As the host announced the start of questioning, all the reporters rushed to raise their arms high. You could even hear the buzzing of the wind, and the airflow in the narrow space rushed towards the two players in the front.
Like a forest of white birches, it stretches out in a mighty way.
Densely packed.
Endless as far as the eye can see.
Then, amid the turmoil, the host chose "The Times" -
When you don't know how to decide, reputable media is always a safer choice.
"...Rafa, I would like to ask..."
After the brief self-introduction, the reporter was just about to ask questions when he saw Nadal and Gawain exchanging glances and both started laughing.
So much so that all the reporters in the audience were asking questions.
Nadal realized that this was not polite and waved his hands repeatedly, "Sorry, sorry, don't pay attention to us. You continue, I will listen carefully to the question."
Gawain sat next to him, pretending to be serious, with a straight face, just holding up a sign saying, "I don't know anything." But the smile on his lips and eyes still overflowed involuntarily.
The reporter looked a little innocent. He looked at Nadal and then at Gawain. He was not sure whether he should continue to ask questions, and he didn't know what the problem was.
Nadal kept his poker face for a while, then turned to look at Gao Wen's suppressed laughter. The two of them couldn't hold it back anymore and started laughing again.
Without words, the reporters at the scene could deeply feel that Gao Wen and Nadal should have a good relationship and are not just doubles partners.
Nadal tried to explain, but laughter surged in his chest and he kept laughing. However, his good upbringing still made him wave his hands to apologize.
In the end, Gawain explained with a smile.
"We just feel very happy because the new season has started, we can go on the court to play again, we can see the audience, and we can see some friendly faces again. Please forgive us, if we keep laughing, then
Maybe it's because we were both so happy."
Phew.
The style of this last sentence suddenly changed. Not to mention Nadal, even the reporters on the scene couldn't hold it back——
A smile is contagious.
A situation that wasn't originally funny naturally became funny because everyone was laughing. It is precisely because of this that watching a comedy in a movie theater is a happy thing, sharing smiles with a group of strangers.
The Times reporter was convinced and felt happy.
Asked questions and got back on track.
As Gao Wen expected, the focus should still be on Nadal.
Of course no one will forget that last year was a bad luck season for Nadal:
At the beginning of the year, he lost to Wawrinka in the Australian Open final, who was in great form, and missed his best opportunity to reach the Melbourne Park summit for the second time; then he missed the entire North American season due to injury, and finally came back from injury, but the season ended abruptly due to appendicitis.
.
I was basically absent for most of the whole year.
The opening of a new season also means a new beginning. Nadal is embarking on the journey again, which is naturally the focus of attention.
Moreover, throughout the offseason this time, reporters have been ready to stir up controversy. The chaos and controversy that ran throughout last year will be fully demonstrated in the new season. The professional tennis drama of "Big Four VS Others" is about to begin.
This could be the most chaotic season in a decade.
No one wants to miss it.
Even Gawain is still less topical in front of the Four. After all, he is just one of the "others" and is not the Four after all.
Therefore, as the new season kicks off, the topic should naturally be about Nadal.
Similarly, when Djokovic and Federer appear at the press conference, they will face exactly the same treatment, and everyone is curious about their prospects for the new season——
Murray, who chose to fly directly to Melbourne, "can't escape the first grade of junior high school but can't escape the fifteenth grade." What should come will eventually come.
really!
The reporter from "The Times" mentioned Nadal's injuries and appendicitis surgery as the first question. Ending the season in such a way is obviously not an ideal state, so what is Nadal's opinion?
To injuries? To last season? To new season?
After listening to the question, Nadal took the lead in apologizing to Gauvin, "This was supposed to be a press conference for the doubles match, but the focus was on me personally."
Unexpectedly, Gawain waved his hands repeatedly, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm waiting for my buttered popcorn. You haven't answered the question just yet."
The look of a crowd eating melon made everyone burst into laughter, including Nadal himself.
Then, the press conference finally got on track.
Injury recovery status, prospects for the new season, the rise of Wawrinka and Gao Wen, the competition among the top players in the past season, etc., hot topics come one after another.
Of course, this is not entirely an interview with Nadal.
When asked about Gawain's sudden emergence and challenge to the dominance of the four giants, the question was also thrown to Gawain. It was expected that Gawain and Nadal could start a dialogue and that the two parties at the center of the topic could be interviewed at the same time.
This is not an opportunity that can be obtained casually.
When Nadal and Gauvin choose to team up for doubles, this is a foreseeable situation.
After all, this topic will definitely run through the entire season, not just focusing on Wawrinka and Gawain. Every player who advances to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam or the semifinals of the Masters may need to face the same problem——
again and again.
At this moment, the opportunity is even rarer. How could reporters miss it?
But both Nadal and Gauvin came prepared, and their watertight answers left reporters completely helpless:
Everything is positive, everything is interesting.
New blood, fresh challenges, and fresh matchups are good things for the entire tennis movement. They are all looking forward to the next games this year.
This means that the competition is more open, it means that they can offer more exciting duels, and it also means that the audience can participate more actively and enthusiastically. This is obviously good news.
Both the words and the words revealed his expectations for the new season.
Especially when a reporter from "Der Spiegel" asked Gauvin whether he was looking forward to a duel with Nadal, Gauvin said something very witty.
"First of all, I need to be able to advance to Nadal, so how about we let us worry about this issue first?"
Hahaha.
The whole audience laughed, and even Nadal had a bright smile on his face.
Immediately afterwards, a reporter immediately shifted the topic to Nadal again and asked a question that everyone was curious about:
How did Nadal and Gauvin come up with the idea of teaming up as a playing partner?
This is definitely a partnership that no one expected.
Nadal shrugged gracefully, "In fact, it was me who took the initiative to invite Gawain..."
This...is this true?
The reporters did not exclaim out of control, but they could still feel an undercurrent of trivial sounds filling the entire press conference room.
Obviously, this is an answer that no one expected.