For a moment, Yu Jia was not sure whether Gawain was the real European Emperor or the fake European Emperor——
Originally, during the draw ceremony, when they saw that Gao Wen's opponent in the first round was a qualifying player, one or two of them gave high fives to celebrate.
It wasn't until Gao Wen's fifth Grand Slam in his career that he was matched with a first-round qualifying player for the first time. This should be the best first-round pick so far. Now he can finally feel at ease, as long as the first round
A week of competition can give Gao Wen time to adjust and adapt, and they will have confidence in Gao Wen's subsequent performance.
but!
After all the qualifying rounds came to an end, the organizing committee conducted a follow-up draw again and placed the qualifying round players and wild card players into the lottery one by one.
After little Zverev became Gao Wen's opponent in the first round, Yu Jia and the others were a little bit dumbfounded.
So, is this a joke of fate?
By the way, at this year's US Open, the overall performance of the Chinese Legion is sluggish. Like the trend in the entire professional tennis world, the last Grand Slam of the year is indeed plagued by injuries, and no one is exempt.
In the men's singles, due to injuries, only Zhang Ze participated in the qualifying round.
You can clearly feel the pressure on Zhang Ze. After all, he performed well at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. However, when he got the serve to win the game, he experienced fluctuations and encountered an opponent's comeback. In the final set, he had physical problems and could not keep up with the rhythm. Unfortunately, he stopped in the qualifying round.
First round.
The women's singles performed slightly better. Nine players participated in the qualifying round, five advanced to the second round, but only two persisted until the final round and won.
Zheng Saisai and Wang Qiang became the only female prospects of the Chinese Legion in this year's US Open.
then--
All eyes were focused on Gawain again.
Of course, this is already a familiar scene. No one feels unfamiliar. There is no doubt that Gao Wen is the absolute leader of the entire Chinese sports. It is not limited to tennis, but has also climbed to a new peak in all competitive events, time and time again.
Write incredible myths.
Having said that, on the first anniversary of Gao Wen's victory, he returned to Flushing and saw familiar scenes again. His entire mentality and expectations have undergone subtle changes. The pressure has also increased with the tide. It is completely different. Everything can be done
I feel that this is a special event.
No, here comes the topic.
Not to mention the fans and the media, even the betting companies are always paying attention to every move of the event. As early as the Cincinnati event came to an end, the odds of winning the US Open were already hotly released; then after the lottery dust settled, the betting odds
The company updates the odds as soon as possible.
In women's singles, Serena Williams, who has won three Grand Slam titles this year, is the best, with odds of 1.83 to 1.
Azarenka, Halep, and Sharapova ranked second to fourth respectively, but their odds are far away from Serena Williams. Even Azarenka's odds are only 9 to 1.
That's it, they are not on the same level at all. The obvious gap can be clearly seen from the numerical level.
Objectively speaking, Serena Williams has not had a good fortune this year and will face strong players in the first three rounds. However... the odds of winning are still far ahead.
In the men's singles, there are accidents and surprises. As said before the game, this year is a year of competition, a year full of infinite possibilities in a true sense.
Djokovic ranks first with an odds of 2.1 to 1. After all, he has reached the finals of all the previous three Grand Slams this year; and he has withstood Gawain's fierce impact and still firmly holds the world's number one spot.
Despite losing the finals in Toronto and Cincinnati, he is still the number one favorite.
Followed closely by Murray, 3 for 1; Federer, 3.5 for 1.
The numbers are clear at a glance. These three players are still the biggest favorites at this year's US Open. But what is a little surprising is that Murray overtook Federer.
In fact, from Roland Garros to Wimbledon, Murray has recovered step by step, but his performance in the Grand Slams has never been improved to the best. Overall, he is inferior to Federer; but as the champion of the US Open series
, Murray relied on his overall performance to defeat Federer and win the favor of bookmakers.
The three players, from strength to state to mentality, undoubtedly form the most popular team.
Behind them is the second tier, but it can be seen from the odds figures that the expectations of the bookmakers have directly adjusted by a level.
Wawrinka, 1 to 13; Gawain, 1 to 17; Nadal, 1 to 23.
Maybe fans will say, how is it possible!
If Nadal is in poor condition and lowers his expectations, that would be understandable; but why do Wawrinka and Gawain still not receive corresponding recognition?
But this is the reality. They need to continue to prove themselves again and again, and use practical actions to subvert those prejudices, defeat the strong with the weak, and use the small to gain the big. This is always an unknown in the world of competitive sports. Look at the high
You will know the miracle of writing last year.
The difficulty of defending the title has been mentioned more than once before. Now that Gao Wen has suffered an injury and has made a hasty comeback, his subsequent performance is indeed full of uncertainties. It is normal for bookmakers to lower their expectations; what's more, Gao Wen's Grand Slam is not successful.
The myth of defeat came to an end at Roland Garros.
If you think about it seriously, "17 to 1", such odds are not bad. At least among the 128 participating players, they ranked fifth.
It can be seen at this time that Wawrinka and Gao Wen have entered the top ranks of the pyramid. Although they have not won the treatment of giants for the time being, they are parallel to the sluggish Nadal. This has proven their strength, which was never seen in the past.
The scene arrived.
In addition, Kei Nishikori, Berdych, Cilic, Dimitrov, Raonic, Tsonga and other players have also made the list.
Although the specific odds are average, and the most favored players Berdych, Cilic and Dimitrov are only 51-1, but at least they are within sight.
Unlike last year's Gao Wen, before the game started, even if someone wanted to buy Gao Wen to win, the bookmaker did not list the corresponding odds at all.
It is against this background that Murray, Nadal, Federer and other players who are about to face tough battles in the first round have also attracted more attention.
Gawain is also one of them——
Zverev is the youngest player among the players participating in this year's main draw.
Coupled with the overall rise of the Youth Storm, which has slightly declined in the second half of the year, there are only three "post-95" players who have successfully entered the main draw list, Gao Wen, Coric, and Zverev, and now two of them will also
In the first round, there will be a head-on collision, and the other player will challenge Nadal.
The topic was easily detonated across the board.
At the pre-match press conference, this has also become a focus topic that reporters cannot miss, but before the absolute focus comes out, there are still some routine matters.
Especially for Gawain.
"Welcome back to Flushing."
"Gao Wen, this is your first time competing in a Grand Slam as the defending champion. Do you feel the same this year as last year? Is there anything special?"
"Have your expectations changed for this US Open? You suffered an injury before the tournament was about to start, disrupting your plans. What impact did this have?"