Match point

Chapter 882
As we all know, Nadal is the king of clay. The best and most perfect performance in the four Grand Slams is definitely the French Open. So, what about the second one outside the French Open?

Many fans think that it should be the US Open that has won the championship four times, but from the data point of view, it is not the case, but the Australian Open.

Melbourne Park, this is Nadal's second best performance but also the most tragic venue.

In terms of winning percentage and number of wins, the Australian Open is second only to the French Open; but in terms of the number of championships and final winning percentage, the Australian Open is at the bottom——

Before the opening of the Australian Open in 2022, Nadal had thirteen quarter-finals and five finals in Melbourne, but only won one championship in 2009.

Even more tragic than Wimbledon, which was played on and off in the second half of his career.

Among the active players, Nadal has entered the finals of the Australian Open, second only to Djokovic and Federer, but the number of championships is only one.

In 2010, against Murray in the quarter-finals, a knee injury occurred and he had no choice but to retire.

In 2011, in the quarter-finals against Ferrer, the hamstring injury recurred and he was out of the game.

In 2012, in the final against Djokovic, he suffered a reversal and lost the championship when he broke serve first in the final set. This nearly six-hour match is still the longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era. of a game.

In 2013, he was absent due to injury.

In 2014, against Wawrinka in the final, his back injury recurred, and he fought hard in four sets to complete his opponent's first Grand Slam championship, which was a late bloomer.

It's clear at a glance.

In other words, since winning the Australian Open in 2009, except for 2012, injuries have always been an important role that cannot be ignored.

It would be too young and too naive to think that is all there is to it.

In 2017, against Federer in the final, he suffered a reversal and lost the championship when he broke serve first in the final set, witnessing Federer breaking the five-year Grand Slam championship drought.

In 2018, against Cilic in the semi-finals, with a two-set lead, he suffered a knee injury. In the end, he had no choice but to retire.

In 2021, in the quarter-finals against Tsitsipas, with a two-set lead, he suffered a back injury in the third set. Even so, he still took the lead in getting the match point, but due to injuries, he had a rare match point. An outrageous high-pressure ball error was eventually reversed and out of the game, and even led to direct reimbursement for the next half season.

so?
Nadal and Melbourne Park, is this a mismatch?Why do injuries always follow me every time I come to Melbourne?

Even Nadal himself said with a wry smile.

"Here, I have a lot of good memories, but at the same time, I also lack a little bit of luck. Sometimes, the opponent simply played better than me; sometimes, it is unlucky to encounter injuries. So, here, I have many, many special memories."

It is precisely because of this that for Nadal fans, perhaps the French Open is their favorite event, but the Australian Open is always a lingering cinnabar mole.

A little bit of luck, a little bit of metaphysics, and a little bit of coincidence finally made Nadal's tragedy in Melbourne Park.

Here, Nadal has never been the one to be favored by Lady Luck.

So what about this year?

The historical trajectory has quietly changed, and the butterfly effect has initially appeared in this year's Melbourne Park.

This time, the top eight opponents standing on the other side of Nadal's net have evolved into Gao Wen. History is about to be rewritten. Will the result be different?

Even if people don't know what will happen in the future, judging from Nadal's past record in Melbourne Park, there is reason to be more curious about this year's matchup.

Just like Evert.

Obviously, the Australian Open Organizing Committee also agreed, as can be seen from the schedule——

On the ninth day of the match, all the quarter-finals of men's and women's singles will enter the Rod Laver Stadium without exception. The focus now is, matinee or night?

From here we can see the importance of the pitch arrangement:
In the previous four rounds, Nadal played all at the Rod Laver Stadium. Obviously, he has fully experienced the venue conditions this year; moreover, he has experienced both the matinee and night games, at least he does not need to re-adapt.

But Gao Wen was not. Three rounds were held at Hisense Stadium, and one round was held at Margaret Court Stadium. All of them were matinees. This also meant that he was not familiar with Rod Laver Stadium. Not familiar with the night scene, everything is new and strange, and everything must be adjusted again.

It is precisely because of this that those high-ranked seeded players who are favorites to win the championship often mind their own venue arrangements. They need to adapt to the Rod Laver Stadium in advance to prepare for the subsequent decisive stage.

For ordinary players, they have no time to think about the follow-up games. No one knows whether they can last to the quarterfinals. Naturally, they don’t need to worry about things that are so long-term or even impossible. A win is the priority.

The schedule had already been released the evening before.

matinee.

In the first game, Ekaterina-Makarova (Ekaterina-Makarova) VS Halep.

In the second game, Sharapova VS Bouchard.

In the third game, Murray VS Karlovic.

night show.

In the first game, Nadal VS Gao Wen.

The second game, an Australian civil war in the second round of mixed doubles, played against four players from both sides, three of whom were hosts.

With a little thought, you can see the small emotions of the Australian Open Organizing Committee, a little bit of helplessness, a little bit of stubbornness, and a little bit of persistence.

In fact, on the ninth match day, the men's doubles and women's doubles quarter-finals were also fully played. These matches were more interesting than the second round of a mixed doubles match. The second round of mixed doubles is arranged to enter the center court.

Moreover, even if the second round of the mixed doubles match is arranged at the Rod Laver Stadium, the matinee is enough, and the night match can completely arrange the brilliant duel between Sharapova and Bouchard, but the organizing committee is Do what you want and stick to your own ideas.

The reason is very simple, there is more or less anger in it——

After Kyrgios was eliminated, the organizing committee was aggrieved, depressed, and angry. In order to meet the needs of the home audience, this game was selected as the ninth match day at Rod Laver Stadium. The big axis of the day.

What's more interesting is that it was the duel between Nadal and Gao Wen who was in charge of the grand finale.

Is this... bad fun?
So, the organizing committee just wanted to see Nadal defeating Gao Wen, and then the host players joined hands to join hands in the joint carnival?
No one knew how the organizing committee felt about this arrangement.

But the final reality is——

Gao Wen finally entered the Rod Laver Stadium, and it was a night game?The speed of the level jump is a bit too fast, and the seat belt has not been fastened yet.

However, people are not as good as heaven, and the organizing committee never thought that——

The matinee match was on the street.

Makarova swept Halep and lost only four games.

Sharapova swept Bouchard, conceding just five games.

Murray swept Karlovic in straight sets.

confused.

Before the audience had time to get into the mood, the matinee game ended so early that Rod Laver Stadium began to clear the field before the sun had time to tilt westward.

What follows is a long wait, waiting for the night game that kicks off at [-]:[-] p.m., boring and drowsy. Is this really the right way to start the quarter-finals?
(End of this chapter)