When Agassi arrived at the training ground, he immediately saw Gawain running under the golden sunshine.
Bean-sized beads of sweat were pulled by centrifugal force, flying and blooming. His whole body was dripping with sweat, and he looked like he had just been fished out of the water. The gorgeous sunshine coated his whole body with a thin layer of gold, like honey.
Melt with marshmallows.
Peart, on the other hand, was in sharp contrast. He stood opposite the net, expressionless, his eyes were slightly focused, and he couldn't find a drop of sweat. He devoted himself to training meticulously. He was completely like an iceman. He entered the "Full Metal Shell" in one second and was inhumane.
Military camp scene.
However, Gao Wen was very, very involved, and the sound of his footsteps rubbing against the court was as if his sneakers were about to catch fire.
Involuntarily, Agassi looked up at the sun——
It's only February in the Northern Hemisphere, and technically it's still winter, but the pictures in front of us always give people the illusion that "midsummer is coming."
I couldn't help but glance at him one more time, and then I took a step forward.
He silently came to Sampras and asked in a low voice, "What's going on? Why did the intensity get so high?"
Sampras' eyes were completely focused and he stared at the court motionlessly. He didn't turn his head when he heard the voice and answered directly.
"Gawain has gradually adapted to the intensity and is challenging Martin's authority. Therefore, Martin also used the bottom of the box."
Agassi was stunned for a moment, then laughed dumbly, "This is indeed very elegant."
But if you think about it seriously, this is not surprising.
Although he won the Australian Open, he faced three giants in a row. Gao Wen still saw his shortcomings and there was still room for improvement in his game.
This is also the focus of their work in the next period of time. Therefore, Gao Wen's initiative to increase the training intensity is completely in line with Gao Wen's character.
Agassi noticed that Sampras's expression was slightly solemn, and thought that Sampras was worried, "Don't worry, this kid knows what he is doing. He will not be easily satisfied just because of the championship. He should already be aiming for the next one."
Goal, next challenge.”
Sampras came back to his senses, turned to look at Agassi, smiled, and his expression relaxed, "I know."
As if he had thought of something, Sampras even chuckled twice, completely unable to see the serious and focused look he had just shown.
"Do you know what Gawain said?"
"Competitive sports are like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat."
"The fans saw Federer hitting the ball elegantly on the court and looking cool and handsome. In fact, in private, Federer also spent countless hours training. In the final analysis, they are just a bunch of ducks."
Agassi couldn't help being stunned, "Duck?"
What metaphor is this?
Sampras lowered his voice mysteriously, "Above the water, be calm and elegant; below the water, fight hard."
"Haha." Agassiz laughed softly, his eyes full of smiles, "I think I learned a lot by staying with Gawain."
Sampras nodded subconsciously in agreement, but then he thought of being surrounded by an old rival, and immediately complained, "How about you let Gawain be your coach, and are you going to come back tomorrow?"
Agassi was not in a hurry, nodded slowly, and said unhurriedly, "Okay. After all, I can still come back, but someone else is not so good."
Sampras:…
"You guys just like to be weird." After all, Sampras couldn't hold it back and rolled his eyes.
Agassi also ignored Sampras——
If he was young, he would definitely argue with this guy about who is the yin and yang; but now, this guy is an old kid who will never grow up in his life, and the more he cares about it, the more he will cling to it.
So Agassi calmly changed the subject.
"Since it's not about training, then what are you worried about? Your expression just now looked a bit serious."
Sampras punched the cotton, but his strength had nowhere to go. He opened his mouth and wanted to fight Agassi for two rounds, but after thinking about it, he regained his composure.
If serving as Gao Wen's coach, apart from regaining the passion and enthusiasm for life, rediscovering the love for tennis and the irreplaceable sense of accomplishment, are there any additional gains?
Sampras might say, the friendship with Agassi.
Of course, Sampras also doubted whether there was a real friendship when they were young and frivolous, or whether it was just a scene in front of the camera.
But it is undeniable that now, they can indeed sit down and talk calmly, truly admire each other's achievements, and then make suggestions for Gawain together, follow Gawain to grow up and fight together, and they are closer than when they were young.
many.
Thinking of this——
"Because I have serious business, I won't talk to you anymore." Sampras still couldn't hold it back and made a sharp remark, then returned to the topic.
"Exactly, there is something I want to discuss with you."
"The clay court season is coming soon, and I'm a little worried."
Strictly speaking, there are still two full months until the clay court season. The so-called "immediately" is not that fast, but as coaches, they cannot just improvise, they must be far-sighted and plan comprehensively.
After the start of the new season, the Australian Open is the first important task. Previously, all their focus was on the Australian Open. Now that the Australian Open has come to an end, this also means that they must adjust their plans.
According to the ATP schedule——
Third week of February, 500 races, Rio de Janeiro; 250 races, Marseille, Playa del Rey.
Fourth week of February, 500 races, Dubai and Alpurco; 250 races, Buenos Aires.
In the next week, I will rest and adjust. There will be no ATP events, only challenge matches and hope matches.
Second week of March, Masters, Indian Wells.
Fourth week of March, Masters, Miami.
Then, the clay court season officially kicks off starting from the first week of April.
In fact, the schedule is very clear:
January is the Australian season; February is the South American season; March is the North American spring season.
In the middle, there are stops in Marseille in Europe and Dubai in the Middle East, but the impact is not big. Overall, the ATP event arrangement route is very clear.
The above-mentioned events are all hard court games.
January, culminating in Melbourne Park.
In March, there will be two Masters tournaments as the climax.
Both Indian Wells and Miami are events in North America. The former is located deep in the desert of California, less than a two-hour drive from Los Angeles; the latter is located in southern Florida and is known as the nursing home of North America.
The sun is shining all year round.
Both tournaments are Masters tournaments worth 1,000 points, second only to the Grand Slams.
Moreover, the difference from other Masters tournaments is that Indian Wells and Miami are both two-week events, with ninety-six draws——
This is more than the 56 draws in other Masters tournaments, but slightly inferior to the 128 draws in the Grand Slams.
In addition, these two events hold men's and women's competitions at the same time. Apart from the four Grand Slams throughout the year, only these two events plus Madrid, the three top events, are participated by both men and women.
It is no exaggeration to say that these two events are directly comparable to the Grand Slam.
It is precisely because of this that Indian Wells has always been known as the "fifth Grand Slam".
From scale to level to weight, these two events are indeed the focus of the first half of the year, drawing a perfect end to the first quarter of the hard court season.