The whole world is burning, at least the tennis world is.
Because I was so excited, excited, and overjoyed that all the screams, applause, and shouts disappeared and condensed into a line, buzzing in my ears, and then I could see a silent fireworks show in front of me.
It was staged, and my heart exploded along with it.
The year-end finals, the sixth match day, were still lackluster.
Even compared to Group B, Group A didn’t even have any suspense. Djokovic and Wawrinka qualified hand in hand. The only small disturbance was that someone finally broke the curse of winning in two sets:
In the match between Wawrinka and Ferrer, "6:3", "4:6", "6:3", although Wawrinka won, Ferrer grabbed the second set.
This also marks that this year's group stage is finally no longer one-sided with "2:0" every game.
However, even this incident can make news, which shows how boring and boring this year's year-end finals are. It is indeed disappointing.
At the same time, another matchup in Group A also failed.
"6:2", "6:2".
Djokovic defeated Berdych without any blood, showing an unparalleled competitive state——
There were three matches in the group stage, with two games lost against Ferrer, three games against Wawrinka, and four games against Berdych. A total of only nine games were lost in the three games. All games took 191 minutes, on average.
Each game lasts just under sixty-four minutes.
The most frightening thing is that Djokovic only sent four break points in three games, saved three of them, and was only broken by Wawrinka in one game.
The world's No. 1 player started the hell mode, sweeping through thousands of troops and advancing with great success. His absolute dominance made all his competitors despair.
At the post-match press conference, some reporters also asked Djokovic why he showed a strong desire to win.
Djokovic candidly said,
On the one hand, it is the motivation to be number one in the world at the end of the year.
Now the year-end ranking battle between Djokovic and Federer is still not over, but the situation has become clear——
Djokovic only needs to advance to the finals to ensure that he is number one in the world at the end of the year; while Federer needs Djokovic to be eliminated in the semi-finals and win the final championship to complete the lead.
In this regard, Djokovic can be said to be full of motivation.
On the other hand, it was the motivation of losing last week.
Djokovic obviously cared about the match he lost to Gauvin in Paris.
That was not only the first indoor hard court match that Djokovic lost in two years, but also the second consecutive loss to Gauvin after New York.
"...I realize that I must improve, I realize that I must perform better, and I cannot satisfy my current level."
"I'm looking forward to continuing to improve my form and performance, and I'm also looking forward to competing against top players at the O2 Arena."
Going around and around, Djokovic kept hinting, but never said the key name until the reporter asked, "Are you talking about Gawain?"
Djokovic did not avoid it, because all group round-robin matches have ended and the semi-final matches have been announced, so there is no need to continue to go around in circles.
"Yes, I am very much looking forward to facing Gao Wen again in the next game, very, very much."
Djokovic used the modifying adverb "very" more than once, over and over again. Although there was always a smile on his face, the world's number one eyes were shining brightly, full of high morale, gearing up, and eagerly looking forward to tomorrow.
When you arrive, you will be radiating positivity and enthusiasm.
He faced Gawain with the most serious and solemn attitude, and with such treatment, he was at the level of the Big Four.
No doubt reporters and fans thought so, too.
In Djokovic's career, the number of times he has lost two or three consecutive games to the same opponent is not many, but not many. However, after reaching the top of the Australian Open in 2011 and completing a complete transformation, the number of times has become less and less.
Even the other Big Three find it difficult to do——
Federer only completed two consecutive victories at Wimbledon and Cincinnati in 2012.
Nadal has achieved it twice, once in 2012 to achieve three consecutive clay court victories in Monte Carlo, Rome and the French Open, and once in 2013 to achieve three consecutive victories in the French Open, Toronto and US Open.
Murray only completed two consecutive victories in the 2012 Olympics and the US Open.
Obviously, it is very, very difficult for any player to complete a winning streak when facing a giant. On the hard court where Djokovic is best at, the best record of the other three giants is only two consecutive victories.
The same is true for Djokovic himself——
If you face the same opponent and are unable to find an opportunity to break the game, losing once is an accident, losing twice is a coincidence, and losing three times is an unacceptable failure.
Even when facing the other Big Three, Djokovic will go all out to win.
And now, one more person has been added to the list of consecutive losers, and Djokovic will unreservedly prevent the defeat from spreading.
Fighting spirit, burning.
It is precisely because of this that the semi-final matchup in the year-end finals is so exciting.
Especially after experiencing a disappointing group stage, London fans are now pinning all their hopes on the upcoming semi-finals.
Objectively speaking, the top four lineup really couldn't be more perfect.
"Djokovic VS Gawain", "Federer VS Wawrinka".
In terms of championships, except for the French Open champion Nadal who is absent, all the other three Grand Slam champions are included; and the same is true for the Masters championship. Except for Nadal and Tsonga who retired due to injuries, the top four players joined hands to win the championship.
Won all Masters championships.
In terms of rankings, Djokovic, Federer, and Wawrinka are the top three seeds in the year-end finals, while Gao Wen is a monster newcomer who has gone from not ranking to the top ten in the world in four months.
The question is the four best players this year.
In terms of popularity, it goes without saying that the two giants, Wawrinka and Gao Wen, are attracting fans this year. They have become the pioneers of ATP's expansion of the fan market, completely disrupting the pattern of men's tennis. Even in London, they are highly regarded.
The absolute focus of attention.
The most important thing is that the semi-final matchup is also a microcosm of the "controversy" throughout the year:
The challengers represented by Wawrinka and Gawain attacked the dominance of the "Big Four" with an unstoppable attitude, thus creating chaos in the entire professional tennis world and triggering countless discussions and heated discussions.
So, is the era of the "Big Four" really over? Are the veterans led by Wawrinka and the new generation led by Gawain really ready?
On the stage of the year-end finals, Nadal was absent due to injury, and Murray's return from injury was not at his best. So can Djokovic and Federer defend the majesty of the giants? Or will Wawrinka and Gauvin work together to break through?
Otherwise, there will be two semi-finals with one win and one loss, and the battle between the old and the new will continue to the final stage?
What better opportunity to address hot topics that have been debated throughout the year than on the stage of the year-end finals?
From all aspects, it seems that the Huashan sword debate only officially started with the top four.
