Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

"Kim Sung-joon dropped out of junior high to play basketball, basically skipped classes, and even his self-criticism has typos."

The comments section started making memes.

"No wonder his logic is flawed; he really hasn't read any books."

"ATP does not teach reading comprehension."

"Hilarious! So he wasn't being hypocritical; he genuinely didn't understand what he was saying?"

Someone created a comparison chart showing two contradictory statements made by Kim Sung-joon during an interview.

"I'm glad to see so much media attention" and "Tennis doesn't rely on storylines or traffic"—a bright red question mark was placed between them.

Caption: "How many points is this logic question worth?"

The top comment: "He can't do this problem; he needs to brush up on his junior high Chinese first."

The second most popular comment reads: "Kim Sung-joon: I don't care about stories or traffic. Kim Sung-joon: Thank you for the media attention. Kim Sung-joon himself: Are these two sentences contradictory? I don't see it."

Of course, some people also spoke up for Kim Sung-joon.

"So what if you didn't graduate from junior high school? Tennis players don't rely on academic qualifications to play. Federer didn't go to college either."

Opponents immediately countered: "Federer wouldn't say 'I don't rely on anyone else' while standing on a stage set up by others and bragging about himself."

"Education is not important, but logic is. His poor logic may not necessarily be related to his education, but his poor logic probably means he is also not smart."

"The difference between Kim Sung-jun's statement 'I'm glad to see the media's attention' and 'Tennis doesn't care about stories' is equivalent to a college entrance exam reading comprehension."

The battlefield that followed became a bit more serious.

Battlefield Three: Identity Discrimination

A popular post on an anonymous forum, with a title consisting of only one sentence:

"I've been playing tennis for seven years, and only today did I realize that I haven't been playing tennis at all."

I am a student at an ordinary public high school.

The school team only has two hard courts, and the coach is a part-time coach who comes three times a week.

I practice against the wall most of the time.

I have no ranking and have never played in an official match, but I've always been playing.

Seven years,

I thought I was playing tennis.

Today, Kim Sung-jun said that experiences without systematic certification are merely "personal experiences," not "tennis experiences."

So those balls I hit against the wall were called "personal experiences".

My worn-out shoes, my racket that flew off the ground, the afternoons I spent sweeping water with a broom on rainy days—these are not tennis, but "personal experiences".

Seven years,

I didn't even go inside.

He also said, "Tennis doesn't win with stories."

But my story isn't meant to be won!

It's the only thing I own that proves I play tennis.

Now he says this doesn't count as tennis.

What about my seven years?

The top-rated comment reads: "When he said 'tennis doesn't win based on stories,' he was actually saying—tennis doesn't win based on the stories of people like you. He only recognizes one kind of experience: those certified by the system. Those of us who haven't been in the system don't even have the right to discuss this."

The second most popular comment reads: "Kim Sung-jun can't even support himself, yet he has an ATP ranking. He thinks his ticket to the tournament was given by the system, while our tickets are drawn by ourselves. He doesn't look down on the poor; he looks down on everyone outside the system! That's more disgusting than looking down on the poor."

The third most popular comment reads: "So we need to tell him, in Xiao Chen's words—a person who truly loves tennis can beat him even if they practice against a wall!"

then,

The war continues.

Battlefield Four: The Tennis Circle

Former South Korean youth national team coach Choi Jung-ho posted a status update on social media.

"Youth competitions and professional competitions are indeed two different worlds. Kim Sung-jun is right, Chen Jixian has not yet proven himself in the professional arena."

He didn't use any hashtags, but the comments section exploded within half an hour.

"Another one here to show their support."

"Are you in the tennis world really not afraid of criticism?"

"Coach Choi, why don't you comment on Kim Sung-joon's statement, 'I'm glad to see the media's attention'? Who really needs this kind of publicity more?"

Someone posted a comparison picture below:

On the left is Choi Jung-ho's resume (former national team coach), and on the right is Kim Sung-jun's resume (ATP first-round exit).

The caption reads: "A former national team coach endorses an ATP first-round exit; now I understand the dynamics of Korean tennis."

Another person chimed in: "Those who aren't in the tennis world shouldn't get involved—are there only these two people in your tennis circle, right?"

Later, the former coach deleted the post himself.

But the screenshots had already been sent out.

"Deleted."

"It's too late to delete it; they've already taken a screenshot."

"Korean tennis, good luck to yourselves."

A fan site account called "J.Chen FanBase" posted a tweet with only one line of text.

See you in the finals.

The post was shared over 10,000 times.

The comments section was uniformly organized: three characters followed by a racket emoji.

It was like a silent, clenched-fist rally.

……

……

Username: Chen Jixian

Age: 17

【Height: 184】

[Technical Attributes]

Serve: 3/11

Serving return: 2/11

Forehand: 2/11

Backhand: 3/11

Chop shot: 1/11

Stable: 2/5

[Body Attributes]

Physical strength: 2/5

Agility: 2/5

Burst: 1/5

Upper body strength: 2/5

Lower limb strength: 2/5

[Mental Attributes]

Prediction: 1

Rhythm: 2

Reaction speed: 4

"Can I win?"

can win.

"Can we win by a large margin?"

difficult.

"I... must win decisively!"

The room was dark, with only Chen Jixian's eyes and phone screen reflecting a faint light.

He didn't care what Kim Sung-joon thought; he cared about something else entirely.

if--

They won the final, but not cleanly. The scores were 6-4 and 7-5. What will Kim Sung-jun say after the match?

He knows this kind of person too well.

The hunter would say, "The two sides are evenly matched," "The difference in experience is not yet apparent at crucial moments," and "Xiao Chen has a bright future!"

He spoke in the tone of a senior.

Every word implies that he is the more mature one.

Sponsors will buy it, and the media will buy it too.

The stage that Chen Jixian painstakingly built will be cut into a piece by Jin Chengjun.

Then, the opponent continued to ride the wave of "ATP return" to play in the next tournament, using this popularity to secure endorsements and wildcards.

"No!"

"Absolutely not!"

He bore the brunt of every bit of the hype surrounding this final match!

Where was Kim Sung-joon when 200,000 people petitioned for him to leave South Korea?

Where was Kim Sung-joon when thousands of people in the stands were hurling insults at him?

right now,

Chen Jixian stood up, and Jin Chengyoujun arrived.

The Korean stood in front of his camera and told the reporters he had summoned, "Tennis isn't won by stories."

Some people are like that; they don't show up when making the cake, but when it comes to cutting it, they only want the biggest piece.

Kim Sung-joon wants to cut a piece?

Not a single cent!

He turned on his phone and dialed Bae Joo-hyun's number!

"Sis, can I borrow some money?"

……

2021, April 3.

Sunday.

Daegu Tennis Center.

The overwhelming popularity of the finals led the event organizers to temporarily change the venue.

The parking lot was full by 8 a.m., and latecomers parked along the roadside for hundreds of meters, so traffic police temporarily set up roadblocks.

Below the official ITF logo, in the blank space next to it, someone wrote a few words in marker—

See you in the finals.

The staff at the ticket gate have been busy since early morning and haven't even had time to drink a sip of water.

In the past, ITF junior tournaments didn't even need ticket checks; a 30% attendance rate was considered good.

But today is different; there are people everywhere.

The things they were holding were a variety of things.

Someone was holding up their phone.

Someone was holding up a light stick.

Someone was holding up a sign that had something written on it in Korean—

"It's not just the ATP that deserves to win."

"Kim Sung-joon, you should support yourself first."

"You're like someone who smashes the pot after finishing their meal; you don't deserve to play tennis."

The camera was already set up at the entrance of the passageway.

SPOTV's cameraman is adjusting the white balance.

Naver Sports' live stream signal is undergoing final testing.

Today, one or two more mainstream media outlets, and even a reporter from a Japanese television station, gave their opening report in Japanese to the camera.

The name "Shota Nakamura" was mentioned once, but it was quickly drowned out by a sudden burst of cheers.

Someone shouted "J.Chen".

Someone else called out "Xiao Chen" in broken Mandarin.

Then more people joined in the chanting.

Shouts erupted from different stands and corners, like a string of scattered firecrackers being set off in the crowd.

The sun beat down on the center of the court, and the net swayed gently in the wind.

Only two names remained on the draw sheet.

Kim Sung Joon.

Chen Jixian!