Chapter 982 Psychological Shadow
Indian Wells and Miami.
The two Masters tournaments, one after the other, are closely connected, are located in North America and are neighbors. They are both two-week events with 96 draws, and are both sunny and spring-like all year round.
It is precisely because of this that the two events have won the reputation of "Sunshine Double Crown".
Someone once said that the two events are closely linked, with four weeks of continuous competition, and the difficulty of winning the "Sunshine Double" is even higher than that of the Grand Slam.
In a way, that's true.
As of 2015, only nine players have accomplished this feat, seven men and two women.
The men's players are Michael Chang, Courier, Pete Sampras, Agassi, Marcelo Rios, Federer and Djokovic.
Among them, only Federer and Djokovic have accomplished this feat more than once in the same year, while other players have only accomplished it once in their careers.
The female players are Graf and Clijsters.
Of course, later on, Azarenka and Swiatek also successfully accomplished such a feat in 2016 and 2022 respectively, joining the ranks of their predecessors.
Wait, what about Nadal and Serena Williams? Nadal, who always lacks a little bit of luck in Miami, has reached the final five times, losing to Federer and Djokovic twice, and to Davydenko once, and has never been able to reach the top. After 2017, for various reasons, he has never participated in this event again.
Serena Williams, in the early stage of her career, encountered severe racial discrimination on the final stage of Indian Wells in 2001. Facing the malice of the audience, she vowed never to come here to compete, and thus, this promise lasted for fourteen years.
That is to say, during Serena Williams' peak period, she never participated in the Indian Wells competition until 2015 when she reconciled with the organizing committee and returned to the California desert to compete.
Unfortunately, from 2015 to 2019, due to injuries, pregnancy and other off-court reasons, Serena Williams has never been able to win the championship in these five years.
Therefore, even Nadal and Serena Williams have unfortunately never been able to win the "Sunshine Double". Looking at the list of only a handful of people who have achieved such a result, it is understandable why people think that the "Sunshine Double" may be even more difficult than the Grand Slam.
so--
The highlight of January is Melbourne Park.
The climax of March is the "Sunshine Double Crown".
This statement is not an exaggeration. Strictly speaking, it is completely in line with reality.
Professional players, both men and women, basically plan their schedules around these three tournaments. Everyone hopes to be able to step onto the stage of these events and participate in the highest level of competition.
Gao Wen is no exception.
Now, they are preparing for Indian Wells and Miami.
Before heading to North America, Gao Wen will first participate in the Dubai competition. Like Doha, the Middle East event is wealthy and the lineup of participants this year is still luxurious.
For Gao Wen, this is good news, because it also means that he can compete with masters again and prepare for the North American Sunshine Double Crown.
However, as coaches, Sampras and Agassi need to prepare for the upcoming schedule in advance.
After the Sunshine Double Crown event comes to an end, the European season will officially begin.
The first stage is the red clay centered around the French Open.
The second stage is the grass field centered around Wimbledon.
From April to June, from lush grass and flying orioles to floating melons and sinking plums, from flying sand to overflowing green grass, the other side of tennis gradually reveals its unique charm.
Switching from one venue to another takes time for any player to adjust, even the Big Four are no exception.
This is especially true for Gawain.
Agassi looked at Sampras' worried expression and unconsciously became serious again, with the corners of his mouth slightly rising.
"With that expression on your face, someone who doesn't know would think you ate a lemon raw."
Sampras rarely argued with Agassi, and smiled bitterly, "You know, I start to have a headache when the clay court season comes."
As everyone knows, Sampras' weakness on clay is the biggest weakness in his career. He is a typical grass court player because serve and volley were born for grass from the beginning. Before Federer shone in the tennis world, Sampras was the undisputed grass court king of Wimbledon.
Agassi shook his head slightly, somewhat helplessly, "You have a psychological trauma."
Sampras did not deny it. "Indeed. When I stood on the clay, my subconscious told myself that I lacked a little competitiveness."
If you don't believe that you can win, then the competition will be very, very difficult.
As mentioned before, clay and grass courts are difficult to maintain. Not only do they require professional knowledge, but they are also expensive. They are obviously not the first choice for commercial promotion. Therefore, there are more and more hard courts in professional tours, and the living space of clay and grass courts is further squeezed.
It is precisely because of this that the younger generation born after 1990 and 1995 basically grew up on hard courts, and they instinctively abhor both red clay and grass.
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The only exception is Europe.
The main courts in countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Germany, etc. are still mainly made of clay. Naturally, the new generation of clay court masters generally come from Europe; while the hard court masters in countries such as the United States and Australia are generally lame and fail once they get on clay.
Alexander-Bublik, who was born in 1997 and played for Kazakhstan, is a typical example.
In fact, he is a strange player. Although he has a powerful serve and a powerful forehand, his tactical routines are very strange and he can perform well even on clay.
However, in the first round of the 2022 Monte Carlo Station, Bublik defeated Wawrinka, who had returned from injury a year ago, in three hard-fought sets and said,
"I don't deserve to win this match because I didn't do anything on the court. Besides, I hate clay, I hate it to the core."
Then in the second round, Bublik retired from the game without any injury because he was tired of the back-and-forth baseline tug-of-war in clay court matches, so much so that the media gave him a nickname.
"Alexander - 'I hate red clay' - Bublik".
If Sampras heard Bublik's remarks, he would probably agree with them with tears in his eyes.
"well……"
Sampras sighed softly, with some worry in his eyes.
"I'm worried that my emotions and attitude might affect Gao Wen."
"Andre, Gao Wen has never played any official clay court match. From college to professional competition, he has always played on hard courts. He is obviously used to the pattern and rhythm of hard courts. If he doesn't get off to a good start on clay, it will be very scary for young people."
"If he had the slightest idea of resisting clay, it would have changed his entire career."
“This is what I don’t want to see.”
Sampras was serious and did not hide his deep concern.
(End of this chapter)