Chapter 611: Tough Soldier
After the game, Felipe Lopez took off his headband, the regret in his eyes slowly faded, revealing a big smile, trotting towards Gawain, then grasped Gawain's right hand, hugged Gawain tightly with Spanish enthusiasm, and patted Gawain's back heavily with his left hand.
“Well done.”
At this point, Felipe Lopez no longer had the ruthlessness he had in the game to win, and the kindness and enthusiasm in his voice invisibly brought him closer.
After releasing the hug, Felipe Lopez looked at Gawain and smiled.
"If we encounter a situation like Tannasi again, we can just go to the stadium and have a good fight. Boxing has enough audiences around the world. There is no need for us to compete with them for the market."
There was a hint of sarcasm in his words. Although he still had a Spanish accent, Lopez's English was much clearer and more accurate than Nadal's, and he even made jokes with ease.
Gao Wen reacted immediately.
It seems that Felipe Lopez did see the small conflict between him and Kojnakis that day, but the cleverness of Felipe Lopez lies in that he did not reprimand or instruct Gawain or Kojnakis from a superior position, but waited until the matter settled down before giving them some advice.
Moreover, Gawain was almost certain that Fili Lopez's words, attitude, and expression when facing Koggenakis and him would be different -
After all, young players are bound to be hot-blooded, impulsive and irritable. If they are not careful, they may end up in a thankless situation. Just look at how McEnroe tried to help Kyrgios but was repeatedly angered.
No wonder Lopez has so many friends on tour, he is truly a big shot.
Gao Wen had a smile in his eyes and raised his fist.
"My fist is much harder than a racket. Don't worry, in order to avoid any loss of life, I will always give priority to the racket, otherwise something bad will happen."
A little bit of complacency, a little bit of pride, and a little bit of light-hearted teasing, Gao Wen's response also made Fe Lopez laugh happily.
When it comes to speaking, just keep it to the point.
Fe Lopez didn't say anything else, wished Gao Wen good luck in the next round, shook hands with the referee, and turned to leave.
For Gao Wen, the goal he set for himself was very simple: to improve a little, recover a little, and get a little better with each game, and to move in the right direction. That was enough, and the outcome would be decided by the performance on the spot.
After defeating Fe Lopez and advancing to the next round, Gao Wen's goal has been achieved. At least the performance of Magic City has been significantly improved compared to the Imperial City. Whether it is daily training or doubles matches, no matter what has played a role, they are now slowly getting back on the right track.
After passing three levels in a row, Gao Wen has successfully advanced to the quarterfinals in the Magic City Masters, and the third round of the competition has gradually returned to normal, with no upsets.
The only slightly unexpected match was when fourth seed Ferrer defeated eleventh seed Murray in three sets, so the "Djokovic vs. Murray" match was not staged in the Magic City.
Murray, whose form has been up and down since returning from injury this season, started strong but ended poorly in the Asian season. After winning the championship in Shenzhen, his performances in the two tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai did not meet expectations. For him, the remaining games of the season should be preparations for his rise next year.
In the quarterfinals, Gao Wen will face another singles backhand strongman Youzhny.
Youzhny and Federer entered the professional tennis world at the same time. He also experienced the glorious era when stars such as Safin, Hewitt, Ferrero, Roddick and others shone, and was also a top player who was ranked in the top ten in the world for a long time.
Because he had served in the army for a long time, and because of his tough playing style and hot temper, he won the title of "Soldier" among the fans.
There is a GIF of Youzhny that is very famous on social networks around the world. After he made a mistake in hitting the ball, he was very dissatisfied with himself, so he hit his own head with a racket. As a result, blood burst and blood flowed. The violent and bloody scene made everyone dumbfounded.
In fact, his playing style is also like this, straightforward, decisive, daring and tough.
The peak period of Youzhny's career should be from 2008 to 2013. During this period, he reached the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams and the semifinals of the US Open twice. Although he is a typical hard court player, he performs very well on grass and clay, and is recognized as one of the most comprehensive players.
In addition, Youzhny also frequently participated in doubles competitions. His highest doubles world ranking reached 38th and he won nine doubles championship titles.
Unfortunately, on the one hand, it was affected by injuries. There were no serious injuries, but there were constant minor injuries. On the other hand, it was due to his personality. His performance had ups and downs, and his condition also fluctuated. His overall performance always lacked a bit of stability.
Last season, the 31-year-old Youzhny made a strong comeback, finishing the year ranked 15th in the world, the second best result of his career.
However, as this season began, his form gradually declined. He was eliminated in the second round of the first three Grand Slams and was upset by Kyrgios in the first round of the US Open.
Last year at the US Open, Youzhny reached the quarterfinals; this year he was eliminated in the first round and lost a huge amount of points, so his world ranking dropped rapidly and has now slipped to 48th place.
Youzhny had good luck in the draw this time in Shanghai. He defeated the "injury-plagued" Gulbis in the first round, and then faced unseeded players ranked outside the top 80 in the world in two consecutive rounds. He won both rounds in the deciding set and successfully reached the quarterfinals, where he will soon face off against Gao Wen.
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Judging from Youzhny's recent performance, the soldier's condition is indeed slowly declining, and the dual influence of age and injuries permeates every aspect.
This time in Shanghai, he played to the deciding set in the second and third rounds against Ivan Dodig and Juan Monaco, who were not highly ranked in the world.
Moreover, judging from the historical trajectory that Gao Wen is familiar with, after 2014, Youzhny has never been able to regain the touch of his peak period.
In subsequent Grand Slam tournaments, he was basically eliminated in the first two rounds; his last appearance in a Grand Slam was the 2018 US Open, but in this tournament where he performed best, he had to retire in the first round due to cramps, bidding farewell to the Grand Slam in such a regrettable way.
In September of the same year, Youzhny announced his official retirement. Later, the latest news about him was that he served as the coach of Canadian rookie Denis Shapovalov for a period of time in 2019.
Look back to the present moment.
Although Youzhny is indeed slowly declining, from another perspective, even when he is in poor condition, Youzhny still did not give up fighting, and gritted his teeth and continued to fight to the end, and finally won the game -
His strong psychological quality and excellent adjustment ability are evident.
Gao Wen is also looking forward to this game.
(End of this chapter)