Chapter 689: Walking side by side
Shake.
Raonic could feel the protest from his calf, and his knees became weak again. After two consecutive high-intensity and high-quality matches, coupled with the injury suspicion in the previous Shanghai Masters, he stopped training for a few days, and his physical fitness was indeed a bit lagging behind, which was exposed at this moment.
Raonic was a little embarrassed, but the boy was always like this, refusing to admit defeat in front of his friends. He gritted his teeth and raised his chin proudly.
Just like Raonic's hairstyle that took half a bottle of hair wax and styling water to create, it can remain motionless even in a tornado.
Straightening his spine and opening his chest, Raonic raised his head and looked at Gawain.
Gawain didn't seem to notice Raonic's bravado and just stared at him with a smile.
Raonic always felt that Gawain's eyes seemed to be able to see through his "strong appearance but weak inside", so he took the initiative to step forward, gave Gawain a hug, patted his friend's back heavily, and in order to prove that there was no problem with his physical fitness, the force was like a heavy hammer.
Bang.
"Milos, I know you want to strangle me now, but this is not a boxing ring, calm down, calm down!"
Gawain's joking voice rang in Raonic's ears, causing Raonic's movements to stiffen. The Canadian's politeness kicked in again, and he didn't dare to joke with Gawain. His hands froze in mid-air, not knowing what to do. In the end, he could only change the subject to hide his embarrassment.
"The one who performs better wins."
"Obviously, you didn't reach 100% today. Come back next time?"
Gawain was not modest, nor did he expose Raonic's trick of changing the subject. He accepted the congratulations calmly and once again issued a challenge in a dignified manner.
Raonic loosened his arms and gave a shy smile, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, his tone revealed a hint of excitement, and he regained his rationality.
"No problem, let's have a good fight next time."
Then, the two of them walked side by side towards the referee.
Raonic felt something strange about his body.
On the one hand, my feet felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds, as if they were filled with lead; on the other hand, it felt as if my steps were stepping on cotton, and my calves were basically like noodles.
So, is this heavy or light?
He took alternate steps, moving forward with deep and shallow steps, swaying like a penguin. Raonic realized that he could no longer hide it, and his performance had exposed himself a little.
The honest man became more and more shy, scratched his head, and defended himself somewhat awkwardly.
"I think I should work on my physical fitness during this offseason."
"God, in the second set, I could barely breathe. I didn't know what I was doing. It was like a puppet playing basketball."
Gao Wen had already noticed it.
He was like this in the match between Shanghai and Simon. He felt like his soul was leaving his body every minute, and only a body was still running relying on inertia. However, his calves could not kick up at all, and there was no acceleration at all. In the end, his body was not his own at all. The sour and refreshing feeling is definitely fresh in his memory.
But Raonic didn't want to show weakness, so Gawain didn't say much and just joked back at Raonic's words.
"Don't worry, I will show mercy next time we fight."
"Thank you. In that case, I will accept the victory without hesitation. I don't mind if you are willing to give up the victory. Don't worry, I won't feel humiliated."
"Haha, if you want to win, you still need to try your best."
"Okay, but I still believe I can win. Just like today, if it's a best-of-five match, and my energy is running out in the third set, I will start to fight back."
"So you're hinting at our Grand Slam clash?"
"Wow, you can even do this? You're really awesome!"
Failure is never an easy thing at any time or under any circumstances.
Raonic was no exception at this time. He did not like this ending. But compared to frustration and disappointment, looking at Gawain who tried his best and had no regrets, he also felt the exhilaration of fighting to the end without reservation.
He can confidently say that in this game, he has played 100% of his current strength. Although his physical condition and mental state are indeed not the best, he has already played to his full potential, so he should not be frustrated or disappointed.
In fact, Raonic is usually introverted and shy. He seldom expresses his feelings and is not good at expressing himself. He seems a little clumsy every time he faces the media and a little restrained every time he faces other unfamiliar players. But playing with friends is different after all.
Walking to the side of the referee, Raonic bumped Gao Wen's shoulder and said, "Come on, next game. I'm rooting for you."
After saying that, Raonic took the lead in shaking hands with the referee, then walked towards the players' rest area, leaving the court to the winner of the game and celebrating with the audience.
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Oh! Ah! The stadium was filled with cheers and applause. The energy did not burst out all at once, but rose little by little, finally releasing all its strength to form a rolling wave.
Raonic was packing up his equipment, but he couldn't help but turned his head to look at the court. Then he saw Gawain pounding his chest with his right fist and roaring passionately. His vitality was like an erupting volcano, igniting the enthusiasm of the audience.
Flaunting, wanton, gorgeous, and dazzling! In an instant, it seemed as if the whole world was brightening up.
Paris is different after all. Unlike Valencia, this is the Masters, a stage second only to the Grand Slam. After the US Open, two months later, Gawain once again made it to the final of the highest-level ATP event, proving himself with his actual performance and that he is definitely not just a dark horse.
Moreover, the pressure of competing in the year-end finals has been everywhere and overwhelming in recent times. Every game may lead to changes in the situation. The discussions, attention and expectations are pouring in from all directions, enough to suffocate people, and Gao Wen is no exception.
All of this makes this victory have a different meaning.
Gao Wen needs moments like this to vent himself.
Despite this, Gao Wen's celebration did not last long. He turned 360 degrees to thank the audience, and then ended it after two turns.
Obviously, Gawain still took Raonic's emotions into consideration. When he ended the celebration, he turned around and saw that Raonic had packed up and was ready to leave.
The two people's eyes collided in the air, and Raonic could feel his high morale boiling in his blood, not only because of the defeat, but also because of Gawain's passion and blood, and because of Gawain's hard work and tenacity, which also awakened the excitement deep in his soul.
Raonic thought back to when he first entered the professional tennis world, tennis and fighting, it was a dream.
He was already looking forward to their next encounter.
Raonic gave Gawain a thumbs up, said nothing more, and turned to leave; but out of the corner of his eye he still saw Gawain raising his hands above his head to applaud him.
The whole audience burst into applause.
(End of this chapter)