Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 41: Pre-Final Interview! (Please continue reading!)

"Should we go see Jiang Hong, encourage him, and try to keep this championship in our country?"

"Let's forget it. Going to see Jiang Hong now would probably only put more pressure on him. Making it to the finals is already a pleasant surprise!"

The middle-aged man shook his head. As an athlete, the psychological impact before a competition is still very significant.

"If that's the case, then forget it!"

"By the way, how are your arrangements going?"

Both of them were members of the organizing committee and were discussing the competition.

In this year's ITF Hope Tournament held in China, all the champions in the first few stops were foreign players.

Although the men's tennis results have not been very good, this result was somewhat expected.

However, with the emergence of Jiang Hong as a dark horse, of course, we hope to achieve even greater success.

If a domestic player wins the championship, the tournament will likely receive more attention, which will also benefit the organizing committee!
Jiang Hong paid no attention to any of this; he only had one thought in his mind: 'Win the championship!'
His opponent in the final was Jun Yamashima from Japan, who was ranked over 670th in the world.

His professional career has been mostly spent competing in ITF-level tournaments or challenge events.

Born in 1981, he is 26 years old this year, which can be considered a veteran.

Jiang Hong's impression of Japanese players mainly consists of Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka.

When Jiang Hong arrived at the stadium, he found that the stands were already full of people.

However, he could tell at a glance that it was definitely not spontaneous!
Because most of the audience are children.

I guess the organizing committee contacted some school and got these elementary school students to come and support us!
"Hello there!"

Just as Jiang Hong entered, a female reporter who looked to be around thirty years old, holding a microphone, suddenly blocked Jiang Hong's way.

"Hello there!"

Jiang Hong paused for a moment when he saw the other person, then nodded and greeted him.

I never expected the event organizers to actually hire reporters!
"First of all, congratulations to Jiang Hong for successfully entering the finals. He fought his way from the qualifying rounds to the finals and became a dark horse."

"What are your expectations for this match?"

After speaking, he handed the microphone to Jiang Hong.

Jiang Hong raised his head, glanced at the stands, and looked at the reporter firmly, saying...

"champion!"

Upon hearing Jiang Hong's words, the female reporter was taken aback.

"You...you mean the champion?"

It's important to know that most athletes during this period were part of the system.

Therefore, when facing interviews, they usually say some polite things.

The competition should be about style and spirit; friendship comes first, competition second.

There aren't many players like Jiang Hong who directly declare "champion."

The female reporter didn't want to put pressure on Jiang Hong. If the competition didn't go well, and the interview was leaked, it would probably attract ridicule.

So, the female reporter coughed to smooth things over for Jiang Hong.

"There was some background noise in the microphone just now, so I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please repeat the target, Mr. Jiang Hong?"

She hoped Jiang Hong could say some platitudes or platitudes.

"If you're standing on the court in the final and your goal isn't the championship, then you definitely don't have a chance to win the game."

"After all, if you don't even believe in yourself, who will?"

Jiang Hong repeated his statement.

At this point, the female reporter was certain that Jiang Hong was indeed a straightforward person.

"Since Jiang Hong is so confident, I believe he will definitely be able to put on a great performance."

"I also wish Jiang Hong the best of luck in achieving the results she desires."

The female reporter immediately smiled and said.

"Alright, the competition is about to start, I'll go get ready."

Jiang Hong glanced at the court and then said, "In that case, we won't disturb you any longer, Jiang Hong. We'll interview you after the match." The female reporter smiled and nodded.

After Jiang Hong left, the photographer next to him couldn't help but complain.

"That kid's really arrogant!" He then turned to the female reporter, "Sister Zhao, do you think Jiang Hong can win the championship?"

"I don't know!" The female reporter shook her head, paused, and continued, "But what he said makes a lot of sense. How can athletes do without a competitive spirit?"

He then waved to the photographer and said, "Alright, let's go over there and rest. It's my first time watching a tennis match."

They weren't professional sports reporters; they were sent by their superiors.

After all, tennis wasn't very popular at that time, and even if the TV stations were invited by the organizing committee, they wouldn't be very enthusiastic.

What's more, it's the lowest level of competition. You know, the ATP Finals are currently being held in Shanghai.

What does the ITF 10K competition even mean?

……

As soon as Jiang Hong entered the stadium, he heard the sound continuing.

"Go, Lao Jiang! Defeat that little devil!"

"Go for it, win the championship!"

"Jiang Hong, keep it up!"

Looking over at the sound, they discovered it was Zhang Long and his fellow disciples.

He was feeling rather smug lately, after being relentlessly mocked following his previous elimination in the first round.

In the past two days, Jiang Hong has been advancing rapidly and triumphantly.

People's attitudes toward him have also changed.

It's not that Zhang Long is bad, it's just that Jiang Hong is too strong.

If Jiang Hong wins the championship, I will be considered an honorary runner-up.

Furthermore, they also hope that Jiang Hong can give their Chinese men's tennis team a chance to vent their anger.

Jiang Hong raised his racket and waved at them.

The organizing committee members sitting in the stands witnessed this scene.

"It seems Jiang Hong isn't nervous at all!"

"Hopefully I can perform to my best level. In any case, this is one of the top men's tennis players in China!"

……

Moreover, the organizing committee is quite adept at creating entertaining content; they even hired a host to provide live commentary.

"Standing to the left of the referee is Jun Yamashima from Japan, ranked 678th in the world, and the number one seed in this tournament!"

"Standing to the right of the referee is our young Chinese player, who is seventeen years old this year. He has no previous competition experience and has made it to the finals from the qualifiers as a dark horse. Let's give him the warmest applause!"

At the teacher's prompting, the children immediately began to clap enthusiastically.

Jiang Hong and his opponent came to the net and listened to the referee confirm the participants and explain the rules of the game!
After flipping a coin, Jiang Hong was awarded the serve.

The two players went through a series of pre-match practices to warm up.

"Pre-match preparations complete, match begins!"

The referee spoke.

The host, sitting on the commentary platform, immediately began his commentary.

"Alright, the match begins! Our player Jiang Hong has possession of the ball and is ready to serve!"

"The serve was very smooth and beautiful. An ace to the inside corner. The opponent didn't touch the ball, and it bounced out of bounds. The score is now 15-0!"

"It's worth mentioning that Jiang Hong has already hit 71 aces since the start of this tournament. It seems that serving is one of his specialties!"

"Hopefully, things can continue as they were before..."

Compared to the Japanese players, Jiang Hong is definitely playing on home turf, so the commentators tend to favor Jiang Hong.

(End of this chapter)