Today, in the second round of the men's doubles at the Monte Carlo Masters, the combination of Gao Wen and Dimitrov will soon challenge the top seeds of the tournament, the Bryan brothers.
There is no doubt that this is the most noteworthy doubles match today. Although it did not enter the center court, it was also arranged on Court No. 1.
It has been mentioned more than once before that 2014 was a year of violent turmoil in the professional tennis world. Men's singles and women's singles both experienced fluctuations, but in the end, Djokovic and Serena Williams both defended their No. 1 position in the world.
, but the impact of the challenger is still clearly visible.
In fact, the same is true for men's doubles. The Bryan brothers' world No. 1 throne is undergoing unprecedented tests, and the doubles arena is also turbulent.
Of course, the Bryan brothers ended up winning the year-end finals, maintaining their No. 1 position in the world, and a perfect ending.
However, entering the new season, this turmoil has not disappeared, but has become more and more intense——
In the women's singles, Serena Williams and Sharapova are still strong and will meet in the Australian Open final; in the men's singles, Djokovic suffered a comprehensive impact from Gawain.
So, what about men’s doubles?
The Bryan brothers' dynasty has suffered all-round impacts.
They are already thirty-seven years old this year, and their physical strength and energy have fluctuated significantly. Although the career life span of the doubles competition can be slightly extended, the shackles of age in competitive sports have always existed objectively. Naturally, the dominance of the Bryan brothers has also become obvious.
loose.
In Auckland, they were upset in the first round; in the Australian Open, they stopped in the top 16; in Dubai, they stopped in the quarterfinals.
In the first half of the year, the Bryan brothers only won the only championship in the 250-point event at Delray Beach, creating the worst start in ten years. The world ranking advantage is being drastically eroded.
It wasn't until "Sunshine Double Crown", the North American back garden of the Bryan brothers, that I regained some touch, but it was still unsatisfactory.
In Indian Wells, the Bryan brothers stopped in the quarterfinals, losing to the American and Canadian combination of Sock and Pospisil.
In Miami, the Bryan brothers made a strong comeback, reached the finals, and defeated Sock and Pospisil to complete their revenge, winning the second championship of the season and the 33rd Masters men's doubles championship trophy.
I originally thought that the state was finally back on track, but in the following clay court season, the Bryan brothers suffered another blow. Houston was eliminated in the first game and suffered an upset loss to a partner who was ranked outside the top 500 in the world. It can be seen from all aspects that their dominance is growing.
Withstand impacts from all directions.
Of course, the area where the Bryan brothers have been weakest in their dominance has always been the clay court——
Don’t forget, they are also players who came from a typical North American training system, both in singles and doubles. They are not accustomed to playing on clay courts.
In their careers, as of 2015, the Bryan brothers have won sixteen Grand Slam championships and thirty-three Masters championships, but they only have two French Open championship trophies and only ten Clay Court Masters championships.
It can be seen that they are typical hard court masters.
However, Monte Carlo can be regarded as a blessed place for the Bryan brothers. They have won three championships here in the past four years and it is definitely one of their best clay courts.
This year, their status continues to fluctuate, their bodies continue to be tested, and clay is their weakness. So far, they have not been able to win any clay court games.
Therefore, they are more eager and need to find their form in Monte Carlo than ever before and prepare for the following clay court season.
However, judging from the draw, they were not very lucky——
As the top seed, he had a bye in the first round, and then... he encountered the combination of Gao Wen and Dimitrov in the second round.
Obviously, the Bryan brothers need more clay court events to complete their warm-up, but a doubles pair with outstanding personal abilities like Gao Wen and Dimitrov is definitely not the best warm-up partner. If you are not careful, the situation in Houston last week may turn out to be worse.
If it happens again, they need to cheer up.
At the same time, the same is true for Gawain and Dimitrov.
Dimitrov needs to get back to form, and Gao Wen needs to adapt to clay. They are not just playing for fun in Monte Carlo, but going all out.
It can be imagined that Gawain is full of enthusiasm for challenging top players like the Bryan brothers, but this is not good news for the Bryan brothers.
But it is undeniable that, regardless of their form, the Bryan brothers are still the biggest stars in the doubles arena, and their box office appeal is comparable to that of Federer and Nadal in the singles field.
At the same time, against two super rising stars, Gao Wen and Dimitrov, one of whom is a Monte Carlo resident, it is conceivable that the market will be hot.
then!
This game got the Court No. 1 treatment—
In the first three match days, the Center Court and Court No. 1 have always been the venues for singles events. Especially in the second round, the top eight seeds have appeared one after another. In order to ensure the box office, the organizing committee naturally moved the two largest
The stadium arranges games for top superstars, and doubles can only be sidelined.
Until now.
This is currently the only doubles match that has entered Court No. 1. From the side, we can also feel the ardent expectations and enthusiasm of the Monte Carlo Organizing Committee.
Although from various factors off the court, this game is of great significance to the Bryan brothers. They need this victory to reverse the decline, but they have been living on the tour for long enough, and they have been calm enough and wise enough to do so.
When public and private matters are separated, tennis matters remain on the court.
Therefore, when they saw Gao Wen and Dimitrov in the tunnel before the game, the Bryan brothers came up to say hello without any grudge and even played a prank on them.
The state of mind is completely relaxed, chatting and laughing.
Dimitrov is always a social person. After getting through the panic and confusion in the early stage of the prank, he quickly calmed down, got closer, chatted and laughed with Bob, and the tension and anxiety before the game slowly settled down.
, the players tunnel was filled with light laughter.
"brother……"
Mike approached Gawain, his expression slightly hesitant, but in a flash, he seemed to have made a decision.
"Do you know Vasek?"
Vasek? Vasek-Pospisil?
Gawain raised his eyebrows slightly and did not answer, but patiently waited for Mike's next words.
Mike carefully considered his words.
"I'm not sure what happened, but we just met Vasek and Jack at the gym..."
That is, Pospisil and Sok.
This young doubles team born in the 1990s has been rising rapidly. They made guest appearances in matches with other doubles teams, and the warm-up situation was slightly different. The two players focused on singles, but due to the fierce competition in professional tennis, they seemed to have never been able to adapt to singles.
The rhythm of the game, so they spend more time polishing themselves in the doubles arena, and then improve their strength and return to the singles arena.
In other words, it's not just a "warm-up".
In the blink of an eye, Pospisil and Sock have both entered the top ten in the doubles world rankings. At the same time, their emergence in the singles arena is also rapid.
So, what happened when Mike mentioned these two players at this time?