Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 125 Three Laws of Short Ball Forward Pressure

"CHENG, go easy on me, it's really embarrassing to have your head shaved."

Andreas wore a bitter expression.

"Okay!"

Gu Cheng smiled slightly. He hadn't planned to use his ball skills in the first place. If it was just about basic strength, he might be a little stronger than Andreas, but not by much. At most, he would be a little more technically well-rounded. But in terms of strength, speed, and reaction, the difference wasn't as big as he had imagined.

If Andreas can seize the opportunity, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to take points from him.

"Really?"

Andreas had only mentioned it casually and didn't think Gu Cheng would agree. After all, the Bellevue Cup was crucial for Gu Cheng's chances of making it into the junior Australian Open, so how could Gu Cheng possibly back down on something like that?
"I don't use any ball skills during the game."

Andreas couldn't help but gasp. Without ball skills?

He was somewhat skeptical, but looking into Gu Cheng's sincere eyes, he subconsciously chose to believe him.

His eyes gleamed slightly. If Gu Cheng didn't use his ball skills, he believed he wouldn't be much worse than Gu Cheng. If he played perfectly, it might not just be a simple matter of getting points from Gu Cheng, but even winning might not be impossible.

Defeat Gu Cheng?

He defeated the cheaters on the court and was hailed as the Great Demon King by countless tennis enthusiasts.

To be honest, Andreas had never even considered this before, and when he learned that his opponent was Gu Cheng, he felt that he would have a hard time even getting a single point.

but now……

Seeing that Andreas seemed somewhat skeptical, Gu Cheng smiled slightly: "I've given you the opportunity; whether you can seize it depends on your own ability."

Andreas clenched his fist: "I will!"

Even without Gu Cheng reminding him, he knew that this might be the only time in his life he would be closest to defeating Gu Cheng, and also the one with the greatest chance.

If we don't seize this opportunity, we can forget about it in the future.

"Thank you!"

Andreas thanked him and then turned and walked toward the baseline.

"The match begins, Gu Cheng serves." After the two decided who would serve first by flipping a coin, the referee announced the start of the match, seeing that the two were ready.

The player who serves first has a certain advantage, especially in an indoor court where there is no sunlight or other special circumstances. The right to choose sides first is actually dispensable.

In this way, the serving side will have a relatively greater advantage.

But there is also pressure.

If it were an unimportant match, it might not be a big deal, but for both Gu Cheng and Andreas, whether they can get more points in the Bellevue Cup is related to whether they can play in the Australian Open Junior Championships at the end of January, so the pressure is much greater.

Even Gu Cheng, after deciding not to use his ball skills, experienced some emotional turmoil.

The Bellevue Cup had more spectators than Tier 4 and 5 tournaments. While "overcrowded" might be an exaggeration, there were several hundred people gathered around each stadium.

Especially at Gu Cheng's stadium, after news of his one-point victory against Federer spread, almost everyone who came to watch the Bellevue Cup came specifically for him.

Those who arrived a little later had no seats and had to watch other people's games instead.

Gu Cheng glanced at Andreas, then bent his knees, pushed off the ground, tossed the ball, swung his racket, and hit the ball—all in one smooth motion.

Gu Cheng's strength may not be comparable to Andreas's, who eats beef and mutton every day, but his technique and ball control far surpass Andreas's. This shot wasn't very powerful, but the angle was very tricky.

Andreas lived up to his professionalism, remaining fully prepared even after Gu Cheng said he wouldn't play.

He took a step forward, swung his racket, and smoothly returned the ball.

Gu Cheng's eyes flickered, and he decisively stepped forward to hit a forehand shot. The ball flew like lightning toward Andreas's right outer corner.

Then, almost the instant the ball was returned, he seemed to have a premonition and rushed towards the net.

As Gu Cheng ran to the net, Andreas' return shot flew over the center net, and Gu Cheng immediately smashed the ball at the net, sending it flying cleanly to the left.

"15-0."

Gu Cheng's second serve was faster and at a more difficult angle than his first.

Before Andreas could react, the tennis ball flew out of bounds.

The score was immediately changed to 30-0.

Even without using any skills, relying solely on technique, Gu Cheng's advantage in his service games was still extremely obvious. He then won two more games in a row, completing a love game against Andreas without using any skills, and quickly taking the first game.

After the change of serve, Andreas also mustered his courage and served a clean and crisp first serve with a very tricky angle.

Luck!

lucky!

Even for him, the success rate of such a high-quality serve is no more than 40%, especially under the pressure of the first serve, where the success rate is often even lower.

This high-quality topspin serve caused Gu Cheng considerable trouble. He had to stretch his body to its limit to receive the serve, which was only about three or four meters from the baseline in the far corner.

Gu Cheng's return shot was of poor quality; after the ball flew smoothly over the net, Andreas immediately pulled it to the right.

"Gu Cheng didn't use any techniques in his service games. Tong Xin and I originally thought that he would put more pressure on Andreas in his return games, but now it seems that Gu Cheng didn't intend to use any techniques in his return games either."

"Is he planning to go toe-to-toe with Andreas without using any skills?"

CCTV5, perhaps influenced by the decisive match a few days ago, has surprisingly started broadcasting the entire Bellevue Cup live.

Commentators Hu Li and Tong Xin sat upright on the sofa.

At this moment, facing Andreas' wide-ranging topspin, Gu Cheng did not choose to chase directly. Instead, he moved to the right while also moving forward, and hit the ball back shortly after it landed.

How did you even receive that?
Andreas originally thought that Gu Cheng wouldn't be able to receive the ball, and even if he did, the quality of his return shot wouldn't be very high.

However, he clearly underestimated Gu Cheng's understanding of tennis.

This return shot, which wasn't particularly powerful, caught him off guard.

As Andreas ran to receive the ball, Gu Cheng had already reached the net and delivered a brilliant short tennis shot, winning the game and making it 30-0. "Great shot!"

"fantastic!"

"A brilliant short shot from Gu Shen at the net."

"That was brilliant! Andreas's return shot from the right side should have caused Gu Cheng a lot of trouble, but unexpectedly, Gu Cheng not only received the ball, but also used it to change the score to 30-0."

Hu Li shouted excitedly, and the director, being very understanding, showed the replay.

"I wonder if the viewers in front of the TV noticed that when Gu Cheng received Andreas' right-side return shot, he did not choose to run straight ahead, but used the power of his legs to propel his body forward. This is an extremely efficient way for many professional players to handle return shots."

“Andreas’s right-side return is very deep. After the ball bounces, it will turn towards the outside of the field, and the trajectory of the ball will be extended a lot. In this case, if you step back to receive the ball, you may have to run four or five meters, or even more, to receive the ball.”

"At this point, when facing this kind of return, you have to run in a straight line while also running forward to intercept the ball and make sure you touch the tennis ball in advance."

"When hitting this kind of rising ball, you can hit it diagonally or straight. But if the ball has already flown outside the sideline, it is difficult for even the best professional player to hit it straight when hitting this kind of falling ball. In the end, you can only hit a short diagonal ball, which will give the opponent enough time to react and smash the ball."

"That's what Andreas was thinking, but Gu Cheng was clearly a step ahead. He had thought of this, so he chose to intercept in advance."

"For those who enjoy playing tennis, whether they are amateurs or professionals, one very important point is that there is a fundamental difference between hitting the ball in the blue area and hitting it in the green area."

Tong Xin chimed in, "Let me add a few words to what Hu Li said. Anyone who truly understands tennis should have heard of the three laws of short ball forward pressure. From passively chasing the ball to actively intercepting it, use your leg power to predict the ball's trajectory and seize the blue scoring area in three steps. If you learn this positioning strategy, you can catch your opponent off guard in the game."

"As for whether what we said is right or wrong, Gu Cheng's shot just now should have shown everyone."

"When you practice, you should pay more attention to your positioning. If you can master this positioning skill, I believe your strength will improve significantly."

Hu Li chimed in, "To be honest, when I guessed that Gu Cheng wasn't planning to use his skills, I was worried for him. After all, in terms of basic ability, Gu Cheng is not much different from his opponent Andreas. If he performs worse than Andreas, he is likely to lose too many points."

"But clearly, I was overthinking it."

"Even without relying on his tennis skills, Gu Cheng's technique and understanding of tennis are far superior to Andreas'."

[This is the first time I've realized how important positioning is in tennis. Just now, I thought Gu Shen would have to use a somersault technique on that ball, but unexpectedly, he not only averted danger but also won the point simply by positioning himself.]

Even with countless skills that could easily secure victory, Gu Shen still intends to improve his fundamental abilities. That's quite disciplined.

[It seems that even though Gu Shen won that point against Federer, he still felt the pressure from these top professional players!]

[It seems that Federer unintentionally broke Tezuka's Domain before, so it's normal for Gu Shen to feel pressured.]

Even though the video of Gu Cheng's match against Federer is only five minutes long, once it was released, countless tennis enthusiasts around the world studied it frame by frame almost every day.

In particular, the video that Gu Cheng started showing the Tezuka Domain was only about two minutes long, but many people found that at least half an hour had passed after watching it.

Under such intense research, Federer's unintentional breakthrough of Tezuka's zone shot has been studied by many as a typical example.

Especially the top 100 professional players in the world, they're practically flying to Sweden to ask Federer how to break the Tezuka Zone.

In this situation, even if some of Gu Cheng's fans are unwilling to admit it, they have to acknowledge that facing top professional players like Federer, with a significant gap in basic strength, he still faces immense pressure.

Therefore, everyone can understand why Gu Cheng wants to improve the basics in this way.

"happy!!"

After winning two consecutive points in the return game, Gu Cheng's grip on his racket tightened slightly.

Winning without relying on skill is much more satisfying than winning with skill. Although there is a risk of losing points, the feeling of running and sweating all over makes him feel like he is playing against Federer.

That exhilarating feeling was as if every nerve in my body was ignited.

However, Andreas seemed to be spurred on, and his third serve was even more risky, catching Gu Cheng off guard with a high-quality serve.

Although Gu Cheng received the ball, his return shot was of poor quality.

Just as the tennis ball flew smoothly back to Andreas's half of the court, it caught up with Andreas rushing to the net.

Andreas smashed the ball, and Gu Cheng had no chance to react.

The score was brought back to 30-15.

The two continued to shoot in a stalemate.

Although Andreas scored another point, Gu Cheng rallied in the second half, changing the score to 2-0.
Next, Gu Cheng continued to hold his serve, while Andreas seemed to have mustered all his strength and, for the first time ever, held his own serve, bringing the score to 3-1.

Although still at a disadvantage, Andreas was smiling more happily than anyone else.

Even though he lost the game in the end, he had no regrets.

Since Gu Cheng entered the professional arena, no one has ever been able to get a single point from the "Big Demon King," let alone a single large point.

But he did it.

Even without Gu Cheng using his skills, Andreas was still very satisfied.

Just tell me whether you got a single point or not!

In the sixth game, Gu Cheng changed the score to 5-1.

Although Gu Cheng was covered in sweat, he remained relatively calm and composed, appearing even more unhurried. However, Andreas' breathing became noticeably rapid, as if he were being crushed by a boulder.

The further the game went, the more pressure Gu Cheng was putting on Andreas.

At first, he was able to score a point or two against Gu Cheng, but starting from the fifth game, the match seemed to become one-sided.

"Gu Cheng won the first set 6-1. Andreas's form is becoming increasingly unstable. It seems that he may not be able to threaten Gu Cheng in the second set."

Huli held a different opinion: "It's hard to say. If Andreas can adjust his form during the rest period without Gu Cheng using his skills, he might have a chance."

"Of course, it will be difficult to win. It all depends on whether he can cause Gu Cheng some trouble."

Both of them knew that even without using tennis skills, Gu Cheng's understanding of tennis and his technique were far superior to Andreas'.

Andreas may be stronger and have better stamina than Gu Cheng, but these are unlikely to be the key factors in determining the outcome of the battle against Gu Cheng.

(End of this chapter)