Chapter 845: Never Walk Alone
History is being rewritten.
To be precise, the moment Gao Wen reached the top of Flushing, the trajectory of history had already changed. The world split into two roads at the fork in the road and entered another parallel time and space.
And now, the changes are becoming more and more obvious.
Standing in the long river of history that Gao Wen is familiar with, Zhang Ze did create history.
In February 2017, in San Francisco, Zhang Ze won the Challenge Tournament Championship, which was also the first Challenge Tournament championship trophy in the Chinese men's tennis singles arena.
However, that was a challenge tournament, not even considered an official ATP-level challenge tournament, and it was completely different from the Grand Slam.
If the original historical trajectory had been followed, that would have been the peak of Zhang Ze's career. He was already 27 years old when he won the championship for the first time. The ceiling gradually became apparent, and the influence of age and injuries also made Zhang Ze's career begin to become intermittent, and even the challenge competitions were a bit difficult.
Later, Zhang Ze left the international arena and mainly competed in Challenge Tournaments and Hope Tournaments held in China to continue his professional career.
Ranked 154th in the world, he competed in the first round of the Australian Open twice in 2014 and 2015. All of that is a "glorious past", like an unspeakably beautiful dream that can never be returned to.
The 2015 Australian Open was Zhang Ze’s last time participating in a Grand Slam. Although he continued to participate in qualifying rounds after that, he was never able to break through. The competition in the wildcard rounds gradually ushered in the impact of younger players, which was a completely different scene.
Unfortunately, until the end of the history that Gao Wen was familiar with, in the parallel world, Chinese male players always found it difficult to win a singles match in the Grand Slam.
From Wu Yibing to Shang Juncheng, these younger generation of players shoulder the responsibility of breakthrough.
but!
In a parallel universe, a tiny butterfly flapped its wings and caused a storm at the other end of the earth.
The breakthrough just came like that.
From 2012 to 2014, Zhang Ze had a difficult and faltering journey, from passing three rounds of qualifying to overturning the first round in a five-set battle, but he finally seized his own opportunity and blossomed proudly!
Zhang Ze finally had his moment to shine.
Match point moment.
When Hewitt's last return went into the net, Zhang Ze couldn't believe that it was really happening. More than three hours of hard work and tension made his knees weak. He couldn't control his strength, so he fell to his knees, buried his head deeply in his hands, and curled up into a ball.
Briefly, very, very briefly, the hot tears blurred my vision.
Perhaps, for top professional players, the first round of a Grand Slam is nothing at all, as simple as drinking water and eating, there is nothing worth celebrating.
However, for Zhang Ze, it was a burden of expectations and dreams for three whole years. He had doubted, hesitated, felt uneasy, even regretted, hated, and felt sad. The torture and vicissitudes of those days and nights came flooding back in an instant, and he could no longer control his emotions.
Men don't shed tears easily, but they do when they are sad.
These are tears of happiness.
Zhang Ze curled up like a hedgehog, hugging his knees, his shoulders shaking slightly uncontrollably.
At Rod Laver Arena, only a sparse crowd was cheering for him. Most Australian fans turned to go to the bathroom or even left the stadium directly, refusing to watch the sad scene before their eyes. The rustling and chaotic sounds, to Zhang Ze's ears, sounded like the most beautiful symphony in the world.
Zhang Ze was not the only one who felt this way. In the CCTV live broadcast room, Zhang Sheng, who arrived at Melbourne Park this year to provide live commentary, was also filled with emotion, his voice slightly choked with emotion.
"…People always say that victory is only a thin layer of window paper away, and it can be broken with a slight poke."
"But only those who are truly involved in competitive sports know that, although it looks simple, it actually takes two or even three generations to break through. Sometimes it is even the ceiling, blocking thousands of players from ever breaking through."
"For Zhang Ze, it took him three years."
"For Chinese men's tennis, it took us 17 years, or even longer."
Last time in Flushing, Gao Wen’s breakthrough was so sudden, like he came out of nowhere, that Zhan Jun and Hu Litao were a little overwhelmed and couldn’t react for a while.
But this time in Melbourne Park, the sense of reality hit him hard, and even Zhang Sheng, who is usually calm and rational, couldn't help but be moved.
"Now, from Gao Wen to Zhang Ze, it only took us six months to achieve another breakthrough."
"Tonight, here at Rod Laver Arena, we are making history together."
A smile blooms in tears.
Then, Zhang Ze could feel someone patting his shoulder.
Zhang Ze suddenly raised his head and saw Hewitt's outstretched right hand at a glance.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
At some point, Hewitt came to this side of the court and extended an olive branch to Zhang Ze.
Looking at Hewitt who was getting older, Zhang Ze thought of Gawain, because Hewitt and Gawain were the same, they were both silly dreamers, still believed in dreams and miracles, still running purely and simply, just because of their love.
“You are not alone.”
Zhang Ze thought of this sentence again, then held Hewitt's right hand, stood up, and gave a big hug to the great opponent in front of him.
In my mind, my heart was surging and surging, and a surge of ambition was ignited, which finally turned into a smile at the corner of my mouth and blossomed into it.
If you lose something in one place, you may gain something in another.
No one expected that this year China's women's singles arena suffered frequent defeats and was in a slump, creating the worst record in recent years, but the men's singles arena ushered in good news!
Boom! Boom boom boom! The Chinese media and tennis fans were immediately swept away by the haze, cheering and shouting in a blowout trend, and the social network was filled with the noise and sensation of fireworks celebration, and the rolling heat wave spread across the board with an unstoppable attitude.
From the US Open to the Australian Open, the second breakthrough in men's singles came so quickly! Compared with last year's US Open, this year's Australian Open has attracted more attention. It's all because of Gao Wen. From the Australian Open organizing committee to Nike's official publicity to CCTV's prime time attention, all aspects revolve around Gao Wen. The expectations and attention have indeed reached an unprecedented height.
A star is born.
Everyone was looking forward to Gao Wen's performance in his second Grand Slam tournament, and his easy victory in the first round made the fans excited.
Especially due to the time difference, the Australian Open is undoubtedly the event among the four Grand Slams that best fits the Chinese time zone. You don't need to go to bed late or get up early to watch the live broadcast, which also allows the audience to join the viewing without any burden.
For various reasons, the attention and discussion on the Australian Open has indeed been renewed, so much so that the TV crews broadcasting live on the front line in Melbourne can also deeply feel the heat.
Then, Zhang Ze won the game.
(End of this chapter)