In the two finals on Saturday, similar situations led to different endings.
In the women's singles final, Serena Williams once again used an unparalleled performance to defend her title of world number one, completely ending the turmoil and doubts of the past year and proving that she is still the best women's player at present.
In the men's doubles final, the dominance of the Bryan brothers is further challenged. Aging and injuries are bringing more uncertainty. The competition for the men's doubles arena is about to enter an era of melee where a hundred schools of thought contend.
This is not only true for tennis, but also for every competitive sport. Age and injuries are thresholds that cannot be bypassed. "The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead", and the debate of "whether an old Lian Po can still make a living" is always unavoidable.
topic.
Likewise, the men’s singles arena is no exception——
Or, to be more precise, the men's singles clash of "Big Four VS Challengers" is the most exciting and exciting event in professional tennis in the past eighteen months, and no one wants to miss it.
Everyone was paying attention, and then, going around in circles, we came to the place where it all started.
This amazing storm set off by the Challenger League first started in Melbourne Park in 2014. Wawrinka defeated Djokovic in a long game in the quarter-finals and entered the semi-finals, sounding the clarion call for subversion.
After that, everything turned upside down and the waves were turbulent.
Now, Wawrinka and Djokovic are standing in front of each other again. This time it is not a quarterfinal match, but a showdown for the French Open championship.
In fact, after the 2014 Australian Open, Djokovic and Wawrinka met twice more, and Djokovic maintained a complete victory, including a sweep of the year-end finals group stage where he lost only three games.
In other words, Djokovic has succeeded in revenge and proved himself.
When he came to Roland Garros this time, Djokovic was even more confident in aiming for the championship. He did not hide his ambition from beginning to end. In the semi-finals, he defeated Murray, who was also undefeated on clay, in five hard sets.
Apart from himself, he is the best player on clay court this season.
Facing Wawrinka, Djokovic is confident of victory and has high ambitions.
but!
That's Wawrinka. Wawrinka goes completely crazy once he enters the super-god state. Although he is not a crazy swordsman, if he becomes "nervous", he will definitely be a crazy person who can kill gods and Buddhas.
At the Australian Open at the beginning of this year, Wawrinka almost dragged Djokovic into the abyss. The two sides fought again for five sets. Wawrinka pushed Djokovic to the extreme in Melbourne Park. Although Djokovic won the final set,
Vicci immediately won the match "6:0", but no one would question Wawrinka's explosive power and impact.
Just look at this year’s French Open.
He swept two top players, Berdych and Federer, in two consecutive straight-score victories, and then went on to break Gawain's unbeaten career in Grand Slams with a five-set fierce battle, truly showing his unstoppable and superb state.
It is conceivable that this final is worth looking forward to, very, very worth looking forward to.
On one side is Djokovic, who is determined to win, and his confidence has reached its peak.
Wawrinka's five-game winning streak on clay court can bring him confidence, but the past four Grand Slam meetings between Djokovic and Wawrinka have all entered the final set, which also sounded a wake-up call for the world's No. 1 player.
Moreover, playing for three consecutive days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday also poses a severe challenge to Djokovic's ability to adjust himself.
On one side is Wawrinka, who is in a super-god state, and has entered a new realm with red eyes.
Consecutive defeats of Federer and Gauvin increased Wawrinka's confidence, and he also defeated Djokovic on the Grand Slam stage, recharging his energy and waiting for his opponent to take the lead.
But so far, there are only a handful of players who have defeated four top ten players in a row to win the Grand Slam championship. Wawrinka's challenge is gradually escalating. Next, he will face the ultimate challenge of the world's number one, both physically and mentally.
The tests are unimaginable.
So, who can have the last laugh——
Everything is possible.
The final was very exciting, in fact, it was exciting from every aspect, but unfortunately, it was not enough.
Just like the World Cup, it is a wonderful event, but the final is often not the most exciting one.
The peak of this year's French Open has already arrived. Whether it is the quarter-final match between Gavin and Nadal, the semi-final between Gavin and Wawrinka, or even the quarter-final match between Wawrinka and Federer, they are all worth remembering.
In comparison, the intensity and excitement of the finals are still slightly inferior after all, but the real secret of the finals is that it will determine the championship——
This is enough, because this is the jewel in the crown.
"4:6", "6:4", "6:3", "6:4".
After four sets, which lasted three hours and twelve minutes, Wawrinka came back to win!
In fact, Djokovic performed very well. He not only won the first set first, but also broke serve first in the fourth set, giving him a huge lead. However, facing Wawrinka across the net was a superb Wawrinka.
Wawrinka really went crazy. Except for a slight slow start in the first set, his fierce and tough offense throughout the game completely controlled the situation.
In the second set, he almost suppressed Djokovic and launched an all-out attack; in the third set, he didn't send any break points from beginning to end, but repeatedly scored two points in Djokovic's serve.
Leading advantage.
Even in the fourth set, due to extreme physical strength, I suffered a break and fell behind at the beginning, but after I regained my breath, I continued to face the dilemma of break points with clean attacks to reverse the situation, and rushed towards the victory unstoppably.
In the service-winning game, Wawrinka missed a match point but also saved a break point. He overcame his brief psychological and state fluctuations and successfully cashed in on the second match point with a straight backhand winner.
The whole field is strong and far ahead——
Fifty-seven winning points severely suppressed Djokovic's 28 winning points. The pressing style throughout the game forced Djokovic to make an incredible 47 unforced points.
Sexual mistakes.
The data is clear at a glance.
In the end, Djokovic failed in the final for the third consecutive year and missed the Grand Slam. At the same time, Wawrinka once again wrote a miracle for the challenger and won the French Open championship for the first time in his career.
Surprise or not? Surprising or not?
Before this year's Roland Garros kicked off, I'm afraid this was an ending that no one could have predicted, including Wawrinka himself.
However, as he reached the top of the French Open, Wawrinka also successfully took off the "Grand Slam" label, and successively defeated the world's number one, world number two, and world number three to reach the top, including Federer and Djokovic.
Giant, very, very convincing, comparable to Gao Wen's performance at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year.
Those doubts, those denials, and those provocations can all be put to an end for now.
In addition, an interesting fact is that now Murray, Wawrinka and Gauvin are all two Grand Slam champions, and none of the three players have been able to reach the top of the world for the time being, so——