interview, "I was learning about young people's things with Gao Wen, trying to keep up with the times and feel the Internet wave, but I found that this gentleman is about the same mental age as us."

Obviously, they have all taken notice of the new wave of social networking.

Facing the scorching gazes of the crowd, the battle-hardened Gawain was still at ease, and even had the mood to tease Djokovic and Federer -

According to a piece of data, Federer ranks first and Djokovic ranks second in the historical winning rate ranking of indoor hard court tournaments. Although the changes in conditions on indoor hard courts are not as drastic and obvious as those on clay and grass, they are still different venues and there are naturally some differences in the competitions.

For example, Nadal’s indoor hard court winning rate is indeed average, which is one of the important reasons why he has never been able to win the year-end finals championship.

Being placed in the same group as the two strongest players on indoor hard courts is not good news for Djokovic and Federer.

The reason is that in Grand Slams and Masters tournaments, there is a gradual adjustment process. By the time the semi-finals and finals come around, the players have already adjusted to their best form. But this is not the case in the year-end finals, where players have to fight hard in every game starting from the first one, and adjusting and maintaining their form is undoubtedly the biggest challenge.

Djokovic and Federer are both kings aiming for the championship. It would be even worse if they failed to adjust their form in the group stage and lost to their opponents early, or even unexpectedly lost to Ferrer and Berdych.

If you are not careful, it may affect the subsequent status adjustments and semi-final matchups, which is truly a matter of one move affecting the entire body.

The closer the duel is to top masters, the more attention to details is needed.

So, when everyone says that the Ilie Nastase group is the death group, the Stan Smith group may not be ecstatic, as they also have their own problems.

In short, the core meaning of Gawain is that -

"This is the year-end finals. Every player here is one of the top ten players in the world. They are the best players overall this season. This means that every game is decided by the smallest of millimeters."

"I don't envy the other group, but at the same time, I'm not afraid of my own group. I think I'm ready to face the challenge."

Although Gao Wen said this, the hot topic was right in front of them and reporters were unwilling to miss it, so they threw out a focus at the pre-match press conference.

"Gao Wen, at the Australian Open earlier this year, you defeated Rafa, Andy, and Novak consecutively. It is still an incredible draw. But now we see another hellish draw. You are very likely to face the ultimate test of Rafa, Andy, Roger, and Novak consecutively. What do you think about this?"

——Big news! Just imagining it in your mind, challenging one giant is already terrifying, so what about challenging four in a row?

Not two, not three, but four!

In the first half of the year, people were still busily discussing the ultimate question of "challenging Djokovic at the Australian Open, challenging Nadal at the French Open, and challenging Federer at Wimbledon"; but now think about it carefully, the hellish journey of challenging the Big Four consecutively should be just as terrifying, and it will make you scream with goose bumps.

And so, social networks went completely crazy. Completely.

After the question was asked, Gao Wen did not answer immediately. Instead, he thought about it carefully, and the corners of his mouth gradually rose.

"That would be great."

Audience: ??? The reporters at the scene doubted their ears. What did they just hear? Gao Wen was very considerate.

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"I'm serious, that's great. If this schedule happens, at least it means I've made it to the final, which is a good thing."

One second, two seconds——

The whole audience burst into laughter, and whistles and applause rose steadily.

Indeed, the only thing that could happen in this hellish journey of continuously challenging the Big Four is that Gawain makes it to the finals.

Gao Wen's smile bloomed, and he continued to add until the noise at the scene died down a little.

"First of all, thank you all for your trust and blessings. I haven't thought that far ahead yet..."

Ha! There was another low laugh at the scene.

"Secondly, I would say that this is the meaning of the year-end finals, to play against the best players throughout the year, to play against the best players in the world right now, to show your best on the highest stage, so I look forward to meeting them, this is a goal."

Confident, calm and full of youth.

Gawain is still the same Gawain. He not only displays unparalleled grace on the court, but also a vibrant appearance outside the court. The passion and courage radiating from the inside out make the reporters in the press conference room unable to help but get excited.

Then, a reporter couldn't help but ask a stupid question.

"I know this question is a bit stupid, but I'm really curious, when you saw the Australian Open draw or this year-end finals draw, which one was more shocking? Did you swear?"

(End of this chapter)