In 2015, the great drama of men's tennis competition is taking place, continuing the chaos of last year, showing a thriving and lively scene.
The "Challenger Alliance" fights on its own, trying to break the ten-year dominance of the four giants and reshuffle the deck.
Among them, Wawrinka and Gao Wen are in the same camp. Because they have won the Grand Slam championship, people's expectations and attitudes have become stricter.
It can even be said to be harsh.
Wawrinka's semi-final performance at the Australian Open still failed to silence those anti-fans, and even triggered a heated discussion about "I really couldn't defend the title" and "I knew last year was just luck". Everyone is playing the role of prophet; Gao Wen Dubai
The loss to Federer sparked a round of ridicule, but it seemed innocuous.
At the same time, Raonic, Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, Cilic and others are in the same camp, each has achieved breakthroughs, but they are looking forward to reaching a higher level.
Perhaps, every one of their losses will not become an excuse for netizens to attack, but every Grand Slam and every Masters will become a new topic:
Once the performance falls below expectations, netizens will start to criticize the company.
To some extent, the pressure they are under is even greater because they have been placed in the spotlight before they can achieve a breakthrough.
Naturally, the aggression brought by those sarcastic words is more sharp, mean and turbulent, just like those players in women's tennis -
Wozniacki, Safina, Jankovic, Karolina-Pliskova, Halep and other players have all reached the top without winning a Grand Slam championship.
No. 1 in the world, and with such high gold content, it has encountered overwhelming doubts and has been complained about as parallel imports.
Originally, being "number one in the world" should be an honor, but at some point, it becomes a kind of harm.
Now, Raonic and others are facing a similar situation.
The dominance of the Big Four has encountered a direct challenge. Wawrinka and Gao Wen have already reached the Grand Slam. So, what about them?
Fans have put more demands and higher expectations on them, and the invisible pressure affects their careers all the time and pervasively.
Of course, pressure is the most important part of competitive sports and no one can escape it.
It is precisely because of this that Raonic, Dimitrov, and Kei Nishikori are all the same. The results of the Australian Open were lower than expected, and the subsequent schedule remains the same:
They took a short break for a week to adjust, and then returned to the tour. Because the Melbourne game was not able to adjust to the best condition, they must stand on the court more, constantly adjust and improve, and prepare for the upcoming "Sunshine Double Crown".
The side also once again confirmed the important position of the "Sunshine Double Crown" in the first quarter.
Raonic, like Dimitrov, both went to Rotterdam.
Raonic performed better, advancing all the way to the semi-finals, and then lost to the eventual champion Wawrinka in a double tiebreaker.
Immediately afterwards, Raonic continued to compete non-stop for two consecutive weeks without rest.
First up is Marseille.
Continuing to compete and travel led to fluctuations in form. Facing Burelli, who had just defeated Borrelli in two straight sets in Rotterdam the week before, Raonic lost in three sets and was eliminated in the first match.
Not only were they unable to win points, but the plan to improve the game state also encountered obstacles, and things were not as expected.
Then comes Tokyo.
Like Gao Wen, this week was a Davis Cup match. Canada played against Neon. Raonic played as the number one single and the result was one win and one loss.
Especially the top singles match between the two teams, "Raonic VS Kei Nishikori", a five-set battle in which Raonic lost, this match was also unsatisfactory.
However, with its better overall strength, Canada still successfully advanced "3:2", which also means that Neon entered the World Group play-offs and must fight for relegation in order to stay in the World Group next year.
In fact, challenges are everywhere, which is also the core of competitive sports.
Not only is the Challenger Alliance attacking the Big Four, but the Challenger Alliance itself stands out, which makes them a target of much attention.
From Wawrinka to Gawain, from Dimitrov to Raonic to Kei Nishikori, and so on, they all face the same situation:
The gun shoots the first bird, is attacked from both sides, and is besieged on all sides.
On the one hand, expectations have increased, and people hope that their confrontation with the Big Four will provide more exciting games and continue to shake up the dominance.
On the other hand, the pressure increases. When other players face them, they become challengers one by one and are full of energy. This also means that they become defenders and must show the top ten demeanor in the world and come up with more.
Good performance leads to victory, and the mentality changes subtly.
There is a wolf in front and a tiger behind, just like a sandwich cookie.
Under such a situation, how to adjust one's mentality when facing players whose world rankings are lower than one's own, and how one should adjust one's expectations when facing players whose world rankings are higher than one's own, has become a serious issue.
The media's fanning of the flames only makes things more complicated and difficult.
From the current point of view, only Wawrinka and Gawain have maintained their level, while Raonic, Dimitrov and Kei Nishikori are all struggling more or less.
There are some twists and turns in the relationship between Dimitrov and Sharapova, and the media should also play an important role.
The final performance of the "Sunshine Double Crown" attracted much attention, and it was not just Gowen who attracted the most attention?
After traveling all the way to the end of the Davis Cup, Raonic and Kei Nishikori also took the same flight and arrived in Indian Wells covered in dust.
According to the schedule, they competed for three consecutive weeks. After a short week of adjustment, they competed at high intensity for four consecutive weeks.
However, the next two events are the final battles of the first half of the hard court season, and they are also the "fifth Grand Slam", so they still cannot be taken lightly.
To be precise, it was a lot of pressure.
"Hey, good morning. Your training time was postponed today. I thought you and Rafa were going to play golf."
Indian Wells also has a professional golf course with 18 holes and complete equipment. Many professional tennis players are also good golfers.
Such as Nadal.
Players also often go to play golf between training sessions. As a means of relaxation and adjustment, it can indeed change the pace of training.
Gawain laughed happily.
"If I play golf, I will be beaten to death, right? I think I need a little confidence now, so there is no need to ask for trouble."
Those vivid words made Raonic chuckle too——
It can be seen that Raonic is relatively relaxed. The discussion outside the court and the impact of the defeat have not made the pressure unbalanced for the time being. Compared with the embarrassment and embarrassment of Dimitrov who was frustrated in both love and career, Raonic
I am not trapped by love for the time being, and my attention is still focused on tennis.
What's more, they just experienced a weekend like no other:
Davis Cup!
No matter what happens between the ITF and ATP, no matter what the schedule is, no one can deny that the significance of the Davis Cup is different.
There is no doubt that this is the hottest topic in Indian Wells.