Match Point

Chapter 1990: death group

The 2015 season is coming to an end. Who can have the last laugh at the ATP London Year-End Finals?

Perhaps, the WTA Singapore Year-end Finals can be used as a reference.

Exactly a week ago, the last WTA event of the year came to an end. However, Serena Williams, who has won three Grand Slam titles, was absent due to injury. This also overshadowed the event. It was supposed to be a sword-fighting event in Huashan, but instead It loses its meaning because of the absence of the most beautiful king.

The progress of the competition was even more shocking—

The two second-placed players in the group, Radwanska and Petra Kvitova, qualified with one win and two losses, but both had upsets in the semifinals, defeating the two top-ranked players in the group, Sharapova and Muguruza. The final also created an embarrassing history for the WTA:

For the first time in history, the final was played between two players who had one win and two losses in the group stage.

Especially in the semi-final between Sharapova and Kvitova, in the deciding set, Sharapova was far ahead "5:1" but lost the good game and suffered a comeback.

This also proves that the WTA season is chaotic. Serena Williams is the only one. Apart from her, the gap between the top 30 players in the world is very small. Whoever wins or loses cannot be said to be an upset. No one is absolutely sure of who they face. , the side once again witnessed Serena Williams’ unparalleled dominance.

finally.

A-Radwanska defeated Kvitova in three hard sets and won the most important championship in her career. After experiencing a terrible season, she rebounded strongly at the end of the season. A-Radwanska The inspirational story once again proves that anything is possible in the world of competitive sports.

Accident. Unpopular. surprise. Hustle.

From a positive perspective, the depth of the WTA is improving, the distance between seeded players is shortening, and there will be more and more exciting confrontations. Audiences and professionals alike, no one can ever predict who will win the game, such suspense It is undoubtedly the key to ensuring attractiveness.

But from a negative perspective, except for Serena Williams, the WTA no longer has a charismatic superstar like the ATP, which is not friendly to passers-by and audiences. The global appeal of the ATP is indeed climbing to a new peak, starting from the year-end finals in The popularity of discussions on social networks can be seen.

WTA year-end finals, A-Radwanska unexpectedly reached the top, which also gave a crucial revelation to the upcoming ATP year-end finals -

Never rule out the potential for an upset, that's the beauty of competitive sports.

What's more, in the ATP Huashan sword debate, the outcome is only a matter of millimeters, and it is far from being an upset.

Looking back at the four Grand Slams this year, when people discuss the favorites to win the championship, the situation before the game is relatively clear. Regardless of whether the final prediction is accurate or not, at least the pattern of the warm-up matches is relatively obvious. The situation is clear at a glance, and predictions including betting companies can also See clear grading.

However, this is not the case when it comes to the Asian season and the European indoor hard court season.

Djokovic and Gao Wen were the first to bear the brunt, and their overall performance and results were much higher. They all entered the finals of the events they participated in, either champion or runner-up. They continued their strong season and undoubtedly became the leaders in the final stage of the season. Sheep, form the leading group.

The point is, none of the other players are soft persimmons.

Federer performed poorly in the two Masters tournaments in Shanghai and Paris and was eliminated early, but Basel won the championship.

Wawrinka, Magic City and Basel performed mediocrely, but Neon won the championship and Paris' performance rebounded strongly.

Nadal, starting from the imperial capital and going all the way to Paris, has been improving steadily. Although he has not won any championships, his performance has fully recovered.

Murray is guaranteed to be in the top four in all competitions, but his two narrow defeats to Gowan should sound the alarm.

Overall, the status has been ups and downs, and the results have been good and bad. Entering the end of the season, the top players are also adjusting. The ups and downs are more obvious and drastic than at the US Open; but there is no doubt that this is not the first time for them to participate in the year-end tournament. In the finals, everyone adjusted their status step by step—

The ultimate goal is to reach the year-end finals.

At the same time, Ferrer, Berdych and Dimitrov as substitutes, are they really cannon fodder?

Not necessarily.

The situations of these three players are somewhat similar. Due to injuries or sluggish form, they all experienced a period of trough; until the Asian season began to slowly recover, they fought hard one event after another to try and break in, and finally returned to the game again. Back to the top ranks.

The situation is similar to that of A-Radwanska.

Perhaps, from the analysis of paper strength, Ferrer and Berdych are far from being the favorites to win, but neither is A-Radwanska.

What's more, the stability and impact of Ferrer and Berdych may also play a spoiler role and change the entire competition and confrontation pattern.

Lots of suspense!

It is precisely because of this that the attention of this year's year-end finals in London has reached an unprecedented level. Even before the event has kicked off, the traffic has already hit new highs. Discussions on social networks are abuzz, not only among fans, but also among the public. Just as excited.

—Exit the circle strongly.

Just for the group draw ceremony, the hashtag of the London Year-End Finals appeared in the top ten ranks of the global trend list. The popularity is extraordinary, almost comparable to the group draw of the Champions League finals. This is definitely the most popular in the history of the ATP Year-end Finals. It's the first time ever.

After all, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Unlike the Champions League finals, the eight players in the ATP year-end finals are divided into two groups. The possibility of a balanced distribution of players exists objectively but is indeed not high. This also means that one group will inevitably be easier and the other will be more thrilling. The importance of group draws is Sex is a cut above the Grand Slam.

Expectations and attention are naturally different.

This year's year-end finals in London, in order to commemorate two legendary tennis players, the event adopted new group names, namely the Stan-Smith group and the Ilie-Natasha group.

Amid the attention of tens of millions of viewers around the world, the group draws were announced—

Huh!

Take a breath!

There was a whirlwind of wailing and consternation on the social network. In just three minutes, it swept the screen. Even though I was mentally prepared, my heart still stopped beating.

Stan Smith Group: Djokovic, Federer, Berdych, Ferrer.

Ilye-Nastase group: Gawain, Murray, Wawrinka, Nadal.

this…

Unbalanced, this is a predictable result, but the imbalance is so serious that it exceeds expectations, causing social networks to explode.

Ilye-Nastase Formation, UU read www.uukanshu. com What kind of epic death group is this?

—Four Grand Slam champions?

—Two giants, one emerging giant, and one challenger leader?

—The four players with the best average performance during the Asian season and the European hard court season?

—Judging from the world rankings, second, fourth, fifth, sixth?

Stimulate.

This is really exciting!

Especially when compared with the Stan-Smith team, the craziness of the Ilye-Nastase team is further highlighted, and I can't help but start to doubt life.

Whoever shows up has a chance, literally.

The road to No. 1 in the world before Gawain is a hell-level mountain of swords and sea of ​​fire.

(End of chapter)