Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 105: I saw the shadow of Kintaro Toyama in him.

"Acheng, big news! Big news!"

Early in the morning, Gu Cheng had just gotten out of bed and brushed his teeth, looking out the window at the Scandinavian Stadium in the distance, when suddenly there was a rapid knocking on the door, along with Yu Haoyang's hoarse voice.

Gu Cheng glanced at the clock on the wall; it was just past 6:30.

At this time, Yu Haoyang would usually be sleeping.

Those who like to stay up late will never get up before 7:30.

If it's a cloudy day, it's the perfect time to sleep in. If there's no competition, this guy can definitely sleep until noon for lunch.

But during this period, Yu Haoyang seemed to have changed his personality, getting up very early for several days in a row.

It's especially early today.

—Bang bang bang! !
Just before the hotel door was about to be smashed to pieces, Gu Cheng came up and opened it.

Yu Haoyang rushed in and pulled Gu Cheng to sit down on the sofa: "Acheng, look, last night on the other side of the world, the sports newspaper from Uruguay reported that 14-year-old Uruguayan prodigy Ale won the championship in the Punta del Este 5 tournament with his strong ability to shut out his opponents in every match."

"Moreover, one of the opponents was a professional player who had previously won a junior A-level competition."

Gu Cheng looked at him: "Why would a professional player who has participated in A-level events go and participate in the lowest level of ITF events?"

"Because of injuries."

Yu Haoyang explained, "That guy injured his leg while playing in an A-level event and didn't play any events during his year of recovery, so his ITF ranking points were zero and he had to start from scratch."

Upon hearing this, Gu Cheng frowned and suddenly looked at Yu Haoyang.

Yu Haoyang said, "I know what Acheng is thinking, but it has nothing to do with the King of Tennis. I have watched Alai's match videos. He did not use any tennis-related skills in the match. It was purely his natural ball sense and the strong and flexible physical qualities he developed in the rainforest."

"He also has another name: The Call of the Wild."

"The call of the wild?"

"Correct."

Yu Haoyang nodded and said, "I heard that Alai has lived in the rainforest with his grandfather since he was a child, living with wild animals. He has the strength of a lion and tiger and the speed of a cheetah. After being discovered by a tennis coach, he was taken back to the club to train for a year and a half. This month, he participated in the ITF Junior Tournament for the first time and crushed the other participants with his strong strength."

"This includes Darwin, whom I just mentioned."

“Acheng may not have heard of the name Darwin, but a year and a half ago, his ITF Junior Circuit points reached 2374, ranking thirteenth. He was originally supposed to participate in the four major junior championships and the junior year-end finals that year, and even had a great chance to win one or even two championships. But things didn’t go as planned, and he was injured in the last A-level match.”

“I watched the videos of Darwin and Alle’s matches. Darwin is in great competitive condition. You can tell that he has been doing rehabilitation training for more than a year and has been in a high competitive state in recent months.”

Yu Haoyang's expression was solemn: "His strength has not only not diminished at all, but is even stronger than it was a year ago."

"I found the match video, do you want to watch it?"

"I'll check later."

Gu Cheng raised his hand to interrupt Yu Haoyang's incessant chatter and asked, "Senior, how do you feel about your current strength compared to Darwin's?"

Yu Haoyang was stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he looked up and said, "We're about the same, or rather, Darwin is probably a little stronger than me, but only by a limited margin."

"If I had a few more months to master the Super Half-Cut, I would be better than him."

Upon hearing this, Gu Cheng roughly understood just how strong Alai was, as Yu Haoyang had mentioned.

"Let me see the match video."

Yu Haoyang turned on his phone, found a news article, and then clicked on the video link below.

It's a video of the final match between Haller and Darwin.

The score was marked in bright red: 3-0.

After half an hour.

Gu Cheng looked away from his phone screen, and Yu Haoyang put the phone aside: "Acheng, what do you think?"

Gu Cheng's expression was grave: "Very strong."

Yes, very strong.

Yu Haoyang just said that the other party has the strength of a lion and tiger, the speed of a cheetah, and the reflexes of a cat. Although that's an exaggeration, it's not far off.

This guy named Alai does indeed have that kind of strength.

Of course, there was one more thing he didn't say.

He seemed to see a resemblance to King in Alai.

That guy who's about the same size as a little kid, but has incredibly terrifying athletic ability.

Of course, the national tournament hadn't started before Gu Cheng returned, and Jin was still running to the venue. He hadn't actually met Jin, but based on what he learned from the anime, he really saw Jin's shadow in Alai.

With an incredibly terrifying athletic ability, a natural feel for the ball, and a year and a half of intensive closed training, it's not so hard to understand how such a prodigy could be created.

Yu Haoyang looked worried: "Acheng, this guy will definitely be a formidable opponent for you in the future. Although you won't encounter him in the short term, with his strength, he will have no problem making it into the four major junior Grand Slams and the finals."

Gu Cheng knew what Yu Haoyang wanted to say, but he remained calm and smiled slightly at Yu Haoyang: "Actually, there's no need to worry so much. Having opponents is a good thing. It's no fun to bully weaker opponents too much."

"It's like asking you to play against seven or eight-year-old kids every day, winning every day, and crushing noobs. At first, you won't feel anything, but after a while, it gets boring."

Yu Haoyang was taken aback, then smiled after considering it carefully: "That's true." "And..."

Gu Cheng looked out the window: "Just like Ming said, I think I'm invincible, I think I can win the four Grand Slam year-end finals championships easily, but there are some things you only know after you've won them."

"Among billions of people, there are far more prodigies and geniuses than we imagine."

"Nobody knows where or when a genius or prodigy will suddenly appear."

"only……"

"Some people just can't get into this field."

"This Ale you mentioned, if he hadn't been discovered, who would have known he was so talented in tennis? Maybe he would have stayed in the rainforest with his grandfather for the rest of his life."

"Back then, who would have known that such a young genius lived on the edge of that tropical rainforest?"

"Gold will always shine, but it also depends on where it is placed."

Gu Cheng chuckled: "If you throw it into the sea, where will you shine then?"

"Let's not talk about distant things. In our country's football industry, with a population of over a billion, can't we really find more than a dozen people who can play football?"

"Senior, do you believe me?"

Yu Haoyang shook his head.

Gu Cheng shrugged: "There are plenty of people who can play football. Of course, being able to play and playing well are two different things. But there are quite a few people who play football well, but for them, there is no way to appear in the public eye, let alone become a member of the national team."

"Actually, ever since the Junior Zagreb Cup, I've been thinking that if the opponents in junior tournaments are all the same people, then it's just too boring."

"Why not just go play in the ITF Hope Series or the ATP? Even if you don't win the Junior Grand Slam, what does it mean to lack these honors?"

"It proves nothing."

"Once you stand on the podium of the four Grand Slams, win the Golden Slam, and win the year-end finals, who will still say that you haven't even won the four Grand Slams in junior tournaments?"

"Compared to the four Grand Slam tournaments, what are the four Grand Slam junior tournaments?"

There are great scholars who will debate the scriptures for me.

Gu Cheng was very confident; nothing could shut people up faster than a bunch of honors.

No matter what, as long as you win the Grand Slam and the year-end finals, no one will say you're weak just because you haven't won a Grand Slam in junior tournaments.

Would a professional athlete who has won a Grand Slam be weak?

Anyone who dares to say such things will be bombarded with insults by netizens.

Yu Haoyang didn't speak. He looked at Gu Cheng and felt that his vision was too shallow and his mind too narrow.

When he learned about Alai, his first thought was to worry that Alai's appearance would have a certain impact on Gu Cheng, and might even affect Gu Cheng's chances of winning the Junior Grand Slam and the year-end finals.

Gu Cheng, however, hoped that there would be more players like Alai. He did not see Alai as a threat; on the contrary, he was extremely happy to have a professional player like Alai.

"Don't you feel a lot of pressure?" Yu Haoyang couldn't help but ask.

Alai, you're really amazing.

His beast-like athleticism and innate ball sense made him seem born for tennis.

Even Gu Cheng wouldn't be able to defeat someone like that easily.

The Prince of Tennis is very skilled, but not so skilled that he can disregard everything else.

unless……

Gu Cheng has mastered even better ball skills.

For example, the state of selflessness, the refinement through countless trials and tribulations, or the final door that few people can open even in The Prince of Tennis—the ultimate in perfection.

But... that's impossible.

Reality is always reality!
Can……

The thought that he seemed to have mastered the topspin serve made Yu Haoyang fall silent again.

If it's impossible, how did you manage to do it?
"Pressure?" Gu Cheng laughed. "Playing tennis isn't about avoiding pressure, but about overcoming it. If I ever get defeated, it's because I'm not as skilled, not because I don't want to face stronger opponents."

These words were like a hammer, shattering the last shred of hope in Yu Haoyang's heart.

Yu Haoyang lowered his head, his fingertips tracing the edge, but his mind was in turmoil.

He always thought he had worked hard enough and had a long-term vision. But today he realized that a true strong person is not one who holds onto their position through hard work, but one who is willing to open their arms to meet challenges even in the face of storms.

He suddenly realized that this junior, who was a little younger than him, understood tennis not only because of his talent and hard work, but also because of a kind of confidence and vision that was almost a belief.

He wasn't without pressure, but he transformed it into motivation; he wasn't unafraid of failure, but he had long accepted failure as part of his growth.

“I used to think that as long as I could keep up with you, I would be at the top,” Yu Haoyang said in a low voice. “Now I realize that you were never the end, but a direction.”

Gu Cheng turned to look at him, his eyes as bright as ever: "Then let's go together, let's go further, and see the scenery from the top of the mountain."

The two walked side by side to the window. Outside, there was an endless blue sky, and the wind blew from afar, carrying the breath of the future.

(End of this chapter)