Latest URL: At the same time, in Lexington, a small town 700 miles away from New York, the 2014 Tennis Challenge is in full swing.
The three musketeers of the Bruins team have joys and sorrows.
Geelong's opponent in the first round was Austin Krajicek, who lost to Gao Wen in the round of 16 in the previous tournament. However, Geelong still could not adapt to the rhythm of professional competition and lost the game with a very different score. There are no chances, which makes Geelong very frustrated, and his confidence has been hit—
After the game, we practiced for two hours.
MacDonald ushered in a breakthrough. In the first round against Daniel Cox, who lost to Gawain in the quarter-finals of the previous tournament, he won the tiebreaker in the final set and successfully reached the second round; An upset victory over the third seed Sugita Yuichi, reached the quarterfinals, the performance is impressive.
It's a pity that McDonald tried his best to face Kokinakis in the quarter-finals. After saving three match points, he still lost two tie-breaks in a row and was out.
The final scores of the two tie-breaks were "9:7" and "10:8", which were very, very close, but it was a pity that they lost the game.
It's good news that MacDonald has seen progress despite failing to make it to the Final Four.
And Gawain?
It can be clearly seen that the long-distance running of professional games is more intensive and harder than that of ncaa. In addition, without the close follow-up of the coaching team, the ups and downs of the state are still uncontrollable. The entire training state and game feel are relatively slow, and it will take a while Get used to the vibe.
No wonder top players always say that the first round is always the most difficult, not because of the opponent, but because they are not the one they are familiar with.
In the first round, Gao Wen narrowly beat the eighth seed Hiroki Moriya in three sets. Although the score of the third set was "6:2", he easily won; but the first set was "1:6", and he was completely out of shape. The final victory was also due to the limited strength of the opponent, which ensured that Gao Wen escaped the danger.
In the second round, facing Odensnik, the top four player in the last match, although Zverev Jr. took his opponent lightly last week, it is clear that Odensnik is in good condition now. Falling into a tough fight again, Odensnik easily won the first set "6:2", pushing Gao Wen into a difficult situation again.
Now Gao Wen can feel the pressure of the professional tour more and more clearly. On the one hand, it is his own fluctuations, and on the other hand, the strength of his opponents. It is not easy to maintain a strong state from time to time. thing.
Fortunately, Gao Wen was young after all, and he adjusted quickly.
"6:4", "6:4".
Gao Wen won two sets in a row, defeated Odensnik and broke into the quarterfinals.
After two consecutive fierce battles, Gao Wen finally got used to the climate and environment of Lexington, and his state and feel finally returned to the familiar track.
First defeated the Irish player James-McGee in straight sets, and then eliminated the fifth-seeded British player James-Ward (James-ward) in two sets, reaching the final of the Challenger League for the second consecutive week.
On the final stage, Gao Wen faced the sixth-seeded Australian player James Duckworth.
Duckworth defeated compatriot Kokinakis in the semi-finals, making "Korkinakis vs Gawain 2.0" unfortunately unable to be staged, but Duckworth's first three Grand Slams this year have all reached the main draw , is obviously in a period of rapid rise. Judging from his current strength and state, his defeat of Kokinakis is a matter of course.
Sure enough, the fierceness of the final also proved this point.
Gao Wen won the first set "6:3", and then Duckworth made a strong counterattack in the second set "6:4", tying the big score and forcing the two sides to enter the deciding set.
This is already the third test of the final set that Gao Wen has faced this week. In addition, he has reached the final for two consecutive weeks, and the test of physical strength is very severe.
In the deciding set, Duckworth took the lead to break serve and once led "4:3". Even though Duckworth saved two match points in a row, Gao Wen, who performed better at the critical moment, broke serve at the third match point and won the game.
The final score was fixed at "6:4".
For the second week in a row, Gao Wen won the championship with his wonderful performance!
Moreover, compared to Binghamton, Lexington's championship is more difficult and more precious, because Gao Wen faced the test of long-distance travel for the first time. Although there were some fluctuations in his state, Gao Wen still defeated himself and defeated his opponent , had the last laugh all the way.
However, Gao Wen still couldn't rest, and didn't even have time to celebrate. He returned to California non-stop and participated in the competition for the third consecutive week.
Unlike Binghamton and Lexington, this challenge held in the California town of Aptos is the highest level so far.
The lottery is also 32, but the total prize money of the event has been doubled to 100,000 US dollars; and the points of each round have also increased accordingly. The champion gets 100 points and the runner-up gets 60 points. In the competition, this is the third level, and naturally the lineup is different.
The number one seed is Mikhail Kukushkin, who is currently ranked 180th in the world, and the quality of the entire event level has risen to a higher level. Moreover, he has reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013. He reached the third round of the U.S. Open in 2010 and is undoubtedly a tour-level player.
The second seed is Marcos Baghdatis (-baghdatis), the 2006 Australian Open runner-up, the 2006 Wimbledon semi-finals, and a career-high ranking of eighth; despite ups and downs due to a series of injuries , but in 2010 the world ranking reached the top 20 again.
In addition, the Hungarian player Marton-fucsovis (marton-fucsovis), who broke into the top 40 in the world in 2019 and has been performing steadily since then, also appeared in the draw, ranking as the eighth seed.
To put it simply ~www.mtlnovel.com~ the entire lineup can feel the pressure coming, especially compared with Binghamton and Lexington, it can be clearly felt that the closer the US Open is , There are more and more players who have the ability to pass the qualifying test and enter the main match, and they all need to find their status through the challenge match.
That's why Geelong and Macdonald returned to Los Angeles early after being eliminated in Lexington, and then headed straight to Aptos to prepare for the event.
And Gao Wen, who had been fighting until the end, changed his plane all the way that night after winning the championship, arrived in Los Angeles in the early morning, and then rushed to Aptos alone.
Celebrating a championship?
Still need to wait.
But Tobias, who was far away in New York, was able to celebrate Gao Wen's second championship trophy, because compared with the previous week, his chips had increased a bit.
Time to talk to adidas again.
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