Chapter 540 Matchup Draw
Ahhhh!
Ahhhh!
The air was burning, the whole place was boiling.
When Gawain appeared on the training ground, the spectators outside the barbed wire instantly burst into incredible screams, like a tsunami sweeping over, the rolling heat waves calling for the return of midsummer, the overwhelming shouts came one after another, and in a trance they seemed to be able to feel the ground shaking.
Gao Wen and Russell walked to the two sides of the court respectively, and first carried out simple batting training as a warm-up. After their muscles were completely relaxed, they started the formal training.
However, every move of Gawain could trigger screams from the audience around him, even the action of cleverly wrapping and catching the tennis ball with the racket. The scene was like an active volcano, erupting continuously, and the boiling magma submerged the entire venue in a blink of an eye, and no one was exempt.
Sampras turned his head and looked at the faces twisted by excitement, the heart-wrenching shouts that were overwhelming, the crazy looks as if they were "creating gods", and his mood, which had just been a little relaxed, sank a little again, and he was even more nervous than when he was a professional player.
No wonder people always say that coaching is a profession with a high incidence of heart disease.
Sampras looked back at Pelt, but Pelt was not affected at all. He focused highly on Gawain's training, as if he was observing Gawain's physical and muscle condition, and then making plans for the next physical training.
This concentration helped Sampras calm down a little.
As Gao Wen said, there is no need to allocate too much energy to things that have not happened. Moving forward step by step and doing well in the present is what is most important.
The training has begun.
Exactly three weeks after winning the US Open, the first formal training session began.
It feels so good.
Gao Wen had to admit that after going around in circles, he returned to the practice field. When his feet stepped on the court, he felt the rebound of the ground with his toes and soles, and then ran and chased, hitting the tennis ball with the racket, looking for the balance between strength and flexibility, and sweating. This feeling... was so familiar, so comfortable, and so wonderful.
He missed moments like this.
Temporarily put aside all distractions, concentrate wholeheartedly on hitting the ball, slowly regain the feel and state of hitting the ball, slowly regain the prediction and initiation of movement, things become simple again, everything is about tennis and only about tennis, the place where life blooms.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The crisp sound of the ball hitting the ground is like a symphony.
When Tobias finished dealing with things and appeared at the training ground, the surging crowd inside and outside were still full of energy, screaming and shouting continuously releasing energy, but Gawain and Russell's batting training had slowly gotten on track, and the quality of the balls on both sides was already able to give people the feeling of a formal game.
"……How about it?"
Tobias came up to Sampras and asked in a low voice.
Sampras shook his head slightly and replied in a low voice.
"The feel is still not good enough."
When competing in the US Open, Gao Wen slowly got into the state, became more and more confident in hitting the ball, dared to shoot at critical moments, dared to change lines and dared to challenge extreme landing points in corners; and he always managed to hit the target, especially in the two games against Kei Nishikori and Djokovic, where he performed well.
But now, as he is recovering his touch, Gao Wen needs to leave room for adjustment when hitting the ball, and the reserved space from the baseline and line change should be relatively large, otherwise there is a risk of going out of bounds.
Such differences in details are often fatal when facing top players.
Judging from the training match, Gawain and Russell's balls were powerful, with sufficient strength and speed, and the fans around them were naturally cheering; but in terms of quality, Sampras could see at a glance that their condition was far from good.
Tobias was not too worried. "Gawain's shots were also a little conservative, which means he realized that his condition was not right, so he is also in the process of adjusting."
Sampras nodded in affirmation. This was also the reason why they needed to train. However, the training time was so tight and he didn't know how much strength Gao Wen would be able to recover by the time of the official competition the day after tomorrow. He didn't want to dwell on this for the time being, so he changed the subject. "Is the draw out?"
"Well, the first round will be against Mayer." Tobias didn't keep the audience in suspense and gave the answer directly.
"Which Mayer?"
“The Leonardo Mayer of Argentina.”
As an ATP 250-point tournament, the Imperial Capital Open has 32 draws, including eight seeded seats, and a total of five rounds will be held to determine the final champion.
This year, a total of four wild cards were issued, belonging to Bo Yan, Feliciano Lopez, Murray and Gao Wen.
Among them, Murray and Gao Wen both applied for wild cards at the last minute.
Murray showed good competitive form in Shenzhen and has now reached the final to face Robredo for the championship, so he temporarily applied for a wildcard from the capital, hoping to further improve his form and then face the Shanghai Masters next week. However, he doesn't know whose wildcard he will replace in the end.
As for Gao Wen, Tobias has inquired about it. He replaced the wild card of Serbian player Viktor Troicki. Last year, Troicki did not undergo a blood test after the Monte Carlo Masters and was banned by the International Tennis Federation. He has only recently been preparing to make a comeback.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Although all four players received wild cards, their treatment was very different because the positions of all wild card players must comply with the world rankings.
Murray, ranked eighth in the world before the US Open, was seeded sixth.
Gao Wen, like Bo Yan and F. Lopez, did not have a very good world ranking before the US Open, so he did not receive any special treatment. He was drawn as an ordinary player and might face seeded players in the first round.
Although Gao Wen has become a new player in the top 20 in the world in the latest world rankings this week, temporarily ranking as high as 15th, but the rules are the rules. He still has to face the same situation as before the US Open and still lower his position and challenge his opponents like a newcomer on tour.
This time, Gao Wen's luck was still not good, but it was not bad either. At least, compared with Bo Yan and Lopez, Gao Wen was already lucky:
Bai Yan will face US Open runner-up Cilic in the first round; Lopez will face third seed Berdych in the first round.
Sampras raised his eyebrows slightly, repeated "L-Meyer" carefully, and nodded gently. "As a first-round opponent, it will be a test for Gao Wen, but from another perspective, it will also help Gao Wen regain his touch. At least, he is not a player with strong impact."
Tobias shrugged slightly. "At least it's better than the US Open draw."
Sampras recalled the scene after the results of the first round of the US Open draw came out, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing. His gloomy mood seemed to brighten a little.
It’s also a wild card, from Flushing to the capital, but I don’t know how Gao Wen will perform this time.
(End of this chapter)