At the same time, in Lexington, a small city seven hundred miles away from New York, the 2014 Tennis Challenge was in full swing.
The three musketeers of the Bruins have their ups and downs.
Geelong's opponent in the first round was Austin Krajicek, who lost to Gowan in the round of 16 in the previous tournament. However, Geelong still failed to adapt to the rhythm of professional competition and lost the game with a very disparity.
There was no chance, which made Jilong very frustrated and his confidence was somewhat hit——
After the game, I practiced for two hours.
McDonald ushered in a breakthrough. In the first round, he faced Daniel Cox, who lost to Gowan in the quarterfinals of the previous tournament. He won the final set in a tie-break and successfully entered the second round; and he also won three games in the second round.
He defeated third seed Yuichi Sugita unexpectedly and reached the quarterfinals. His performance was eye-catching.
Unfortunately, when facing Kokkinakis in the quarterfinals, Macdonald tried his best, but after saving three match points, he still lost two tiebreakers and was eliminated.
The final scores of the two tie-breaks were "9:7" and "10:8", which were very, very close, but it was a pity that we lost the game.
Although he failed to reach the semi-finals, MacDonald still saw progress, which is good news.
And Gawain?
It can be clearly seen that the long-distance traveling in professional games is more intensive and more strenuous than in the NCAA. In addition, without the close following of the coaching team, the ups and downs of the state are still uncontrollable. The entire training state and game feel are relatively slow, and it will take a while to be able to
Adapt to the atmosphere.
No wonder top players always say that the first round is always the most difficult, not because of the opponent, but because they are not the familiar self.
In the first round, Gawain narrowly defeated the eighth seed Hiroki Moriya in three sets. Although the score in the third set was "6:2", he easily won; but the first set was "1:6", and he was completely out of shape and had no touch.
The final victory was due to the limited strength of his opponent, which ensured that Gawain passed the risk.
In the second round, they faced Odensnik, the top four player from the previous tournament. Although Zverev defeated his opponent easily last week, it is obvious that Odensnik is in good condition now. In the encounter with Gao Wen, both sides also
Once again, they were in a tough battle. Odensnik easily won the first set with a score of "6:2", pushing Gao Wen into trouble again.
Now Gao Wen can feel the pressure of the professional tour more and more clearly. On the one hand, it is his own fluctuations, and on the other hand, the strength of his opponents. It is not easy to maintain a strong state from time to time.
thing.
Fortunately, Gawain is young after all and can adjust quickly.
"6:4", "6:4".
Gao Wen won two sets in a row and defeated Odensnik to advance to the quarterfinals.
After two consecutive fierce battles, Gawain finally adapted to the climate and environment of Lexington, and his condition and feel finally returned to the familiar track.
First, he defeated Irish player James McGee in straight sets, and then eliminated fifth-seeded British player James Ward in two sets, reaching the finals of the Challenger League for the second consecutive week.
On the final stage, Gao Wen faced the sixth-seeded Australian player James Duckworth.
Duckworth defeated compatriot Kokkinakis in the semi-finals, making "Kokkinakis VS Gawain 2.0" regrettably not possible, but Duckworth reached the main draw of the first three Grand Slams this year.
, is obviously in a period of rapid rise. Judging from the current strength and state, it is natural for him to defeat Kokkinakis.
Moreover, strictly speaking, at least this year, Duckworth's stability and continuity are better than those of Stakhovsky and Zverev.
Sure enough, the fierceness of the final also proved this.
Gao Wen won the first set with "6:3", and then Duckworth made a strong counterattack in the second set with "6:4", evening the score and forcing both sides to enter the final set.
This is already the third test that Gao Wen has faced in the final set this week. In addition, he has reached the finals for two consecutive weeks, and the physical test is very severe.
In the deciding set, Duckworth was the first to break serve and once led "4:3". However, Gao Wen came from behind and broke first and then defended the lead, leading to "5:4". Then Duckworth had to defend.
The serve forced a break point and match point. Although Duckworth saved two match points in a row, Gawain, who performed better at the critical moment, still broke serve on the third match point and won the game.
The final score was fixed at "6:4".
For the second consecutive week, Gao Wen won the championship with a wonderful performance!
Moreover, compared to Binghamton, Lexington's championship is more difficult and more precious, because Gao Wen faced the test of traveling long distances for the first time. Although there were some fluctuations in his state, Gao Wen still defeated himself and his opponent.
, laughed all the way to the end.
However, Gao Wen still couldn't rest, and didn't even have time to celebrate. He returned to California non-stop to participate in the competition for the third consecutive week.
Unlike Binghamton and Lexington, this challenge held in the California town of Aptos is the highest level so far.
There are also thirty-two lottery spots, but the total prize money of the event has doubled to one hundred thousand US dollars; and the points in each round have also increased with the tide. The champion is one hundred points, and the runner-up is sixty points. In all challenges,
In the competition, this is the third level, so naturally the participating lineup will be different.
The top seed is Mikhail Kukushkin, currently ranked 180th in the world. The quality of the entire tournament has risen to a higher level. Moreover, he reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2012 and the 2013 Australian Open.
Reaching the third round of the US Open last year, he is undoubtedly a tour-level player.
The second seed is Marcos-Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up and the 2006 Wimbledon semi-finals. His career-high ranking has reached eighth; despite ups and downs due to a series of injuries
No, but in 2010, the world ranking reached the top twenty.
In addition, Hungarian player Marton Fucsovis, who later broke into the top 40 in the world rankings in 2019 and has been performing steadily since then, also appeared in the draw, ranking as the eighth seed.
To put it simply, the entire participating lineup can feel the pressure on their faces. Especially compared with Binghamton and Lexington, it can be clearly felt that the closer they are to the US Open, the more capable they are of passing the qualifying rounds.
There are more and more players who are tested to enter the main game, and they all need to find their form through challenge matches.
It is precisely because of this that Giron and McDonald returned to Los Angeles early after being eliminated in Lexington, and then went straight to Aptos to prepare for this event.
And Gao Wen, who fought hard to the end, changed planes all the way that night after winning the championship, arrived in Los Angeles in the early morning, and then rushed to Aptos alone.
Celebrating a championship?
Still need to wait a little longer.
But Tobias, who is far away in New York, can celebrate Gao Wen's second championship trophy in a big way, because compared to the previous week, his chips have increased a bit.