Chapter 742 Perfect Ending
"We should expect more young players like Gao Wen to emerge, because they are the future of our sport."
Nadal is no exception.
During the period of recuperation from surgery, he was harassed by the official ATP reporter. The Spanish king, who is always cautious in his words, also expressed views similar to Federer.
“Yes, I watched the year-end final at home, not the whole game, but I did see Gao Wen’s outstanding performance.”
"In fact, if you study Gao Wen's game videos, you can find that he is always very dedicated and immersed in his thinking. He is thinking about every game and every point."
"I've heard a lot of people questioning Gawain's results and thinking he was just lucky, but having played against Gawain I know that's not true."
"Gawain is a very smart and hard-working player. You should really go and see him practice, then you won't be surprised at how much I practice in the future."
"I told you that I believe Gao Wen can create more outstanding results. Obviously, I don't need to say more because Gao Wen has already proved himself."
“I’m really looking forward to playing against Gawain again.”
One after another.
Wait, the Big Three have already appeared, but what about Djokovic? The ATP official website did not include Djokovic's interview, because it was too conspicuous and too unexpected. Even though it was mixed in with a lot of interviews with other players, sensitive reporters and netizens still found something fishy.
Did the world number one refuse to comment on Gawain? Was it because he lost to Gawain twice this season? Wasn't that too petty? The world number one shouldn't be so unwilling to lose, right? So the reporter, who was eager to see the world in chaos, directly reported it to Djokovic.
As a result, Djokovic laughed happily.
"I don't blame the ATP, obviously, it's my fault."
"They did interview me and I said I didn't vote because it didn't seem like there was a clear winner this year, so I didn't mail my ballot."
Accompanied by a year-end finals trophy and ending the year as the world's number one, Djokovic was obviously in a good mood and even joked with reporters.
"Gawain, of course it's Gawain."
"I still remember that I am still lagging behind in my career. How can I, who holds grudges, not remember it?"
"It must be Gao Wen. If this is the first year of college, then Gao Wen has submitted a perfect transcript. I think it will be difficult for anyone to replicate it in the future, let alone surpass it."
In just half a year, Gao Wen has already firmly carved out a place for himself on the tour, with not only the Big Four but many other players also expressing their opinions.
Gasquet said, "Two-handed backhand, I was impressed by Gawain's backhand, I'm not sure I want to face him on the court."
Goffin also noticed that Gao Wen, who rose to prominence with him in July this year, said: "What I like most about his game is his temperament. Obviously, he encountered a lot of difficulties in the game, but he was able to fight until the last minute and find a solution. This is the kind of tennis player I want to be."
Thiem also cast his vote before he entered the military service, before Kovan won the Paris Masters. "Kovan has inspired me a lot both on and off the court. Although he is younger than me and has less professional experience than me, I have always learned from him. I believe his season should not end here."
"Year-end finals, Gao Wen, come on!"
Whether it is opponents on the court or colleagues who have passed by him on tour, everyone has seen Gao Wen's performance, and the praise does not lie.
According to the ATP voting survey: In the selection of the Most Improved Player of the Year Award, Gao Wen won 53.7% of the votes, far ahead of the second-ranked Spanish player Agut, who received 17.2% of the votes.
In the selection of the Best Newcomer of the Year Award, Gao Wen won 82.1% of the votes with a crushing victory, which was almost the unanimous answer. Coric, who ranked second, only received 8.2% of the votes.
Thus, another history belongs to Gawain:
Thirty-six years later, the second player to win both the Most Improved Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year awards appeared.
So, can Gao Wen live up to these expectations? The new season is not far away.
Of course, the ATP's annual awards list goes far beyond this, including player awards and tour awards.
The Fans' Most Popular Award, an award chosen by fans' votes, reflects the player's popularity around the world.
In singles, Federer won the award for the twelfth consecutive year since 2003.
In fact, the award was only established in 2000. The first winner was the Brazilian star Gustavo-Kuerten. The second and third winners were Safin, and then it has always been Federer.
The doubles team, the Bryan Brothers, have never lost the award since it was first established in 2005.
The Stefan-Edberg Sportsmanship Award is voted on by professional players.
The winner, Federer, has won the award for the tenth time since 2004, the only time he missed out was in 2010, when Nadal won the award.
Finally, the Tour of the Year Award is also voted on by professional players and is divided into Masters, 500 and 250 levels.
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Masters, Indian Wells, ended his five-game winning streak at the Magic City Masters and won the title for the first time.
500 race, Dubai, seventh consecutive championship achieved.
The 250-race, Queen’s Club, won the title for the second year in a row after ending Bastard’s eight-game winning streak last year.
For a tournament to win the favor of players, it is not an easy task from all aspects, from organization to service to problem solving. In addition to bonuses and points, the matching of hardware and software is the means to further upgrade the tournament.
Behind every award winner, it is definitely not achieved by the efforts of one person alone.
At this point, the ATP's annual awards selection has come to an end.
The ATP officially awarded relevant awards to players such as Federer, Kowen and Goffin, as well as event organizers at the O2 Arena, and conducted brief interviews.
"It's definitely a privilege and a pressure to have a perfect season to start my career."
"Because it also means that if I want to surpass the starting point of this year, things will not be so easy. If I don't want to start going downhill next, there will be a lot of work to be done in this offseason."
"I can't wait to get back to training."
Gawain was still Gawain. He expressed his gratitude with a light and humorous answer, which was humble yet witty. Federer and Goffin even raised their hands and high-fived Gawain to celebrate and applaud his answer.
However, if Gao Wen wants to return to the training ground to start offseason training, he may have to wait.
Just like the classic line in "Spider-Man": With great power comes great responsibility.
The same is true for the championship's offseason.
(End of this chapter)