Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 154 A Chance Encounter with a Flying Man, How Envious! (Please Subscribe)

After ending the phone call with Li Hua, Jiang Hong felt much better.

I can just fight them back one by one; it's not like I won't have a chance anyway.

What I'm most worried about is some veterans suddenly having a breakout performance and knocking you out of the game, then retiring. In that case, you won't even have a chance to get revenge.

However, both Ferrer and Jiang Hong are currently in their prime, so they will have a chance to get revenge.

Although every athlete's goal is the highest honor, the championship.

But in reality, everyone sets a lower limit for themselves.

For example, when Jiang Hong participated in the China Open, his goal was to reach the quarterfinals and defeat world number four Davydenko.

But when you're on the court winning round after round, you always want to go one more step.

Overall, Jiang Hong's trip to the Tokyo Open was far from perfect, as he failed to win the most important prize.

But it's definitely not bad.

Earning 175 ATP points is similar to the China Open, along with $72000 USD. The champion receives more than double the runner-up prize money, a whopping $145,000 USD and 250 points.

That's how tennis is—the winner takes all!

For players from economically underdeveloped countries, without commercial sponsorships and endorsements, the only option is to compete at high intensity and become a bounty hunter.

This is where Jiang Hong's nationality advantage comes into play. The huge market attracts a lot of endorsements and sponsorships, and he doesn't have to fly all over the world every day for money or compete at a high intensity.

Many players flew to Vienna immediately after finishing the Tokyo Open to compete in the tournament.

Therefore, unless a lower-level player is exceptionally strong and wins multiple ATP Challenger titles, it is very difficult for them to enter the tour.

After all, top-ranked players are particularly competitive, and may even participate in two or three tournaments within a month.

"The Tokyo Open is over, so let's report our results to the coaches!"

Jiang Hong quickly logged into the forum.

[Let me update you all on my progress over this period. I started the Tokyo Open on October 1st and finished on October 7th. Unfortunately, I didn't win the championship. My total points increased from 287 before the tournament to 462, and I'm currently ranked 91st in the ATP rankings. Report complete!]

Jiang Hong then posted a group photo of himself and his fellow forum members taken during the competition on the forum.

"Not bad, not bad! (Feeling incredibly proud of myself for training such an amazing young Jiang, hands on hips)"

"Since he didn't win the championship this time, Xiao Jiang will be punished by winning another championship in the future!"

"Are you all just opportunists? You've stopped calling Jiang Shen now?"

"Little Jiang, you're awesome!!! (Now that you've said that, you can hit me now)"

These forum members are all talented and have great conversation skills. I love the forum!

……

The next day, newspapers were flying everywhere.

Jiang Hong narrowly lost to Ferrer, winning the runner-up title at the EastNet.

"Making Asian History: First Place, Runner-up at EastNet"

Losing the game, but winning over the fans.

Although mainstream newspapers have mostly praised Jiang Hong's achievements this time.

Of course, many tabloids also try to attract attention!

Has it been thoroughly analyzed and its upper limit reached?

He boasted before the competition that he would win the championship, but admitted afterwards that he was not as skilled as his opponents.

From China Open champion to East Open runner-up, the next "prodigy who failed to live up to his potential"?

"From champion to runner-up? Is that how you compare them? Does it mean that from a Hope Tour champion to a Grand Slam runner-up, everyone's skill level has declined?" Lee Gong was indignant about the report and expressed his dissatisfaction, even wanting to send a lawyer's letter as a warning.

Jiang Hong turned to look at Li Gong and said with a smile, "You're practically part of the entertainment industry, why are you so concerned about a single report?"

"Whether I'm a failure or not, we'll find out later!" Jiang Hong's eyes were filled with confidence.

Upon hearing this, Li Gong turned to look at Jiang Hong and found that he was indeed very calm and did not take these reports to heart.

"Little Jiang, you're really good at keeping your composure!" Li Gong turned around and chuckled.

Just then, a broadcast suddenly came from my ear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our plane is about to land at Pudong International Airport. Please fasten your seatbelts..."

After the competition, the group did not stay in Tokyo and went straight back to China by plane.

However, because I need to transfer in Shanghai, I can't fly directly to Chang'an.

After Li Gong got off the plane, he left. The other person was his agent, but he didn't need to follow him around all day, so the two of them had to part ways in Shanghai.

Since the flight to Chang'an was still some time away from taking off, Jiang Hong went to the first-class waiting lounge to wait for a while.

Jiang Honggang sat down, ready to listen to some music to relax.

This is not yet the era when the best Chinese songs of the future will have very few Chinese lines.

Just as Jiang Hong sat down, two people walked towards him. One of them was wearing sunglasses and was about the same height as him, so he was quite eye-catching!

"Are you Jiang Hong?"

Jiang Hong looked up and saw the other person, who looked quite famous.

His skin wasn't very good, and the more Jiang Hong looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.

"Liu Xiang?"

Jiang Hong blurted out instinctively, "Right now, who's the most popular person in the country? It's probably none other than Liu Xiang."

He has achieved a grand slam in his 110-meter sprint event, winning Olympic gold medals, World Championship gold medals, world records, and various other titles.

Liu Xiang took off his sunglasses, smiled, and extended his hand.

"Yes, it's me!"

Jiang Hong stood up, shook hands with the other person, and said with a smile, "Brother Xiang, hello! I didn't expect to run into you here!"

"I've heard your name recently. Didn't the Sports Bureau organize a meeting for the national team in mid-September? I was hoping to meet you then, but I didn't expect to run into you here!" Liu Xiang said with a smile.

Jiang Hong knew about the meeting, but he declined it.

Because of his special circumstances, the national team ultimately did not force him to go!
He shrugged and said with a smile, "I'm mainly self-employed. I also need to train and compete to earn prize money to support myself, so I don't go to the national team unless there's a competition. I mainly train at school. If I had known I could meet Brother Xiang, I would definitely have gone to join in the fun!"

"That's wonderful!" Liu Xiang's eyes were filled with complex emotions upon hearing this.

Jiang Hong wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he actually saw envy in the other person's eyes.

"Brother Xiang, where are you going?" Jiang Hong asked casually as the two chatted.

"I just got back from a competition in South Korea and I'm planning to go to the capital. What about you?" Liu Xiang said, sitting next to me.

Jiang Hong saw that Liu Xiang won the championship at the IAAF Grand Prix held in Daegu, South Korea on October 3!
"Oh, I saw the news earlier. Congratulations, Xiang-ge, on winning another championship! I also just finished the competition in Tokyo and am waiting for my flight back to Chang'an!"

Liu Xiang also saw the news about Jiang Hong's competition. "Didn't you win the runner-up title?"

“When I was your age, it wasn’t easy to win a medal. And tennis is so commercialized, the competition must be fierce. Don’t take what those reporters say too seriously. They just praise you and put you down. When you win a championship, they’ll rave about you, but when you lose, they’ll want to trample you under the ground.”

"To be honest, I envy you. You can choose your competitions based on your own condition. There are only a few important competitions in track and field each year. If you miss one, you may never have another chance in your entire career. So you have to push yourself to the limit!"

Halfway through his speech, Liu Xiang suddenly looked up and said, "Sorry, I think I've said a bit too much!"

Jiang Hong could tell that Liu Xiang wasn't entirely satisfied with his current situation either. "No, I'm actually quite grateful for your encouragement, Brother Xiang!"

Just then, his assistant reminded him that it was time to board.

"Okay, let's exchange contact information and talk later!"

After exchanging contact information, Liu Xiang left in a hurry.

……

Hyde China branch building.

Zhao Hui paced back and forth in the room, his brows furrowed.

Logically speaking, Jiang Hong's runner-up finish at the EastNet World Championships should be considered a significant achievement.

However, many tabloids and media outlets in China are so eager to attract attention that they practically want to smear Jiang Hong into the ground.

The endorsement contract they previously signed with Jiang Hong, as well as the advertisements, have already been edited out.

This time, they aimed to make Hyde's name known throughout China.

So they decided to spend a lot of money to air their ads directly on CCTV. They've even passed CCTV's review process for advertising.

However, I'm hesitant about whether to air it now.

Suddenly, Zhao Hui stopped and turned to look at Gao Yan beside him.

"Xiao Gao, do you think we should postpone the commercial break or proceed as planned?"

Frankly speaking, when faced with such a major decision, subordinates are generally better off saying something superficial and not offering any opinions.

After all, if there are problems with the final result, it's easy to be blamed and made a scapegoat.

However, Gao Yan was still a recent graduate, and he was still full of youthful vigor.

After gritting my teeth, I finally decided to speak my mind.

"I think it should be broadcast as originally planned!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hui raised an eyebrow and pressed him for an answer: "Why?"

"There are two factors. From a market perspective, our Hyde doesn't have a very good reputation in China right now, and we haven't even distributed much stock!"

"The licensing company is already preparing to start distributing the products, so we also need to cooperate with the promotion. This advertisement is our bargaining chip."

"Mr. Zhao, who do you think our target customer group is?" Gao Yan actually looked up and asked Zhao Hui a question.

“A tennis enthusiast!” Zhao Hui immediately replied matter-of-factly.

"Snap!" Gao Yan snapped his fingers. "That's right, our client is a tennis enthusiast."

"So currently, those who are misled by tabloids and think Jiang Hong's performance is not good are probably not tennis enthusiasts, and are basically not our customer base."

After all, every tennis enthusiast knows exactly what the Chinese men's tennis team's previous performance was like.

They actually looked down on a runner-up in a Tour Gold Series event.

Zhao Hui's eyes lit up instantly, realizing that Gao Yan's words made sense.

Nodding, he immediately said with relief, "You're right, I fell into a cognitive trap!"

I suddenly remembered the two reasons Gao Yan had just mentioned.

"What other reasons are there besides the market?" Zhao Hui turned his head and asked.

"It's about human relationships!" Gao Yan said seriously.

"Favor?"

“That’s right!” Gao Yan nodded heavily and explained, “We can all see Jiang Hong’s potential; he’s definitely not at his limit right now.”

"Our contract is only for three years, and for professional tennis players, three years will pass in the blink of an eye."

"If Jiang Hong's performance is outstanding, the competition will inevitably increase. Whether he chooses Hyde then will depend on personal connections!"

"We are releasing this advertisement at this time to prove that we at Hyde trust and support Jiang Hong."

"If Jiang Hong grows into the top 20, our endorsement scope will not be limited to China, but to the whole of Asia and even the world!"

The consumer market in Asia as a whole is also enormous.

That's right, Gao Yan directly painted a rosy picture for his boss.

Zhao Hui's eyes lit up, he nodded, and said firmly.

"We at Hyde have great faith in Jiang Hong and believe he will become a great player!"

Turning around, he pointed and said, "Give this to Director Wu, who's in charge of liaising with CCTV and us..."

Suddenly, he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll make the call myself!"

Gao Yan smiled as he looked at Zhao Hui.

To be honest, Gao Yan also had his own selfish motives.

Gao Yan has become a fan of Jiang Hong since the last China Open.

When Jiang Hong participated in the Tokyo Open, he didn't miss a single match every night.

Zhao Hui thought Gao Yan was just being proactive at work, and praised him.

While Hyde was struggling with his decision, Chen Bochong of Adidas was already popping champagne in his office.

As a sports brand, sponsoring star players is essential, and the global influence of tennis goes without saying.

They have been completely outmatched by Nike, after all, both Federer and Nadal are Nike players, and they have even fallen behind other brands in the tennis arena.

But that's a problem with headquarters. The trend Jiang Hong is showing is clearly moving towards becoming a top player, and he'll at least be in the top 20.

Although South Korea is indeed xenophobic, foreign celebrities have a relatively limited impact on the South Korean market.

However, Chinese sports stars are quite popular in Japan, and they have secured many endorsements from Japanese brands.

Signing Jiang Hong was definitely his own achievement, and with Jiang Hong's help, he even had a chance to take the throne of the Asian branch.

……

After Jiang Hong got off the plane, he felt the slightly dry air, but he felt very at ease.

He walked quickly out of the airport, just as he was thinking about heading back to school, when suddenly a voice called out to him.

"Little Jiang!"

Looking in the direction of the sound, I was surprised to see a familiar old man.

Jiang Hong was clearly surprised and quickly walked over.

"Principal, what brings you here!"

"As the pride of our school, of course I'm here to welcome you, this hero!"

He remembered that he only told the other party that he would be back today, but he didn't mention the specific flight time.

"Principal, how did you know I would be back?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Okay, get in the car and go back to school first, otherwise you won't be able to leave if someone recognizes you!"

Gao Jin, with a touch of childlike playfulness, shook his head and opened the car door...

(End of this chapter)