Valencia, the war breaks out.
Valencia, located on the southeastern coast of Spain, is far less famous globally than Madrid and Barcelona, but in fact it is the third largest city in Spain and the largest granary, agriculture and new generation technology industry in Spain. Development makes this city exude vitality.
Although it is located in southern Europe, clay tennis courts can be seen everywhere in this area, but Valencia is a little special. The ATP events held here are not clay courts, but indoor hard courts.
At the same time, because the Valencia and Basel tournaments were held in the same week, and Federer signed a long-term playing agreement with Basel, coupled with his own venue reasons, he was unable to attract Spanish superstar Nadal to participate. This also made Valencia's tournament influence is very limited.
However, this year is an exception.
Thanks to the final sprint competition for seats in the year-end finals, ten of the top twenty players in the world came to Valencia to compete. Although there is a lack of top stars like Federer and Nadal, Ferre Er and Murray's box office appeal still ensures attention.
More importantly, the most eye-catching focus now is the competition for a seat in the year-end finals. Compared with Basel, Valencia's strategic position is even more prominent:
Cilic, Berdych and Murray, who won championships in three different cities last week, came to Valencia at the same time. This is an important point to watch.
A number of competitors will compete head-on on this land, and the focus of discussion on social networks will quietly shift.
Facts also prove this -
Heavy pressure, constant travel, perfect attendance tests, etc., etc., undoubtedly put forward severe and even demanding requirements for the players.
Valencia's first round was a series of upsets.
Among them, Berdych and Cilic both lost and were eliminated.
From a time perspective, they just completed the final in the last city yesterday afternoon, and today they came to Valencia to start the first round non-stop. Physical recovery, state adjustment and invisible pressure are all uncertain factors. Still, the loss was an upset.
In addition, three players, Youzhny, Isner, and Simon, also suffered upset losses.
Especially Simon.
He just reached the final in Shanghai two weeks ago and showed an incredible competitive state. Not only did he defeat Gao Wen in the semi-final, but he also pushed Federer to the extreme in the final, which makes people believe that he is on the right track.
This time in Valencia, Simon and Gao Wen were drawn in the same 3/4 zone. If all goes well, the two players will meet again in the quarterfinals, but they lost an upset to Ukrainian player Alexander Dolgopolo. husband (Alexander-Dolgopolov), and even swallowed a duck egg in the first set.
Eye-popping.
In comparison, Berdych still has some room for maneuver, and the overall situation is still dominant at present, so Cilic's situation is very, very bad——
Although they won the championship in Moscow last week, it was a 250-point event. This week, they were eliminated in the first round of Valencia with 500 points, but they don’t know how the account should be calculated.
However, looking at the results of the first round in Basel, it is not so surprising.
Wawrinka and Gulbis also both lost, another shocking upset.
This also officially announced that Gulbis was completely out of the year-end finals.
Judging from the experiences of Gulbis and Cilic, even if they participate in full attendance, the negative impact of the intensive schedule is clearly visible. The feeling of emptiness after giving all their best but achieving nothing is inevitable.
In addition, Thiem also lost in the first round to Goffin, who appeared on the official ATP homepage with Gawain in July this year.
In fact, in last week's match in his hometown of Vienna, Thiem was also upset in the first round. Since his amazing performance at the US Open, his record has only been one win and four losses, and he was eliminated in the first round in three of the tournaments.
"Grand Slam Syndrome" is very obvious in Thiem.
Whether it's Valencia or Basel, the first round has just ignited the flames of war, and the battle for the last seat in the year-end finals is already filled with smoke. Every game may change the pattern.
So, what about Gawain?
Last week, I strategically gave up the competition, rested, adjusted and started systematic training, trying to get back on the right track. Now it seems that it should be the right decision.
Although he missed the fierce competition of 250 points last week, Gao Wen showed a good spirit in Valencia this week.
As the fifth seed, Gao Wen faced a qualifying player in the first round, Serbian player Nobert Gombos, currently ranked 127th in the world.
At the beginning of the first set, Gompos played proactively and advanced to the main draw after two qualifying matches. This gave him more time to adapt to the venue, and at the same time, his overall performance became more comfortable and open. This indeed created some problems for Gao Wen. trouble--
On indoor hard courts, the effects of ball speed and wind speed are still different after all.
However, after the trial period, Gao Wen quickly gained a firm foothold, and his overall tactical thickness and on-the-spot response clearly gained the upper hand.
Gompers has the style of a typical Challenger League player. The entire offense is fierce and powerful. On a fast court, his strength and speed are very good; however, the offensive rhythm does not change much, and he maintains the same frequency of bombardment. , and the absolute power is slightly inferior.
Therefore, Gao Wen frequently used his tactics of grabbing ascending points and changing rhythms to destroy his opponent's offensive routine, putting Gombos in an awkward state at all times——
Not only did the continuity of the offense encounter severe challenges, but the accuracy of the offense also encountered continuous damage.
Then, the game slowly entered a familiar pattern to Gawain.
"6:4", "6:1".
In two straight sets, Gao Wen easily defeated his opponent and advanced to the second round, taking a solid first step in Valencia. Although it still takes some time to adapt to the venue, compared with the Asian season, his condition and feel are both good. A certain degree of recovery is the best news of the entire game.
In the second round, Gao Wen will face a new generation Spanish player born in the 1990s:
Pablo-Carreno-Busta.
Busta's most well-known match later took place in 2020, when he faced Djokovic in the fourth round at the US Open that year.
After falling behind "4:5" in the first set, he also fell behind "0:40" in the service game where he had to save.
At this time, Busta showed great courage and saved three break points in a row before successfully holding serve, and then broke Djokovic's serve, reversing the score and entering his own service-winning set.
Djokovic lost control of his emotions and hit the tennis ball directly to the ball boy, but accidentally injured the line judge. As a result, he was directly ruled to lose by the referee and lost the entire match.
This game also went down in history in an incredible way, causing a sensation all over the world, but it was obviously not the way Busta wanted.
