Chapter 817 Highest Treatment
"Technically, even my parents weren't so sure sometimes."
The last sentence was a stroke of genius, a light teasing remark with Gao Wen's habitual humor, so much so that Zhang Shuai was briefly distracted and chuckled.
But then, I regained my focus and thought carefully:
Small wisdom, big truth.
The words didn't sound complicated, and even sounded a bit clichéd, but after thinking about it carefully, I couldn't help but calm down.
In fact, it seems to be true.
Although family and coaches are the players' eternal support and they certainly believe firmly that the players can win, they are ultimately bystanders. They have not fought on the court, nor have they experienced the severe test of a fierce battle. When the game enters a stalemate, they will inevitably waver.
The only exception is the players themselves.
Because at this moment, the only one standing on the court hitting the ball is yourself, and you know your condition and potential best.
To be precise, the players themselves should be the ones who know the outcome of the match the best. Or, if they don't believe they can win, how can they convince others to believe it? Zhang Shuai couldn't help but think about a question: When she stepped onto the Grand Slam main draw stage, did she really believe she could win? Or did she have doubts deep down? Her thoughts were surging.
Unable to help herself, Zhang Shuai began to question herself.
Gao Wen noticed Zhang Shuai's expression and stopped there without going any further.
Because he knows that some things must be figured out by oneself, starting from the internal factors, and the help of others can only play an auxiliary role.
It's also because he knows that the release and relief of psychological pressure cannot be rushed, it needs to be done step by step, and it may even take more time than imagined.
Before the breakthrough moment of "breaking out of the cocoon and becoming a butterfly" truly arrives, we can only take one step at a time, adjusting as we move forward. There is no shortcut.
Today was just their second meeting, an ordinary practice session. They were not that familiar with each other, so there was no need to say too much. Give Zhang Shuai some time to digest the situation.
The quiet air is flowing slowly. Faintly, one can hear the bustling noise of fans outside the training ground, mixed with the chirping of cicadas. The whole world seems to have pressed the pause button. I quietly watch the traces of sunlight flowing through my fingertips, missing the coolness of a bite of ice watermelon.
It was two beats late for Zhang Shuai to notice that Gao Wen did not continue talking. She quickly collected her emotions, came to her senses, and looked up at Gao Wen.
A little reserved.
She had a lot of ideas but didn't know how to express them. After all, she was a little tongue-tied and not good at this. The unfamiliarity between them widened the distance between them. Her expression suddenly became awkward. She scratched her head awkwardly. The scalp was itchy due to the burning sweat, and she changed the subject at random.
"I almost forgot that you must be under a lot of pressure at this Australian Open."
It was a very clumsy and abrupt change of topic, which made Zhang Shuai even more annoyed.
Unexpectedly, Gawain spread his hands, shrugged lightly, pretended to be calm, then raised his right hand and made a small width gesture with his index finger and thumb.
"Not much, not much, just a little bit, just a little bit."
"So far I've been able to handle it, but any more and I might not be able to breathe and I'm not sure if Melbourne Park is spacious enough for me to hide."
With one move and one joke, the atmosphere became cheerful again, and Zhang Shuai couldn't help laughing.
Maybe, the Grand Slam isn't that scary after all.
To be more precise, the Grand Slam should be something to look forward to, right? Every player who can reach the Grand Slam stage should enjoy the game.
Judging from Gao Wen's attitude, the layers of pressure seem to be non-existent at all. The summer sunshine in the southern hemisphere is filled with the comfort and lightness of a vacation, which reminds people of the surfers on the coastline who ride the waves and embrace nature, wandering between the blue sky and the sea with open arms.
People who didn't know the truth thought that the media reporters were just shouting on social networks and didn't make things difficult for Gao Wen.
However, judging from the press conference, it was a different story, a shocking and almost suffocating story.
Bustling with people.
Full.
There were so many people that it was impossible to get through; they were shoulder to shoulder and there was no room for any movement.
There is not even room to stand.
Yu Jia now finally understood what it felt like for the sardines to be crowded in a can. Believe him, they would be happier if they didn't know this feeling.
He deeply felt that he might need an oxygen cylinder, but the funny thing was that there was no space for an oxygen cylinder in the room. He was afraid that the ants were moving urgently.
Some people might say that since they have never seen the big world, there is nothing to be surprised about. After Gao Wen won the US Open, there were still many big and small events. Yu Jia absolutely disagrees.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
Before Gao Wen came out of nowhere, and after Gao Wen's sudden rise, Yu Jia had experienced countless big scenes in professional sports at different times. Moreover, he was a man who had experienced the baptism of China's Spring Festival travel rush. How could he start looking for oxygen cylinders just because of a surge of people? But -
Firstly, Gawain had just won the double championship in Doha last week, demonstrating his excellent form and becoming one of the first players to come into the spotlight in the new season.
Secondly, this is the first Grand Slam tournament after the US Open.
Thirdly, the Australian Open is the only Grand Slam event in the Pan-Pacific region. Except for the Chinese media, all media reporters from across Asia have come out in force.
All kinds, all kinds.
Then, the grand event took place.
Obviously, the close connection between the Australian Open officials and China also played an important role. In the arrangement of the pre-match press conference, Gao Wen received the highest treatment: like Federer, Nadal and Serena Williams, he used the No. 1 press conference room; while Djokovic and Murray were squeezed into the No. 2 press conference room.
Such treatment would definitely make ordinary fans exclaim, "How is this possible!"
Let’s put aside the three-time runner-up Murray for now and just talk about the four-time champion and world number one Djokovic. How could he be squeezed out of press conference room No. 1?
What kind of treatment is this? But experienced fans who are really familiar with the Australian Open are not surprised. This is not the first time they treat top players like this, and it will not be the last time.
You know, this is the organizing committee's plan to "arrange the matches of local unseeded players on the center court and Serena Williams on the second court."
At the same time, this is also the organizing committee's intention to "enable local players to enter the center court and use doubles matches to replace singles seeded players' matches."
Federer and Nadal, known as the "global home court", are also very occasionally cold-shouldered here - not often, but occasionally they have to take a back seat in front of the host players; let alone Djokovic and Murray? Most importantly, as the only Grand Slam event in the Pacific, the Australian Open has always had a close relationship with China and has carried out all-round cooperation.
So, that's what happened, not surprisingly.
(End of this chapter)