“It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and pedestrians on the road feel like they are dying.
I asked where the restaurant is, and the shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Village."
Once upon a time, Du Mu used such a poem to describe the scenery of Chizhou during the Qingming Festival, which was desolate but had a somewhat unrestrained, romantic and confusing mood.
But now, looking at London in November in front of him, Gawain has a feeling of confusion in time and space, and this poem naturally comes to mind.
The drizzle lingers over the Thames River, and the milky white fog spreads towards the depths of the city. The rolling skyline is looming in the clouds, and the faint lines have a simple beauty in the haze. Both sides of the river bank The hurried figures wearing windbreakers tightly pulled on their sides disturbed the tranquility of the space but added a touch of mystery. The outline of the city was outlined in a few strokes of ink-like colors, and the distant sound of bells was heard.
Dang! Dang! Dang!
The mist was thick, making ripples, but then calmed down in an instant. The tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle was probably this kind of feeling.
"……looking at what?"
A question came to my ears, and I didn't need to look back. From the English with a strong Spanish accent, I could tell that this was definitely Nadal.
Gawain didn't look back, "London."
After giving an answer, he continued to add.
"London in my memory is still a world-class metropolis, noisy, bustling, and full of cars. But I didn't expect that London can be so quiet sometimes, and it's also during the morning rush hour."
Nadal glanced at Gawain unexpectedly. This Gawain was a little different from usual, but the corners of his mouth also slightly raised.
"I also like the pier in the early morning, watching the busy fishing boats coming and going in the port, but when we just got up, they had finished their work all night, and there was a sense of... vitality."
Nadal is still not good at words, and the last word was in Spanish.
After saying that, Nadal showed an apologetic smile. He still couldn't find the appropriate English vocabulary and was not sure whether Gao Wen understood it.
Gawain looked away and smiled, "Everyone is living with their heart."
Nadal nodded in agreement——
"Hey, you two!"
Before Nadal could continue to speak, a pretendingly severe scolding came from the side. Nadal and Gawain both looked over, and then they could see Federer's smiling face.
"Away from the team, what special secret are you two whispering and sharing here?"
Gao Wen raised his right hand high, "I want to expose that you are ostracizing me collectively and that you are teaming up to bully the newcomers. I will call on all fans to protest strongly."
Federer blinked, obviously caught off guard by Gawain. Federer was originally planning to tease Gawain and Nadal, but he didn't expect to be overturned, so he was dumbfounded.
Murray was the first to start shouting, "Stan, it's been a long time since I saw Roger lose his temper."
Wawrinka said with a serious face, "That's right, it's time for everyone to see Roger's true face. We are all victims of it."
Djokovic covered his chest with his hands, "I thought I was the only one injured."
Federer was dumbfounded, but in the blink of an eye, the Swiss King also found his calmness and deliberately pulled a long face, "Do you want to truly understand what hurt is?"
As he spoke, he began to wipe his fists.
As a result, to his surprise, Nadal broke the news and said, "Roger's fists are cotton fists and they don't hurt at all."
Federer couldn't believe his ears, "Rafa!"
ha!
A roar of laughter!
The atmosphere is so lively——
At this time, the top eight of the year-end finals were gathering on a yacht on the Thames River. They came to participate in the official promotional activities of the event.
Tours, photos, interviews.
A small party serves as official promotion and warm-up for the year-end finals. After the party is over, the next step is the lottery ceremony.
As a result, the eight players took off their sportswear and put on suits. Each one of them attended the event in suits and ties, showing a completely different appearance than usual.
This year's eight players are all old faces. Only Gao Wen is a newcomer who won a seat in the main game for the first time. Although he appeared as a substitute last year and won a game to advance to the semi-finals, the feeling this year is still different. Everything is different.
Everything is brand new and everything is unfamiliar.
The difference between starters and substitutes is probably this——
Although both participated in the competition, the overall feeling and experience were still different.
Last year, Gao Wen came to London simply to participate in another competition. It was special, but he couldn't tell what was special about it.
This year, from the moment I set foot in London, the atmosphere of the entire event was different, and every aspect reminded me that this is a special event.
The finals of the four Grand Slams have always been known as the "peak battle", but in fact, the year-end finals are the real battle of swordsmanship in Huashan.
For a whole year, the eight most outstanding players gathered together to compete for the championship——
The winner is equivalent to the leader of the martial arts alliance.
This year, especially.
The main theme of "Big Four VS Challengers" runs throughout, and the final battle is about to take place on the stage, bringing the season to a close.
Who can have the last laugh?
Not only fans, but media reporters are also curious.
In a sense, they are even more curious. After all, this is their job, and they come to London just to witness the final battle of the year.
When the eight fans were taking pictures of each other while browsing the Thames River on a yacht, the reporters waiting to take photos at the pier were not idle either, and the discussion continued.
"Novak, of course Novak."
"Gawain!"
"Novak!"
"It's definitely Gawain! Not once, twice or three times, but six times. Gawain proved himself six times."
"But this is the finals!"
"The same goes for the finals..."
"Okay, okay, stop arguing. I think there should be no suspense when Novak and Gao Wen meet in the final, but who wins and who loses depends on their on-the-spot performance."
"Go away! You're talking nonsense."
"Who said that Novak and Gawain will definitely be able to join forces? Where did you put Roger, Rafa, Andy, and Stan?"
"But……"
"No buts. Roger just won Basel."
"Yes, Rafa has entered the semi-finals for three consecutive tournaments. His condition has improved all the way and should not be underestimated."
"The same goes for Stan. He found his touch in Paris in time. Don't forget that Stan is a typical big-game player. Anyone who underestimates him will suffer."
"I know my opinions may be unpopular, but Andy..."
"You know you're not welcome, so don't say anything."
"Don't ignore Andy, Andy has the ability to defeat anyone."
"But Andy just couldn't do it."
"When you discuss this, have you ever thought about the feelings of David and Thomas?"
"……ah."
One sentence made everyone sigh——
Although no one wants to admit it, Ferrer and Berdych are indeed the two overlooked foils in this year's year-end finals lineup.
Both players are stable and good enough, but they still lack the courage to break the balance when playing against top players.
"The championship belongs to Novak anyway."
A muttered word tried to bring an end to the discussion, but unexpectedly, it would immediately become the target of encirclement and suppression, and the bustling discussion had just begun.