Bob Bryan, the defending doubles champion of the ATP Finals, also came to London this year and stepped onto the O2 Arena to fight for his title.

However, it was a bit surprising that Bob was seen at this time; he appeared in the corridor holding a pillow, as if he was sleepwalking.

Gao Wen regretted calling out the moment he opened his mouth. If he was sleepwalking, shouldn’t he be unable to wake him up?

Fortunately, Bob stopped and turned around. He noticed Gao Wen's figure and smiled. "How did you recognize him?"

Bob gestured to his empty neck and said, "I'm not wearing a necklace."

Gao Wen let out a long breath, "Fortunately you are not sleepwalking."

Bob: ??? Gao Wen waved his hands and said with a smile, "You are completely different from Mike, okay? If I still can't recognize you now, what kind of friend am I?"

Bob spread his hands, "Then we'll have almost no friends on tour."

A little self-deprecating remark made both of them laugh.

Then.

"Can't sleep?"

"You haven't rested yet?"

They spoke in unison, and although the words were different, the meaning was the same, and they chuckled again.

Gawain explained briefly, "I just played a game with Gregor and was about to take a break. What about you? You look just like Peter Pan."

Bob looked down at his pajamas and placed his right index finger on his lips. "Shh, don't tell anyone, or it will be more troublesome for Mike and I to silence them."

"Haha." Gao Wen laughed out loud.

Bob did not continue joking, but looked around as if he was looking for something. Without waiting for Gawain to ask, Bob sat down cross-legged against the wall in the corridor. Although the smile on his lips did not completely disappear, a hint of loneliness gradually flowed between his brows.

This is a bit unusual.

Usually, Mike is the calm one and Bob is the one who likes to play around.

Bob also knew that his movements were abnormal. He looked up and smiled at Gawain. "It's okay. It's just that the room is stuffy and I need to calm down. God, Mike's snoring in the next room is almost enough to break the wall."

"You'd better keep your distance. It's a lethal weapon that attacks indiscriminately."

In fact, the latter sentence meant to let Gawain go back and rest, but Gawain thought about it, came to the opposite side of Bob, and sat down against the wall.

"Why, can't you sleep?"

Gao Wen once thought that, with the experience of the Big Four and the tempered brothers, they had already gotten used to all kinds of situations. When they stepped onto the Grand Slam finals or the year-end finals again, their rich experience would ensure their composure.

Don't be nervous, don't be afraid, don't be anxious, just face everything calmly.

However, after experiencing it, I realized that the reality is not like this.

They are all ordinary people, they are all flesh and blood, and even if they make it to the Grand Slam finals for the twentieth time, the nervousness and mixed excitement are still the same; what's more, in the long journey of their professional careers, they face different challenges at different times, and their physical and mental levels are also different. Each tournament is in a different state, and naturally their mentality is often different.

It all comes down to one sentence: every game is different.

So even the Bryan brothers might lose sleep before a big game.

This year, the men's doubles arena is also turbulent, and the Bryan brothers' rule is facing unprecedented challenges and impacts.

In the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Bryan brothers only reached the final at Roland Garros and finished second, which was their worst performance in the past ten years. Their record of winning Grand Slam titles for ten consecutive years since 2005 also officially came to an end, and everything began to change.

Coming to the year-end finals, the Bryan brothers are still the top seeds, but they have a mission:

If they fail to defend their title, they will lose the year-end world No. 1 title for the first time since 2003.

The pressure is unprecedented.

In fact, their performance was indeed a bit struggling. After losing the first game, they were pushed into a desperate situation. Standing in the difficult situation, they still found their form and won the next two group matches in a row, qualifying as the second in the group. The real test will start from the next game.

In the semi-finals, the Bryan brothers will face the top team of another group, Jean-Julien-Rojer and Horia-Tecau. This is a life-and-death battle. Only by winning can they continue their hope of defending their year-end world No. 1 ranking.

What if we lose?

Jean-Julien Lucha and Holia Tecau are set to break the Bryan brothers' ten-year streak of being the year-end world No. 1 and become this year's year-end world No. 1.

This year's ATP year-end finals is indeed full of highlights -

On the other hand, Gawain and Djokovic will compete for the year-end world No. 1 in singles.

On the other hand, the competition for the year-end world No. 1 in doubles is also fierce.

The slight difference is that the Bryan brothers are in the same position as Djokovic. Gawain is ready to challenge Djokovic, while the Bryan brothers need to defend their own glory. But now, Bob Bryan and Gawain are discussing face to face the final battle that will take place tomorrow.

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Bob looked up at Gawain and gave a bitter smile, "Yeah. My brain can't stop."

Just a simple sentence, but it contains so much.

Gawain thought about it. Bob actually understood all those inspirational quotes and life lessons. They were older and more experienced than Gawain. What they needed was not a bunch of big principles, no matter how good they were, because life was often like this -

We understand all the principles, but we still don't live well.

So, "Are you afraid?" Gawain asked.

Bob opened his mouth to deny it, but he stopped when the words came to his lips, chewed them carefully, thought about it seriously, and said, "Hmm."

Bob said.

After admitting it, Bob raised the corner of his mouth slightly, a little helpless, "I'm not afraid of losing, but afraid... To be honest, I don't know what I'm afraid of. Maybe I'm just afraid of losing, haha."

The last laugh was full of self-deprecating bitterness and loss.

Gawain did not speculate or assert easily. Obviously, Bob also had his own difficulties. All he could do now was to play the role of a friend and listen attentively.

Sure enough, Bob glanced at Gawain, as if he was talking to himself, but also seemed to be pouring out his thoughts.

“I’m not in good shape.”

There is no excuse and no escape, this is the fact.

"Actually, Mike is still in great shape, very good. He's still at his peak, but I... I'm gradually losing my strength."

"On the one hand, my body started to protest. Although I didn't have any serious injuries, I knew my body was protesting and the training couldn't keep up."

"On the other hand, I just wasn't sure what I was chasing, game after game after game, and I couldn't see what was ahead of me."

"I don't know. Haha, sorry, I'm just talking nonsense and I have no idea what I'm talking about."

Bob looked at Gawain a little embarrassedly; he was still not used to this.

Then Gawain shrugged lightly, his face full of caution, "Maybe... midlife crisis?"