Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 210: Quarterfinal Results, Criticism of Playing Style, and a Series of Upsets!

competition is over!

Jiang Hong won!
The sound of Jiang Hong's backhand straight smash into the baseline corner was like lighting a fuse, instantly igniting the emotions of the entire arena.

The entire stadium roof seemed to be lifted off from the bottom by an invisible wave of sound.

Applause, screams, and cheers in various languages ​​erupted in celebration.

After all, Jiang Hongtian's unconventional playing style was definitely worth the ticket price.

Jiang Hong stood in the center of the court, holding a racket in his hand.

With an excited smile on his face, he enjoyed the purest joy that victory brought.

"Jiang Shen, you're awesome!"

Suddenly, a shout erupted from a corner of the stands.

Baghdatis's expression was somewhat complicated; he seemed not yet to have recovered from the match.

The Paris Masters, which I had been preparing for for so long, has ended just like that, and I was swept aside.

Looking at the excited figure opposite him, Baghdatis took a deep breath and then strode to the net.

Waiting for the victor.

Jiang Hong gradually recovered from the excitement of victory, and was one step closer to his goal.

Turning around, I saw Baghdatis already waiting at the net.

Jiang Hong walked over and shook hands with the other person.

Congratulations on your victory! You played very well!

"Thank you!"

Jiang Hong nodded slightly and smiled.

The two didn't say much, then shook hands with the referee and Baghdatis left the stadium.

Jiang Hong then returned to the court and interacted with the audience.

They presented him with a signed tennis ball, took a group photo together, and then left the court.

……

At this moment, the press conference room of the Paris Masters is brightly lit and bustling with people.

A barrage of cameras and microphones were pointed at the table in front of the stage, and the reporters were talking in hushed tones.

Although Jiang Hong's ranking is not particularly high, his popularity is already higher than many of the TOP10.

Given his status as a Chinese player, reporters were eager to uncover a major story from Jiang Hong.

"Crack!"

The doors to the press conference hall were pushed open from the outside, and Jiang Hong entered the venue accompanied by event staff.

In an instant, the entire room was filled with the sound of camera shutters clicking.

Flashes of light kept going off at Jiang Hong.

However, Jiang Hong was prepared and quickly walked to the front of the stage and sat down.

He seemed quite adept at handling press conferences. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!"

Instantly, all the reporters in the audience raised their hands high, hoping Jiang Hong would let them ask questions.

But in reality, these seats are all assigned.

Large media outlets were placed in the front row, while smaller media outlets were placed in the back.

However, occasionally some rebellious players will specifically choose to ask questions to the back row media.

For Jiang Hong, the first choice would naturally be Chinese media.

The first person to shout it out was a reporter from Xinhua News Agency.

"Jiang Hong, congratulations on your historic breakthrough once again. Your outstanding achievements in the world tennis arena have also sparked an unprecedented tennis craze in China. More and more young people like tennis, and many children even dream of becoming professional players. What are your thoughts on this?"

Jiang Hong had anticipated this outcome long ago.

The period before the 08 Olympics should have been the best time to promote a sport.

Not only is it highly praised by the government, but the general public is also full of enthusiasm for sports.

As a nation's strength grows, its enthusiasm for sports will gradually decline.

This is also due to the increase in entertainment options.

After Li Na won the French Open in 2011 and the Australian Open in 2014 in her previous life, a tennis craze swept through the country.

However, during that period, the public's enthusiasm for sports was nowhere near what it is today.

Although Li Na won a Grand Slam, he only won a Masters tournament.

However, I'd like to say something that might get me flamed, although women's tennis is touted as the number one women's sport.

Even so, compared to men's tennis, it is worlds apart in terms of both entertainment value and influence.

Jiang Hong sat up straight, thought for a moment, and then answered.

"Thank you for your congratulations. I believe my experience proves that Chinese athletes are fully capable of competing, and even winning, in the world of tennis." Jiang Hong paused suddenly. "As a tennis player, I certainly hope that more people will like tennis. I would also feel a great sense of accomplishment if more people came to like tennis because of me!"

Suddenly, Jiang Hong changed the subject, his expression becoming serious. "However, tennis is also a very cruel sport. Perhaps all sports are cruel. If you want to pursue a professional tennis career, you must plan ahead, rather than acting impulsively. After all, life cannot be relived!"

Jiang Hong didn't want to harm a group of people because of him.

Jiang Hong didn't know how Xinhua News Agency would report on his actions, but he didn't regret it.

Subsequently, CCTV and People's Daily also interviewed Jiang Hong.

After answering, Jiang Hong also noticed an old acquaintance from Sports Weekly.

The reporter from Sports Weekly keenly picked up on Jiang Hong's earlier comment about the cruelty of the tennis world, noting that athletes often talk about the joy of success and the hard work or effort behind it when interviewed, so they immediately began asking questions.

"Jiang Hong, you just said that professional tennis is very brutal. Could you elaborate on how that is?"

Faced with this question, Jiang Hong was also somewhat surprised. He paused briefly before giving a direct answer.

“Every season, a number of players retire, not only accomplished veterans, but also many promising young stars who are just around twenty years old…”

Hearing the 18-year-old Jiang Hong talk about 20-year-old young talents felt a bit strange, but everyone agreed with Jiang Hong's words.

"Retiring due to injuries, psychological factors, or even lack of funds to compete!"

“Every day, many players are striving for meager points and prize money in Hope Tournaments and Challenge Tournaments in some corner of the world. Their names may never appear at a press conference like this!”

"Perhaps those of you in the audience right now think it's just a matter of survival of the fittest, and that they simply lack talent!"

"But the players who earn ATP points are all Federer and Nadal in their own stories."

"I said, if you don't have a way out for yourself, don't choose such a cruel path, because there's no going back!"

The reporter from Sports Weekly was very clear about Jiang Hong's family background, knowing that he was not extremely wealthy.

So, I instinctively asked, "And what about you?"

"Me?" Jiang Hong chuckled. If he didn't have a cheat code, he probably wouldn't have chosen the path of tennis.

"Because I enjoy the feeling of victory, I am also prepared for defeat. After all, I did not drop out of school. If I can't continue playing tennis, I will go back to school and then go to work!" Jiang Hong said, shrugging.

Then, becoming a little more serious, he said, "Of course, I was also quite lucky. In the first competition, I successfully earned points and prize money, and my school was very supportive, which greatly reduced my burden!"

The reporter from Sports Weekly sat down because he knew he could only ask one question; if he continued, the other reporters' glares would practically kill him.

Post-match interviews certainly won't just name domestic media outlets.

Jiang Hong then called on the reporter from L'Équipe.

"Jiang, after you won the Madrid Masters, many commentators said that you were just a 'flash in the pan,' that you relied on luck and that your opponents didn't know you. Yesterday you defeated Davydenko, and today you swept aside last year's Australian Open runner-up Baghdatis. What do you want to say to these people now?"

Jiang Hong glanced at the other person; this guy was clearly there to stir up trouble.

The other reporters also turned to look, waiting for Jiang Hong to slap the commentator in the face and angrily criticize him, so that tomorrow's headlines would have him.

In response to this behavior, Jiang Hong picked up the water bottle and slowly took a sip.

“I heard those comments before!” Jiang Hong’s tone was very calm, as if he were talking about someone else. “A victory could indeed be due to luck, and reaching the quarterfinals of two consecutive Masters tournaments could also be due to luck. So I can only improve my skills and try to gain the approval of these commentators!”

The reporters were taken aback. Something's not right!
While Chinese athletes are indeed known for their humility, Jiang Hong is definitely not one of them.

Jiang Hong looked up and asked sincerely, "I wonder if winning two Masters titles was just a flash in the pan?"

The reporters in the audience immediately became agitated; this was clearly sarcastic!
Back-to-back Masters titles undoubtedly belong to top players.

If achieving these two titles is merely a fleeting moment, then the expectations for a fleeting moment are too high.

Jiang Hong has now declared that he will win back-to-back Masters tournaments.

It's worth noting that, to date, no player seems to have been able to win both the Paris Masters and the Madrid Masters consecutively.

Although the two events are very close to each other, they are held in different venues.

The Madrid Masters is an indoor hard court tournament, while the Paris Masters is an indoor carpet tournament.

This year marks the first time we've switched from indoor carpet to indoor hard flooring, which will reduce adjustment time.

According to Jiang Hong's recollection, it seems that the ATP will officially announce the cancellation of all indoor carpet events starting in October next year.

It's a bit of a shame that he hasn't played in an indoor carpet tournament yet!
Safin had won this back-to-back Masters tournament once before. If Jiang Hong can win the back-to-back title this time, it will be difficult for anyone else to succeed.

After all, the Madrid Masters is going to be moved to May, and it will become a clay court tournament.

The Madrid Masters really likes to pull off some gimmicks. It seems they even had a blue clay tournament in 2012, but it was canceled in 2013.

Jiang Hong then pointed to another reporter, a reporter from The New York Times.

"Jiang, your backhand straight shot repeatedly penetrated Baghdatis's defense today. Is this part of your strategy?"

Faced with this problem, Jiang Hong decisively chose to show off.

"Tactics?" Jiang Hong looked innocent and shook his head, saying, "No, no, no, I just hit the ball where the opponent couldn't reach it!"

The reporters around couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

The reporter from Le Monde asked Jiang Hong about it.

“Jiang, your shot was analyzed by experts as ‘unconventional’. There are more reliable shot options, but you used uncommon techniques. Your so-called ‘creativity’ is essentially an irresponsible gamble.”

"In the long, best-of-five-sets test of a Grand Slam, your 'showy tennis' that squanders your energy and focus will make your Grand Slam results very unsatisfactory. You may become a top player on the tour, but a player who is easily defeated in Grand Slams. How do you view this assessment?"

"Or perhaps you chose this playing style to attract sponsors? According to insiders, your sponsorships and endorsements already exceed those of some of the top 10 players?"

Good grief, they've already defined themselves and thrown out a bunch of questions.

Jiang Hong glanced at the newspaper's name.

Le Monde?
German media?
After all, the impression of Germany seems to be very stereotypical. They even started attacking their own playing style.

Federer has been criticized for being too focused on perfect shots and wasting scoring opportunities.

Nadal was attacked for relying solely on his powerful physical confrontations and running, which lacked both aesthetic appeal and offensiveness.

Djokovic's overly conservative approach is utilitarian tennis; it's too conservative.

Now even my playing style is being attacked.

Looks like I'm getting better!

He's even able to sit at the same table as the Big Three.

Jiang Hong pondered for a moment, then said, "You have a lot of questions. I need to think about them carefully. Asking so many questions in such a short time, you're quite imaginative!"

After all, under normal circumstances, there are at most one or two problems.

The other party, on the other hand, rattled off a whole bunch of questions.

The other reporters immediately looked at the other person and laughed.

Then Jiang Hong began to answer the other party's questions, "Let me answer the first question first. Why didn't I choose a conservative approach? Don't you think I did it to catch my opponent off guard?"

"Moreover, the uncommon techniques you mentioned are basically ones that I've practiced tens of thousands of times. As for gambling, I believe that tennis players are constantly gambling by anticipating their opponent's serve and hitting point!"

Jiang Hong completely shut down the other party's first question.

"There's a second question. You said that my playing style is limited to the tour and can't adapt to the best-of-five sets in Grand Slams."

Jiang Hong shrugged and said with a smile, "I haven't played in a Grand Slam yet, so I don't know. I also don't know if my physical fitness will be a problem, but it seems that my physical fitness is fine for now. If you want to make a judgment for me, it would be more appropriate to wait until I have participated in a Grand Slam!"

Upon hearing this, the reporter immediately retorted, "It wasn't me, it was the commentators and experts!"

Everyone present was a sports professional; who wouldn't know what commentators and experts meant?

"One last question, you said my endorsements and sponsorships are quite high. You'll need to ask those sponsoring brands about that. My playing style was already determined before I even had any sponsorships!"

Jiang Hong finished the interview and left the press conference room without lingering.

The reporters quickly left, as these questions were quite eye-catching.

Of course, we should try to finish the manuscript as soon as possible and send it to the readers tomorrow.

Back at the hotel, Jiang Hong lay on the physiotherapy bed, and Fu Yunlong began to perform deep massage on Jiang Hong's quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscles.

I can help Jiang Hong separate the tangled muscle knots. The feeling can only be described in two words: sour and refreshing.

After the pressure is applied, there is also a fascia knife.

Anyone who didn't know better would think they were torturing Jiang Hong to extract a confession.

Mark Jie stood to the side, explaining the information he had collected to Jiang Hong.

"Brother Jiang, your next opponent is Robredo."

It was an old acquaintance.

In just one year, Jiang Hong has already faced Robredo three times.

From the China Open and Madrid to now Paris.

However, top players do often meet in high-level competitions.

Jiang Hong had a very clear memory of Robredo's information.

This time, their opponent also made it to the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters. The other two players in the lower half of the draw are Youzhny and Nadal.

The winner between Jiang Hong and Robredo will face off against the winner between the two of them.

"By the way, who are the top eight in the upper bracket?" Jiang Hong asked curiously.

Upon hearing this, Mark Jermaine immediately said, "The upper half of the draw was very intense today. Federer and Djokovic were eliminated by Nalbandian and Murray!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hong raised an eyebrow.

To be honest, at the beginning, when he saw Federer and Nalbandian facing off...

There's still some anticipation; will Nalbandian be discouraged and eliminated early after failing to win the Madrid Masters?

But it seems that's not the case now; he still defeated Federer.

Only Nadal remains from the top four seeds.

The current top eight lineup is completely unexpected.

The main draw includes Nalbandian, fifth seed Ferrer, fifteenth seed Murray, tenth seed Gasquet, eighth seed Robredo, wildcard Jiang Hong, main draw Youzhny, and second seed Nadal.

"By the way, Brother Jiang, you don't have a match tomorrow, what are your plans?" Mark Jie suddenly asked.

Because from the quarterfinals onwards, all matches were held at the Bercy Arena in Paris.

Two matches are held each day, starting with the matches in the upper bracket.

Therefore, Jiang Hong will have a free day tomorrow.

However, this is not unfair to the upper half of the bracket, since the winner between them will also have an extra day of rest.

Jiang Hong thought for a moment, then said to Mark Jie.

"Please arrange a court for me!"

"Okay, Brother Jiang!"

Mark agreed and went to book the court.

Fu Yunlong handed Jiang Hong a glass of electrolyte water. "Okay, that's all!"

Jiang Hong sat up, stretched a bit, and felt much more relaxed.

After returning to his room, Jiang Hong called Djokovic.

"Novak, I heard you're having a bad day!"

Upon hearing this, Djokovic stubbornly replied, "I didn't get enough rest yesterday, that's why I lost the match!"

Losing isn't the problem; the main issue is being swept aside by Murray.

This infuriated him, and he even broke his racket during the match.

"In that case, it seems we won't have a chance to meet in the finals!" Jiang Hong sighed and said jokingly.

Djokovic felt a little embarrassed when he thought of his boastful words to Jiang Hong, but he still stubbornly insisted: "What do you know? I'm just preparing for Shanghai. If I didn't have to participate in the Shanghai Masters Cup like you, I would also go all out to compete for this championship."

Jiang Hong's forehead creased with exasperation. I made a few jokes, and you ended up hitting me where it hurt!

It's okay, I can participate next year anyway.

"In that case, Novak, I'm going to help you out. How about I train with you for a few days before the competition?" Jiang Hong said with a smile.

He has already been contacted by the Shanghai Masters Cup organizing committee, who hope that he can go there as a guest.

After all, he is the highest-ranked player in China.

If the Masters Cup didn't have a wildcard entry system, the organizing committee would have loved to use a wildcard to get Jiang Hong in.

The main reason was that they were so sincere that Jiang Hong couldn't refuse.

In the end, I had no choice but to agree.

Djokovic was indeed somewhat tempted by these words.

Having a top player as a sparring partner can indeed help maintain your form.

But why would Jiang Hong be so kind?
"What are your requirements?"

Jiang Hong chuckled, "I'm just helping out a friend. I happen to have tomorrow off and don't have a sparring partner!"

Djokovic immediately understood, "No problem, are we friends?"

"But I only need to go shopping with my girlfriend tomorrow morning, afternoon and evening!"

Are you flaunting your love again? I'm internally cursing, but I'm still all smiles on my face.

No wonder he was eliminated early; all he wanted to do was spend all his time with his girlfriend, right?

He thought this in his heart, but said it aloud.

"No problem, I can practice with you in the morning!"

After arranging tomorrow's practice session, we set a time.

"We've finally made it to the quarterfinals!"

"Check it out!"

Jiang Hong stretched, turned on his computer, and then skillfully logged into the ATP website.

"Paris Masters quarterfinals... 125 points, not bad, not bad. That brings my total points to 1102, and the quarterfinal prize is $49000."

These bonuses aren't a huge amount for me, but when you convert them up, they're not insignificant either.

But right now, the most important thing for Jiang Hong is the championship, ranking, and points!
I logged out of the ATP website and logged into a domestic website.

Instantly, a small advertisement popped up in the lower right corner.

Jiang Hong swept aside Baghdatis in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters!

Although this match was not as exciting as the one between Jiang Hong and Davydenko.

However, after half a month, I finally saw Jiang Hong's match live for the first time.

The match against Baghdatis generated an extremely high level of buzz.

It even indirectly increased Baghdatis's popularity in China.

During this time, Jiang Hong also discovered that someone had uploaded his match videos to the Youku website.

Moreover, the image quality looks very clear.

Although it was uploaded by an individual user, Jiang Hong strongly suspects that the website itself uploaded it.

At this moment, the tennis bar is filled with singing and dancing.

[He's on fire! He's reached the quarterfinals of two consecutive Masters tournaments, his chances of winning have skyrocketed!]

[Jiang Shen has advanced to the quarterfinals. Now that Federer and Djokovic, two top players, are out, and with Robredo as Jiang Shen's male servant, it's practically a sure thing for him to reach the semifinals. Nadal is about even, since it's not a clay court tournament. In the upper half of the draw, no one is guaranteed to beat Jiang Shen. It feels like if Jiang Shen defeats Nadal, he has a chance to become the second player to win back-to-back Madrid Masters and Paris Masters titles!]

Jiang Hong saw the post and thought, "Wow, the forum members think so highly of me!"

Don't underestimate a young man's potential; he'll be too proud to admit his boasting and will end up getting slapped in the face.

Being invincible is too lonely.

Give it a silent thumbs up!
(End of this chapter)