After hanging up the phone and turning around, you could see Macdonald's half-smiling expression. It seemed that he accidentally heard the voice coming from the receiver, and Gawain said with a smile.
"Just laugh if you want."
A smile appeared in MacDonald's eyes, but he waved his hands repeatedly to clarify himself.
"I just think your family is very lively and very..."
"Lively?"
"Yes, yes, very lively."
"It was precisely because they were so lively that I had endless energy to vent, and then I started learning tennis."
Looking at the elegant and generous Gawain, Macdonald showed a hint of envy in his eyes.
Gawain bumped Macdonald with his shoulder, "Next time my parents come over, I will introduce you to each other. I often talk about you when chatting with them. They are all very curious. My mother often says, how is Mike?
Do you have a girlfriend?"
Hahaha.
Gawain and Macdonald both laughed happily. Giron turned his head and glanced at the two people, with a smile also showing in his eyes.
Gawain and his team officially ended their summer training and embarked on the journey to participate in the challenge, but there were slight changes in their companions——
Thompson was different from them. He went to Europe alone to start his career.
Although summer is the North American season, this only means that the top events, centered on the US Open, are held in North America, while there are still a large number of professional events going on in other cities around the world, especially the Challenge Tournament and the Hope Tournament.
After all, only the top 300 players in the world can participate in Grand Slam events, and professional players ranked below 300 also need to continue to participate.
Some players choose to come to North America to participate in the Challenge and Hope Tournaments, so the ultimate goal is to show up in the US Open series. It is precisely because of this that there are relatively many masters.
Some players take a longer-term view and improve their rankings step by step. It would be more beneficial to avoid North America in the summer, after all, the top players gather in North America.
In addition, some players have realized that it will be difficult for them to rank among the top 300 in their careers, so tennis has become a job to make a living. They participate in challenge tournaments and hope tournaments all year round to earn bonuses, and work from 9 to 5.
There is no difference between the two races. Naturally, they prefer Europe, which does not have as many masters.
It is out of this consideration that Thompson went to Europe to compete, looking forward to improving his ranking as much as possible before the Asian season and the European indoor season, so as to get more participation opportunities in the second half of the year.
Gao Wen and his team of three have not yet determined their direction for the second half of the year. Staying in North America to compete with top players and experience the atmosphere of a Grand Slam will be conducive to growth.
At this time, three people were taking a plane across the entire North American continent, from Los Angeles on the west coast to New York on the east coast, preparing to participate in their first professional event:
Binghamton Challenge.
Binghamton is an industrial city in New York State, located 240 kilometers northwest of New York. It has a large number of processing industries such as shoemaking, clothing, dental equipment, auto parts, electrical, metal products, office equipment, etc.
factory, so you can see many immigrants.
In addition, the Binghamton campus of the State University of New York is also located here, and young students have also become an important part of the city's residents.
Although Binghamton is a small town with a permanent population of only 47,000, and has not experienced major drastic changes for many, many years, the Binghamton Challenge has a long history. Since 1994,
It has been held for twenty years now.
You know, the competition in professional tennis events is also very fierce. If there is not enough attendance, there will be no sponsors; without sponsors, there will be no funds to hold the event and no bonuses to be awarded to the players. Naturally, there will be no way to continue.
Keep it going.
Generally speaking, if an event can be held for more than ten years, it is already very rare; events like the four Grand Slam events that have been held for nearly or more than a century are even more precious.
The Binghamton Challenge has been held for twenty years amid fierce competition, which shows how popular the event is in the local area.
The level of the Challenger League is divided based on ATP certification points and bonuses. Starting from the total bonus of US$15,000 to the highest level of US$120,000, the overall level is divided into seven levels.
The Binghamton Challenge belongs to the third level, with a total prize money of US$50,000 and a championship score of 80 points.
Don’t underestimate an event of this level. Although it is very different from a Grand Slam, there are actually many players around the world who want to participate in an event of this level:
There are sixteen draws in the qualifying round, and four players will be selected through three rounds to enter the main draw; then there are thirty-two draws in the main draw, and the champion will be decided through five rounds.
Points and bonuses are all arranged according to the progression of rounds. First, if you enter the main draw through the qualifying rounds, you can win three points regardless of the outcome of the first round. However, if you enter the main draw directly through rankings or wild cards, you will be able to win three points.
If you lose in the first round, you will get no points.
Secondly, all players must have points as long as they enter the second round, and they will gradually increase with the promotion rounds. The second round is seven points, the third round is fifteen points, the semi-finals are twenty-nine points, and the runner-up is forty-eight points.
Champion eighty points.
All these points can be counted into the world ranking. As long as you have one point, you can have the world ranking.
But the problem is that there are still many players who are participating in the Hope Competition and may not get a single point. It is not that easy to enter the world rankings.
According to the rules, Macdonald can directly qualify for the competition based on his world ranking. After all, he has won a challenge championship trophy; but Gao Wen and Geelong have no choice because neither of them has a world ranking, even in the qualifying rounds.
.
Generally speaking, they need to start from the Hope Race and win at least one Hope Race points before they can enter the Challenger League qualifying list.
However, Martin believes that with the current level of Gao Wen and Ji Long, there is no challenge in participating in the Hope Tournament. Both of them can win easily. As long as they perform normally, there will be no problem in winning the championship. It lacks confrontation and challenge, and the Challenge Tournament is
A more suitable choice for two people.
As a local event, the Binghamton Challenge has a total of three wild cards, which they are also very happy to award to NCAA players.
So, Tobias helped Gao Wen and Ji Long submit the application, successfully obtained the wild card, skipped the qualifying round and entered the main draw directly.
When Gao Wen and his party arrived at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Tobias had already arrived in advance to welcome the arrival of three new rookies in the professional arena.