Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 162 Passion Never Needs to Be Proved

Yu Haoyang yawned and put his arm around Gu Cheng's shoulder: "A double shutout, enough to brag about for a year."

"Don't get cocky, the next doubles opponent will be even stronger," Gu Cheng pushed his hand away, but couldn't help laughing. "That passing shot you made in the third game, if it had been a little lower, would have been a point. Lucas almost touched it."

"I know, I know, Coach mode activated," Yu Haoyang rubbed his hair. "Honestly, playing doubles with you is so much easier. I only need to focus on the net."

Gu Cheng looked up at the brightening sky. The stars had disappeared, and the lights of the distant court were going out one by one. "Double is a two-person game, and neither of you can be missing." He paused and added, "Good luck in the singles tomorrow. Don't let me leave you too far behind."

"It's still uncertain who will beat whom!" Yu Haoyang quickened his pace and disappeared around the corner of the players' tunnel.

Gu Cheng followed behind, the national flag logo on his racket bag glowing faintly in the morning light, just like the tennis path beneath their feet, paved with glory and challenges, stretching into the unknown and dazzling distance in the dawn of the Southern Hemisphere.

Melbourne local time, 9 p.m.

The scoreboard on Centre Court at the Australian Open lit up for the same name four times in 24 hours – 15-year-old Chinese teenager Gu Cheng won four matches in the junior singles, junior doubles, adult singles main draw, and adult doubles main draw, becoming the first tennis player in the Open Era to achieve a "four-title" victory in a single day.

The tournament organizing committee even made an exception for him, promoting the young man, who was participating in the Australian Open for the first time, on the official website of the Australian Open in order to adapt to the physical limits of this "iron man".

The Times Sports headline: Breaking the physical limits: How Gu Cheng uses physics to destroy the logic of tennis.

"When Gu Cheng served a 210 km/h ace to the outside corner in the fourth game of the adult singles final, the Hawk-Eye system showed that his swing speed reached 312 km/h—faster than the starting acceleration of an F1 car. Even more frightening is that he was able to maintain more than 90% of his serve speed in the doubles final. This stability of muscle memory breaks the existing understanding of sports science."

ESPN column analysis: Four-dimensional player: Gu Cheng's strength and understanding of tennis have transcended this era.

"By tracking his 478 shots over 12 hours, we found that Gu Cheng's accuracy in predicting the ball's landing point was as high as 98% - the average level of ordinary professional players is 62%. This is an extremely terrifying figure, and it is hard to imagine that a person's ball control can reach such a terrifying level."

Furthermore, his movement at the net in doubles exhibits an unusual 'lead time,' as if he can see the ball's trajectory seconds in advance. This 'spatial and temporal anticipation' allows him to perform exceptionally well in matches even without any specific skill, and even improves his partner Yu Haoyang's volley efficiency by over 40%.

In-depth report by Sports Weekly: From high school freshmen to tennis prodigies: A genetic revolution in China's sports landscape.

"Neither Gu Cheng's father nor his father were involved in sports; they weren't even athletes. Yet, this combination of genes from a 'small family' has given him a reaction time of 0.05 seconds (compared to 0.25 seconds for the average player) and a vertical jump of 1.2 meters. More importantly, the 'table control' training in traditional Chinese small ball sports has given him a significant advantage in net play and serve return in tennis."

Tennis Monthly, a technically oriented media outlet: A biomechanical miracle: Gu Cheng's golden ratio serve.

3D motion capture shows that Gu Cheng's serve follows the "5:3:2" golden ratio—50% of the power comes from the lower limbs, 30% from the torso rotation, and 20% from the arm swing.

This power generation pattern increases energy transfer efficiency to 87% (compared to about 60% for average players), explaining why he was able to maintain a serve speed of over 200 kilometers per hour in four finals in a single day.

Clearly, when a person stands at the pinnacle of an era, everything they do, even the wrong ones, becomes the most correct choice.

Every movement seemed to be magnified infinitely by a magnifying glass.

Many people have started to learn his serve, and some have found that his serve is indeed more powerful than before, and they are convinced that Gu Cheng's serve is the most standard.

The viral spread of social media made Gu Cheng's name famous all over the world overnight.

More and more people are starting to pay attention to this 15-year-old boy, who is stepping onto the Australian Open for the first time and has won four matches in one day in an amazing way.

The trending topics on Weibo were also a direct hit.

#Gu Cheng wins four titles in one day#
"I just woke up and saw this trending topic and thought it was a plot from a novel, but it's true? He made it to the Australian Open main draw at 15? He's the number one seed in singles? He won four matches in one day? And he swept the junior group too. This is a real-life Prince of Tennis!"

"I suggest renaming the Australian Open the 'Gu Cheng Cup,' since they can sweep all the tournaments they can participate in in one day. Is that reasonable? I'm out of breath just climbing stairs, while they play four finals like it's nothing."

#Gu Cheng's serve speed is 312#
"For your information: A tennis ball's serve travels at 312 kilometers per hour, which is 86.67 meters per second. The limit for the human eye to detect a moving object is 30 meters per second. To me, this ball was just a white light... no, it should be described as a yellowish-green light."

"F1 driver Lewis Hamilton from next door liked the video, commenting: 'That serve is faster than my car can accelerate!'"

As Weibo gains popularity, even more people will use Twitter in the future.

@TennisChannel: “When Cheng Gu hit that 212km/h serve at 11pm, the stadium radar system mistakenly identified it as a meteor.”

(When Gu Cheng served a 212-kilometer serve at 11 p.m., the stadium's radar system mistakenly identified it as a meteor.)
@RafaelNadal: “Just watched the replay of Cheng’s day. Speechless. His endurance is something from another planet.”

(Just watched Gu Cheng's match replays all day, speechless. His stamina is from another planet.)
Reddit tennis forum is buzzing with discussion:

User u/TennisNerd: "Playing four matches a day, including two singles matches that are BO5, even if I win both, I still have to play three sets. Add to that the doubles BO3, and if I win both sets, that's a total of 10 matches. The stamina is terrifying! I get out of breath after running a few steps on the court."

User u/SportsScience: "I propose a startling hypothesis: Gu Cheng's muscle fibers may have a fast-twitch muscle ratio of over 80% (compared to about 60% for the average top athlete). This 'super fast-twitch muscle' allows him to both generate explosive power and recover quickly. But this requires a genetic explanation, and I suggest the national team investigate it (humorous)."

At this time, Gu Cheng was unaware of the situation outside.

He's a bit tired now. He played four matches a day, a total of 10 sets. If each match hadn't ended so quickly, he wouldn't have been able to keep going.

After repeating this several times, my legs started to feel slightly sore.

Gu Cheng lay in an ice bath tub, his knees and below immersed in 10°C ice water, while Zhang Ming's therapist applied cooling gel to his right shoulder.

Yu Haoyang sat next to him eating an energy bar, his phone screen lit up with a trending topic on Weibo: "Acheng, look, netizens say you're a combination of 'Captain China' and 'Hawkeye,' which is quite fitting."

Gu Cheng, with his eyes closed and water droplets still clinging to his eyelashes, said, "Stop fooling around, let me take a nap for 5 minutes..."

His voice was tired, but his fingers were still unconsciously making serving motions in the air—a muscle memory habit he had developed in the world of Prince of Tennis.

In the hotel room, when Gu Cheng came out after taking a shower, Yuan Hongxia called him on video. Looking at her son on the screen, her eyes reddened: "You must be exhausted. Let me see if you're hurt."

Although Mr. Gu also felt sorry for his son, he was incredibly excited when he thought about how his son had won four matches in the Australian Open in one day, and how many people on the internet were saying that Gu Cheng might break all previous records and win all the honors at the Australian Open, becoming the first four-time champion of the Australian Open.

Gu Cheng leaned back on the sofa, listening to his mother's excited words while smiling and showing her the muscle relaxation ball the therapist had given him: "It's okay, Mom, look how well I'm doing. Today's matches were only a bit intense in the Australian Open doubles main draw; the other matches weren't much different from my usual training." "You brat, always bragging," Yuan Hongxia said with a laugh, but her smile only widened.

Having given birth to such a son, her face seemed to be glowing with radiance.

Today at the hospital, the hospital director specifically chatted with her, especially mentioning his son a lot. Even the leaders from the health department specifically praised her for giving birth to a good son.

Yuan Hongxia was overjoyed at that moment, feeling as sweet as if she had eaten candy.

Comrade Gu sat to the side watching Yuan Hongxia chat with her son, laughing like a fool.

When the call ended, he made a "victory" sign at the screen, his smile filled with youthful innocence, completely devoid of the fierceness he displayed on the field.

With the lights dimmed to their lowest setting, Gu Cheng wore a smart sleep headband, and exercise recovery belts were scattered on the bed.

On the bedside table was a late-night snack customized by a nutritionist: a salmon salad, two glasses of beetroot juice (to promote blood circulation), and a nutritional supplement labeled "4:00 AM".

The smartwatch showed that his heart rate had dropped to 52 beats per minute, and he was in deep sleep for 38% of the time.

07:00 Press conference scene.

In fact, Gu Cheng did not want to accept this meaningless interview. Not only would it waste his rest time, but he would also have to be careful with his words at the press conference and could not say many things carelessly.

When he stood at the press conference, in front of countless reporters, he represented not just himself, but the image of a nation.

Facing the barrage of cameras from 72 media outlets, Gu Cheng, dressed in a clean white polo shirt, showed no signs of having just experienced an epic day, except for the faint bluish-black under his eyes.

When asked how he managed to win four games in one day, he rubbed the brace on his wrist, revealing a shyness typical of young men:
"Actually, I didn't think too much about it. I just played one match at a time. I treated the junior matches as warm-ups and the adult matches as learning opportunities. I'm grateful to the organizing committee for adjusting the schedule, and I'm also grateful to Haoyang for helping me a lot in the doubles." He paused, looking at the banner held up below the stage that read "The Future of Chinese Tennis," and added, "I just did what I was supposed to do, hoping to let more people like tennis."

Despite having just made history, Gu Cheng still appeared at Stadium 3 as planned before the start of the match.

Instead of high-intensity training, he used the method the old lady had mentioned to practice "neuromuscular awakening": juggling a ping-pong ball with a racket through obstacles and completing a volley on a balance mat.

Yu Haoyang was playing on his phone on the sidelines when he suddenly looked up and shouted, "Chengzi, you're on the cover of Time magazine! The headline is 'The 15-year-old gene that changed tennis.'"

Gu Cheng paused for a moment while hitting the ball, then laughed and said, "Never mind that, just finish practicing this multi-ball game. We have other matches to play later." Sunlight shone through the net onto him, and sweat soaked his back again, as if yesterday's "four-time champion" was just an ordinary training session.

As Gu Cheng carried the salad to the table, he unexpectedly bumped into Federer, who had just finished an interview. The Swiss maestro stood up to shake hands, his eyes filled with admiration: "Cheng, your performance yesterday was incredible. I watched your singles final; that serve reminded me of myself when I was 20, but your consistency is even more terrifying."

Gu Cheng's cheeks flushed slightly as he gripped his idol's hand tightly, like an ordinary fan: "Thank you, Mr. Federer. I've been watching your matches since I was a child. You are my role model."

The two exchanged a brief discussion on serving techniques. Before leaving, Federer patted him on the shoulder and said, "Although I can't play against you in doubles, in singles... we won't give up the championship so easily."

While global media have portrayed Gu Cheng as the "savior of tennis," those familiar with him prefer to describe him as a "disciplined monster."

According to Gu Cheng's teacher, Gu Cheng took the initiative to ask for extra training when he was 10 years old. While others ran 3 sets of shuttle runs, he insisted on running 4 sets.

This almost obsessive self-discipline gave him a maturity beyond his years at the age of 15.

When netizens were hailing him as a god on social media, Gu Cheng was completely bewildered as he looked at the series of news reports and the way his junior high school teacher saw him.

I don't think he ever played tennis in junior high school.
I was speechless, and even a little helpless.

There are many reds.

As Gu Cheng's popularity continues to rise, negative information about him has also begun to circulate online.

An account claiming to be Gu Cheng's junior high school classmate revealed: "He's not that self-disciplined at all; he often skips PE class!"

This news instantly caused a huge uproar, with comments splitting into two opposing camps and arguing fiercely.

Faced with the sudden media storm, Gu Cheng was studying the video of his next opponent's match in his hotel room.

Cao Hui rushed over at some point and handed him his phone: "Someone is smearing you online. Do you need to send a lawyer's letter to clarify?" Gu Cheng paused the video call, glanced at the phone screen, and suddenly laughed: "Ignore it. The innocent will clear themselves."

It wasn't that Gu Cheng didn't want to respond, but rather that he genuinely didn't know how to respond.

In fact, in the years before he returned from the world of Prince of Tennis, he had never been exposed to tennis except for playing basketball, occasionally kicking a soccer ball, and playing badminton.

The more responses there are, the more loopholes there are.

It's better not to respond; this matter may soon pass.

However, the matter did not subside.

The following day during training, a large crowd gathered outside the paddock holding signs that read "Expose the fraud," and some media even blocked the players' tunnel to ask, "Is the information revealed by your junior high school classmate true?"

Gu Cheng remained as calm as ever, only saying softly as he passed the camera: "My past is not as noteworthy as my future."

Then he went on Weibo and posted a simple line of text: "Passion never needs to be proven."

After this Weibo post was published, public opinion shifted instantly.

Gu Cheng had long since put all of that behind him; he was focused on tennis.

In his heart, the playing field is the most authentic stage, and all the controversy and praise cannot compare to the purity and joy of the moment of hitting the ball.

(End of this chapter)