Graf wiped the sweat from her forehead. Even though it was just a warm-up game and not a training match, she could still clearly feel Gawain's progress.
One step at a time, down-to-earth, 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 increasing intensity of confrontation in the warm-up games. Graf has not sweated like this on the court for a long, long time.
"The last ball, the whole hitting touch was so beautiful. How did you do it?" After all, Graf had retired for a long time and couldn't keep up physically, so in the second half, he couldn't keep up with his movements. In the last few rounds, Graf didn't see Gawain's handling techniques.
Gao Wen was panting heavily. Don't underestimate this warm-up game. Both the body and the brain are working at high speed, and the overall consumption is not as simple as a training match. What's more, Gao Wen needs to adapt to the clay court, and he has not yet reacted with his body's instinct. To the extent that it requires full concentration——
Concentrating 100% of your attention is also a kind of intense consumption.
Therefore, Gawain did not speak, but made a cutting motion with his one-handed backhand to answer Graf's question.
Graf's eyes lit up slightly, "Smart choice."
However, Gawain was not proud. He spread his hands and smiled a little helplessly, "Don't I have no choice now? If we continue to fight, we will really be unable to keep up."
In a warm-up game, facing Graf, who has retired for many years, and struggling for nearly fifty rounds, the result is that he can't keep up?
Gawain didn't think this was something to be happy about——
Of course, there is no need to lose heart.
Gao Wen shook his head gently, "I know clay soil 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 vivid expression, "Did you know that the French Open has always been considered the most difficult event to win among the four Grand Slams?"
Gawain's face was full of surprise, he really didn't know.
Graf explained, "On the one hand, it is because of the uncertainty of clay soil. It is indeed a hotbed of unpopularity, and many surprises occur every year. On the other hand, it is because of the characteristics of clay soil, which requires not only patience but also tenacity. Standing on this court If you go up, you must be prepared for a fierce battle.”
"Roland-Garros once said that victory belongs to the toughest. This sentence is also the most vivid description of the French Open."
Here, there is a little background knowledge. The official names of the four Grand Slams are slightly different——
Australian Open, Australian Open Tennis.
US Open, US Open Tennis.
The above two are ordinary and have nothing special about them, 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. However, 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 pilot in the world's history to fly an airplane across the Mediterranean. At the same time, it was also a feat that he did not land during the whole journey; later, when World War I came, he Became a national hero in France and was considered an iconic figure of the French Air Force for a long time.
In fact, looking at Roland Garros's pilot career, he only shot down three enemy fighter planes. To say that he is an ace pilot is far from the best. The real first ace pilot in France should be Adolphe-Pegoud. Yes, but that doesn't mean Roland Garros is over-hyped.
First, he was the world's earliest fighter pilot.
Secondly, he has been constantly improving fighter jets, from superimposing machine guns to improving propellers to transforming the aircraft structure, and has contributed many opinions to the improvement of fighter jets.
In the end, he was shot down and captured, but later managed to escape, returned to the plane, and continued fighting until he was shot down again and died heroically.
There is no doubt that this is a tenacious and dedicated figure who has devoted his life entirely to flying. It is not surprising that he would say that famous saying:
Victory belongs to the most tenacious.
So how did a pilot evolve into the icon of a tennis Grand Slam?
In 1927, four French players went to the United States, unexpectedly defeated the host country and won the Davis Cup, triggering a wave of national attention.
In 1928, they defended the Davis Cup in France, pushing the tennis craze to a new level and even becoming national heroes.
As a result, the Stade de France, the venue that has always hosted the French Open, nodded and agreed to a project to give up three hectares of land next to the Stade de France to build a new stadium for these four players, but they made only one request——
It must be named after their member Roland Garros.
Waiting for the completion of the new stadium, the French Open has also successfully moved in and games will be held here.
In fact, it was not until 1925 that the French Open opened its doors for the first time, allowing non-domestic tennis members to participate. In other words, when tennis players from all over the world began to go to Paris to compete, just a few years later, they began to compete comprehensively. Enter the "Roland Garros" competition.
Over time, "Roland Garros" has become a brand new representative.
In the blink of an eye, a century has passed, and now "Roland Garros" is specifically used to refer to the French Open, rather than any specific venue, just like Melbourne Park to the Australian Open and Flushing to the US Open. ; The three large stadiums here are all individually named.
A small piece of data can tell you what makes Roland Garros unique -
In the short half-century since tennis entered the Open era, the number of players who have won more than one championship in the same Grand Slam, including men's singles and women's singles, is different from each other:
Australian Open, 26th place, 14th place for men and 12th place for women.
French Open, 17 places, 8 men and 9 women.
Wimbledon, 20, 12 men, 8 women.
At the US Open, there are twenty-two, ten men and twelve women.
The data is clear at a glance.
Obviously, even for the top players who are qualified to win the Grand Slam championship, it is the most difficult among the four Grand Slams to win the French Open for the second time.
Perhaps, somehow, the spirit of Roland Garros has indeed been integrated with this clay-court Grand Slam, vividly explaining the difficulties and challenges of clay-court.
Tenacity and patience are essential qualities in the clay court.
In Graf's view, Gawain already has it. In just a few days, Gawain's concentration and investment once again impressed her.
Of course, clay is definitely not that simple.
As Graf said before, even top players like Federer and Djokovic cannot find their own rhythm on clay courts in one or two seasons -
Going from clay to hard court is relatively easy, so Nadal was able to reach the top of the US Open.
It is obviously much more difficult to go from hard courts to clay courts. Even without the big mountain of Nadal, top players will still encounter many challenges on clay courts.
(End of chapter)
