Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 160 The No. 1 Seed Suffers a Shocking Elimination, Was It Due to Betting? (Please Subscribe)

"Game set match Jiang, 6-0, 6-0!"

The referee announced the results of the match, and Jiang Hong successfully passed the first round of qualifying.

"Brother Jiang, you're awesome!"

It was the first time Mark had ever seen Jiang Hongying compete live, and he immediately jumped up excitedly.

"Ah..." Fu Yunlong, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly sat up, looked around, and asked with a confused expression, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Mark turned around and said excitedly, "Brother Jiang won! And he won the game 6-0 twice!"

Fu Yunlong rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Old Jiang really went all out this time!"

After the match, Jiang Hong walked to the net and shook hands with Zimonjic.

With such a powerful serve, why not hold on a little longer?

It's not bad to use it as practice for hair extensions!
Zemonjic: I'm so sorry I couldn't make you have a good time!

After the match ended, Jiang Hong did not leave immediately because he planned to stay and watch the game.

It must be said that the qualifying schedule for the Madrid Masters was quite well arranged.

The two rounds of qualifying matches will be held from October 12th to 15th.

If it were like the Challenger Series back then, with two or even three rounds over two days, the players who successfully qualified for the main tournament would find it difficult to withstand the physical strain alone.

The next match scheduled is between Gulbis and Temuraz Gabashvili, and the winner of that match will be Jiang Hong's opponent in the next round.

Gulbis was the number one seed in this tournament, ranked 46th in the ATP rankings. Losing the match meant he was eliminated immediately, which shows how cruel professional tennis can be.

However, Jiang Hong is not worried at all. He is currently ranked 91st in the ATP rankings, while Temuraz is ranked 94th.

91st to 94th, the advantage is in my favor!
"Brother Jiang, who do you think has a better chance?" Sitting in the stands, Mark Jie handed over some water and asked curiously.

Before Jiang Hong could speak, Fu Yunlong spoke first.

"It must be Gulbis, right? He's the number one seed in the qualifiers, he can't be eliminated so quickly, can he?"

Jiang Hong shook his head. "Not necessarily, it depends on how well they perform!"

In reality, it wasn't Jiang Hong who carried the water.

On the one hand, short-term ATP rankings are not a reliable measure of a player's ability.

For example, Jiang Hong defeated world number five Davydenko when he was ranked ATP 300+ at the China Open.

For athletes, it is necessary to take into account their recent matches and physical condition.

Although the rankings of the two sides appear to be quite different, in reality, for professional tennis players, the gap between the top 20 and 100 is not that large.

A sudden burst of form at a certain stop on the tour could potentially cause a surge in rankings.

As expected, both sides played conservatively after the match started, resulting in a stalemate. In the end, Gulbis won the first set 6-4.

Fu Yunlong turned his head and said with a hint of smugness, "How about that? Old Jiang, I told you long ago, I'm not good at playing ball, but my eye for talent is pretty good, right?"

"The competition isn't over yet!" Jiang Hong ignored Fu Yunlong's smugness.

In the second set, Temuraz suddenly unleashed his power, leaving Gulbis unable to retaliate and winning the second set 6-1. The third set was another relentless onslaught, ending the match 6-2!
After watching the match, Jiang Hong stood up.

"Alright, let's go back!"

Watching the game live gives you a deeper understanding of your opponent compared to watching a video.

After returning to the hotel, Jiang Hong underwent a simple physical therapy session followed by some low-intensity training.

The physical exertion from the main matches is negligible, and I don't have a match tomorrow.

It's better to seize the time to improve yourself. Even last-minute cramming can be effective!

Of course, most importantly, Jiang Hong possesses training recovery potions.

Training will not deplete Jiang Hong's physical strength; on the contrary, it will help him maintain his skill level.

The first round of qualifying did not end until October 15th.

Jiang Hong's match was scheduled for October 15th, so there was a day free between the first and second rounds of qualifying.

Therefore, Jiang Hong is preparing for high-intensity training tomorrow.

The next day, Jiang Hong arrived at the training ground and practiced serving with the assistance of Mark Jie.

boom!
boom!
The sound of serves echoed continuously inside the tennis court.

"Hey buddy, how about we train together?" Suddenly, a curly-haired man in a white jersey called out from the side.

Jiang Hong stopped serving and looked at his opponent.

"Ma Su?"

Don't get me wrong, it's not the Chinese actress Ma Su.

One is table tennis, and the other is tennis.

This Massu is from Chile, and her name is Nicolás Massu!

Jiang Hong knew the other person because the other person was the champion of the men's singles and men's doubles tennis events at the Athens Olympics.

Ranked 74th in the ATP rankings, he is the 8th seed in this Madrid Masters qualifying tournament.

He has won six tour titles so far, all of which were on clay, which is consistent with the characteristics of a Latin American player who excels on clay.

Jiang Hong greeted the other party and eventually learned that Ma Su had seen Jiang Hong practicing his serve and assumed he didn't have a sparring partner, so she took the initiative to speak to him.

During the qualifying rounds a few days ago, Ma Su saw Jiang Hong's performance in the first round and felt that practicing with Jiang Hong would help her deal with powerful serves.

"No problem, we can practice together!"

Jiang Hong didn't have a sparring partner, so he readily agreed, since the two sides wouldn't meet in the next round of qualifying anyway.

Free sparring partners are always a good thing!
After all, it's not easy to find a sparring partner who's ranked in the top 100.

"In that case, let's have a practice match. I'll give it my all, and I hope you will too!" Ma Su said with a serious expression.

Jiang Hong smiled and nodded, "Of course."

The two people came to the two sides of the baseline, standing in a semi-open position, with their center of gravity low and their arms hanging naturally.

Suddenly, he threw the ball forward and above himself, pushed off the ground with his legs, and propelled his body like a long whip.

The serve was completed in an instant, all in one smooth motion.

"coming!"

Having seen Jiang Hong's serve before, Ma Su's eyes were fixed on the tennis ball. She started moving at top speed, took a step forward, and held the racket in one hand.

Before I could even get into position, the tennis ball was already hurtling towards my wrist.

Immediately turn your body to the side and pull your racket back one-third of the way.

He swung the racket hard.

call!
The racket was swung at nothing.

He was a beat too slow, and the tennis ball went right past him.

Ma Su shook her head; she was already very wary of Jiang Hong's serve speed.

Unexpectedly, we were still a step too late.

Ma Su took a deep breath, looked up, and gave a thumbs up: "Your serve is amazing!"

"I was in pretty good shape just now!" Jiang Hong shrugged.

For ace shots, the main factor to consider is the opponent's skill level.

As Ma Su gradually got into the game, the two began to fight fiercely.

As expected of a clay court player, his control over the landing point of the return shot is very precise, and his sliding steps are also very smooth.

However, the opponent's serving technique was rather average.

As Jiang Hong gradually became familiar with Ma Su's style, his offensive became more and more intense!

Masu quickly slid to her right baseline and hastily swung her racket to return the ball.

Jiang Hong completely blocked off the entire half of the area, and changed lanes quickly as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Jiang Hong moved Ma Su back and forth, seizing any opportunity that presented itself, and unleashed a powerful, deadly strike.

The tennis ball flew like a cannonball straight into Ma Su's open forehand side.

Ma Su's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly twisted her wrist, but it was too late.

The tennis ball hit the racket and bounced off.

"Wait... let's stop here for today!"

Ma Su quickly raised her hand, stopping the training session.

His hair and jersey were completely soaked, and he was panting heavily.

Throughout the entire training match, he was suppressed by Jiang Hong.

Whether running or rallies on the baseline, he couldn't utilize his strengths.

Because Jiang Hong is better than him in these aspects.

Ma Su felt that if she continued to play, she probably wouldn't even need to play in the next round of qualifying; she could just forfeit.

"Jiang, I think with your strength, the qualifying rounds are definitely not your end!" Ma Su walked over to Jiang Hong, carrying her racket.

Jiang Hong shrugged. "I think so too. I hope we can both make it to the main competition!"

Ma Su was taken aback because Jiang Hong was not quite the Chinese athlete she remembered.

"I hope we can all make it to the main event!"

Seeing that the other person looked like they were about to run away, Jiang Hong asked curiously, "By the way, Ma Su, are you free to train together tomorrow?"

After all, it wasn't easy to find a sparring partner, so of course I wanted to take full advantage of them.

Ma Su gave a wry smile, shrugged, and said, "Well, that depends on whether I can advance tomorrow!"

As soon as the opponent walked off the court, Jiang Hong noticed that the opponent's golf bag had been left behind.

Jiang Hong had no choice but to catch up with the other person and return the bag to him.

I heard that the other party seemed to have forgotten their Olympic medals at the hotel.

Jiang Hong didn't stop there; he continued training for a while after Marin left.

That afternoon, Jiang Hong received a phone call informing him that CCTV's broadcasting team had also arrived in Madrid.

Jiang Hong also had a meal with them.

The second round of qualifying began on October 15th.

There were significantly more people cheering for Jiang Hong today than before, because the entire CCTV broadcast team came to watch the game.

Of course, it wasn't a live broadcast of the match, but rather a message to cheer on Jiang Hong.

Jiang Hong felt no burden at all, sitting in the rest area waiting for the last match to end.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of me.

Jiang Hong looked up and realized it was his opponent for the day, Temuraz!

"Today's victory belongs to me!" His eyes were filled with hostility.

A player with a similar ranking to himself has two endorsements: Adidas and Head.

He was very unhappy that his current endorsements were for very small brands, not even a tenth of Jiang Hong's.

That's just how straightforward the Russians are!

Faced with the provocation, Jiang Hong certainly wouldn't hold back: "Winning or losing isn't about talking!"

"I have never lost to a Chinese player!" Temuraz said arrogantly, tilting his head back.

As a Russian player, he has participated in many competitions in Asia, and has encountered Chinese players several times in the Challenger Series.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hong chuckled: "What a coincidence, I've never lost to a Russian player either. The last one I lost to was Davydenko, I think he was ranked fourth. What about you..."

"I don't gamble on football!" Temuraz's face turned cold. "And I won't deliberately lose to you!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hong realized what was happening.

It seems that Davydenko was embroiled in match-fixing rumors during this year's Polish Open.

Before Davydenko withdrew from the match, a large sum of money was suddenly injected into the game. The ATP also intervened to investigate, but ultimately no evidence was found and the matter was dropped.

The implication of what the other party said was quite clear: Davydenko deliberately lost to Jiang Hong.

"Then let's see who's the best during the competition!" Jiang Hong said coldly.

(End of this chapter)