Stade Philippe-Chatier.
The whole place was completely silent. The footsteps rubbed against the clay, the racket hit the tennis ball, sweat rolled down the temples, and the sound of electricity flowing through the body surged in the gentle breeze. In a trance, I forgot to breathe and feel my heartbeat.
Then--
"ah!"
Nadal did an extended split, took a forehand shot, circled his head and tried his best to increase the rotation and angle, and barely managed to return a diagonal shot.
However, Gawain's footsteps have already entered the court.
Cross the baseline, cut into the midfield, grab the point with both hands and attack with all your strength.
straight line.
whipped.
Tennis, got into the gap of Nadal's backhand, and ended the point neatly.
The whole court was buzzing, break point, another break point, the fifth in this game.
In the fourth set, Nadal took the lead in serving, and both players successfully held serve. However, Gao Wen then found an opportunity in Nadal's second serve and continued to exert pressure. This game was swinging on the wire rope.
Very, very rarely, Nadal couldn't keep up with his footwork.
Could it be that the extreme physical strength has appeared again?
At the beginning of his career, Nadal's bullish image left a deep impression on fans. His trademark of flying, running fast, and covering every corner of the court has surpassed Nadal's forehand and become his trademark.
More than one or two commentators, and more than 10 or 20 professionals in the industry have questioned that Nadal's playing style is too desperate and too rough. Such a physically consuming game destroys the tennis stereotypes and is completely inconsistent with Federer's elegance. Instead, "Is he really going to keep playing like this?"
People have predicted that Nadal's career may not last long. In three to five years at most, Nadal will be overwhelmed by his playing style and be eliminated, and he will never be seen again.
However, five years and ten years have passed, and the young man chasing the wind is still running on the field, and has proven with practical actions that all the judgments and criticisms of the experts are wrong, and the God of War is still fighting.
Slowly, slowly, people began to believe that Nadal was a man of steel, a god of war infused with tenacity and tenacity, created with passion and hard work, who never gave up, fought to the end, and was never tired.
That has become a belief that shines because of the soul of Rafael Nadal, who together with Federer completely changed the sport of tennis.
One is elegant and the other is rough, one is light and the other is tough, one is agile and the other is heavy, just like the song of ice and fire.
until now.
People seem to have finally discovered that it turns out that Nadal is also made of flesh and blood. It turns out that Nadal can also be tired, exhausted, and overwhelmed. It turns out that Nadal's body has its limits after all. After all, the former God of War also has a limit. Slowed down because of scars.
Is this a good thing?
In this game, Nadal saved four break points, but he was still unable to see the game point and could not get out of the predicament. Just as the quality of his return dropped slightly, Gao Wen seized the opportunity, and the fifth break point appeared again.
Nadal, I'm tired.
After the forehand hit, he tried to push off the ground for a second time to defend against the backhand. As a result, his feet did not touch the ground and he almost fell down.
After barely standing still, Nadal used the racket to support his body in a very rare way. His hands were folded on the handle, and his upper body was completely bent down, like a heavy ear of rice.
Bah, bah, bah.
Bean-sized beads of sweat fell off one by one, and the whole person looked like he was fished out of the water. He was panting like a cow, and his side face showed a trace of painful struggle.
Time slowed down slightly around Nadal.
Seeing this scene, Gao Wen did not celebrate the score, but quickly stepped forward to the net and looked at Nadal worriedly.
Because Gao Wen knows Nadal, he is a person who is very good at enduring pain. For most of his career, he gritted his teeth and endured the pain to compete. He himself said that he was used to the pain and even had it. It became a part of his body, and he couldn't even remember a time when his body was completely pain-free.
If the pain wasn't excruciating, Nadal never showed it.
Nadal is an honest man. He never bothers to use injuries to make excuses for his failures, nor does he bother to use injuries to discredit his opponents' victories. He is always upright and aboveboard, facing victory and defeat calmly, and those injuries, He knows this is the price of his choice.
It is precisely because of this that Nadal rarely discusses his injuries on and off the court and refuses to use injuries as an excuse.
But at this time, Nadal bent down, stopped, and stayed in place, without moving, at the stall where the match was going on.
As an opponent, as a friend, and as an ordinary fan who likes Nadal, Gao Wen's heart curled up and he couldn't help but show concern.
There was no sound in the audience.
Is this definitely a good thing?
Perhaps those commentators and professionals have been slapped in the face time and time again. They also hope to prove that they are correct and their predictions are wise. They have waited and waited, and only now have they finally confirmed that, despite the five-year delay, They were right about Nadal after all.
They should be happy, right?
But at this moment, witnessing this scene, no one cheered.
So tragic and tragic.
In Nadal's curved back, they saw the unyielding will and tenacious belief, as well as the desire to win and high morale, but in the end he had to stop temporarily due to the protest of his body, that scarred back What is condensed above is the perseverance to challenge the limits and challenge oneself.
The world of competitive sports is so cruel. People can only see the smile of the winner, and rarely see the sweat, blood and tears behind the victory. Those pains, struggles and sufferings build up the glory of victory bit by bit. But No one should erase those who fought hard and persisted in those battles because of failure.
Nadal did not give up. Nadal was still fighting, struggling and burning. The firm belief in his bones was still shining, but his body was protesting.
This scene made the hearts of the entire audience briefly stop beating.
The wind is still blowing, but time seems to have stopped.
"Rafa!"
Gawain shouted.
no respond.
Gao Wen was very worried and walked around the net and walked straight towards Nadal.
"Rafa."
He called out again, and then you could see Nadal standing up straight, with a face full of pain, barely smiling towards Gawain, and raising his racket to signal.
Nevertheless, Gawain came to Nadar and asked in a low voice.
Nadal put his arm around Gao Wen's shoulders, patted Gao Wen's chest gently, said again that he was fine, apologized for delaying the game, and encouraged Gao Wen to go back and let them continue the game.
Gawain gave Nadal a hug before turning and walking back to his own half.
"Bah! Rafa!"
"Bah! Rafa!"
Applause, thunder.
Cheers, all around.
It's for Nadal, for Gawain, and for this game. The audience is looking forward to a perfect conclusion to this exciting duel.
The Philippe-Chatier Arena was once again filled with excitement, cheering for Nadal.
