Match point

Rome, the eternal city, is a city full of history and art. The wind and frost of time have carved out the magnificence and splendor of this city.

The sunlight stops here, and it seems to bloom in different colors.

This year, when tennis came to this city, the Rome Masters was unusual, yet unusual.

First of all.

Cilic and Kyrgios were both upset in the first round.

After returning from injury, Cilic has never been able to find the touch, and it seems that the "first Grand Slam final syndrome" has not been able to get rid of it.

Kyrgios, who upset Federer last week, played mediocre against Felix Lopez, who has been mediocre this season, and was eliminated in straight sets.

Second.

Agut, Simon, Tsonga, Faye Lopez, Dimitrov and other seeded players all stopped in the second round, continuing the upset of the clay court season.

The only surprise was from Tim.

Tim, who played poorly in the previous two Masters and was out early, came to Rome and finally found some feeling. He defeated Simon and advanced to the top [-]. This young player who is good at clay is still studying hard in the tour. Progress, waiting for your own moment of qualitative change.

then.

Murray regretted that he stopped in the top [-], but it was not a loss, but a tactical retirement.

Fatigue from competing for three consecutive weeks, and his body was overloaded. Murray realized that his body was sending out a signal, so after discussing with his physical trainer and doctor, in order to avoid unnecessary injuries, before the round of [-] match against Goffin , he chose to retire and walk Goffin to the quarterfinals.

Judging from the official statement, Murray said that due to injury considerations, after all, it took him a whole year to get back on track after returning from injury. The last thing he needs now is the hidden danger of injury caused by reluctantly participating; but Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Murray has also begun to accumulate energy for the French Open.

After Djokovic, Murray also chose to withdraw tactically, and his goal was also aimed at the French Open. Roland Garros should be very lively this year.

In addition, Tim also lost to Wawrinka in two hard battles and failed to go further.

Subsequently.

Gao Wen, Nadal and Kei Nishikori all stopped in the quarterfinals.

Kei Nishikori lost to Djokovic.

Nadal broke a not-so-popular upset and lost to Wawrinka. After losing the Australian Open final last year, Nadal suffered a two-game losing streak against Wawrinka.

Gao Wen lost to Berdych for the first time in his career.

It has been mentioned more than once before that maybe Berdych lacks a bit of explosive power and willpower at critical moments, but there is no doubt that he is the player in the "giant era" who has not won a grand slam but can still be called a "great" player One, not only the lower limit is high, but the upper limit is also high.

The game against Berdych was different from the previous games lost to Ferrer and Nadal.

On the one hand, it can still be seen that Gao Wen’s understanding of clay court is not deep enough and not comprehensive enough. The venues of each clay court tournament are slightly different, and it is not easy to adapt. Odd happens to be the player with few holes.

On the one hand, it can also be seen that the physical and mental consumption of the clay court season is severe. Apart from Nadal, who is in poor condition, the other three giants are all facing different degrees of physical consumption, and Gao Wen is no exception. Halfway through, his body did face some tests.

“6：3”、“3：6”、“6：7（3）”。

The whole match took two hours, four 10 minutes, and Berdych had the last laugh, beating Gawain for the first time in his career.

So, the semi-finals played against——

In the first half, "Djokovic VS Wawrinka".

The second half, "Federer VS Berdych".

Normal, but not normal.

It's normal, because fans have seen similar scenes more than once or twice in the past ten years, and everything is too familiar.

It's not normal, but that's because in the past year, the overall rise of the Challenger League has completely disrupted the situation, and this year ushered in troubled times, especially the "post-90s" and "post-95s" young players have fully occupied the public line of sight, but this time he couldn't even see the figure of a young man?
This……

However, who can refuse?
Familiar recipes, familiar discussions, familiar matchups... Overnight, it seems to have traveled back to before 2014, and the familiar feeling has fully returned.

Everything is still the "Big Four era".

And, even the ending is so familiar.

Djokovic defeated Wawrinka, Federer defeated Berdych, and both giants advanced to the final.

Following the meeting between Murray and Nadal in Madrid last week, the other two giants showed excellent form not to be outdone, and successfully completed the meeting in Rome.

The familiar scene of the "Era of Giants" came back into view again, as if nothing had changed.

A little bit weird, but much, much more interesting.

In the spring hard-court season, the "Big Four" suffered a full-scale impact. Not only did Gao Wen win important championships, but the number of losses of the four giants players in different rounds and positions also began to increase significantly. From the new generation to the Mesozoic generation Ferocity raised its head and attacked the rule of the giants.

In the end, all condensed on the subversion of the world rankings, like a microcosm, witnessing the turmoil of the era of giants.

When people are concerned about when Gao Wen can become the second in the world and whether he can hit the number one in the world, it is actually a kind of recognition:
They also agree that the "giant age" may be gone forever, and the next is the era of melee, which has entered a new chapter, but it is still the golden age of tennis, with more top players, more exciting duels, and more classics Fans are the biggest beneficiaries of the event.

however--

Entering the clay court season, behind one upset after another and one surprise after another, it is a journey for the Big Four to regain their dominance.

It has already started from Monte Carlo, when Djokovic and Nadal met in the semi-finals, and Ferrer and Monfils broke through from the bottom half. Although the final was not a meeting between the two giants, it was already able to Seeing the familiar picture before 2014, it's just that people didn't realize it at that time.

Then, Madrid.

Now, Rome.

In fact, Murray's summit in Munich and Federer's summit in Istanbul are all clues.

Although there were some accidents, twists and turns, and ups and downs in the process, there is no doubt that step by step, the four giants slowly regained lost ground in the clay court season, awakening people's familiar memories again, as if what happened in the past year and a half Just an accidental dream.

finally.

Final score, "6:4", "6:3".

The gap between the two sets was a break, not only close, but also fierce. This time, it was Djokovic who defeated Federer to become the champion.

It is worth mentioning that Djokovic and Federer have faced each other on clay seven times in their careers, and Federer has four wins and three losses with a slight lead of one win.

Among them, Djokovic defeated Federer three times, both of which happened in Rome. Obviously, this field is indeed more suitable for Djokovic to play. This time he achieved the third time, and the two players played against clay. The record equalized.

Rome can be regarded as Djokovic's blessed land.

Then, all eyes turned to the top of the Forbidden City, the ultimate showdown of the clay court season——

Gather in Paris!