Wow!
There was a hustle and bustle of discussion, like a carbonated drink that had been shaken hard and then unscrewed, exploding in a mighty manner.
Toronto, Murray reaches the top.
Cincinnati, Federer wins.
Djokovic, Toronto and Cincinnati all reached the finals but both lost.
This is definitely a scene that has not been experienced so far this year. ATP's melee situation seems to have reached a new peak in the North American season.
The point is not about Murray's championship or Federer's championship. Both are giant players. Their victories are very convincing and there is nothing worthy of doubt.
The point is actually that Djokovic's "weakness" ended his seven-game winning streak against Murray and his three-game winning streak against Federer. This is just a microcosm, reawakening his loss to Kovin in the Australian Open final and his loss to Wallin in the French Open final. In Ka’s memory, everything seems familiar——
There is no doubt that the stability and strength of the world number one are very dominant. All three majors this year have advanced to the finals. So far, all seven masters have entered at least the semi-finals except Madrid, which did not participate. Such performance is enough to stand out from the crowd. , deservedly ranked first in the world.
However, he has repeatedly encountered obstacles in the final stage. From Gawain to Wawrinka, more explosive and impactful players can always overthrow Djokovic; now comes the North American summer hard court season, from Murray to Federer, Both ended their losing streak, and it was the finals stage again.
So, what does this mean?
Of course, this is something Djokovic and his coaching staff need to consider, but there is no doubt that the competitive landscape at the US Open is wide open.
For the first three Grand Slams so far this year, the overall situation is relatively clear——
In the spring season, Gao Wen swept the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami.
During the clay court season, Djokovic and Murray entered Roland Garros undefeated.
In the grass court season, Djokovic and Murray once again maintained unbeatable victories at Wimbledon.
Of course, "complete victory" does not mean that the players will definitely be able to win the championship, but a situation, a situation, and the winning echelon will be clear at a glance. Although ATP is ushering in a full-scale melee between the Challenger League and Youth Storm, the overall Generally speaking, the focus of attention is relatively concentrated.
And now?
This time I came to Flushing, it was different——
There is no absolute strength, no leader, no favorite.
The only player who can be considered "undefeated" is Federer. His strong performance in reaching the top spot in Cincinnati without losing a set is indeed very convincing. However, Federer is absent from the Rogers Cup, and his physical and injury situation needs to be a question mark; It is impossible to say that there is a complete victory in one event.
After all, next is the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year; it is also the Grand Slam with the most accidents due to injuries, physical fitness, and mental pressure. No one has been able to defend the men's title for six years since Federer. A single champion, this is the most intuitive set of evidence.
Looking back on last year, Federer and Djokovic both stopped in the semi-finals. Even now, a year later, it is still shocking.
This year, the unknown reaches a whole new level.
Perhaps Federer, Murray, and Djokovic can be considered the first echelon, but everyone has their own shortcomings and their advantages are not obvious.
Perhaps, the Challenger League can bring surprises, from Toronto's Chady to Cincinnati's Dolgopolov, to Wawrinka and Gasquet who have significantly improved throughout the season, and Felipe Lopez, who is slowly recovering. Ci, Cilic, plus Nadal who is in an unknown state.
Perhaps Youth Storm can seize the opportunity again, not only Raonic, Dimitrov, Tomic and others, but also a group of younger stars, Tim, Zverev Jr., Coric, Ruble Lev, etc., there are also a group of players that I have not heard of yet.
Everything is possible.
At this moment, you can deeply feel the excitement of this year's ATP, which is about to reach a new height in New York. It really shows the situation of a hundred schools of thought contending among the heroes. The head-on collision between you and me will next be in Farah. Sheng ushered in the peak showdown at the top of the Forbidden City.
Who can reach the top?
Who can be a surprise?
Who can turn the situation upside down?
In fact, after Cincinnati ended, it can be seen from the world rankings that the highly anticipated and highly anticipated battle for the world's number one has temporarily come to an end. Djokovic was able to firmly control the world's number one until the US Open. With one throne, the biggest suspense has come to an end.
Although Gao Wen reached the semi-finals in Toronto, he unfortunately missed Cincinnati and was unable to further improve his ranking points; on the contrary, Djokovic performed well this year, just like the clay court season, and went further than last year's performance. Although he did not win the championship, his ranking Points rise instead of falling.
The gap just widened again.
First, Djokovic.
Second, Gawain.
Third, Federer, 9415.
Fourth, Murray, 8040.
The ranking position has not changed, but the score gap has changed very obviously.
The points gap between Djokovic and Gauvin, and between Gauvin and Federer, both expanded to more than 2,000 points. This is a very obvious gap.
In other words, in the next US Open, even if Gauvin defends his title and Djokovic is eliminated in the first round, the world's No. 1 position will not change; similarly, even if Federer reaches the top and Gauvin is eliminated in the first round, the world's No. 1 ranking will remain unchanged. The second and third positions will not change, everything will remain the same.
but!
Once Gao Wen is unable to defend his title, the points gap between Gao Wen and Djokovic will widen completely, and perhaps the suspense of being number one in the world at the end of this year can be ended early.
Officially because of this, although the world number one will not be out of position in a short time, the suspense of the world ranking is still worth looking forward to, which affects the trend of the entire second half of the season.
Fifth, Wawrinka.
Sixth, Kei Nishikori.
Seventh, Berdych.
Eighth, Ferrell.
Ninth, Nadal.
Tenth, Cilic.
Although not much has changed, Raonic has also fallen out of the top ten in the world like Dimitrov, while Cilic has quietly returned to the top ten.
Next, Cilic also has the US Open runner-up points to protect, which is also a severe challenge for Cilic.
Compared with Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the battle for world No. 1 is no longer the focus, but the melee scene where a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend is more exciting and more beautiful. Just analyzing it on paper, there are too many possibilities.
Just thinking about it, I can't control my excitement and excitement.
Among the giants, there are highlights and suspense about the giants, including Nadal, who is in a sluggish state.
Challenger League and Youth Storm also have their own points of view, and there are countless known and unknown situations.
There is a lot of hustle and bustle, but in this turbulent discussion, I always feel that something is missing. It doesn’t take much effort to find the crux of the problem——
Gawain.
Gao Wen has always been the focus of the topic since the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. When he came to the US Open, he was the center of attention. But now Gao Wen is still recuperating from his injury, and it is inevitable that he will feel a little lonely.
So, what about Gawain?
