Chapter 436 Top Secret
Bennett carefully looked at Robinson's expression and said solemnly, "Eric, we all know that you were very annoyed when we missed Gawain last time. You hope that we can seize the opportunity more than anyone else, but you know that we need your professional advice, and we also need you to stay calm."
"If you had said this two months ago, our contract might have been $200,000 a year. But now, the same words may require us to add a zero at the end. Eric, I'm not putting pressure on you, but you need to know how much weight these words carry."
Robinson could sense the caution in Bennett's words, and he sighed softly.
"Reese, I know nothing about business or the market. I am just a scout. You ask for my professional opinion and I give you my professional opinion. That's all."
"On the plane back to New York, I watched the entire match video of both Kovan and Kei Nishikori, not the highlights but the full version."
"Honestly, I think Kei Nishikori can win."
Bennett was very, very surprised; he had never heard Robinson talk about these behind-the-scenes stories.
"Two months ago, Gao Wen had no chance against Kei Nishikori. Two months later, Kei Nishikori is in hot form, and his rhythm control and touch control have reached a new level. I think even if he faces Djokovic or Murray, Kei Nishikori still has a chance. This year is indeed his stage."
"But Kei Nishikori lost. Do you know why?"
This was the first time Bennett listened to Robinson's in-depth analysis. It was no longer a bunch of data and theories, but a deep dive combined with reality. Bennett also watched the live broadcast of Gawain's victory over Kei Nishikori, and now his feelings are clearer and more straightforward.
Robinson didn't keep it a secret.
"Because Gao Wen believed that he could beat Kei Nishikori, he never wavered from the beginning to the end."
"Gawain knew he was facing a very strong opponent, but he did not back down. Not only did he not back down, but he showed 200% of himself and then tried his best to snatch the victory from Kei Nishikori. Just look at the match point and you will know.
It’s not that Kei Nishikori played badly, it’s that Gao Wen played too well.”
"Looking back at the whole match, many people think that Kovan's performance on the break point in the twelfth game of the fourth set was the turning point. If Nishikori could break and enter the deciding set, everything would be different; but I think that even if it entered the deciding set, Kovan's chances of winning would be greater."
"Because I believe the turning point of the match should be the second game of the first set."
Bennett remembered that Kei Nishikori broke Gao Wen's serve at the beginning of the game. In the next game, Kei Nishikori was leading at "40:15" in his own serve, but he lost four points in a row and was broken back.
“From that moment on, Gao Wen believed that he could win and realized that his opponent was at full strength, so he began to look for ways to break through through different tactical combinations.”
"You know what? He found it."
In fact, all these analyses are hindsight, reviewed and analyzed through post-match review. They seem sharp but are actually "nonsense". However, Robinson still saw Gawain's interpretation and control of the game, and even played to his best, gritting his teeth to win this historic duel.
"Reese, you're asking me, should we sign this player for two million dollars a year?"
"My answer is, hurry up, why are we wasting time?"
Robinson certainly knew that this was impossible. Nike only signed Bouchard for one million US dollars a year. Even though the average contract amount for male players is higher than that for female players, at the top of the pyramid, female players are no less inferior to male players. Therefore, Nike must have many considerations for signing Gao Wen.
But he said this just to express his attitude——
This is not the first time, the second time, or even the third time, but the fourth time that he has expressed his opinion and hopes that Nike can sign Gao Wen.
As for how Nike's top management makes decisions, it is not something Robinson can interfere with.
Hannett let out a long breath and patted Robinson on the shoulder. "Eric, I understand, but the decision is no longer in our hands."
Robinson curled his lips in gloating, "You deserve it. It's rare to see you get humiliated. That's good."
Hannett couldn't help laughing.
In fact, there is a very, very important top secret, and no information has been leaked in the industry yet——
Nike's biggest reliance in the Chinese market is Li Na. Because of this, they have always been confident that they are invincible. However, during the US Open, Li Na informed Nike through her agent that she was considering retiring.
Big news!
Having just won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, Li Na's current world ranking is still sixth, which means that she is still in the competitive stage of her career. Although she missed the entire North American season due to injury, people believe that Li Na will be able to recover from her injury and is likely to make a comeback in the Asian season.
However, the injury problem is obviously more serious than expected.
Moreover, at this year's US Open, Chinese players repeatedly created miracles -
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In the women's singles competition, Peng Shuai defeated all opponents and broke her own shackles, reaching the Grand Slam semi-finals for the first time. She will face the Danish sweetheart Wozniacki in the next game. Her outstanding performance also caused exclamations.
In the men's singles arena, needless to say, Gao Wen's sudden emergence has filled too many gaps, and even has the signs of soaring to the sky, completely changing the entire landscape.
It is precisely because of this that Li Na believes more and more that even if she retires, there will be successors on the tennis court, and she can leave the court with peace of mind and devote herself to the second half of her life.
Due to various reasons, the idea of retirement began to germinate, then took root, and finally evolved into a towering tree.
During the US Open, Sharapova's agent Eisenbud did not appear in Flushing. The real reason was that he was also Li Na's agent. He flew to China in person hoping to have a face-to-face talk with Li Na and convince her to withdraw her decision to retire.
But judging from the current situation, the decision to retire seems to be irreversible and the situation is not optimistic.
Although Li Na has not made a formal decision yet, let alone an official announcement, Nike has realized that their greatest support may no longer exist. Even if Li Na withdraws her retirement decision this time, how powerful and far-reaching the impact of the injury is, how could Nike, which is in the competitive sports industry, not know it?
What to do? In an instant, Gawain's importance to Nike's entire strategic map increased exponentially, especially in the direct competition with Adidas. The entire significance has changed - calling Robinson back from Europe to watch the game live is to make their judgment and decision more certain.
Of course, they will not act rashly for the time being. They do not want any rumors about Li Na to leak out and cause Adidas to smell blood, nor do they want to rashly contact Gao Wen and disrupt their overall plan. They will continue to be patient and watch the semi-finals or even wait for the US Open to come to an end.
But Nike clearly has a lot of meetings and discussions to do.
(End of this chapter)