Chapter 279 All Night
Long Outside the bus window, the night was deep. Gawain looked at the scenery that kept receding. The town with lights just coming on was getting farther and farther away. The whole world became quiet.
He chewed over Elena's words in his mind, feeling touched and burdened at the same time. From the fans he met in the hotel lobby to the familiar Elena, he felt the power of competitive sports on another level as never before.
It turns out that he can also be someone's idol and role model; it turns out that his hard work and struggle can also bring courage and strength to someone; it turns out that his spirit and will can also be a ray of light guiding someone forward; it turns out that competitive sports are not just about victory and championships.
In fact, there is only one champion in a competition and only one winner in the end, but the core of competitive sports is far more than that.
Faintly, Gawain felt something different again.
The Binghamton Challenge has come to an end, but Gawain, MacDonald and Jillon have no time to rest. They need to rush day and night to the next event: the Lexington Challenge.
In the professional tennis tour, there are competitions every week from the second week of January to the last week of November, all year round. It is a science for professional players to arrange their schedules. Otherwise, if they compete non-stop every week, even Iron Man will run out of energy one day.
There are many closely connected events like the Binghamton Challenge and the Lexington Challenge, so how should you arrange your schedule? For top professional players, on the one hand, they have their own private jets, which not only shortens the travel time but also allows them to get enough rest; on the other hand, they are often the top eight seeded players, and can enjoy the first round byes in the tour and gold tournaments, so the competition schedule is naturally not so tight.
But if you are an ordinary professional player, I am afraid you will not receive such treatment.
What to do? Just chill!
They could only march quickly and bravely! Like Gawain at this moment.
After winning the championship, there was no time to rest, let alone a chance to celebrate. I took a bus to Lexington overnight, and then notified the organizing committee in advance, asking them to adjust my competition schedule as much as possible.
Some organizing committees are willing to coordinate, but some are not.
Therefore, it is not uncommon for players to arrive in the competition city in a hurry and have to rush to the stadium to play before they have time to pack their suitcases.
Occasionally, if the organizer's hotel arrangements are flawed again, it is not uncommon for players to be forced to leave their suitcases in the corridor and play in the game without a room to stay.
If the ranking is too low and you still need to participate in the qualifying round, you must arrive at the competition city two days in advance. Therefore, there have been more than one or two cases where you have to give up a race due to schedule conflicts.
For low-ranked professional players, participating in each tournament presents countless challenges. It is essentially no different from a business trip, where players have to constantly travel to different cities to participate in competitions. Not to mention sightseeing, they probably don't even have a chance to visit the city streets outside the stadium.
Competitive sports are not only about the excitement on the field, but also about the chaos in life. It is far from being as glamorous as it seems.
But precisely because of this, Gao Wen prefers the moment when he is on the court, where he can release himself freely and without reservation.
Lexington, located in north-central Kentucky, is also a small town, about seven hundred miles away from Binghamton. The biggest problem is that there is no direct flight and a transfer is required. The fastest time to arrive is four hours. Greyhound buses, on the other hand, can go directly there.
Ten hours, a full ten hours of overnight bus, and a sleep on the bus, and you can get from Binghamton to Lexington.
Judging from the draw, there are many familiar faces in the Lexington Challenge.
In addition to the Bruins' Big Three, players such as Kokkinakis, Kok, Odenek, Krajicek and others also rushed from Binghamton to Lexington to participate in the competition.
In addition, there are also some names worth looking forward to among the eight seeded players.
Britain's Dan-Evans has proven his stability by reaching the third round of Grand Slams six times, and his explosiveness was also demonstrated when he gave Djokovic his first defeat of the season at the beginning of 2021.
James Duckworth from Australia attended all three Grand Slams this year. He was a wildcard at the Australian Open, and qualified for the French Open and Wimbledon through qualifying rounds.
In the first round of Wimbledon, Duckworth faced French player Richard Gasquet. The two fought for five sets, and the winner was not decided until the final set. Unfortunately, Duckworth lost.
Perhaps, compared to Binghamton, Lexington's star is not as shining, but in terms of strength, it is definitely not inferior, and the competition is also very fierce.
Arriving in Lexington meant that the victory in Binghamton had to be temporarily forgotten, and then start from the beginning, a new game, a new battle. Even if it was the same opponent, it would be a completely different duel. Gawain couldn't help but start looking forward to it.
For young players, the most difficult thing to adapt to is the pace of professional tennis games, because there are games every week, but no one can remain undefeated all the time. How to adjust your mentality while switching between different competitions, how to find the best state between victory and failure, and how to adjust your state in the midst of running around and wandering, these are all knowledge.
If he wants to turn professional, Gao Wen still has a lot to learn.
Turning around, Gawain saw MacDonald and Jilong closing their eyes and falling asleep. He also closed his eyes, and his nervous nerves, tense from excitement and novelty, slowly relaxed.
Wait, only the Bruins' three musketeers? Where's Tobias?
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Meanwhile, Gawain traveled to Lexington to compete for the second consecutive week.
Over there, Tobias officially took action and took on his responsibilities as a broker.
Why is it so troublesome for players to move between different cities? Obviously not all players can have enough prize money to pay for private jets. Moreover, Gao Wen is not a professional player yet, and the championship prize money of the Binghamton Challenge cannot be withdrawn for the time being.
So what should be done? Does everyone have to use buses to transfer? Do they have to pay for travel, accommodation and training by themselves? The answer is sponsors.
Tobias officially embarked on the journey of signing a sponsor for Gao Wen, but wouldn't it be too hasty? After all, Gao Wen only won a challenge championship trophy.
In Tobias's opinion, the timing is just right. Sponsors need to invest in the future. Otherwise, when Gao Wen really becomes famous, the cost of the sponsorship contract will not be so cost-effective.
Investment needs to be made early, as it tests their vision.
First update.
(End of this chapter)