Chapter 590: Two Matches in One Day
“…I’m not surprised.”
At the post-match press conference after defeating Andujar, reporters couldn't wait to ask Gao Wen the question "Wang Chuhan defeated Fognini", and he answered like this.
“As I said before, I don’t think I made history.”
"I always believe that there are a lot of excellent players around me. We are all working hard and fighting in our own way, and then going out onto the court to fight. It just so happens that I became the first player to break through and prove one thing with practical actions: we can all do it."
“So, I believe there will be more players who can do this in the future.”
Gao Wen was sincere about this.
Of course, in the time and space that Gawain was familiar with, such a vision did not come true; but now, this little butterfly that broke through the constraints of time and space has changed history:
He flapped his wings in Flushing, and then waited quietly to see if a hurricane would hit the Chinese mainland.
When Gao Wen was still in New York, he had a brief contact with the "genius girl" Bellis. Although he failed to change Bellis's history of losing at the US Open, who can be sure whether Bellis's future, which was often injured, has changed the trajectory? Similarly, from Wang Chuhan in 1992 to the younger Wu Yibing, the future is still waiting to be written.
Perhaps, just like Sampras and Agassi planted a seed of dream in Jiang Yanyun's heart, he can, through his actual performance, sow a little bit of hope of dreams in the hearts of more parents, more coaches, and more young players, waiting for the miraculous moment when the dream takes root and sprouts.
You still have to have dreams, what if they come true?
However, everything takes time, and nothing can be achieved overnight. Patience and perseverance are essential qualities in competitive sports.
So, after the press conference, Gao Wen returned to the training ground, reunited with Thiem, and summarized and analyzed the lessons and gains from today's doubles match.
The training is not intense. It is more about tactical analysis and drills. Compared with physical strength, brainstorming is the core of the entire training. The main reason is that both Gawain and Thiem will need to take the test of two matches in one day tomorrow, one singles and one doubles.
In professional competitions, it is very common to have two matches in one day.
One part is to take into account both singles and doubles. Considering the schedule, it is difficult to avoid playing two games in one day, especially when non-Grand Slam tournaments only last for one week, which is even more common.
Another part is the influence of weather. Most tennis courts are outdoors. It is not uncommon for the schedule to be piled up due to rain or strong winds. It is not surprising that two games need to be completed in one day, which often occurs in singles and doubles courts.
It is precisely because of this that physical reserves, physical distribution, etc. have always been compulsory courses for professional players.
For their own reasons, Gawain and Tim have not had any systematic training in recent times, so the physical test will certainly be more severe; but from another perspective, as long as they can grit their teeth and persevere, or even achieve a breakthrough, it will be an improvement both physically and mentally.
As it happens, both Gawain and Tim are training maniacs. They are not afraid of the upcoming double match in one day, but are eager to try. This also makes Pelt look satisfied.
He likes players like that.
According to the schedule, singles matches are played first, and doubles matches are often scheduled later, but the last major event of the day at the center court is often a singles match.
From a certain perspective, this is because the singles events attract more attention than the doubles events, so the organizers made such arrangements.
Thiem's second round match went straight to the center court, as he was about to challenge the tournament's top seed Djokovic; but it was Gawain who took the first court for his second round match.
Generally speaking, the schedule of the competition is as follows:
The center court schedules four games, and the other courts schedule five to six games a day, so the start time for other players is often an hour earlier than the center court.
Today, following the doubles match, Gao Wen landed on Court 2 for the second time, facing his second-round opponent, American player Steve-Johnson, in the first match of the day's event.
Johnson, who was born in 1989, is no stranger to Gao Wen because he is a legend in the NCAA and a sworn enemy of the Bruins.
He is from the USC Trojans.
Johnson completed four years of study at USC and ushered in an era with the Trojans: they dominated the NCAA national championship for four consecutive years, suppressing their city rivals, UCLA; in addition, Johnson won the national singles championship in his junior and senior years, pushing the Trojans' glory in the NCAA to a new peak, which was also a shadow hanging over the Bruins.
It is no exaggeration to say that from the 2011 season to the 2012 season, Johnson was in a state of seeking invincibility in the NCAA. He created a record of 72 undefeated games in team and singles competitions, rewriting the history of the NCAA. This also triggered the admiration of countless professionals: Perhaps Johnson is likely to become the next generation leader of American tennis after Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, James Blake, and John Isner! However, ideals are full, and reality is skinny.
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After turning to the professional game, Johnson started down-to-earth from the Futures Tournament, then moved to the Challenger Tournament, and then step by step into the professional arena. Although he achieved very good results in the Futures Tournament and the Challenger Tournament, winning ten championship trophies, he has always performed poorly in ATP-level events.
In 2013, he was eliminated in the first round of all four Grand Slams; in 2014, he only made it to the second round of the French Open, while he was still eliminated in the first round of other tournaments.
Disappointing.
In fact, Johnson has a typical American hard-court style, with excellent serve, strong forehand, and crisp and tough style of play, but shortcomings in the backhand and mediocre defense. Facing players with low world rankings, he is very threatening and has great impact. Moreover, compared to Kyrgios, he is more stable, has outstanding psychological quality, rarely collapses, and overall plays strong balls, so his average performance is good.
Currently, Johnson's world ranking has reached 42nd. After two years of turning professional, it can be seen that he has been steadily rising and has reached the top 50 in the world. At least on fast hard courts, he is more threatening than Anduar. His current condition and strength should be comparable to Thiem of the same period. It's just that he has never made a breakthrough in the Grand Slam.
Of course, compared to his glory in the NCAA, Johnson did lack outstanding performances in the professional arena, but for a player who turned professional from college, his performance was already very good.
This time, the NCAA extra-season matchup of "Trojans vs. Bruins" will be staged in Shanghai, which is a small topic - at the post-match press conference of the first round of games, this was another focus of concern for American reporters.
(End of this chapter)