Match point

Chapter 1180
Graf wiped the sweat from her forehead. Even though it was just a warm-up game, not a training match, she could still clearly feel Gawain's progress.

Step by step, down-to-earth, and steady progress; in less than three days of training, such growth is already very gratifying and worthy of recognition.

This can be felt from the rising confrontation intensity of the warm-up game, and Graf has not sweated so much on the court for a long, long time.

"The last ball, the whole touch of the ball is so beautiful, how did you do it?" Graf has retired for a long time after all, and he can't keep up physically, so in the second half, he can't keep up with his movement. In the last few rounds, Graf didn't see Gao Wen's handling.

Gao Wen was panting heavily, don't underestimate this warm-up game, the body and brain are both running at high speed, the overall consumption is not easier than the training game; what's more, Gao Wen needs to adapt to the clay court, he has not yet reached the level of physical instinct to react to the extent that requires full concentration—

One hundred percent concentration is also a kind of intense consumption.

So, Gao Wen didn't speak, but made a cutting movement with one-handed backhand, answering Graf's question.

Graf's eyes lit up slightly, "A smart choice."

Gao Wen was not complacent, and spread his hands, smiling a little helplessly, "I have no choice, don't I? If I continue to fight, I really will not be able to keep up."

A warm-up game. Facing Graf, who has been retired for many years, entangled for nearly [-] rounds. In the end, I still can't keep up with my footsteps?

Gao Wen didn't think it was worth being happy——

Of course, there is no need to be discouraged.

Gao Wen shook his head lightly, "I know that red clay is difficult, very difficult, but I still didn't expect it to be so difficult, it's like another world."

Graf was amused by Gao Wen's lively expression, "Did you know that the French Open has always been considered the most difficult event to win among the four Grand Slams?"

Gao Wen was surprised, he really didn't know.

Graf took advantage of the situation and explained, "On the one hand, it is because of the uncertainty of clay, which is indeed a hotbed of unpopularity, and many accidents occur every year; on the other hand, because of the characteristics of clay, it requires not only patience but also tenacity. You have to be prepared for a fierce battle.”

"Roland-Garros (Roland-Garros) once said that victory belongs to the toughest, and this sentence is also the most vivid description of the French Open."

Here, there is a little background knowledge. The official titles of the four Grand Slams are slightly different——

Australian Open, Australian Open.

US Open, US Open.

The above two are mediocre and nothing special, but the other two Grand Slams are different.

Wimbledon, Wimbledon Championships.

French Open, Roland Garros.

Look, it's clear at a glance.

In fact, "French Open" is a unified name to fit the four Grand Slams, and real tennis professionals and senior fans will not call it this way, but unanimously call it "Roland-Garros".

Roland Garros, a legendary pilot, in 1913, he was the first publisher in the history of the world to fly a plane across the Mediterranean Sea. At the same time, it was a feat that he did not land all the way; Became a national hero of France and was considered an iconic figure of the French Air Force for a long time.

In fact, looking at the pilot career of Roland-Garros, he only shot down three enemy fighter planes. To say that the ace pilot is really far behind; the real first ace pilot in France should be Adolphe-Pegoud. Yes, but that doesn't mean Roland Garros is overrated.

First of all, he was the world's first fighter pilot.

Secondly, he has been continuously improving fighter jets, from superimposing machine guns to improving propellers to modifying the structure of the plane, and has contributed a lot of opinions to the improvement of fighter jets.

In the end, he was shot down and captured, but he escaped successfully, returned to the plane, and continued to fight until he was shot down again and died a heroic sacrifice.

Undoubtedly a tough and dedicated man who dedicated his life to flying, it is no surprise that he famously said:

Victory belongs to the toughest.

So how did a pilot evolve into a tennis Grand Slam icon?

In 1927, four French players went to the United States, unexpectedly defeated the hosts, and won the Davis Cup, triggering an upsurge of national attention.

In 1928, they defended the Davis Cup in France, pushing the tennis boom to a new level, even comparable to national heroes.

Therefore, the Stade de France, where the French Open has always been held, nodded and agreed to a project, giving up three hectares of land next to the Stade de France to build a new stadium for these four players, but they made the only request——

Must be named after their member Roland-Garros.

Waiting for the completion of the new stadium, the French Open has also settled in smoothly, and the competition will start here.

In fact, it was not until 1925 that the French Open opened its doors for the first time to allow non-domestic tennis members to participate. Entered the "Roland-Garros" competition.

Over time, "Roland-Garros" has become a brand new representative.

In a blink of an eye, a century will pass, and now "Roland-Garros" is specifically used to refer to the French Open, rather than any specific venue, just like Melbourne Park is to the Australian Open, and Flushing is to the US Open. ; The three large stadiums here are all named separately.

A small piece of data can be seen, the uniqueness of Roland-Garros——

In the short half century since tennis entered the era of the Open, the number of players who can win more than one championship in the same Grand Slam, including men's singles and women's singles, is different in the four Grand Slams:
Australian Open, 26 places, [-] men and [-] women.

French Open, [-] places, [-] men and [-] women.

Wimbledon, [-] places, [-] men and [-] women.

US Open, 22 places, [-] men and [-] women.

Data at a glance.

Obviously, even the top players who have the ability to reach the top of the Grand Slam champion, want to win the French Open for the second time, the difficulty is the highest among the four Grand Slams.

Perhaps, in the dark, the spirit of Roland Garros has indeed been integrated with this clay grand slam, vividly interpreting the difficulties and challenges of clay.

Tenacity and patience are essential qualities in the clay court.

From Graf's point of view, Gao Wen already possessed it. In the past few days, Gao Wen's concentration and devotion once again impressed her.

Of course, red clay is definitely not that simple.

Just like what Graf said before, even for top players like Federer and Djokovic, they can't find their own rhythm on clay courts in one season or two.

It is relatively easy to go from clay to hard court, so Nadal was able to reach the top of the US Open.

From the hard court to the clay court, it is obviously much more difficult. Even without the mountain of Nadal, top players will still encounter many challenges on the clay court.

(End of this chapter)