Chapter 2013: Door of Opportunity
The world is in chaos!
When Federer roared like a lion to celebrate his victory, the O2 Arena fell into a frenzy, with incredible exclamations, hearty cheers and ecstatic roars intertwined and collided together, spreading out in a mighty manner.
For three full years, Djokovic remained undefeated at the All England Club and the O2 Arena. This dominance was close to that of Federer at his peak, and it also marked that Djokovic officially joined the battle for GOAT.
It is not a pleasant feeling for Federer and his fans, watching challengers erode Federer's legend bit by bit, while age and injuries continue to erode Federer's competitive career.
Mouth full of bitterness.
But! Today! Federer once again made his voice heard, not only ending Djokovic's three-year unbeaten streak in London, but also winning in straight sets, showing his peak form again.
Cheer, cheer as much as you can, cheer to your heart's content, the carnival party is in full swing.
Not only Federer fans, the party spread in a mighty way, not to celebrate Djokovic's failure, but to celebrate the fact that the year-end finals finally regained vitality and finally looked like a grand final.
This is the year-end finals that people are looking forward to! With Federer defeating Djokovic and Berdych defeating Ferrer in a hard-fought battle, the qualifying pattern of the Stan-Smith group immediately became clear and had a direct impact on the year-end world rankings.
Federer, two wins.
Ferrer, two losses.
Djokovic, Berdych, one win and one loss.
So, Federer advanced; Ferrer was eliminated; Djokovic and Berdych faced off in the third round to compete for a qualifying spot. The winner advances and the loser is eliminated. Their fate is in their own hands.
Moreover, because Federer has already defeated Djokovic and Berdych, even if Ferrer defeats Federer in the third round, Federer will still be the first in the group, and there will be no other changes in the ranking.
The suspense is completely clear.
That is to say, Djokovic and Berdych will compete for the second place in the group.
etc--
This means that if Berdych can really beat Djokovic unexpectedly, the defending champion will be eliminated in the group stage and the entire situation will be completely disrupted. This will be the biggest unexpected event that will subvert the year-end finals.
Roar, roar, roar, things suddenly became interesting. The door of opportunity for Gao Wen to become the world's number one at the end of the year was opened in an instant.
No wonder! From the media to netizens, from players to professionals, everyone is excited. No one is immune. Analysis of the possible situation in the third round has swept the entire Internet, and all kinds of speculation can no longer be suppressed.
Of course, this is just a possibility at the moment, and the opportunity is still in Djokovic's hands, and the competition in the group stage has not yet ended; at the same time, even if Djokovic is really eliminated in the group stage, the conditions for Gawain to become the world's number one at the end of the year have not changed, and he still needs to win the championship.
The conditions are still harsh.
If Gao Wen himself is eliminated in the group stage, then this year's year-end finals will be a real chaos. Compared with the year-end world ranking order, the fact that the performance of the world's number one and number two did not meet expectations will be news.
Be it Djokovic or Gao Wen, they probably don't want to see this scene.
but!
The point is that the emergence of an opportunity, a possibility of appearance, is indeed a surprise. Almost everyone thought that Djokovic was still unbeatable at the O2 Arena. However, now, it has once again proved that everything is possible in competitive sports.
Never say "absolutely not".
Then, the excitement of the year-end finals is pushed to a higher level, and the suspense of the year-end world rankings also reaches a new height.
As you can imagine, Federer's victory over Djokovic was given more significance, and discussions at all levels simply could not stop.
Until the fourth match day——
Compared to the turbulent waves in Stan Smith's group, the Ilie Nastase group seemed calm. It was not because they were not affected, but because the competition within the group was already complicated enough.
In fact, the situation of the Stan Smith group may lead to changes in the second place in the group, and the first place in the Ilie Nastase group needs to be vigilant, as the latter still has an impact; but the key now is that the emergence of the Ilie Nastase group has become a problem, so where is the time to think about the problems of the first and second place in the group?
Therefore, the chaos in the world the day before did not affect the preparations of the Ilie Nastase group. The chaos had already erupted when the group draw was made, and now the schedule can be carried out step by step.
The fourth day of competition, the schedule is released, and the excitement is still there——
The first game, doubles.
The second game, “Nadal VS Wawrinka”.
The third game, doubles.
The fourth game, “Gawain VS Murray”.
In the Stan Smith group, the second round matchups are the losers against losers and winners against winners in the first round, and then the suspense of the third round will be revealed. However, the Ilie Nastase group is staggered, with the winners of the first round facing off against another loser.
In other words, if Wawrinka can beat Nadal or Murray can beat Gawain, the situation for qualifying from the group will become complicated. Just like last year, even one win and two losses can still keep hopes of qualifying.
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Opportunities are in everyone's own hands, and this is precisely the greatest charm of the Ilie Nastase group.
The battle curtain slowly opens.
Nadal and Wawrinka were the first to appear on the court, and it was undoubtedly another focus match.
At the beginning of his career, Nadal had an overwhelming advantage over Wawrinka, winning all twelve games and maintaining an impressive record without losing a set; until the 2014 Australian Open final, Wawrinka turned the situation around and not only defeated Nadal to win the Grand Slam title for the first time in his career, but also defeated Nadal on the clay court in Rome in 2015 to win two consecutive victories.
Later, in Shanghai, Nadal swept Wawrinka to announce his recovery; in Paris, Wawrinka defeated Nadal in two tie-breaks to show his fighting spirit.
Before the 2014 Australian Open, Nadal had an absolute advantage with 12 wins and no losses; after the 2014 Australian Open, Wawrinka was in control with three wins and one loss.
So, what about this time?
“6:3”, “6:2”.
Clean and quick, two straight wins.
Victory belongs to Nadal.
--Wow!
There were exclamations, and the heart surged uncontrollably.
First, Federer defeated Djokovic and found his championship spirit again in the top duel; then Nadal rebounded and regained his form, winning two consecutive victories in the death group and winning four sets in a row.
How can they not like Federer and Nadal? When all eyes were on Djokovic and Gawain, Federer and Nadal kept a low profile and proved themselves again.
Indeed, the era of giants has entered a new stage, but never underestimate them, ever!
In their blood and in their souls, the fighting spirit is still burning, and this era opened by them still has their place! (End of this chapter)