Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 176 The Most Precious Championship Before Retirement! Facing Nadal, the Ace
In an information technology college in Chang'an, although it was already evening, a number of young men and women had gathered in one of the classrooms.

"Look, look! The president seems to be coming out!"

"Brother Jiang is so handsome!"

"Old Jiang, he's actually kind of handsome!" Li Hua clicked his tongue and shamelessly added, "He's almost as good-looking as me!"

At the same time, Li Hua's mind was also somewhat dazed.

Back then, the two of them even joked about going to Wenzhou to watch Wimbledon.

As it turns out, Jiang Hong is now actually playing a match against Nadal on a stadium in Madrid.

Qin Province Tennis Team.

Inside the training room, two young men in their twenties sat in front of the television.

"Old Lin, I'm planning to retire!" Wang Cheng picked up his drink and clinked it against Lin Yu's before suddenly speaking.

"Huh? When did this happen? Didn't the coach say you had a good chance of getting ATP points?" Lin Yu was clearly surprised.

“There are only so many domestic competitions, and new talents emerge every year. It’s not easy to earn points.” Wang Cheng sighed, then smiled and said, “I’m graduating soon, and my family wants me to go back and get some experience so I can take over their responsibilities.”

As tennis players, most of them don't have to worry about not being able to make a living.

After all, learning tennis before joining a professional team requires a considerable investment and a certain level of financial resources.

However, suddenly having to give up my long-held dream still makes me feel a little sad.

Lin Yu remained silent for a while.

Wang Cheng reached out and patted Lin Yu on the shoulder, then suddenly raised an eyebrow and said, "Alright, Lao Lin, at least I have a trophy I can brag about. Even those professional players in the country are envious of us!"

"Huh?" Lin Yu didn't react immediately.

Wang Cheng grinned, "Have you forgotten that our name was on Lao Jiang's first trophy? Think about it, which other player in China has that kind of ability? And I also have a runner-up trophy."

Lin Yu couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

Thinking about it carefully, it's true. After all, losing to the number one Asian player and finishing as runner-up isn't shameful!
Lin Yu suddenly turned his head and said through gritted teeth, "You're really lucky, kid. If we had switched brackets, I would have been the runner-up!"

“Strength!” Wang Cheng raised an eyebrow, dispelling the somber atmosphere.

However, seeing Lin Yu's indignant expression, he quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Old Jiang has made his appearance!"

At this moment, in a residential area in Chang'an, an elderly man of about sixty years old tiptoed out of his bedroom, walked to the living room, and turned on the television.

She glanced back into the bedroom, still worried about being discovered.

While anxiously waiting for Jiang Hong to appear, a voice suddenly came from behind.

"You old man, getting up in the middle of the night to watch TV? Are you out of your mind?!"

Gao Jin turned his head and quickly put on a guilty smile, saying, "This isn't a competition for our school's students. As the principal, I can't be there to support them, but can't I cheer them on from in front of the TV?"

"Tch! They're big stars now, do you think they care about a lousy second-tier university student like you? They'd probably be fighting over you if you wanted to go to Tsinghua or Peking University!" Principal's wife, Wu Fang, said dismissively.

"What do you know? Xiao Jiang isn't the kind of person who snobs and favors the rich!"

Then came difficult-to-understand phrases like "Do you know what an alma mater is?", "Undergraduate studies are what make an alma mater", and "Schools are for teaching and nurturing students, not for comparing who is better or worse".

The two of them were used to bickering.

Suddenly, Gao Jin's eyes lit up, and he pointed at the TV excitedly, saying, "Did you see that? Did you see that? Our school..."

Wu Fang turned her head to look at the television.

In a small supermarket in a county town near Chang'an, a couple were not resting but sitting in front of the television.

"Look at you, you're almost turning into a panda!" Suddenly, Dad turned his head and looked at Mom's face, and couldn't help but laugh.

Mom glanced at Dad and said, "You're the same."

The two of them have been staying up late to watch Jiang Hong's matches lately.

And since the supermarket has to stay open during the day, the couple both turned into pandas.

Since the competition hadn't started yet, they chatted casually.

"Did you see that news yesterday? It said that Xiao Hong got confessed to by a girl in Spain. Do you think he might go back and find a Spanish wife?" Mom said with a smile.

“Those newspapers are always unreliable. They even said before that our family is very rich, which is why we raised Xiao Jiang so well. Don’t you know whether we’re rich or not?”

"Our Xiao Hong is so handsome, isn't it normal for someone to like him?"

“But he’s still too young…” Dad muttered in protest.

My mom immediately glared at me, "When you were this age, you were always coming to my house!"

Dad coughed, unable to keep up, and quickly changed the subject, "Let's watch TV, let's watch TV."

……

Jiang Hong gazed as he passed through the dimly lit players' tunnel and saw the bright lights piercing through the stadium.

Although he had previously played against Davydenko, who was ranked fourth in the world.

However, in later generations, Jiang Hong was not particularly familiar with his name.

Now, he faces Rafael Nadal, who will become one of the Big Three, dominating the tennis world for over a decade.

Having embarked on the path of competitive sports, one should naturally aim for the most beautiful summit.

Take the first step to conquering the tennis world, starting now!

The opening music from inside the stadium drifted into the players' tunnel.

"Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity..."

Jiang Hong walked steadily toward the court.

Amidst the clamor of the fans and the impending start of the match, Jiang Hong's blood seemed to begin to boil.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2007 Madrid Masters, Men's Singles Quarter-Finals."

The announcer's voice suddenly rose, and he forcefully pointed to the left player tunnel.

Jiang Hong walked through the players' tunnel and stepped into the Madrid stadium, where all the lights suddenly focused on him.

"First of all, let's give a warm round of applause to the biggest dark horse of this tournament, and today's challenger—Jiang Hong, who has a tour title, defeated Robredo and Nalbandian in succession, and opened the door to the quarterfinals with 52 aces!"

Wearing a white battle robe, the hem swaying with each step, black stripes extending upwards along the side seams of the trousers, simple yet neat.

The light shone through Jiang Hong's hair, illuminating his calm, confident, and youthful face.

If you look closely, you can also see the emblem of an information technology college in Chang'an.

This was something Jiang Hong asked Adidas to do; even a small sponsorship has to be displayed, right?

The Chinese fans who arrived at the scene immediately gave Jiang Hong a generous round of applause and cheers.

As soon as he finished speaking, the host turned around to face the other side, and his voice suddenly became excited.

"Next up on the court is our familiar Spanish legend, the King of Clay, three-time French Open champion, eight-time Masters champion, and the reigning champion of this match—let's give a roar of welcome to Rafael Nadal!"

At the same time, Queen's music reached its climax.

In that instant, the emotions on the field reached their peak.

Like a demon king, Nadal walked out of the court and raised his hand to wave to the stands.

Immediately afterwards, the Spanish fans in the south stand erupted in cheers, their red and yellow flags billowing and undulating like waves.

"LaFerrari, LaFerrari!"

It seemed as if they wanted to tear the entire stadium apart.

Although there were quite a few Chinese fans today, nearly two thousand in total, it was still far fewer than the number of Spanish fans.

However, since this is Spain, it would be abnormal if there were more of their own fans.

The match was indeed very popular, with almost all the cameras set up at the venue, more than in previous matches.

Jiang Hong looked at Nadal across from him. Although Nadal had an outstanding record, having won three consecutive French Open titles, he was only 21 years old and still very young, not much older than Jiang Hong.

While Jiang Hong was observing his opponent, Nadal was also watching him.

Although Nadal and Nalbandian have never played against each other and are not familiar with each other.

However, Jiang Hong is quite familiar with Robredo, his opponent in the second round.

Both are Spanish players and equally skilled on clay. They even partnered up for doubles at the 2004 Indian Wells Masters, where they even managed to defeat the Federer-Allegro pair.

Therefore, it's clear that Jiang Hong must have some skill to defeat Robredo.

Jiang Hong's eyes were filled with fighting spirit. Although his opponents were the three giants, they had not yet reached his peak.

Tennis matches are not so strictly hierarchical; it is quite normal for lower-ranked players to defeat higher-ranked players.

For example, at the 2006 US Open, he was defeated by Youzhny, who was ranked 54th in the world at the time.

At Wimbledon in 2006, he also played a thrilling five-set match against Kendrick, who was ranked 237th in the world at the time.

If others can defeat him, does that mean I, who has been reborn and still carries the system, have no chance?
Especially since it wasn't on clay, Nadal's strongest surface, but on hard courts.

After Jiang Hong put down his tennis bag, he was called to the net by the referee.

At this moment, Nadal's hair is still quite thick, and he even has long hair, making him look a bit like a young heartthrob.

The referee, holding the silver coin, looked up at the two men and slowly began to speak.

"Raphael, you make the choice first!"

Nadal, without much thought, smiled and exclaimed, "Face to face!"

"The other way around!" For Jiang Hong, it made no difference; it all came down to luck.

The referee tossed the coin into the air, and both Jiang Hong and Nadal lowered their heads to look at it.

"On the other side! Should I serve or receive?"

"Serve!"

It seems Jiang Hong was quite lucky, as he decisively chose to serve.

Nadal then chose the left side of the court, and after the two switched sides, they began their warm-up training.

While Jiang Hong was doing stretching exercises, he saw Nadal on the other side suddenly doing frog jumps.

Jiang Hong had heard about the other party's warm-up method before, and now he had seen it for himself.

However, Jiang Hong quickly looked away, because he couldn't afford to be careless in the match against Nadal.

If you lose a match because you didn't warm up properly and couldn't get into the game, then you'll be devastated.

Jiang Hong took out his racket from his bag, walked to his side of the court, and began to do his warm-up exercises in an orderly manner: stretching, shuttle runs, and high knees in place.

Every movement was serious and focused, and his eyes revealed a strong competitive spirit.

The atmosphere in the arena changed abruptly when Jiang Hong and Nadal began simple baseline rallies.

"Rafa! Rafa! Rafa!"

A rhythmic, thunderous cheer erupted from the entrance, instantly drowning out all other sounds.

Rafael Nadal, wearing his signature sleeveless shirt and pirate shorts, smiled and waved to fans in all directions from the stands, each wave eliciting an even more enthusiastic response.

"He really is a superstar!"

Although Jiang Hong received similar treatment when he was at the China Open.

Nadal turned to Jiang Hong and gave him an apologetic smile, indicating that they could continue practicing.

Jiang Hong certainly wouldn't have any objections.

The first few minutes were just the most basic, slow-paced bottom-line tug-of-war.

Nadal's hitting motion is fluid and rhythmic, with each shot carrying strong topspin. Even during warm-up, the ball bounces high and powerfully.

This is also one of his signature techniques.

Jiang Hong played very aggressively and without restraint, applying various spinning attacks continuously.

His hitting motion is flatter and faster, aiming for penetration, but sometimes he feels unable to generate power against Nadal's heavy topspin shots.

"Looks like I need to adjust my footwork and hitting point!" Jiang Hong thought to himself, pondering how to deal with Nadal's topspin in the match.

Gradually, the warm-up activities began to be upgraded.

Nadal began to incorporate forehand sidespin attacks, his signature overhead swing, accompanied by a whistling sound, as if the ball was being positioned, drawing a strong arc and crashing towards the baseline.

Spanish fans immediately stood up and cheered excitedly, and couldn't help but boo Jiang Hong a few times.

Jiang Hong was not to be outdone. He began to try to hit the ball more aggressively, as his current strength of 86 points was not something to be taken lightly.

He immediately unleashed several straight, deep baseline shots with his forehand, the ball speed was noticeably faster, and it landed on the hard ground with a crisp "thud".

This immediately caused a stir among Chinese fans, while many Spanish fans were also dumbfounded, wondering why Jiang Hong seemed even more formidable.
"As expected of the Masters tournament, even the warm-up is of such high quality!"

"Indeed, I feel that the quality of this warm-up could easily sweep aside those lower-level competitions in our country!"

Although the national team coaches were not present, they were watching the match closely. Upon seeing Jiang Hong and Nadal warming up, they couldn't help but remark on it.

"Hey Lao Xie, don't you even look at who's on the court? Nadal! It's already a miracle that China's men's tennis team can produce one Jiang Hong, do you really expect us to produce a whole bunch of them?!"

Another tennis coach standing nearby made a joke.

"That's true!" Xie Hong chuckled and nodded when he heard this, agreeing with the statement.

Although he currently holds the title of head coach of the national men's tennis team, he actually works as a coach for the men's doubles.

However, as a veteran tennis player, I am still proud of Jiang Hong's achievements.

Whether they were Chinese fans, Spanish fans, or just ordinary tennis fans, everyone in the audience fell silent.

Next up is a serve warm-up.

Nadal's serve is full of tension, with a high and stable ball toss. Although his absolute speed is not the highest, his spin and placement control are excellent.

Every serve landed steadily within the service court.

The cheers and shouts of the Spanish fans erupted once again.

Jiang Hong took the tennis ball from the caddie and returned to the baseline position.

He took a deep breath; his 89-point serve was his most relied-upon weapon in this match.

He tossed the ball, his body arched like a fully drawn bow, and then swung his racket with lightning speed!
“Swoosh—bang!”

The speed was so fast that the trajectory was almost invisible.

This serve silenced the somewhat noisy court for a moment, followed by a more noticeable and widespread discussion.

"Hahaha, this Chinese kid even said he was going to beat Nadal, but he kept hitting the ball out of the service court during the warm-up!"

"He was just bragging. Rafa will sweep him out of the game!"

"I think he's scared of facing Nadal!"

Even Nadal on the other side of the net stopped what he was doing and looked at Jiang Hong with a puzzled expression.

"Didn't the information say that Jiang Hong's serve is extremely powerful?"

"Is it really nervousness?"

Nadal kept his doubts to himself and decided to wait and see how Jiang Hong performed.

Jiang Hong seemed to be out of sorts today. He tried a few more serves, to the outside corner and to the body, and his power and speed were good, but he just couldn't get the ball into the service area.

Jiang Hong shook his head in frustration, then slowed down the ball before successfully hitting it into the service area.

The Chinese fans in the stands were starting to have doubts.

"Could it be that Xiao Jiang is really not in good condition?"

"After all, it's inevitable to be nervous when playing against Nadal."

"That's true, Jiang Shen is only 18 years old!"

Jiang Hong and Nadal practiced their serves a few more times, but his form still didn't seem to improve.

"Won't Jiang Hong be swept in this match?"

Jiang Hong's serve during warm-up seemed to cast a shadow over the match.

"End of warmup!"

With the referee's announcement, the warm-up time officially ended.

Jiang Hong carried his racket back to the rest area, unscrewed his water bottle, took a small sip of ice water, and a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

[Status: Excitement (Strength +5%, Speed ​​+5%, Errors +5%, etc.)]

C5's broadcast studio specially paired two people, but it wasn't that unconventional woman; instead, it featured Zhang Sheng and Zhan Jun playing together.

Normally, for such high-profile matches, the pairing would be a well-known professional player or coach with a proven track record.

Most of the time, domestic competitions will seek out Pan Bing, who once created the highest ATP ranking and best tour results for a Chinese player.

However, it's definitely too late now, so we can only have the two of them as commentators.

Zhan Jun's voice was transmitted through the broadcasting equipment to the ears of every viewer in China who was watching television.

"CCTV! CCTV!"

"Good evening, everyone. We are now bringing you live footage from the quarterfinals of the 2007 Madrid Masters at the Madrid Arena. Standing on the left side of the court is the Spanish star, Rafael Nadal, the three-time French Open champion!"

At this moment, Zhang Sheng chimed in, "Standing on the right is our country's renowned player, Jiang Hong. Today, he will challenge this world's number two ranked player. This will be a huge challenge for Jiang Hong, but also a wonderful stage to showcase his strength!"

Jiang Hong's challenge to world number two Nadal has already gotten domestic fans, and even those who were not optimistic about him but are now joining in the fun, somewhat excited.

However, during the warm-up, it was clear from his serve that Jiang Hong's form seemed off.

So, Zhang Sheng quietly pulled back the expectations of the viewers in front of the television.

The referee's voice rang out, and the match officially began with Jiang Hong serving.

"First set JiangHong to serve, play!"

Zhan Jun quickly announced, "The match begins!"

The entire stadium fell silent instantly, and the Spanish fans did not disturb Jiang Hong.

Perhaps he felt that Jiang Hong had no chance of winning against Nadal.

"Clap clap clap..."

On the court, only the sound of Jiang Hong hitting the tennis ball echoed in the air.

Jiang Hong took a deep breath.

"bring it on!"

Neither Nadal, Federer, nor Djokovic can stop me from forging ahead!
He tossed the tennis ball high into the air, his body arched like a fully drawn bow, and then suddenly exerted force.

"boom!"

In an instant, the tennis ball flew out like a cannonball.

In the inner corner of Zone 1, the speed is frighteningly fast.

Nadal reacted immediately and began to move.

But it's still too late.

The tennis ball hit the inside corner of the service court and bounced out of bounds quickly!

"An ace! The first point of the match! Jiang Hong scored with a serve that reached a speed of 210 kilometers per hour!" Zhan Jun's face was full of surprise. Jiang Hong didn't seem to be in very good form during the warm-up.

Zhang Sheng was grinning from ear to ear, after all, he had commentated on so many of Jiang Hong's matches.

I've never been stage-frightened, whether it's a big competition or a small one.

It was also a little strange that Jiang Hong was so nervous.

"Jiang Hong didn't show any fear facing Nadal; on the contrary, he was in superb form. He truly is a born player with a big heart!"

0: 15.

Jiang Hong clenched his fist after successfully serving the ball.

Nadal frowned, looked at Jiang Hong opposite him, and an idea popped into his mind.

Was his earlier tension all an act?

Nadal was right, but there was no reward.

Although Nadal did not underestimate Jiang Hong.

However, as a young man, he eventually became somewhat lax in the face of Jiang Hong's poor performance.

Nadal's eyes narrowed, he shifted his position, and lowered his body.

"Things won't be that simple from now on!"

The ball toss, the jump, the swing—all executed with fluid grace, without the slightest hesitation.

In an instant, a serve with strong sidespin to the outside corner shot out.

Not only is it very fast, but its bounce trajectory after landing is also very tricky.

After rushing to the serve area, he went straight for Nadal's backhand outside.

As the King of Clay, Nadal changed his footwork, quickly sliding laterally to maintain balance when hitting the ball, thanks to his powerful physique.

The backhand swing, with its heavy spin, made Nadal feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Even so, Nadal's return shot was of very high quality.

Draw a deep diagonal line directly to buy time for your return to position.

After moving quickly, Jiang Hong immediately cut the ball back with a backhand.

However, Nadal had already started moving the moment Jiang Hong hit the ball.

Having anticipated Jiang Hong's shot trajectory, the forehand was already poised to strike.

Once the tennis ball bounced to the ideal height, he immediately unleashed his signature super topspin arc.

Like a guided missile, it hurtled forward and crashed directly into the deep area diagonally opposite where Jiang Hong was standing.

"Rafa!"

Spanish fans cheered loudly even before the tennis ball flew into the court.

This is like Nadal's ultimate weapon.

Jiang Hong hits the ball with his backhand, but his center of gravity hasn't fully returned to normal yet.

Even so, he managed to pull his body back up by relying on his core strength.

The soles of the shoes pressed against the ground as they sped diagonally towards the opposite side.

squeak--

With a piercing sound, Jiang Hong suddenly appeared at the opposite corner.

"boom!"

With a strong twist of the waist, the racket is chopped down from top to bottom.

"Hit!"

With a flat shot, Jiang Hong unleashed his power instantly.

The tennis ball whistled through the air, leaving a blur, and rushed into Nadal's backhand opening.

At this point, Nadal's backhand was not yet at a top level, and he hastily hit the ball, sending it flying out of bounds.

30: 0!

Before the voices of the Spanish had subsided, the voices of the Chinese rose again.

"Jiang Shen, you're awesome!"

(End of this chapter)