Match point

Chapter 1000
The plane set off and left the sunny Los Angeles. Dimitrov headed south, plunged into the heat wave of the southern hemisphere; Gawain headed east, across the Atlantic Ocean to the hinterland of another desert.

The first Grand Slam of the year is over, but the new tennis season is just entering February.

Like Doha at the beginning of the year, Dubai, located in the middle of the desert, continues the tradition of rich and powerful, and cultivates a new sports trend in the desert oasis.

In recent years, more and more top events have been held in these cities, and the facilities and conditions have become more and more mature, gradually evolving different flavors.

Tennis is no exception.

From the perspective of the schedule, this week's events in South America seem to be more convenient. Whether it is Alpurco or Buenos Aires, their physical distance is closer to the next Indian Wells and Miami.

But objectively speaking, it's not that close.

At the same time, the same hot and high temperature, surrounded by the same desert, and the similarities between Dubai and Indian Wells competition environment also make Dubai an excellent place to prepare for the "Sunshine Double Championship". Any choice can be justified.

Of course, Dubai and Doha are rich and famous all over the world, and the entire competition environment and supporting facilities are excellent, which are also important reference factors.

The most simple and intuitive point is that the total prize money of the Dubai tournament is 250 million US dollars, which is second only to the Australian Open among all the tournaments so far this year. It is not only higher than the 250-level tournament, but even higher than the [-]-level tournament It's a whole lot taller——

The total prize money of the 150 tournaments in Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco, Rotterdam and so on is around [-] million US dollars.

This is what Dubai is all about.

Looking at this year's Dubai lineup, you can deeply feel the "atmosphere" coming to your face. Compared with Doha, it is not far behind:

Djokovic, Federer, Gawain, Murray, Berdych, half of the top ten players in the world are here, ranking the top five seeds respectively.

In addition, Gulbis, Faye Lopez, Agut, and Goffin all signed up for the competition. In the end, the top eighth seeds were all ranked within the top [-] in the world; Coric, etc. are also in the ranks of the participating lineup.

For a competition with [-] points, it was absolutely star-studded.

The lottery ceremony attracts much attention——

Because this is Gao Wen's first tournament since he came to No. [-] in the world; at the same time, except for Nadal, who went to Buenos Aires to compete in search of a hand, the Big Three are all in place. Will the top four seeds gather the top four? How to allocate the upper and lower halves is a hot topic of discussion.

finally.

In the first half, "No. [-] seed Djokovic VS No. [-] seed Murray".

In the second half, "No. [-] seed Federer VS No. [-] seed Gao Wen".

Applause, Thunder!
To be honest, the top four seeds, in any permutation and combination, are also good-looking.

Although Djokovic and Murray were assigned to the same half again, even though Djokovic and Gao Wen failed to enter the same half for the replay of the Australian Open final lineup, but!

Gawain and Federer finally match up.

Since the birth of the US Open, in just half a year, Gao Wen has met a series of top ten players in the world:

Djokovic, Nadal and Murray, naturally needless to say; Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Berdych, Raonic, etc. also all made moves.

So far, Gao Wen has an amazing record of nine wins and three losses against the top ten players in the world.

In other words, Gao Wen did not lose at all against the current top players, and was even able to take the initiative. This was the reason why Gao Wen was so powerful.

However, the puzzle was always missing a piece, and that was Federer --

Due to a series of coincidences, Gao Wen and Federer never met, which is undoubtedly a great pity.

However, the matter of luck is indeed metaphysics.

It's like the old rivals Federer and Nadal. They have faced each other on countless occasions, but the only thing missing is the US Open.

Each time, the two old rivals always seemed to be missing a little bit, and when they came to Flushing, there was just no way to get in front of each other.

Even in the distant future that Gao Wen knew well, the "Fina Final" still hadn't been staged in Flushing, which has almost become an obsession for New York audiences; Due to factors such as status, the odds seem to be declining further.

But I don't know, is it possible to see them before they retire?

Sure enough, drawing lots is a metaphysics.

Now, Gao Wen and Federer are finally divided in the half, but it is not known whether the two players will be able to meet in the semi-finals.

If you can!

Not only the first meeting between Gawain and Federer, the final piece of the puzzle for "Gaowen VS Big Four"; there is also a focus topic:
Currently, Gao Wen is continuing his [-]-game winning streak in the season. Who can stop his undefeated footsteps is also a hot spot for major news media.

On one side is Federer, who was in good form this season but suffered a blowout at the Grand Slam stage. His career seems to be facing another challenge.

On one side is Gao Wen, who has continued the upward momentum of last year since the opening of the new season, and even completed the feat of defeating the three giants in a row at Melbourne Park.

So, what will the duel between the two look like?

tension.

stimulate.

look forward to.

All in all, the potential "Federer vs. Gawain" matchup will attract more attention.

No one can refuse.

Gearing up.

I am eager to try.

The same is true for Gao Wen, who arrived in Dubai with full expectations——

Last year, after the end of the US Open, the whole biological clock was disordered. When I arrived in the imperial capital, I was completely out of shape, and it was the first time I stepped on the training ground in two weeks, and I felt nothing.

Naturally, the only way is to use competitions instead of training, looking forward to fighting one game at a time, and slowly working out the state.

This year is different.

After the Australian Open, work and relaxation are the same. Resumption of training and basic training are also done step by step, and all schedules are in order.

Seeing the lottery, Gao Wen also looked forward to it, and finally he could meet Federer and challenge the world champion.

For ordinary fans, if the number one in the world is the king of the ball, then Djokovic is the current king of the ball, but for the players of Gawain's generation, they have completely witnessed the ten years of strong collision between Federer and Nadal. The positions of these two players in their minds are still different.

"Ball King" always represents Federer and Nadal.

For a long time, Gao Wen hoped to meet the big four, even if he lost, he could see the gap between himself and keep improving.

Moreover, Gao Wen hopes that the time can be earlier. Only in this way can he meet with the Big Four at their peak and feel the top of professional tennis head-on.

This time in Dubai, Gao Wen’s chances are better than ever. The most important thing is that Federer is in good form, and his form is also very good. If there is a strong collision, then this game will definitely learn a lot, even ——

It would be great to be able to get closer to the bottleneck and feel the annoyance of strength improvement again.

Therefore, Gao Wen himself was full of expectations.

However, Gao Wen still maintained his rationality and did not aim too high or get carried away.

On the road to the semi-finals, the game must be down to earth one by one. If you don't want to miss the best chance to challenge Federer, then every round of the previous rounds must not be missed.

(End of this chapter)