Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 189 Off-field factors lead to victory; post-match urine test
"Return ball out of bounds, return ball out of bounds, OUT! What a beautiful sound!"

"Jiang Hong won! Jiang Hong has triumphed!"

"He won in straight sets, defeating world number three Novak Djokovic in a thrilling Madrid Masters semi-final to advance to the Madrid Masters final!"

"An incredible match, an unbelievable result."

"Dear viewers, you have witnessed a miracle."

Zhan Jun shouted excitedly into the microphone.

Zhang Sheng, standing to the side, became somewhat incoherent.

"A miracle, a miraculous victory!"

"I've been commentating on tennis matches for so many years, and this is definitely the most exciting match I've ever played."

"Dear viewers, please remember this moment, remember the name Jiang Hong, he has made history!"

"The first Chinese player to reach the ATP Masters Tournament, and also the first Asian player to reach the ATP Masters Tournament final."

"Let's give Jiang Hong the warmest applause!"

Zhang Sheng and Zhan Jun's voices reached every household across the country through television.

No Chinese player has yet reached the final of a Masters or Premier Mandatory tournament; this is the best result achieved in both men's and women's tennis.

Instantly, countless viewers watching on television couldn't help but shout out.

The tennis forum was instantly flooded with messages.

Awesome!

Jiang Hong won; he beat Djokovic.

Here we come for the ATP Masters final.

I don't want the 100 yuan anymore, I'm just happy!

[Upstairs, can't you count?]

Six months ago, men's tennis players were mostly playing in Challenger or Futures tournaments, but now we have players reaching the Masters final.

It's not that male tennis players have gotten stronger, it's just that Jiang Shen has become stronger.

[Jiang Shen has suddenly appeared, and the Purple Star has descended from the heavens!]

The audience was happy and excited for Jiang Hong's victory.

"Game set match, Jianghong 6:2, 6:2!"

The referee's voice rang out.

Jiang Hong stood there, panting, his mind blank.

Won?

I won!
He defeated Novak Djokovic, the future greatest tennis player!
Perhaps many people feel that this match is not as important as defeating Nadal.

After all, Nadal is a three-time French Open champion, although Djokovic has already emerged as a rising star and reached world number three.

However, it meant something different to Jiang Hong.

The Golden Road: 2/3!

This was the goal Jiang Hong set before the competition.

Only Federer remains as the current number one player in tennis.

Although he was filled with excitement after winning the match, Jiang Hong did not celebrate wildly.

Because I am just too tired right now.

Although on the surface, the score between Jiang Hong and Djokovic appears to be very lopsided.

But in reality, Jiang Hong knew that his victory was by no means easy.

Even the slightest oversight could lead to a reversal of fortune.

It can be said that in every game, there were break/hold points, tie points, and break/hold points.

Now, even breathing feels like my throat is about to burst into flames.

After catching his breath, Jiang Hong walked towards the net.

At this moment, Djokovic was already waiting for Jiang Hong.

Although he was very frustrated after losing the game, he once felt that he had a great chance and in the end he did not feel the despair of losing.

Perhaps Jiang Hong has been slowly boiling the frog in water?

Despite smashing his racket and taking a medical timeout during the match, he still showed sportsmanship afterward.

As Jiang Hong drew closer, a smile spontaneously appeared on his face.

"Jiang, congratulations, you've successfully defeated me."

"But I failed to fulfill my pre-match promise."

After all, before the match, Djokovic said he would defeat Jiang Hong to reach the final and eventually win the championship.

"Looks like I'm in luck!" Jiang Hong said with a light laugh.

Djokovic shook his head and corrected him, saying, "This isn't just luck; it's your skill."

"I was too careless in this match. Next time, I will defeat you and get my revenge!"

Although Djokovic was making tough statements, he didn't come across as offensive.

Jiang Hong shrugged and said, "I believe I will be stronger by then. If you want to defeat me, it won't be that easy."

Djokovic covered his head with his hand and laughed: "Oh, brother, improving your strength isn't that simple. You might not only fail to improve after two months of training, but you might even regress."

This is indeed the case for regular players.

Top players often seek to improve their skills through technical modifications.

However, technological upgrades are not necessarily a good thing; on the contrary, they may cause one's skill level to decline.

However, who can blame him when Jiang Hong is such a cheat code?

Who knows!

Djokovic didn't dwell on the issue. He looked up at the fans in the stands and smiled.

“Jiang, those Spaniards are mocking me today, but tomorrow it’ll be your turn to mock them.”

After all, Jiang Hong's opponent tomorrow, Federer, is definitely the most popular player right now.

"Who cares!"

In any case, Jiang Hong can be said to have gotten used to being ridiculed.

He doesn't care whether the Spanish fans are mocking or cheering him on.

Djokovic took a breath and then said, "I hope you can win the championship tomorrow and enjoy your victory."

After speaking, Djokovic turned and left the court. Although he didn't care, he was still uncomfortable with the boos from the Spanish side.

For the victors, it's a chorus of cheers and shouts from the entire stadium.

"Jiang Hong, Jiang Hong, Jiang Hong!"

After listening with his eyes closed for a while, Jiang Hong really enjoyed the feeling of victory.

The Chinese fans were very excited, as they had hoped to get a front-row seat and interact with Jiang Hong.

Who knew that the Spaniards would abandon all martial ethics this time and simply surround the front row.

"Hey Jiang, I've been cheering you on!"

"Here comes a young man from China!"

"Give me an autograph."

"..."

Although these Spaniards didn't like Jiang Hong before the match, they've completely changed their attitude after this game.

After all, eliminating Djokovic can be considered as helping Nadal complete his elimination.

Moreover, no matter how unwilling they are to admit it, no one can deny that Jiang Hong will become a top player, and perhaps he already is.

"Hey friend, can I have a few tennis balls?"

Jiang Hong turned around and spoke to the caddie on the sidelines.

The caddie immediately ran to Jiang Hong's side, took out four tennis balls, and handed them to Jiang Hong.

"Thank you!"

Just as Jiang Hong was about to leave, he saw the caddie hesitate for a moment and then suddenly speak.

"Jiang, could you please give me a tennis ball?"

After speaking, she looked at Jiang Hong with anticipation.

"Of course, no problem!"

Jiang Hong shrugged and readily agreed.

Then, he took out a pen and wrote the other person's name on their clothes with a flourish.

"goodbye!"

Jiang Hong turned around and walked to the front of the stands, only to find that the Chinese fans had been squeezed to the back.

His eyes darted around, then fixed their gaze on the crowd of Chinese fans.

He immediately hit the tennis ball into the net with his racket, then threw two more rackets, but in the end he still signed autographs for the group of Spanish fans.

Several well-built Spanish models even slipped a note into Jiang Hong's hand while shaking hands.

Jiang Hong glanced at it and realized it was a phone number and a hotel room number.

Jiang Hong knew from the past that those famous models really liked athletes.

I never expected that I would be targeted as well.

Jiang Hong promptly threw the note away, not because he was indifferent to women.

These models are not easy to approach; they have quite a few tricks up their sleeves.

Before you know it, Jiang Hong is about to become a prisoner.

Moreover, he has his most important game tomorrow, so Jiang Hong won't let his brother control his brain and make his legs tremble on the court tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the reporters kept taking pictures of Jiang Hong.

We won! We won again!
One more win and we'll be champions.

They didn't care whether it represented anything or not; the main thing was that Jiang Hongying's competition would generate a lot of buzz!

In the end, the fan club on Tieba managed to squeeze out an opportunity to interact with Jiang Hong.

As is customary, I will be interviewed by the organizing committee again.

Jiang Hong turned around and found that it was an old acquaintance!

It's still Carlos Reyes, a veteran host from ESPN.

Jiang Hong now suspects that this lousy TV station is targeting him.

"Jiang, it's great to see you again. First of all, congratulations on winning another incredible victory." Carlos gripped the microphone tightly and spoke quickly as he began his opening remarks.

"Thank you!" Jiang Hong could tell that the other party had ill intentions.

When the other person said "unbelievable," they deliberately emphasized it.

Jiang Hong glanced at the other person and said, "I don't think this is an incredible match, because tennis is unpredictable, and any result can happen."

Carlos also understood the meaning behind Jiang Hong's words.

His eyes shone even brighter; one could say that the more Jiang Hong reacted, the happier he became.

"That's right. Yesterday, you had a very tiring match with Nadal, but today in your match against Djokovic, you didn't show any signs of fatigue."

"How did you manage to recover your physical condition in such a short time and unleash such an amazing serving performance?"

"This is simply...contrary to everyone's common sense of science!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hong cursed inwardly. These reporters are truly insidious!

They were subtly implying that Jiang Hong had actually used some kind of illegal substance to recover so quickly.

“Mr. Carlos, you’ve been observing my match very closely.” Jiang Hong glanced at the other man.

Upon hearing this, Carlos immediately replied with a serious yet slightly proud tone, "As a sports media professional, it is of course necessary to have an in-depth understanding and analysis of the players' games."

"Regarding my recovery and physical fitness, it's because I usually train my physical fitness at a very high intensity, so my physical reserves are pretty good."

"As for serving, that's something I've been training day and night."

"If Mr. Carlos is interested in training with me, he should be able to understand."

Carlos's eyes lit up. He wasn't afraid of Jiang Hong's resentment; what he feared most was the lack of a sensational story.

"Thank you for the invitation, Jiang. I'm available anytime if I have time."

Then, changing the subject, she began to address the second question.

"That's right. We noticed during the match that Djokovic had requested Hawk-Eye challenges multiple times, and the results were very unfavorable to him and very favorable to you. Some people believe that Hawk-Eye is not suitable for fast hard courts because the uncertainty of misjudgments is part of the game. Some minor in-bounds and out-of-bounds situations are more about luck, and Hawk-Eye would actually affect the flow of the game."

Although Jiang Hong thought the other party's words were nonsense.

However, there are indeed many supporters of abolishing Hawkeye.

However, Jiang Hong was never one of them.

If he heard that Hawk-Eye was going to be abolished, Djokovic would probably be the first to curse.

Wouldn't he be completely ruined by those referees then?

And at that point, you'll truly be left with no one to turn to for help.

After all, if the referee is allowed to make his own decisions, wouldn't Chinese players like myself be targeted severely?
Jiang Hong turned his head and said with a serious expression, "Mr. Carlos, the Hawk-Eye system has been verified over many years and is recognized as an auxiliary tool that can guarantee fairness for referees."

"Novak has the right to challenge, and Hawkeye has given the verdict."

"From what you're saying, it seems you genuinely doubt the fairness of the Madrid Masters?"

Upon hearing this, Carlos's expression changed instantly.

Just kidding, I'm just a small-time reporter. If I offend the organizing committee, I'll be fired.

So he quickly shook his head and denied it, saying, "Jiang, you misunderstood, I didn't mean that."

"I'm not questioning anyone, just raising some questions from the audience. So let's change the subject. You executed your targeted tactics against Djokovic very decisively today. Did you receive any special information?"

Carlos cursed Jiang Hong in his heart.

They actually used a tiger skin to make a coat.

They turned what was being targeted at him into something that resembled a competition.

However, Carlos was no pushover and immediately found a new problem.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the organizing committee.

Jiang Hong almost burst out laughing when he heard this. This guy is really persistent!

Is he implying that he has planted a spy in Djokovic's team?
Jiang Hong remained calm, turned his head and said indifferently, "Analyzing and studying opponents and formulating tactics is the daily work of every professional player."

"As a top player, Novak is imitated, studied, and targeted by countless players every day. If you call this special information, then you may not be suitable for the profession of tennis reporter."

Carlos's expression changed instantly; Jiang Hong was basically pointing his finger at him and calling him unprofessional.

Although Carlos was annoyed, he managed to suppress his anger.

After all, if you don't provoke the players but instead get provoked by them, you'll become a laughing stock in the sports journalism world.

Carlos coughed and glanced at the teleprompter in his hand.

"Alright, let's ask one last question."

"As we all know, your previous ATP ranking was not high, but your endorsements and sponsorships even exceeded those of some of the top 20 ATP players."

"After winning the matches against Nadal and Djokovic, your commercial value and ranking will increase significantly."

"There are rumors that your ranking has skyrocketed in such a short period of time because China is trying to quickly create an international sports star. Do you think there were any 'forces' outside the stadium that drove this victory?"

After speaking, he stared intently at Jiang Honghe.

Because currently, most foreign countries are demonizing China.

In the sports world, China is seen as a huge market.

In the world of football, there have been many instances where, in order to attract Chinese fans, a few bench players were brought in as mascots for commercial reasons.

The fact that Jiang Hong's ATP ranking has risen so quickly in such a short period of time has led to much speculation.

Jiang Hong was not in a hurry at all when he heard this, and looked up at the other person.

Instead of answering directly, he looked up at Carlos.

"What kind of player does Mr. Carlos think Rafa is?"

Upon hearing this, Carlos immediately raised his head and showered the speaker with praise.

"Of course, he is a resilient, humble, and never-give-up fighter, a role model of personal charisma!"

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, she looked at Jiang Hong with a puzzled expression: "Why are you asking me this?"

Jiang Hong coughed and said in a serious tone, "I'm just curious, do you think Rafa would fix a match for money?"

"Of course not!" Carlos denied immediately without the slightest hesitation.

Jiang Hong immediately shrugged and asked with a naive expression, "If that's the case, how did I manage to defeat Nadal and Djokovic using off-court factors?"

These words left Carlos speechless.

Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

He turned to look at the camera, forcing a smile that looked even worse than crying.

"Viewers at home, you should understand now that the claim that Jiang won because of off-field factors is just nonsense."

"Alright, that concludes today's interview!"

Carlos worried that if he continued to ask questions, he might get himself into trouble.

Meanwhile, Chinese viewers watching on television felt a surge of secret satisfaction as they watched Carlos.

"Slandering Jiang Shen will be punished by the gods!"

"Hilarious! Off-court factors = Nadal fixing the match, no off-court factors = Jiang Hong is awesome."

"A single-minded approach has become blocked at both ends."

"Luckily, Jiang Shen is quick-witted, otherwise anyone else might have been tricked."

"Indeed, it's fortunate that Jiang Shen is shrewd."

"If you say Jiang Shen is smart, Jiang Shen is happy; if you say Jiang Shen is cunning, Jiang Shen is unhappy."

Jiang Hong concluded the interview, as a Chinese player.

Moreover, for tennis players who travel all over the world, the more famous they become, the more intense the targeting from these reporters will become.

So this is just the beginning.

After all, Western arrogance runs deep.

Jiang Hong carried his bag and returned to the locker room through the player tunnel.

Mark Jie and Fu Yunlong immediately came to greet them.

"Old Jiang is awesome, he actually beat Djokovic again."

"Brother Jiang is amazing!"

Jiang Hong waved his hand and said with a smile, "Alright, you two, stop praising me!"

Turning to Fu Yunlong beside him, he said, "Old Fu, can you take a look at my right wrist? It feels a bit sore."

Fu Yunlong's smile vanished instantly, and he walked over immediately.

After all, wrist soreness can be a minor or major issue, and Jiang Hong has a match tomorrow.

After checking it over, Fu Yunlong breathed a sigh of relief and said.

"Your wrist is slightly strained; you've really overexerted yourself these past few days."

"I'll take care of it for you in a bit!"

"Row!"

Jiang Hong nodded, after all, he had defeated three TOP10 players in a row, and also had a second place, a third place, and Nalbandian who was in his peak form.

Jiang Hong encountered tough opponents all along the way; it was a truly grueling race.

However, there's nothing that can be done; Jiang Hong's ranking is low.

If Jiang Hong were ranked highly, he wouldn't be able to fight so many top-tier opponents based on the principle of avoidance.

Therefore, only when you rank lower will you have a chance to complete the Golden Road.

This may be Jiang Hong's last chance.

In the future, he might be seeded when he participates in competitions.

What a happy worry!

After finishing the match, Jiang Hong took a quick shower.

Fu Yunlong immediately wrapped two ice packs in a towel and tied them to Jiang Hong's wrists.

"Please refrain from any strenuous activities or training for the time being."

Tomorrow's match against Federer will definitely be a tough battle, and Jiang Hong won't be able to train.

Just as Jiang Hong was preparing to go to the post-match press conference, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Please come in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two formally dressed men walked in.

"Mr. Jiang Hong, according to regulations, you have been selected for a post-race doping test. Please cooperate!"

After speaking, he showed Jiang Hong his credentials, which were those of an ITF DOC, or doping control officer.

To be honest, Jiang Hong was quite surprised.

It wasn't that I was surprised it came so suddenly, but rather that it came so late.

To be honest, this is the first time Jiang Hong has had a doping test since he started participating in ITF and ATP competitions.

To be honest, if it were track and field events, I estimate that some domestic youth-level competitions would probably involve doping tests.

Yesterday, when Jiang Hong was falsely accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, he even considered whether he should take the initiative to get tested to prove himself.

However, Jiang Hong later dismissed the idea, after all, he would definitely encounter a lot of slander in the future, and if he always had to prove himself, he would be exhausted!

Since I have a doping exemption, I don't need to worry about accidental ingestion, or even if I did take it, it wouldn't be of any use.

Upon hearing this, Fu Yunlong and Ma Kejie, who were standing to the side, were stunned for a moment and immediately turned to look at Jiang Hong.

To be honest, they were a little worried.

It's not that I think Jiang Hong would deliberately take stimulants; it's just that Jiang Hong doesn't watch what he eats.

What if I accidentally ingest stimulants while eating? That would be terrible.

Moreover, given Jiang Hong's current status, if anything were to be discovered, the impact would be enormous.

Just as the two were struggling with their decision, Jiang Hong nodded slightly and said with a relaxed expression, "No problem, what do you need to do?"

To be honest, Jiang Hong was genuinely a little curious.

"Come with us!"

Jiang Hong followed a race official and two doping control officers to a small building with a sign outside that read "Doping Control Station".

The room wasn't large, and the furnishings inside were very simple.

Jiang Hong could see at a glance: a table, a few chairs, a toilet, and a sealed sample collection package.

Watching you go to the toilet under the watchful eyes of three pairs of eyes...

(End of this chapter)