Chapter 735 The Price of Growth
Huff, huff.
My lungs are burning, and with every breath I feel like I can feel the magma boiling and tumbling in my lungs. My calves are shaking uncontrollably, and my entire body weight is supported on the racket, but I find that my arms are also shaking slightly, as if I were swinging on a rope high in the air.
Looking up, Gawain quietly watched the huge crowd surging in front of him. The continuous roar hit his eardrums fiercely. Every cell in his body was greedily breathing in the hot air of the O2 Stadium, feeling the heat wave and enjoying the madness.
it's over……
The game is over, the journey to the year-end finals is over, and more importantly, the season of creating miracles is also over, ending here.
call……
Gawain let out a long breath, used the racket as a support point, and barely stood up. He stood there and jumped lightly a few times to help his knees and calves regain their center of gravity, and then took a step forward.
He should not be frustrated or disappointed, because he fought hard to the end without reservation throughout the game.
Indeed, some shots could be handled more intelligently, some unforced errors could be avoided, some rounds could be planned with more patience, and some active attacks could be sharper and tougher...
As for competition, there is always room for improvement.
However, he could say with a clear conscience that he did fight until the last moment and he did burn up the last drop of fuel in the tank.
He really tried his best.
So, he should leave the O2 Arena with his back straight and his head held high.
Uncontrollably, Gawain slightly opened his shoulders, straightened his spine, and strode towards the net. Even though his calves were shaking uncontrollably, his steps became more and more firm.
When he arrived in front of the net, Djokovic had already ended his celebration and was jogging over.
Gao Wen raised his head, looked directly into Djokovic's eyes, smiled sincerely, and stretched out his right hand.
"It was a great match and the better team won."
Djokovic held Gao Wen's right hand, pulled him and gave him a big hug.
"I think we all fought till the very end."
At this moment, one can feel that Djokovic's tense emotions seem to have finally relaxed, and one can feel how important this game is to him.
Then Djokovic loosened his arms and gave a polite smile.
"I believe we will meet many, many times in the future."
This is both an affirmation and an appreciation.
Gao Wen couldn't help but feel eager to try it out, "I can't wait."
Djokovic chuckled happily twice. It can be seen that he was in a very good mood. He even made a little joke, "Wait, wait, let me enjoy this game first, let's not rush."
Gawain did not ruin Djokovic's good mood and made an inviting gesture, which was a double entendre: it was an invitation to Djokovic to enjoy his victory, and also an invitation to Djokovic to be the first to shake hands with the referee.
Djokovic understood immediately and laughed out loud again, but he still politely gave way and let Gawain shake hands with the referee first. He watched Gawain return to the players' rest area before preparing to enjoy his victory.
Here, Gawain quickly packed up his equipment, turned around and left the O2 Arena, leaving the stage to Djokovic.
Papapapa! Boom
boom boom!
The applause and cheers, which had calmed down a little, rose again, mixed with roars calling for "Gawain", just like a rock star's concert.
The audience at the O2 Arena bid farewell to Gawain in this way, thanking Gawain and Djokovic for teaming up to present such a wonderful match to everyone.
Gawain raised his hands high to express his response and gratitude with applause, turned 360 degrees on the spot, looked around the field, and then walked towards the player tunnel, gradually leaving all the noise and bustle behind, returning to the locker room step by step, and the world became quiet again.
In fact, I could still feel the surge in the air behind me, but it was gradually fading away, as if I was wrapped in the crystal clear lake water, which further highlighted the tranquility and coolness of the locker room.
Sitting on the bench, the excitement, the sensation, the madness gradually settled down, the brain regained its calmness, and the bitterness of the defeat became clear: How did we lose this game? First of all, we must admit that the fundamental reason is that Djokovic played better. His targeted tactics, concentration throughout, and courage to take action at critical moments really demonstrated his unparalleled control on indoor hard courts.
One is the outstanding feel of wrapping the ball, and the other is the extremely precise control.
When facing Gawain today, Djokovic showed top performance with his backhand straight line, and repeatedly tried to repeat the landing point of the return ball, which not only curbed Gawain's tactical intention of changing the rhythm, but also curbed Gawain's backhand performance.
Especially at the end of the deciding set, Djokovic's performance in key points was indeed slightly better.
So, apart from acknowledging that his opponent performed well, does Gao Wen himself still have room for improvement?
Apart from the tactical level, Gao Wen believes that he is still slightly unprepared for the difficulties of the game.
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Before the competition, Gao Wen kept reminding himself:
Don't take it lightly. Djokovic will definitely go all out to avoid a three-game losing streak. He will definitely burst out with 200% of his energy in this game.
For Djokovic, the desire to win this game may be second only to the Grand Slam final.
Not only Gawain himself, but Sampras also attached great importance to it. They all realized that in the third match, the secrets between them were getting fewer and fewer, and Djokovic was more mature and more experienced, and he must have a killer move. Any slight negligence could lead to tragic consequences.
However, humans are like this. They know that a needle prick is painful, but they have never actually been pricked by a needle. Even if the warning in their brain is strong, they still cannot truly experience the pain of a needle prick.
“If you haven’t experienced it, you’ll still be lacking something.”
Gawain, that's it.
This is also what Sampras has been saying all along. The lack of competition experience is Gawain's biggest shortcoming at the moment, because if he has not experienced it, he has not experienced it. Even if he understands the principles more, he has not experienced it personally. The impact he feels when the time comes lacks a sense of reality.
The reality is that Gawain has defeated Djokovic twice in a row, but he has never seen Djokovic truly exert 100% of his energy.
It's not negligence, nor is it contempt, nor is it complacency, but it's just that we are a little unprepared for difficulties.
For some balls, in the previous two games, he could score points by hitting them to this extent; however, this time it didn't work. Not only that, but he might also fall into a passive position, forcing Gao Wen to continue to improve his condition and performance, but such pressure brought variables.
This slight psychological difference objectively impacted Gao Wen in the final stages of the game.
After all, I am still too young.
Maybe this is the price of growing up.
(End of this chapter)