call……
Pause, breathe in, then again—
call……
Gawain took a long, long breath and tried his best to suppress his excitement and excitement, but his blood was still boiling uncontrollably.
He was looking forward to this game. Every cell in his body was looking forward to it. If he closed his eyes, he could clearly hear the cells screaming.
This is not his first Grand Slam match, this is not his first match against Nadal, this is not his first match against Nadal at a Grand Slam or his first match against Nadal on clay... …
But this game is still special, unique and irreplaceable.
Because this is Roland Garros, because this is Philippe Chartier.
Here, Nadal represents an unsurpassable peak. Perhaps facing Djokovic at the Australian Open and Federer at Wimbledon are the ultimate challenges at the highest level in professional tennis, but facing Nadal at the French Open is the ultimate challenge. The ultimate challenge among challenges, without a doubt.
As a reborn person, Gawain understands this better than anyone else——
As of 2022, Nadal has won the French Open a total of fourteen times, continuing to set the record for the number of professional tennis championships won in a single event; at the same time, Nadal has only lost three games in the French Open in his career, and lost once to Soderling lost the other two games to Djokovic.
In short, on this court, Nadal is an out-and-out God of War. His ability, his will, and his attributes are all pushed to the extreme.
Even if he is suffering from injuries, even if he is at the lowest state of his career, even if he is half-healthy or even half-healthy, as long as he stands on this court with both feet, Nadal can burst out 200% of his energy. It takes endless courage and fighting spirit for a player to stand in front of him.
Including Djokovic is no exception.
These two giant players have met ten times at Roland Garros in their careers. Djokovic has won two and lost eight, putting his record at an absolute disadvantage.
At Roland Garros, Nadal is equivalent to Mount Everest. Everyone is eager to challenge but only a very, very few people can successfully reach the top.
Now, Gawain has won such an opportunity, standing in front of Mount Everest, looking up to the top.
The dream finally came true.
For Gao Wen, the outcome of the game is not important; what is really important is the ultimate challenge, challenging Nadal, challenging himself, and challenging the limit.
Today, he will go all out and release all his energy on the court without reservation. Whether he wins or loses, he will enjoy this game. He will cherish every minute of this game and let this The match was a showcase for all the hard work put into this year's clay court season.
He is already prepared.
However, he needs to calm down a little. If he is overly nervous or overly excited, the final effect will be the same, causing his feeling and state of the shot to deviate, and in the end he will lose control of the game, so he needs to calm down and stay focused. Concentration of force.
Then Nadal showed up.
The design of Philippe Chartier Stadium is very interesting. After entering from the main entrance, there is a hall, which carries the history of this event and opens the door to welcome guests from all over the world; then follow the stairs into the basement, where there is a spacious and vast space. Including locker rooms, players' lounges, gyms, etc., where players can prepare for games.
On the other side of the basement, there is an exit. If you go up the steps, you can enter an "L" shaped passage. After the turn, you will find the arena.
Therefore, when the players take the field to play, they need to enter the underground layer first, and then return to the ground again before they can set foot on the red soil.
The two players who were about to take the stage stood at the entrance of the "L" shaped channel, waiting for the on-site host's speech, and then stepped onto the center court to bathe in the spotlight of the world.
At this time, Gawain stood at the entrance of the passage and looked down the stairs. He could see Nadal appearing in his field of vision at a glance.
"Hey Rafa."
The smile on Gawain's lips rose, and he took the initiative to express his welcome.
After Nadal walked up the last step, he stretched out his right hand, took Gao Wen's right hand, pulled it, and gave Gao Wen a warm and strong hug.
"I'm really looking forward to this game. I can finally wash away Mallorca's shame. Oh, my heart is almost about to explode."
The light and joking tone was completely devoid of the tension of the impending decisive battle.
Nadal shook his head slightly, exhaled a long breath, his face was full of seriousness and worry, "Then you have to pay attention, otherwise it would be embarrassing if I just won and advanced without a fight before the game had even started. Wait." , do you need me to call the on-site doctor for you now?"
Once you become familiar with it, you will find that Nadal actually likes to make some little jokes, and he is also a cold-faced assassin. He often makes a joke out of nowhere, and his serious and serious expression makes his words full of joy.
Gawain didn't say much, he quickly covered his chest, made a gesture of taking deep breaths, and quickly distanced himself with stumbling steps.
After all, Nadal couldn't hold it back and broke through directly, with a smile on his lips.
He took another step forward, stretched out his right hand towards Gawain, shook hands again, hugged again, and patted Gawain hard on the back.
"Hopefully the better players will take away the victory."
Nadal, always Nadal, always treats the game with 200% concentration and sincerity, taking every game and every point seriously.
Nadal is sincere about tennis, especially at Roland Garros.
Gawain could also deeply feel the scalding and scorching energy. He didn't say anything more, but held Nadal's right hand tightly.
Letting go and separating, the two players stopped joking and began to prepare for their debut.
Directly in front, you can feel the rolling heat waves coming towards you, the air is burning, and the flame storm blows the voice of the live host.
Then, you can hear the most special and magnificent entrance introduction to the center court in professional tennis, and it is also a classic introduction exclusive to the French Open——
At Roland Garros, when the host introduces players to the venue, in order to show respect for previous champions, they will always emphasize the player's history of winning here; and this honor fell to Nadal, too. It has become the most magical scenery on the center court of the French Open every year.
"...Champions at Roland Garros, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008..."
Even if you don't understand French, the year composed of a series of numbers can accumulate the weight behind time little by little. No more words are needed at all. The audience at the Philippe Chartier Stadium has already become noisy, cheering and The shouts are rising with each number coming on stage.
"...2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014..."
"Ladies and gentlemen...let us welcome the Spaniard, Rafael Nadal!"
ah.
Ahhhh.
Ahhhh!
Screams and cheers, applause and shouts slowly gathered like this.
In the end, it turned into a stormy sea, which even completely drowned out the host's voice. It unfolded in such a grand manner that the entire Stade Philippe-Chartier stood up.
The mountains roared and the tsunami roared.
