Chapter 671: Ice and Fire
Gawain could clearly feel Bob Bryan's enthusiasm, even a little too enthusiastic, so that he cast his eyes towards Mike Bryan.
But he found that Mike was also looking at Gao Wen with an expression of satisfaction and appreciation.
"……Thanks?"
Gawain felt something was strange. If they were celebrating Gawain's victory over Berdych and advancing to the quarterfinals, then their expressions and demeanor were a little too exaggerated.
Was he overthinking it? After all, the Bryan brothers were so passionate, and he might not be used to the American way of expressing emotions?
"Come on! Keep it up!"
"You are on the right path now, keep fighting! Fight, brother!"
"Oh yeah, fight!"
The Bryan brothers roared back and forth, and the entire corridor was filled with their voices, making it very lively.
But soon, Gawain discovered that it wasn't just the Bryan brothers. Everyone seemed a little strange along the way: the tournament staff and volunteers, other doubles players who passed by, and even Raonic, who was about to play, waved his fist at Gawain from afar and cheered for him with his mouth.
Then without saying anything more, Raonic started jogging forward with his equipment bag on his back, and disappeared at the end of the corridor in a blink of an eye.
Gao Wen: ??? With a head full of question marks, Gao Wen saw Sampras and Pelt waiting at the entrance of the players' lounge. He quickly walked up to them and shared what had just happened with a smile.
"…What the hell is going on? It's just like after I won the Flushing Meadows semifinals. Everyone was happy for me, even passers-by were giving me high fives."
Although I have doubts, I am still happy.
At any time, victory is something worth celebrating. Praise and encouragement from others can always fill your chest, and a smile will rise lightly at the corners of your mouth, and your tone will become a little cheerful.
Sampras looked at Gawain, who was walking briskly, and forced a smile. "Of course. After all, this is also the Masters Tournament, and reaching the quarterfinals of the Masters Tournament is worth celebrating."
"What's more, Thomas performed very well today. You were still able to withstand the pressure and win, which is even better."
It was praise, indeed, but the disappointment hidden behind the smile was hard to conceal.
Gawain was very perceptive and noticed something was wrong with Sampras right away. Especially after the series of unusual encouragements he had just received, the confusion in his mind grew even more.
This made Gawain stop and look at Sampras carefully, then turned to look at Pelt, trying to find some clues from their expressions.
"Wait, is something wrong with John?"
Tobias was not present at this time.
Sampras was a little amused, with a genuine smile in his eyes, "No, John is fine, he went to watch Gregor's game."
Dimitrov's match against Murray should start soon.
Gao Wen showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, "Ah, yes, if something happened to John, they would not encourage me. Their thinking is a bit biased."
Seeing Gawain admit his mistake, Sampras shook his head. "So, that was your first reaction? Worrying about John?"
"If I hadn't seen you, I would have been worried about you too." Gawain said with an extremely serious expression.
Sampras' breath was stuck in his throat, unable to spit it out or swallow it, his eyes full of helplessness, "Gawain, you know that's not what I meant."
Gao Wen shrugged lightly and did not comment.
Pelt remained silent the whole time, observing Gawain's expression carefully, and then calmly interrupted, "Pete, Gawain should have guessed it."
Sampras paused and looked at Gawain. He could clearly feel the tense lines on his shoulders becoming even tighter. "You know?"
Gawain curled his lips and said as a matter of course, "It's not the Goldbach conjecture, Pete. We all know that there are only a few possibilities."
"Kei Nishikori won, right?"
The answer has already come out -
The tournament organizers and fellow players expressed encouragement to Gao Wen, which was actually more of a consolation and affirmation because they knew that Kei Nishikori had won the game.
This also means that even if Gao Wen wins the Paris Masters, his championship points will not be able to enter the top eight, and he will miss the year-end finals.
On the front foot, Gawain defeated Berdych and won the victory with an unparalleled performance, continuing his hopes.
Following closely, the competitor also won, taking the lead in the neck-and-neck sprint duel.
Perhaps, this cannot be described as going from heaven to hell. After all, victory is still victory, and reaching the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters is also a performance worth celebrating. But at least it can be said to be a double whammy, sweet and bitter, celebrating victory while regretting the missed opportunity:
"Failure" is not because he missed the opportunity. In fact, Gawain firmly grasped the opportunity, from the runner-up in Valencia to the quarterfinals in Paris - and it is possible to continue to advance. In the face of slim hope, Gawain always gritted his teeth, kept up with the main force, and fought for a glimmer of hope.
However, the opponent performed better and seized the opportunity steadily, so Gao Wen was "eliminated".
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In fact, objectively speaking, this is far from being called a "failure". After all, Gao Wen only played for half a season. To be precise, it is a reasonable result that he failed to catch the last train to the year-end finals.
But after witnessing the Flushing Meal myth and seeing Gao Wen gradually recover his form and regain his competitiveness in the final stages of the game, it is indeed a pity that it ended in such an unexpected way.
Then, everything that just happened can be reasonably explained.
Including the expressions of Sampras and Pelt, who seemed to be hesitant and unable to express what they were saying.
At Gao Wen's post-match press conference, a reporter mentioned Kei Nishikori's match.
But at that time, Kei Nishikori's match against Felipe Lopez had not yet ended. The two sides tied in the first two sets and were still tied at the beginning of the deciding set, making it difficult to determine the winner.
Therefore, the reporter just tried a few times, and when they failed to make any progress, they gave up.
Up to now, considering the context, the answer is not that difficult: the game should be over.
Pert could feel Gawain's gaze, and although he didn't want to face it, he still nodded slightly.
"Decisive set, '6:4', Kei Nishikori won."
A simple sentence or a few words can complete the summary and state the facts.
However, the complex emotions hidden behind the words cannot be expressed clearly in a few words.
Gao Wen raised his chin slightly, revealing an expression of as expected, and the smile at the corner of his mouth was slightly regretful.
"Although it's a pity, we still need to congratulate Kei Nishikori. He should be the first male player from Asia to reach the year-end finals."
Sampras was stunned.
Seeing Gawain speak so calmly about such a cruel and regrettable reality, Sampras' mouth was full of bitterness.
"Gawain, actually, it's okay to feel sad, disappointed, or even angry occasionally. There's no need to be so generous and tolerant all the time."
(End of this chapter)