Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 153 Even a fledgling eagle that hasn't flown over mountains has the courage to spread its wings again.

"So far!"

Jiang Hong watched the tennis ball rushing towards his back baseline, quickly turned around to chase it, leaped into the air, and the tennis ball drew a streamlined line, passing through the head of his racket.

boom!
“Game set match费雷尔，6-4，5-7，6-7（5:7）。”

Zhang Sheng remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"The match ended, and the referee announced the result. After three hours of fierce battle, Ferrer won the tiebreaker and claimed the Tokyo Open title. In the first set, he took the lead with his excellent return of serve and varied tactics. In the second set, Jiang Hong fought back with his tenacious will and quick footwork. The two went to a tiebreaker in the third set, and in the end, Jiang Hong lost to Ferrer!"

"In just over a month, Jiang Hong has brought us so many surprises and so many firsts!"

"The first time a Chinese athlete has reached the ATP Tour final, the first time a Chinese male athlete has lifted a Tour trophy, the first time a Chinese athlete has entered the ATP rankings of the top 150..."

"This journey has been so dreamy and so sweet!"

"However, that's the cruel reality of professional tennis; failure is an unavoidable hurdle."

"Like a fledgling eagle that has never flown over a high mountain, it does not lack the courage to spread its wings again!"

"This is a view that Chinese male tennis players have never seen before, so we can still smile."

"Finally, please allow me to ask our viewers to give a round of applause to Jiang Hong, to this 18-year-old boy who represents China and is fighting alone on the world tennis stage. I believe he will bring us even more surprises!"

After Zhang Sheng finished speaking, he clapped by himself.

Just over a month ago, Chinese fans were simply hoping that one player could establish himself on the ATP Tour.

But in the blink of an eye, they are looking forward to China's tennis world winning its second tour championship trophy.

"Ferrell!"

"Ferrell!"

"Ferrell has won the men's singles title at this year's Tokyo Open..."

The tournament announcer shouted out the result with a passionate voice, and Ferrer's name echoed throughout the stadium.

Jiang Hong lowered his head when he embarked on the path of professional tennis.

Facing defeat and losing a game is something that is inevitable.

However, when failure came for the first time, Jiang Hong felt as if a weight was pressing down on his heart.

Jiang Hong suddenly raised his head, looked at the sky, and took a deep breath.

I want to make the sweat from the corners of my eyes flow back!
He hastily wiped the sweat from his face, turned around, and went to the net, waiting for the champion of the match.

Ferrer celebrated excitedly; even for him, a tour title was an honor.

Jiang Hong is not so incapable of admitting his own failure.

After celebrating, Ferrer finally remembered Jiang Hong and turned around to walk up to him.

The two people extended their hands and shook hands.

"You're very strong. If we had another match, the championship might have changed hands!" Ferrer said with a smile.

The victor can say some magnanimous things, but it is foolish for the loser to be complacent about it.

Jiang Hong shook his head and said with a smile, "A loss is a loss. Time won't give us a second chance. Congratulations!"

"I hope we'll have another chance to face off next time!" Jiang Hong said, raising his head with a determined look.

"Most definitely!"

Ferrer, a veteran tennis player with many years of experience, certainly understands Jiang Hong's feelings.

After losing to an opponent, you naturally hope to win next time.

His words weren't meant to comfort anyone; although the professional tennis world is vast, it's actually quite small.

Because the number of players participating in the tour is fixed, and the tournament schedule is very tight, top-ranked athletes are destined to meet frequently.

At this moment of triumph for the victor, Jiang Hong certainly wouldn't stand here in the way.

Since the awards ceremony was still a while away, Jiang Hong decided to go to the changing room to take a shower first.

Before he could even step into the players' tunnel, several voices suddenly emerged from the stands next to him.

"Little Jiang, have you forgotten about us?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hong turned around and saw his fellow forum members waving at him.

He paused for a moment, then turned around and walked to the net.

"Xiao Jiang, you haven't signed any autographs for us yet!" Ma Yue immediately handed over a tennis ball and said with a grin.

Jiang Hong, of course, would not refuse.

After receiving the tennis ball and pen, he quickly signed his name on them.

"Xiao Jiang... um, I'm a little older than you, so I'll just call you that. Actually, you're already very good. Apart from you, no other Asian athlete has been able to step onto the court for the Tokyo Open finals." Ma Yue coughed, trying to comfort Jiang Hong.

Jiang Hong was quite touched; the fans were actually responsible for comforting the athletes!
"Don't worry, I'm not that easy to defeat. We forum members are all about mental fortitude!" Jiang Hong grinned and said.

The girl next to her immediately objected, saying, "Are you saying we're shameless?"

"That's not what I meant!" Jiang Hong waved his hand, then coughed and looked at the people in front of him, saying, "Thank you for your support!"

"Alright, Xiao Jiang, let's take a picture together!" Ma Yue immediately picked up his camera and said with a grin.

Jiang Hong reached out and grabbed the camera, taking a group photo with several people in the stands.

"I just finished the game, I need to clean up first!" Jiang Hong explained to the others before walking into the players' tunnel.

Watching Jiang Hong's retreating figure, one of the girls muttered something to herself.

"I feel like Xiao Jiang looks even more handsome before the competition!"

Another person next to him immediately pinched his chin and analyzed, "Maybe it's because Xiao Jiang had a smooth journey all the way, and hadn't even lost a single game, which felt unreal. After losing this game, he actually felt more real, and he also gave people a sense of resilience."

Jiang Hong was unaware of the opinions that netizens had for him.

As I entered the players' tunnel, I saw Li Gong and Fu Yunlong running over.

Before signing a contract with Jiang Hong, Li Gong had carefully reviewed Jiang Hong's background.

He was a champion in the ITF Hope Tour Shanghai and Guangzhou, the ATP Wuhan Challenger, and even the China Open!

This was Jiang Hong's first loss since he started competing.

If Jiang Hong becomes discouraged and loses his temper because of this loss, then he's finished.

"Xiao Jiang, this is just an ordinary tournament. You'll be participating in more than a dozen tournaments every year from now on!" Li Gong coughed, preparing to comfort Jiang Hong.

Fu Yunlong, standing to the side, nodded and said nonchalantly, "That's right, you'll have plenty of opportunities to lose then!"

"Cough cough!" Jiang Hong couldn't help but cough and looked up at Fu Yunlong.

You're so good at comforting people, thank you so much!

"After all, Lao Sun and Lao Yu lose about ten games every year. If they were upset about losing, they would probably be depressed by now!"

Sun Peng and Yu Xinyuan: 'I'll be on the job at 8 AM!'

Jiang Hong now suspects that Fu Yunlong has excellent skills but has never been given special opportunities, probably because of his mouth.

Jiang Hong was worried that if she continued to be comforted, she would actually become depressed.

So he quickly raised his hand and said, "Hey, hey, alright, alright, I'm not that fragile, don't worry!"

Fu Yunlong turned around and shrugged at Li Gong. "See, I told you, Jiang Hong will definitely be fine!"

"After all, he's so arrogant in interviews, he must have been mentally prepared!"

"..." Jiang Hong silently quickened his pace.

"Jiang!" Suddenly a dark figure appeared and rushed towards him.

Jiang Hong quickly reached out and refused the bear hug from the burly Eastern European man.

Bertans wasn't disappointed that he hadn't managed to hug Bertans; instead, he said with excitement.

"Jiang, you got the runner-up title at the Tokyo Open. Do you want to go celebrate? The competition is over!"

Bertans simply couldn't understand why an 18-year-old boy would be unhappy about winning the runner-up title in an ATP Tour event.

After all, his best result so far is reaching the quarterfinals of a tour event!

However, before Jiang Hong could speak, Li Gong jumped out.

"Bertans, here's the thing, the company has temporarily assigned you to be a sparring partner for another player, so you probably won't have time!"

Bertans didn't react much to the news.

After all, being a sparring partner for a professional player is destined to be a short-lived experience.

Jiang Hong said a few words casually, then went back to the locker room to take a shower.

Not long after, a staff member from the organizing committee ran in to inform Jiang Hong that the awards ceremony was about to begin.

Jiang Hong could only attend, so he walked to the center of the court and stood next to Ferrer.

The only consolation was at the Tokyo Open, where both the champion and runner-up trophies were plates.

The difference is that the champion's plate is larger, while the runner-up's plate is smaller.

Moreover, the patterns on them are not quite the same.

If the other team wins a trophy, you'll be the one carrying the tray...

However, the runner-up didn't feel good, especially when taking photos.

The runner-up is the biggest loser.

Many people turned off their TVs the moment the game ended.

Many people were also quietly watching the boy on TV.

Six months ago, everyone was hoping to see Chinese athletes on the ATP Tour. Now, Jiang Hong has won one championship and one runner-up title. What more could you ask for?

[Yes, Xiao Jiang is only eighteen years old now, he has a bright future!]

[Keep it up, Xiao Jiang! With so many competitions every year, winning and losing is normal!]

Even Federer and Nadal couldn't remain undefeated all year.

There wasn't a strong reaction on the fan forums to Jiang Hong's loss.

After the awards ceremony ended, Jiang Honggang left the stadium and was immediately informed that there would be a press conference.

As soon as Jiang Hong entered the room where the press conference was being held, it was immediately filled with flashes of light from various cameras.

After Jiang Hong sat down, the interview officially began.

They spotted CCTV immediately and singled them out.

"Hello Jiang Hong, you performed wonderfully today and brought us a fantastic match!" The reporter didn't ask any questions directly, but instead praised Jiang Hong first.

"Thank you!" Jiang Hong said calmly.

"Did your loss today have anything to do with the intensity of yesterday's match and your lack of stamina today?"

Jiang Hong raised an eyebrow, not expecting the reporter to actually help him find an excuse.

"The match was fair. Yesterday's excessive exertion shows that my ability to finish the match is not yet sufficient. Besides, Ferrer also had a match yesterday. Moreover, physical fitness is part of one's own strength. There's nothing to say if you're not as skilled as your opponent!"

A loss is a loss; we can always come back stronger next time.

Is he going to try to turn the tide with his words at the post-match press conference?

The reporter had intended to offer Jiang Hong a way out, but unexpectedly, Jiang Hong jumped right off the bat.

Everyone was somewhat surprised by Jiang Hong's candor.

"Okay, thank you for your answer!"

After CCTV finished asking its questions, a reporter immediately raised his hand to speak.

Jiang Hong glanced at what appeared to be domestic media, and finally nodded to indicate that they could ask questions.

The reporter immediately seized the opportunity to begin asking questions.

"Hello Jiang Hong, how do you feel about losing the match?"

"It must be painful, after all, no one can be happy after losing a game!"

"Before the competition, you said you were confident of winning the championship. If you had the chance to do it again, would you change your statement?"

This reporter is clearly setting a trap for Jiang Hong.

“No, if a player stands on the final stage but their goal isn't the championship, then they should withdraw from the competition, and the result would be the same!” Jiang Hong said calmly, then countered, “What do you think?”

"Uh!" The reporter paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement, saying, "You're right!"

After answering a few more questions from other reporters, Jiang Hong concluded the interview.

Back in the hotel, Jiang Hong had just lain down when his phone suddenly rang.

I picked it up and took a look, and found that it was Li Hua calling!
As soon as the call connected, a cheeky voice came through the other end.

"Hey, Lao Jiang, you're not having too much fun in Tokyo and don't want to come back, are you?"

"Are you sure you're not just here to watch the show?" Jiang Hong was very suspicious of the guy's purpose in calling.

"How could that be!" Li Hua immediately denied it, then changed the subject: "I mainly wanted to ask if you remember sending me comics!"

This guy is really honest!

"Don't worry, you'll get your share of comics!" Jiang Hong said, pursing his lips.

"That's good!" Li Hua chuckled twice, then continued, "Okay, come back early after the match. It's just one lost game."

"Old Jiang, even though you've won so many championships, you're still my defeated opponent. I've decided to test your skills when you get back to school!"

Jiang Hong was stunned when he heard this. After his rebirth, his first match was against Li Hua. Because he hadn't played tennis for years, he lost to this guy by a hair's breadth.

Later, when Jiang Hong awakened the system and trained hard, intending to avenge his previous defeat.

After that, Li Hua always avoided playing against him, always making excuses like he was in bad form, in a bad mood, his racket was bad, or he had diarrhea.

He always told Jiang Hong that Jiang Hong had not defeated him and was still his defeated opponent.

This time, he actually called for a test of his skills, probably because he saw Jiang Hong lose the game and was trying to comfort him.

Jiang Hong chuckled, "Alright, wait until I get back and show you what it means to be China's number one tennis player!"

"Tch! The number one tennis player in China is also my defeated opponent..."

(End of this chapter)