Chapter 824 Draw Ceremony
From 2014 to 2015, from the men's field to the women's field, the same theme runs through it all:
turbulence!
Melee!
variable!
Everything is possible.
The competition for the world's number one spot is completely open. The rise of a new generation is posing a comprehensive challenge to the rule of the king. The changing times seem to have come to a crossroads.
The Big Four of men's tennis and the top two of women's tennis are still the absolute overlords of the professional arena, but the impact they need to face is becoming stronger, more fierce, and more intensive.
There are more and more talented players emerging from the younger generation. Now, there are not only new stars born after 1990. Players born in 1995 have also begun to appear on the court and have shown excellent competitiveness, strongly pushing the tide of the times forward. This looks like a new era.
It is against this backdrop that the Australian Open made its grand debut, kicking off the 2015 season and attracting worldwide attention.
Then, the drawing ceremony came.
As mentioned before, the draw for the four Grand Slams is very ceremonial and rhythmic.
The first step is for the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed to decide which half the zone the No. 1 seed will enter, and the No. 2 seed will enter the corresponding other half.
Djokovic is in the upper half, the 1/4 zone; Federer, naturally, is in the lower half, in the 4/4 zone.
Step 2: No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, same as above.
Nadal entered the lower half, the 3/4 zone; Wawrinka, correspondingly, came to the upper half, falling into the 2/4 zone.
In the third step, seeds No. 5 to No. 8 will draw lots to see how they will match up with the top four seeds respectively. This will also determine the top seeds for the eight sub-divisions under the four major divisions.
For ordinary players, they don’t need to consider what happens after the quarterfinals for the time being, so they all focus on the top seeds in their own division.
For media reporters, the matchups of the top eight seeds not only mean the strength of the quarterfinals, but also the overall tone of the eight sub-divisions.
It is no exaggeration to say that there was a lot of discussion.
Yu Jia witnessed the excitement and thoughts of journalists from all over the world in Press Conference Room No. 1:
The placement of the top four seeds had already sparked a lot of discussion, but unexpectedly, the subsequent draw made all the reporters hold their breath.
Which top player will Murray, who has a bombshell draw, face? Will he meet Djokovic again like he did in the second half of last year?
Who will the rising star, Gawain, face in the quarterfinals? Is he a potential bomb or a soft persimmon? Also, can the match between Gawain and Djokovic be staged as scheduled in Melbourne Park? If the two players are in the upper and lower halves, it will be very, very difficult, after all, both players must overcome all obstacles to enter the final; and in the final, there are many more potential duels worth discussing and paying attention to than "Djokovic vs. Gawain".
But if they are in the same quarter and both advance to the quarterfinals, leading to a rematch, the possibility will skyrocket and we can start looking forward to it now.
Buzz...
Yu Jia himself did not realize that he was holding his breath, and his heart was beating wildly in his chest, almost exploding. He was even more nervous than when he drew the qualifying/wildcard players for the US Open last year. Just a few dozen seconds seemed as long as a century, and everything was in slow motion.
One by one, the winning numbers were revealed.
Murray, 4/4 zone.
Berdych, 1/4 zone.
Kei Nishikori, zone 2/4.
Gao Wen... Zone 3/4.
Boom! Instantly, Yu Jia could feel a roar in his ears. Although all the news media were trying their best to suppress their excitement, the rustling sound of people whispering to each other still surged throughout the press conference room, and different emotions surged on those faces.
I feel regretful and remorseful.
Eager to try.
There is eagerness to try.
There is unbearable excitement.
Obviously, everyone has different expectations and definitions of the Australian Open, which also makes them have different feelings about this draw and a lot of thoughts.
But what is certain is that one of the expectations has been answered: Djokovic, in the upper half; Gawain, in the lower half.
Of course, media reporters can still continue to look forward to the meeting between Djokovic and Gao Wen in the final, which is certainly worth discussing; but putting aside the possibility of the meeting, there are many other topics to talk about when looking at the draw, and there is no need to get stuck on this one topic.
"oh."
Many reporters sighed: they originally wanted to see if Serjan would continue to shine if Gawain and Djokovic faced off again, but now it seems that if this is to really happen, both players still have two weeks of competition and six games to fight for it to happen.
Regretful.
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What a waste of sparks that carried over from Doha to Melbourne.
But the regret was very short-lived, as the reporters' attention was quickly drawn to the draw, which had a lot to watch! Yu Jia was no exception.
Zone 3/4.
Yu Jia had only one thought in his mind, so... Gao Wen vs. Nadal? Is this a good or bad draw? Yu Jia was actually a little unsure.
Think about it, who would be the ideal quarterfinal opponent for Gawain? Djokovic or Wawrinka? After all, Gawain has beaten them before, but the former is the king of Melbourne Park and the latter is the defending champion, both are tough opponents.
Federer? So far, Gawain and the Swiss king have never met and played against each other. If they meet in a Grand Slam tournament, I'm afraid the game will be very tense.
Nadal? He has just returned from injury, but his condition remains a mystery. On paper, he is indeed a relatively weak link among the top four seeds. But don't forget that Nadal, who had just returned from injury, defeated Gao Wen in the capital before. This was the only time the two players met.
Perhaps, for Gao Wen, there is no need to choose the draw, because this is his first trip to Melbourne. Just like Flushing, the key is to go all out to attack the opponent. Gao Wen is far from being qualified to be picky now. No matter what the draw is, he will just fight to the end.
Yujia, a myriad of thoughts are running through her mind.
However, the discussion did not last long and soon died down because the drawing ceremony had not yet ended. To be precise, it had just begun.
As the top eight seeds are positioned, it also means that the subsequent draws will become more and more interesting. Maybe there will be fewer highlights, but there will be more highlights.
The first part determines the matchups after the quarterfinals; the second part determines the opponents before the quarterfinals. These are the matches that will be staged in the first week of the Grand Slam: only by passing the test of the first week can you win the qualification to compete with top players in the second week.
In the fourth step, seeds No. 9 to No. 16 will once again face off against the top eight seeds.
And so on.
Step by step, all the draws were completed, and 128 players formed 64 matchups, slowly opening the curtain of the new year's Grand Slam.
Then, the drawing ceremony ended.
Then the news media went wild.
(End of this chapter)