"...that '3:0', I thought we had reached a consensus, it was purely because of the handle problem. I am not familiar with that brand-new handle."
"Oh, no, no, no, Gawain, a real master will not blame the equipment."
"Yes, experts can't do it, but I'm not. God, that's my second time playing live, okay? I thought you would take care of the newbies."
"Wait a minute, are you asking me to let go? I didn't expect you to be such a tall man!"
When they met each other, Gao Wen and Nadal gave each other a hug and started chatting with each other. The atmosphere was very lively——
The staff members who were coming and going couldn't help but look at her. They could feel it without words. The tacit understanding between the two people really doesn't lie. It's no wonder that the two people complained to each other in the distance during media interviews.
No, they started arguing as soon as they met.
This friendship is eye-catching.
Players including Sharapova, Bouchard and others have stated more than once that it is difficult to maintain a pure and sincere friendship between truly top players.
There is no way. They are opponents on the court, even enemies. They must defeat their opponents and win. What if they accidentally get a red eye? One second they are fighting to the death on the court, and the next second they are pretending to be on the court.
Wasn't the smell of gunpowder there ever present?
In fact, Djokovic also frankly admitted that he respects Federer and Nadal. When they always fight in the Grand Slam semi-finals or finals, it is indeed difficult to become friends with each other, and it is very difficult to maintain friendship.
When they were young, Djokovic and Nadal could be considered friends, and Nadal invited Djokovic out for dinner and parties more than once, but Djokovic found that it was still difficult for him to establish that kind of friendship.
Murray also said that the fundamental reason why the other Big Three can become friends with him is that "they can always beat me." Of course this is a joke, but Murray also agreed that he will not privately invite these opponents to participate in his
In life.
The only special thing between the giants is that Federer and Nadal are old rivals. From life-and-death rivals to sympathizing comrades and then to friends through thick and thin, their friendship has gone through twenty years and finally become part of each other's lives.
This is also what makes them special.
Not only them, but their families are also friends.
In Gawain's opinion——
He respects this sport and loves this sport, but he has given most of his life to this sport, and he will no longer let this sport encroach on his remaining daily life.
Things that happen on the court should stay on the court.
No personal grudges.
Therefore, not only Dimitrov, Thiem, and Raonic's friends, he also has good personal relationships with Murray, Nadal, and Federer. In fact, including Djokovic, those competitions are just competitions.
, this does not affect his respect and admiration for Djokovic.
After all, the essence of respecting your opponent is respecting yourself and respecting the game.
Tennis is almost his entire life, so he also believes that he should have some tennis friends, otherwise he will be too lonely.
Although Gauvin and Nadal are about to step onto the court for a duel today, this does not prevent the two from complaining about live football.
The same goes for Nadal. Maybe he is introverted and passive, but as long as the other person is willing to take a step forward, he can become a very good friend.
"I should call Roger up another day and let's play a game of tennis together." Nadal's spare time life is not rich, yachting, golf and fishing, and occasionally some video games, that's basically all.
Gawain was very surprised, "Roger? Tennis? So who do you choose?"
Nadal laughed and said, "Surprisingly, Roger always doesn't like to choose himself. He often chooses other people. He also chose Andy and Andy Roddick."
Surprise, very, very unexpected.
"Ha." Gawain laughed directly, "Wait a minute, am I in the game?"
Nadal said calmly, "Of course, it would be strange if not."
Gawain tilted his head, "It feels a bit strange to see my own image appearing in the game."
Nadal laughed and said, "Ha, maybe we should try it. You choose me, I choose you, and see what the final result will be in the game."
Gawain spread his hands and said, "Controller, I told you, the controller is the loser."
"Haha." Nadal laughed happily.
The atmosphere is so lively.
"Rafa, Gawain, the countdown to the appearance is three minutes, you can prepare."
The staff came to inform, and then Gao Wen and Nadal shook hands, hugged each other, and patted each other on the back.
“Looking forward to a great game.”
"The better team wins the game."
After a brief exchange of greetings, the two of them separated and began to warm up before going on stage. They began to enter the state and slowly and slowly mobilized themselves.
Indeed, this is not easy——
You were laughing and joking one second, but going into battle mode the next?
But whether Gawain or Nadal, both of them are very good at staying focused; moreover, duels with friends only make them more motivated.
After all, every professional player has a desire to win or lose deep in his heart. Whether he is a friend or an enemy, this desire to win is the same.
The stage of the year-end finals is even more worth looking forward to.
really!
As soon as he appeared on the court, Nadal showed his determination and a completely different state. Not to mention comparing with Melbourne or Paris, even the Asian season and the European indoor hard court season are different.
--confidence.
This is the key.
When you are confident, your shots will be more decisive, bolder and more determined, and your shot success rate will often increase. From the difference between Murray and Nadal, you can feel the role that confidence plays in the game.
The first point of the match was Gawain's serve.
Although Gao Wen continuously suppressed Nadal's backhand and created opportunities, he hit the blind spot with a straight forehand and followed the ball to the net with an offensive combination of punches to win the point, but Nadal's forehand straight super moon shot while running at high speed
He took action, incredibly bypassed Gawain and cut into the boundary, and counterattacked to score the winning point.
"0:15".
The whole audience was shocked!
This is only the first round, and the two players have already shown incredible top level.
I have mentioned before that in Nadal’s game, his forehand form is a barometer——
Forehand performance determines the lower limit of the game, and backhand performance determines the upper limit of the game.
The foundation of everything starts with the forehand. No matter who the opponent is, the forehand is the first step to open up the situation. This can build Nadal's confidence.
Even on fast courts like indoor hard courts, this is no exception.
Nadal's forehand is on a hard court, and the power of super topspin is weakened; but the forehand spin controls the rhythm of the game, like a metronome.
Today, unlike any previous match this year, Nadal's forehand showed confidence from the opening stage, even better than last year's match in the Imperial Capital.
A season and a half after entering the professional arena, Gao Wen finally got to see a nearly complete version of Nadal——
Maybe it's still not 100%, but at least it's an 80% or 85% version. It feels really different.