Chapter 717 Fresh Blood
Obviously, the two groups of the year-end finals started the first and second rounds of competition, but the quality of the competition was not satisfactory.
It's tasteless and unremarkable.
Sleepy and dull.
Especially compared with the enthusiasm of the fans and spectators, such performance is really disappointing, which also makes reporters start to worry about next year.
But is there nothing special about the group stage? Not really.
Two consecutive wins do not mean qualifying; two consecutive losses do not mean being eliminated.
Of course, whether it is Federer and Djokovic being eliminated, or Ferrer and Raonic making a comeback, both situations are objective but complicated possibilities with very low probability.
In the four matches in the final round of the group stage, both the best-of-two and best-of-three sets could lead to different results, and the other possible probabilities are undoubtedly greater.
Overall, the qualifying situations for Group A and Group B are exactly the same. The results of the two games within the group may produce sixteen possible outcomes and lead to different results.
From here, the chaotic pattern of the 2014 season is once again proved. Even though Djokovic and Federer still have the advantage, the chaos has already happened.
Maybe people should be more patient, give these players more time, especially the young players, and look forward to their future.
Unfortunately, the confusion in the qualifying situation did not trigger more discussion, because the one-sided group stage has cut off many possible derivatives. The biggest possibility is that Djokovic and Federer will easily win three consecutive games, and the winner of the other match will advance to the semi-finals. It's that simple.
Ultimately, there is still a lack of suspense.
Then, the accident happened again——
For a moment, people couldn't tell whether the accidents were caused by the chaos that lasted throughout 2014, or whether these accidents made the chaos in 2014 even worse.
On the fifth match day, in the morning, Raonic held an emergency press conference:
"Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the remainder of the year-end finals due to a mild tear in my quadriceps. Although it is with great regret and sadness, I have to withdraw from the year-end finals."
"It was a difficult decision. The fans wanted to see a great performance and now I can't do that."
"I need to say sorry to the fans. I will try my best to be able to perform in London again next year."
Boom! Boom boom boom! Big news.
In fact, there had been signs of everything a long time ago. Raonic had been struggling with injuries since the Magic City, but his situation was slightly different from that of Gao Wen. Faced with the opportunity to reach the year-end finals for the first time in his career, Raonic and his team decided to go all out and participate in the competition in full attendance.
Of course, Raonic did it and became the first person born in the 1990s.
But at the same time, the price paid on the physical level is also painful.
The quadriceps is the strongest muscle group in the human body. It is located on the front of the thigh and occupies almost three-quarters of the front of the thigh. It is the most important muscle for maintaining the upright posture and walking posture of the human body. It is for this reason that Raonic's thigh has been wrapped in bandages since the Magic City.
Injuries are always very, very bad because recovery is difficult and even if you recover successfully, your body is no longer in its original condition. If you want to get back to your best condition, you need to put in more effort.
When the press conference was held, Gao Wen and Dimitrov were watching the live broadcast on TV and were completely stunned.
Obviously, Raonic has been hesitating and struggling, and he doesn't want to make the decision to withdraw unless the situation is extremely difficult.
Raonic and his team had been observing his body's reaction and monitoring his injuries, and went to the hospital in the morning before making a difficult choice. Before the decision was made, the situation was still unclear, so they naturally did not leak any news.
Both Gawain and Dimitrov are very worried about Raonic's condition, especially Gawain, who knows clearly how terrible injuries are.
"Milos, how is the injury?"
"It's just a minor tear at the moment, but I have no choice but to avoid it getting worse. I still need to return to Toronto for further examination to know the specific situation."
“Take it one step at a time. Only after going through the ups and downs can you see a wider world.”
"I know. Also, good luck in the finals."
Text messages went back and forth. Although Gawain and Dimitrov were unable to be with their friend, they could at least give Raonic some support in this way.
Then, Raonic brought up something very important:
Gao Wen, as the first substitute, is about to make his debut at the O2 Arena.
However, this is definitely not the way that Gao Wen expects himself to step onto the stage of the year-end finals; from another perspective, Gao Wen is taking the court instead of Raonic, and at the same time, he is also taking the court on behalf of the younger generation born after 1990, and the heavy responsibility on his shoulders is different.
"Milos, stand behind me, and let's cheer together."
"I'll be watching the live stream. Fist!"
After Raonic's emergency press conference ended, the ATP immediately held an official press conference and announced that Gao Wen would soon appear in the game as the first substitute.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Things suddenly became interesting -
Following Raonic, another fresh blood who rose rapidly in the 2014 season is about to make his debut, which also means that the third fresh face will appear in this year's year-end finals.
So, how will Gao Wen perform? Moreover, Gao Wen's first and last group match opponent is Kei Nishikori.
This is not only a rematch of the US Open quarterfinals, but also a showdown between two newcomers to the year-end finals, and a clash between two Asian players.
"Gawain, head to the O2 Stadium..."
The official ATP press conference was in progress, and Sampras, Peart, Tobias and others had already appeared on the stage in a hurry.
"There's no time left, get in the car."
"Grigor, come on, we'll go too."
In a flash, they came and went in a hurry, and the group disappeared without a trace.
According to the schedule, the singles and doubles matches of the year-end finals will be held together. The O2 arena will arrange four matches every day, two singles and two doubles, which will be held alternately.
Today, the first match at the O2 Arena is a doubles match, the second match is "Kei Nishikori VS Raonic"; the third match is doubles again, and the last match is a battle between giants "Federer VS Murray".
In other words, Gawain really has no time to waste now—
Generally speaking, in order to prepare for a game, you need to warm up three to four hours before the game, and the warm-up time also needs to be adjusted according to the actual situation; at the same time, you also need to make adjustments based on the opponent, and pre-match preparations must not be sloppy.
But now everything happened too fast, and before we knew it, Gawain was about to make his debut.
The only thing to be thankful for is that there is still a doubles match, so from a time perspective, we should still be in time. But I don’t know what Gao Wen’s mental state is like.
Sampras turned his head to look over, only to find that they were all in a panic, while Gawain had a firm gaze and had regained his concentration, just like a blade out of its sheath, emitting a sharp edge that was ready to go.
The answer is self-evident.
(End of this chapter)