Two months ago, Gao Wen participated in the Challenger League for the first time and stepped onto the professional stage. In the first round when he faced Kokkinakis, he felt the strong impact of professional players. After withstanding the severe test and successfully advancing, Gao Wen was
Holding a dream:
If I can ascend to the highest stage of the Grand Slam, if I can challenge the top 20 or even the top four in the world, if I can compete with the real top players to challenge my limits...
I never expected that this day would come so quickly. Today, Gao Wen will challenge the third seed Wawrinka at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
After reaching the top of the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, Wawrinka's world ranking reached a career-high third; second only to Nadal and Djokovic. Although he was later overtaken by Federer and fell to fourth, this US Open
Still because of Nadal's withdrawal, he is still ranked as the third seed.
There is no doubt that these are the highest-ranked players that Gao Wen has faced in his career, and they are also the top players in the current professional tennis world.
Afraid? Fearful? Uneasy?
None of them.
It is a kind of expectation and excitement to challenge the limit, eager to try, full of energy like never before, eager to fight.
Among the top players, Wawrinka is the only special one. He separated from his wife and daughter to focus on tennis, which is completely different from Federer. Federer only became completely stable after getting married, and his career ushered in a new breakthrough; and the Australian Open
After winning the championship, Wawrinka changed his name.
From the official "Stanislas" to "Stan", Wawrinka applied for the name change in all official documents and at the same time in all tours.
When the French Open started, all the documents were finalized and officially announced to the public, so much so that this matter became the focus of the pre-match press conference.
"Because everyone calls me Stan, I'm really not kidding, I just want to make my name simpler on the signings and press conferences, that's the only reason. Murray did it too, just to make it easier
Everything is simpler, that's all, no other reason."
Andy Murray's original name is "Andrew-Murray (Andrew-Murray)", and Andy is Andrew's nickname. In fact, he is often called by his nickname in daily life, so later Murray simply applied to modify the ATP and ITF
Relevant official documents are all unified into a more concise Andy.
It can be seen from this incident that Wawrinka is the only very simple player. His tennis philosophy is-
Attack, attack, attack again.
In comparison, his defensive ability is really lackluster. It is difficult to create opportunities for himself through defense. His game must be all-out attack. This player is a one-handed player with both forehand and backhand. He has the ability to shoot on both ends.
Powerful offensive ability with full range of bows and continuous output.
The characteristic of Wawrinka is that he is very good in the "power VS power" duel. He can withstand both forehand and backhand, and he can continue to output offensive firepower. The entire offensive rhythm is relatively balanced and strong, but in the face of continuous changes,
In round balls, his handling ability can only be regarded as second-rate.
When facing the Big Four, Wawrinka's overall record is more losses than wins, but when Wawrinka faces Djokovic, the wins are always the most critical. The reason is that Djokovic's
The ball in the baseline round is relatively stable and even, and Wawrinka's attack speed is particularly handy.
As of 2021, Wawrinka's total record against Djokovic is six wins and nineteen losses. However, in the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 French Open, and the 2016 US Open, Wawrinka won the Grand Slam championship three times.
, all defeated Djokovic, among which the Australian Open was a quarter-final showdown, and the French Open and US Open were all finals.
Facing the other Big Three, Nadal has three wins and 19 losses, Murray has nine wins and 12 losses, and Federer has three wins and 23 losses.
It is clear from the record that Murray and Djokovic have similar playing styles, and Wawrinka's winning rate has significantly improved; facing Nadal and Federer is difficult because of the rotation, arc, and cutting of these two players.
Various methods such as pulling the ball can often interrupt Wawrinka's efforts.
In other words, it is difficult to limit Wawrinka's offense just by changing the rhythm, and Murray is the best proof; and the change of rhythm also requires threatening suppression, and can suppress Wawrinka's firepower on the offensive end.
This is how Dahl and Federer win.
This year, the first half of the year was when Wawrinka broke out in full force. He first defeated Djokovic and Nadal at the Australian Open, and then defeated his other bitter opponent Federer at the Monte Carlo Masters to win the championship.
First Grand Slam and first Masters title.
It is no exaggeration to say that Wawrinka, who is beaten crazy, will indeed enter a "super god state".
However, after the full outbreak, Wawrinka's shortcomings of unstable performance were gradually exposed——
Offense requires touch. When Wawrinka was in great form, his offense was flowing and flowing, and his amazing skills were amazing one after another.
But when the state is not good, the offense will be stumbling and making wild moves, especially the one-handed backhand. Because of the inherent instability of the one-handed shot, the requirements for the hitting point are higher, and the relationship with the state is even closer.
Moreover, Wawrinka has a problem, "When encountering the strong, he becomes strong, and when encountering the weak, he becomes weak." When facing players who are not ranked so high in the world, he is often not excited enough, inexplicably loses the chain, has no offensive touch, and has no defensive end.
If you can't hold the ball, even some qualifying players can win with three goals.
This has been the case since May. The French Open encountered Spanish veteran Guilermo-Garcia-Lopez and was unexpectedly eliminated in the first round; Wimbledon recovered and reached the quarterfinals, but was eliminated by Federer, and then came to North America.
During the season, his performance was even more impressive.
The Rogers Cup was eliminated by South African player Kevin Anderson; Cincinnati was eliminated by French veteran Julien-Eau.
In the two Masters, Wawrinka only won three games in total and was obviously not in his best condition.
When he came to the US Open, Wawrinka had a good fortune. His opponents in the first two rounds were all players ranked outside the 80th place in the world. However, Wawrinka still performed mediocrely. He played a total of three tie-breaks and lost one set, and passed the test in danger.
; In the third round, his opponent withdrew before the match due to injury, and then Wawrinka came to the fourth round.
Overall, like the two Masters events in the North American season, Wawrinka's state is still stumbling, with ups and downs, and he has yet to find his touch in the first half of the year. It is precisely because of this that when Gawain eliminated Isner as a dark horse
When Wawrinka and Kyrgios became Wawrinka's opponents in the fourth round, everyone in the media was excited.
On the one hand, Gawain is a test to test Wawrinka's condition. If Wawrinka passes the game and gets out of shape while playing, then he will most likely face Djokovic in the semi-finals. Obviously, this is everyone's question.
A showdown that everyone loves to see.
On the one hand, Wawrinka is the threshold to test the quality of Gawain's dark horse. No matter from the perspective of strength or ranking, Wawrinka is the strongest opponent Gawain has encountered in his career. What kind of performance Gawain can perform is the key to continuing the miracle.
The truth is revealed, and the answer will be revealed soon.