Chapter 441 Destined
Here, Gawain and Dimitrov are practicing to prepare for the upcoming semi-finals.
On the other side, the events of the twelfth competition day were held as planned, with the two women's singles semi-finals being staged after the mixed doubles finals.
In the first game, Wozniacki played against Peng Shuai. This match attracted a lot of attention and caused a lot of controversy.
In the first set, the two players competed fiercely and fought until the tie-break, where Wozniacki won with a small score of "7:1".
But in the second set, Peng Shuai suffered from thigh cramps due to heat stroke, which led to the interruption of the game. She broke the rules of the game and used a medical timeout before the end of a game. After returning from the medical timeout, she applied for a second medical timeout after only playing four points.
According to the rules of tennis matches, first, applying for a medical timeout must be done between games. If a game is not over, the correct way should be for the player to give up hitting the ball and hand the game over to the opponent before applying for it.
Second, for the same injury location or condition, only two medical timeouts can be requested in a set. If both medical timeouts are used, only simple treatment can be performed during the 90-second break between sets. Different injuries are not subject to this rule.
Obviously, Peng Shuai's situation is very, very special and once caused controversy.
However, after the second medical timeout, Peng Shuai fell into a serious condition where she could hardly breathe and had no choice but to retire.
So, Wozniacki returned to the US Open final after five years.
After the game, Wozniacki did not complain. Faced with special circumstances, she said she could fully understand and was very worried about Peng Shuai's condition. After learning that Peng Shuai was only dehydrated due to heatstroke and was not seriously ill, she also sent her blessings.
But for Chinese tennis fans, this is very sad news.
Peng Shuai was ultimately unable to make further breakthroughs, and with her elimination, there is now only one Chinese player left in the Flushing Meadows who is still fighting hard.
To be precise, there is only one Asian player left in the singles competition.
As Tobias thought -
On the one hand, all eyes were focused on Gao Wen, and the attention of other countries and regions in Asia was also focused on him.
On the other hand, the pressure is also rising. News keywords such as "the only seedling in Asia", "the greatest hope" and "waiting for a miracle" are all exerting invisible pressure and piling all the burdens on Gao Wen's shoulders.
This is a double-edged sword, but it is also a test that must be endured in competitive sports.
Tobias could clearly feel the change in atmosphere after Peng Shuai was eliminated.
Adidas' frequent actions are in sharp contrast to Nike's calmness, but Tobias knows clearly that all parties are brewing and waiting, and the current situation is just the calm before the storm.
Maybe, they can really make history off the court as well, and everything seems to be destined.
Then, the 13th match day arrived. The schedule was officially announced the night before the semi-final between Serena Williams and Makarova. It can be seen that the organizers of the US Open also thought carefully over it repeatedly.
Which game should be put at the end to attract higher ratings?
In the end, between Djokovic and Federer, they chose the latter, which is worthy of Federer's reputation as "global home court".
So, at noon, Djokovic vs. Galvin was the first match to take place, followed by Federer vs. Cilic, and the last match was the women's doubles final.
By the way, in another women's singles semi-final, Serena Williams swept Makarova in straight sets and will face her good friend Wozniacki in the final.
Gurgling.
Gurgling.
The air is burning.
New York time, noon; BJ time, midnight. The time difference between the two cities is exactly twelve hours.
For the fans in mainland China, the time was just right. They all sat in front of their TVs and computers at midnight, waiting for this historic and important match.
Who could have imagined that one day a Chinese male tennis player would be able to stand on the Grand Slam semi-final stage and become the first in Asia? Ahem, ahem…
Zhan Jun was clearing his throat. He turned around and saw Hu Litao wiping his sweat, and couldn't help but chuckle.
Hu Litao noticed the look and shook his head, "I feel like I'm even more nervous than Gao Wen."
Zhan Jun didn't say anything either, he just spread out his palms and showed Hu Litao his sweaty palms, and then both of them laughed.
Two weeks ago, who could have imagined that CCTV-5’s live broadcast would allow us to see the five-star red flag flying on the semi-final stage of the Arthur Ashe Stadium?
The two battle-hardened commentators inevitably felt the pressure, and the agent, who had also experienced many ups and downs, could not control his nervousness.
Tobias thought he might need oxygen.
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At Wimbledon, Dimitrov's entry into the semi-finals was a breakthrough from quantitative change to qualitative change. Before that, they had already made mental preparations and continued to make efforts towards their goal.
But this time it was an absolute surprise, everything happened so fast, so violently and so fiercely that Tobias was caught off guard.
However, Gao Wen seemed calm and prepared for the game in an orderly manner, as if this was just an ordinary game, not a Grand Slam semi-final, and his opponent was not the world number one Djokovic.
Tobias found it somewhat magical.
"Hmm?" Gawain noticed Tobias' gaze and looked up.
Tobias realized that he had been discovered and touched his nose awkwardly. "I thought you would be nervous. After all, this is the semi-final of a Grand Slam."
"Ha." Gao Wen laughed out loud. "The semi-finals and the first round are the same, because if you lose, it means you haven't reached the finish line. If you really want to be nervous, at least it should be the finals. After all, that's the game for the championship, the weight and atmosphere are different. As for the semi-finals..."
Gawain paused and thought.
"I'm just looking forward to playing against Djokovic. These are the Big Four. I've been looking forward to playing against the Big Four since college."
"Djokovic, that's Djokovic!"
As he spoke, Gawain's eyebrows danced with joy. The excitement and thrill of challenging the strongest, challenging the limit, and challenging himself made his adrenaline gushed out continuously, so much so that he couldn't help but jump up and down on the spot.
Many people believe that the greatest charm of competitive sports lies in victory and championship; but Gao Wen disagrees. He believes that the most fascinating part of competitive sports lies in challenging the strong and surpassing oneself.
If he wants victory and championships, he can go to the Hope Tournament and Challenge Tournament, where he can easily win countless victories and some championships, but such competitions are meaningless. Only by truly challenging the strongest and breaking through one's own limits can victory be the sweetest.
Facing Djokovic, this match was the one Gao Wen had been waiting for. Nervous? How could it be possible!
(End of this chapter)