Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 151 Spectators
The electronic scoreboard at Melbourne Park showed 6-3, and Benneteau stared at the first set score, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

On the tactical analysis screen in the locker room, the changes in Gu Cheng's racket face as he hit the ball were replayed frame by frame.

"When playing a topspin ball, the wrist rotates inward at 45 degrees, while when playing a backspin ball, it rotates outward at 32 degrees. The frequency difference between the two types of rotation is exactly the resonance blind spot of the human proprioceptive nerve."

Benneteau's tactical coach held up a tablet, paused Gu Cheng's swing during the first set of the doubles match that had just ended, and then showed it to the somewhat demoralized Benneteau: "To be honest, before the match started, I was thinking about a question. Mr. Moke invited him to enter the Australian Open main draw as a wildcard, and knowing that he still had to play junior tournaments, he still dared to accept the invitation and even signed up for the doubles match. He must have had his own plans, but I really didn't expect that he would use a technique that has almost only appeared in regional tournaments in The Prince of Tennis, the instant paralysis of Ibu Shinji, a technique that almost no one would consider, to deal with you."

"This is my mistake as the tactical coach, it has nothing to do with you, Benneteu, I should reflect on it."

Bennett shook his head: "It has nothing to do with you, it's my problem. Actually, I should have thought of Shinji Ibu's instantaneous paralysis when my arm first started to feel numb."

Despite losing the first set, Benneteau didn't blame anyone.

The loss was due to his own fault. Although it had something to do with the tactical coach, it wasn't a major factor. The instant paralysis technique is indeed much more subtle than other techniques. If you don't think about it in that way, you really wouldn't expect Gu Cheng to use a technique that's usually only used in regional tournaments in The Prince of Tennis in such an important event.

"Actually, it's still our own fault. If we had thought about the momentary paralysis earlier, the result of the first set might not have been like this." Roger sighed after being silent for a long time.

“His tennis IQ is too high. He completely takes advantage of our inability to think about things from the momentary paralysis. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have won the first set.” Benneteau slammed the ice pack his agent handed him aside.

"It's okay, it's only the first set. Now that we know he used instant paralysis, we'll just be careful in the next set and not give him the chance to alternate between topspin and backspin."

"His ability to use instant paralysis means that Gu Cheng knows that there is no way to deal with us using other ball skills, so he can only choose instant paralysis, a ball skill that is not easy to be detected."

Roger calmly analyzed, "In that case, we just shouldn't give him any chances in the first set. It's just a matter of coming back from a one-goal deficit to win two sets."

"It's not a big deal for you or me, there's no need to be upset about winning or losing a game."

“I know, but I’m still annoyed. He completely treated us like idiots.” Bennetteu said through gritted teeth, “Of course, it wasn’t just us who didn’t notice, everyone else did too. If I hadn’t shouted that at the end of the match, probably no one would have realized that Gu Cheng used instant paralysis in the first set.”

"As long as you know."

Roger nodded, then said in a deep voice, "But don't think that Gu Cheng is no threat just because he no longer has the instant paralysis. Don't forget, besides the instant paralysis, he also has two other ball skills."

"What?" Bennett frowned.

"Shenning still has Tannhäuser's serve." Roger said, emphasizing each word: "In other words, Gu Cheng still has a natural advantage in the service game. As long as we can't break those two serves, it won't be an easy thing for either of us to win."

"Tanwaiser's serve is a little better, but it puts a lot of strain on the arm, and even he can't hit it many times."

"But it's hard to say about her disappearing into the shadows."

Bennett said, "Actually, I don't think we need to worry about the disappearance. The ball doesn't disappear; it just changes its trajectory significantly, making it seem like it has disappeared. In singles, this skill is indeed difficult to break, but it's different in doubles. With one player in front of the other, returning the disappearance isn't too difficult."

"I'm just afraid..."

Bennett narrowed his eyes: "I'm afraid he'll come up with a new skill in the second set, or like in the first set, he'll come up with a skill that isn't particularly strong, but that we won't be able to detect, or that we'll discover it but it will be too late."

Roger said, "I'll pay attention to these things in the second set. You focus on returning the ball and blocking his chances to spin. I'm not worried about his other skills, but once he uses Tezuka Zone, it won't be good for either of us."

"In the second set, Zhang Ming was the main attacker. He was physically exhausted and couldn't play those unpredictable techniques. His returns were much easier to defend than Gu Cheng's."

Roger paused for a moment, then laughed: "That's a good idea."

The two coaches were also impressed, and they all felt that Zhang Ming was a good breakthrough point, at least much easier than dealing with Gu Cheng.

Starting with Zhang Ming might be more efficient.

……

The halftime break was not long.

When the two players stepped back onto the court, Gu Cheng noticed that the opponents' positions formed a strange "diamond formation": Roger stood three meters to the left of the net, while Benneteau was almost touching the singles sideline.

This is a formation specifically designed to counter spin shots—any return shot attempting to switch spin will have its trajectory predicted, and Zhang Ming's position on the right baseline will be the target of the opponent's concentrated fire.

In the second set, Gu Cheng served first.

Standing on the line, Gu Cheng has decided to abandon the tactic of instant paralysis.

To be honest, the fact that the instant paralysis technique could be so effective, even helping him win the first set, was somewhat beyond his expectations.

As for hoping to win another game based on this skill, that's a bit of a pipe dream.

Instant paralysis is not a particularly difficult ball technique to counter.

Given Bennetteu and Roger's abilities, they couldn't possibly be unaware of the instantaneous paralysis.

However, the thought of instant paralysis reminded Gu Cheng of another person.

Yukimura Seiichi.

If Shinji Ibu is a master of yips, then Seiichi Yukimura is a prodigy in this field, a grandmaster.

The ability to deprive oneself of the five senses, even one's own, to prevent oneself from being affected by the seamless light, is a skill far beyond mere instantaneous paralysis.

However, momentary paralysis can be considered a hitting technique.

However, depriving one of the five senses, strictly speaking, is not a type of ball-hitting, nor is it a ball skill.

Depriving the five senses essentially involves creating immense mental pressure on the opponent by repeatedly and easily returning their shots, thus putting them into a yips state where their senses of touch, sight, and hearing are gradually deprived, leading to mental breakdown and an inability to continue the match.

According to Gu Cheng's understanding.

Hypnosis is an induction process. When a person is interested in hypnosis and is willing to experience it, their subconscious can be induced into a hypnotic state. Once in a hypnotic state, various suggestions can be made to change their muscles, senses, and behavior. These suggestions are made verbally by the hypnotist.

In summary, Yukimura Seiichi's yips = perfect basic strength + mental pressure + hypnotic induction.

If we can replicate Yukimura Seiichi's ability to deprive the five senses, winning the first match shouldn't be too difficult.

However, Gu Cheng couldn't say for sure that it would work.

Since depriving one of the five senses is not a skill in itself, it cannot be replicated by relying on the state of selflessness. To achieve the effect of depriving one of the five senses like Yukimura Seiichi, one needs to have strong basic strength.

"Whether it works or not, let's win the service game first."

Gu Cheng made up his mind, then his eyes flashed, and he threw the tennis ball upwards, bending his whole body in an extremely exaggerated posture.

"Beneteu, it's Tannhäuser's serve!!" Roger, standing in the frontcourt, shouted a reminder without turning his head after seeing Gu Cheng's posture.

Bennetteau's eyes narrowed, and then a loud bang was heard as the tennis ball flew towards the two like a yellow lightning bolt.

The next instant, the tennis ball hit the ground, bouncing back even lower than a swallow's back, causing Benneteau, who had witnessed Tannhäuser's serve firsthand, to gasp in astonishment. That's fucking insane!!

Seeing this serve on video is a completely different experience from actually receiving it in person.

The former is simply out of curiosity, or perhaps they watch and think about how to break the serve, or maybe there is no way to break it at all.

But the mental pressure of facing that ball in person was immense.

The frustration of having to give up halfway through a racket swing is something you can't experience while watching a video.

Even with prior preparation, Benneteau could only watch helplessly as the tennis ball flew out of bounds when faced with that serve.

"15-0! Gu Cheng and Zhang Ming are in the lead."

The second point was again served by Tannhäuser.

Benneteau still had no answer to the serve and could only stand on the baseline like a fool, listening to the score announced by the referee.

"30-0!"

"40-0!"

"Game score: 1-0, Gu Cheng and Zhang Ming are in the lead."

In the second set, the first ball was served by Benneteau. The flat shot, with a speed of nearly 200 km/h, grazed the net like a laser and headed straight for Zhang Ming's backhand at knee height.

Gu Cheng instinctively moved to cover the position, but Roger suddenly blocked his path with his racket – this was a “volley interference” that violated doubles etiquette, but the referee did not call a foul.

Zhang Ming managed to return the ball with a slice, but the ball speed had already decreased to 110km/h. Bennetteu met the ball with a smash, and the tennis ball grazed Zhang Ming's hair and flew into the corner.

"15-0." The referee's voice carried a hint of reluctance.

Gu Cheng noticed that Benneteau and Roger were deliberately compressing his preparation time with each shot: Benneteau's serve intervals were shortened a lot, and every shot was aimed at Zhang Ming, which undoubtedly caused him a lot of trouble.

In the third game, Zhang Ming fell heavily while trying to save a high-pressure ball, leaving a thin bloodstain on his knee.

"Ming-ge, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, just a superficial injury." Zhang Ming didn't seem to care. He had to make these kinds of saves many times during the game, and he got used to it after a while.

"But these two guys seem to be watching me closely. They'll give me the ball whenever they can. It seems like they're worried that giving me the ball will cause them a lot of trouble, so they're using me as a weak point."

As he said this, Zhang Ming's face showed some bitterness. During this period, his strength had improved rapidly, and he was about to break into the top 100. He had thought that he could shine in the Australian Open.

Indeed, he defeated the previous four Grand Slam winners in the first round of singles and successfully advanced to the second round.

Unexpectedly, in the doubles match, he became the opponent's weak point.

For a moment, Zhang Ming felt somewhat helpless.

"If I hadn't expended so much energy in the singles matches, they definitely wouldn't have had it so easy."

As the two were talking, Benneteau's third shot was already fired.

Gu Cheng used his invisibility ability to return the ball.

The tennis ball had barely flown over the net and hadn't even disappeared from sight when Roger, in the frontcourt, delivered a volley directly at the net, sending the ball towards Zhang Ming.

Zhang Ming had just fallen to the ground. Although it was only a superficial injury, it still affected him somewhat. His movement speed was very slow, and when he swung his racket, the tennis ball flew directly through the gap in his racket and into the distance.

Gu Cheng had already guessed that the two would repeat their previous tactics, using Zhang Ming as a breakthrough point, and hit the tennis ball towards the far corner of Benneteau and Roger with a clear-sky smash.

Benneteau is very fast, and his coordination with Roger is unmatched by Gu Cheng and Zhang Ming. Moreover, having learned from the lesson of the first set, he immediately recognized that Gu Cheng's return was a clear-field smash.

A return shot that bounces high after landing, making it extremely difficult to return even for someone of his height.

To return the ball, you have to take it down before it gets too high.

Bennetteu rushed to the landing point of the tennis ball and hit it towards Zhang Ming with a half volley.

"grass!"

Watching the ball fly towards him, Zhang Ming cursed inwardly. These two guys really treated him as their weak point. They would only pass the ball to Gu Cheng if they could get it to him. Even if their defense had obvious weaknesses, they would still try to pass the ball to him.

This action angered Zhang Ming.

But there was nothing they could do.

Doubles matches are all about teamwork and a balance of skill between the pairs. The skill gap between him and Gu Cheng was enormous, and coupled with his lack of stamina, it was perfectly normal for him to be exploited.

If the other party uses tactics effectively, there's not much he can say.

Moreover, if it were him, he would probably make the same choice as the two of them in this situation.

Zhang Ming made a helpless volley at the net, but it gave Roger the opportunity to smash. The tennis ball was hit to the side in an instant, and even Gu Cheng, who had the ability to use the short-range technique, could only watch as the tennis ball flew out to the side.

"40-0!!"

Bennetteau and Roger exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of joy in each other's eyes.

The match unfolded almost exactly as they had predicted beforehand. As long as they targeted Zhang Ming as their weak point, even if Gu Cheng was incredibly strong, he couldn't possibly take Zhang Ming's place in hitting the ball.

Zhang Ming, although he wanted to let the ball pass a few times, as a professional tennis player, even if he had this thought, he would still subconsciously play the ball.

This made the fight between the two much smoother.

Under this tactic, the second game ended quickly, with Benneteau and Roger successfully leveling the score at 1-1.

When they changed courts, Zhang Ming took a deep breath: "Acheng, these two's tactics are very obvious. They are targeting me as their breakthrough point, and in fact, they have succeeded."

Gu Cheng looked at him: "So, what does Brother Ming plan to do?"

Zhang Ming said, "I'll just stay on the sidelines and watch. Although you have to run around more when you're playing one against two, it's still much better than the other team constantly scoring in this way."

"what do you think?"

(End of this chapter)