Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 47: Will the men's singles championship definitely be won by Luzhou?
The preliminary results were released that evening.

Apart from Gu Cheng, who was an unexpected starter in the men's singles, the other positions were pretty much as Zhou Yuan had predicted. The men's singles substitutes were contested by Jiang Bin and Chen Lin, and the two fought to a tiebreaker before the winner was finally decided.

Chen Lin secured a substitute position by a narrow margin.

However, considering Jiang Bin's considerable skill, placing him in the team as a singles player would be a good choice. Therefore, Jiang Bin was also included in the selected team. As for whether he can play in the game, we will have to wait and see what the arrangements are.

Although he might not be able to play in the game, Jiang Bin was still excited to be able to travel with the team to Mianzhou and agreed to be a substitute for the team.

Once the personnel to be deployed were determined, the next step was a three-day intensive closed training program.

Especially in doubles, it's not so much about how skilled the players are, but rather how well they coordinate with each other to win.

However, while everyone else was undergoing closed training, there was one exception: Gu Cheng. He didn't need to train with the others; he could train freely on his own.

In Zhou Yuan's words, geniuses have their own unique training methods.

Yu Haoyang has also been in seclusion these past few days. Ever since he saw Gu Cheng's serve and receive training that afternoon, he couldn't sit still any longer. He somehow managed to get two serve machines and started training day and night.

He felt that his being shut out by Gu Cheng was probably due to a slight problem with his previous training methods.

"Ahhh!"

"Why is it still not working?"

As one of the tennis balls flew past him and out of bounds while he was returning one of the balls, Yu Haoyang went into a frenzy.

It's been three days, three full days.

Does anyone know how he managed to get through those three days?
He only eats two meals a day, and aside from defecating and urinating, he practically sleeps in the gym. Despite the high frequency of practice, he still can't return two balls at the same time.

"There's no reason why he can do it but I can't!"

"Could it be that there's something wrong with my ball machine settings, so the two balls have to fly in parallel?"

Yu Haoyang shook his head. He clearly saw that Gu Cheng was not like that. Even though the two balls were slightly different, Gu Cheng still managed to return the ball. Moreover, Gu Cheng was practicing with three balls at the same time.

Although he could only return two of them, it was much more difficult than what he did, since he had to observe three balls at the same time.

For this reason, Yu Haoyang even went to Gu Cheng for advice, and the answer he received was to practice more and more, and he would get it after practicing more.

He believed it.

But reality slapped him hard in the face; receiving two serves at the same time is simply not something a normal person can do.

So, Gu Cheng isn't a normal person?

Demon!
Yu Haoyang could only grumble inwardly.

……

The three-day intensive training ended quickly, and on the morning of the fourth day, the team of dozens of people took a flight to Mianzhou.

On the morning of November 4th, the National Middle School Tennis Championships officially opened at the Sichuan Investment International Tennis Center.

The tennis center was packed with people early in the morning.

Local reporters and sports channel journalists had already taken up positions on the front lines, their cameras flashing incessantly.

"Are the presidents of the National Student Sports Federation and the Tennis Association present?"

"The head of the Mianzhou Sports Bureau has also arrived."

"Is that the CEO of a local sporting goods company? I heard they invested a lot of money in the championship."

"Were the insurance company representatives also present?"

"It seems the organizers purchased accident insurance for every player, probably to prepare for potential injuries and cooperate with claims at any time?"

……

As Gu Cheng and the others lined up to enter, Zhou Yuan stood in front to cheer them on.

"Among those participating in the tournament, there are newcomers and those who have registered for the second time, but overall there are more newcomers. I won't talk about the veteran players. In particular, the newcomers may be playing in this kind of competition for the first time. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves, just perform to your usual level."

"We'll just say one thing: play the same way we play in tournaments as we do in regular tournaments."

"Our South Wing has never performed particularly well in the championships, but it hasn't been bad either. Overall, we've ranked in the top five. However, we shouldn't be complacent because of our past achievements. No matter what others say or how strong our opponents are, we should just do our best."

"Furthermore, those who have the ability to win a ranking or even the championship should not get cocky now. Only after winning the championship will you have the right to get cocky."

"Also, you must not insult your opponent during the competition. I have said this many times, so please do not make this kind of low-level mistake."

"Did you hear that?"

The hundreds of people present immediately responded in unison, "We heard you." The situation was basically the same elsewhere as in the south wing.

Those who need to give speeches will give speeches, and those who need to do their jobs will do their jobs. There will be speeches from leaders before the competition starts, so the opening ceremony will definitely not be over in a short time.

However, even though the official matches didn't start until the afternoon, everyone could feel that the atmosphere at the tennis center was gradually becoming tense under this pep talk.

There was a sense of calm before the big competition.

Students who had participated in similar competitions or had played in the championship last year were a little better off. Although they were just as nervous, they had experience and were able to adjust quickly. But it was different for the newcomers. Gu Cheng could clearly see that Jiang Bin, who was standing in front of him, was trembling and constantly rubbing his hands on his trouser legs, probably because his palms were sweating a lot.

Jiang Bin turned around nervously: "Gu Cheng, I'm so nervous! Are you nervous?"

Gu Cheng replied calmly, "It's alright."

Jiang Bin was slightly taken aback by Gu Cheng's nonchalant demeanor. Was this really someone playing in a tournament for the first time? But then, thinking of Gu Cheng's strength, he suddenly realized, "That makes sense. With your strength, you don't seem to need to worry about these things."

Does not being nervous have anything to do with ability?

Yes, and it's quite large.

However, Gu Cheng's lack of nervousness wasn't entirely due to his superior strength; he didn't need to worry about his opponents' abilities since he could easily crush them anyway. There was another, more important reason.

During his time in the world of Prince of Tennis, he participated in countless tournaments, including not only international competitions but also regional tournaments, the Kanto Tournament, and many more that even elementary school students could participate in.

Therefore, he has no shortage of experience in major competitions.

With the double buffs stacked on top of each other, there's naturally no need to feel nervous.

Jiang Bin was incredibly envious. The girl was strong and showed no signs of nervousness whatsoever; she had the perfect physique, as if she were born for a major competition.

The two chatted briefly, and soon the leaders and organizers entered. After a long speech, it was already noon.

Zhou Yuan and other coaches leading the team sat to the side.

Suddenly someone laughed and said, "Old Zhou, are you leading the South Wing team again this year?"

Zhou Yuan turned his head and, seeing an old acquaintance, smiled and said, "Otherwise what? I'd like to take a break, but those guys just won't let me!"

"Aren't you too?"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

At this moment, someone behind him sighed and said, "Old Zheng, the men's singles champion will probably be from your Luzhou again this year. I've watched Wang Zhen's matches, and he's very strong. He's no worse than some professional players who are active in ITF junior events. Against other students, he's simply a dimensional reduction attack."

The middle-aged man, called Lao Zheng, shook his head and said, "Wu Shuo, the competition hasn't even started yet, and you're already trying to sow discord between me and him?"

Wu Shuo stared wide-eyed: "Trying to win me over? I'm starting to suspect you've planted a registered member of the association in here."

Old Zheng said, "I'd like to."

"Hey, hey, hey! Can you two keep your voices down? You really don't respect us at all, do you? The men's singles champion could be anyone." The speaker was the coach from Shanghai: "We're not scared, are we? What, every year the men's singles champion is from your inland areas? Can't we from the coast win?"

"You agree, right, Lao Zhou?" The other person raised an eyebrow at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan nodded noncommittally.

Old Zheng looked at the two of them with a smile. Were they working together to create a smokescreen?

At a time like this, what's the point of playing these petty tricks?
"What, Lao Zheng, you're not convinced?"

The guy from Shanghai had a terrible temper. He said at the drop of a hat, "Who doesn't keep good prospects hidden? Only you guys are making a big fuss about them. When they don't even make it to the top four and get crushed by some unknown student, hehe, then you'll know that the higher you're praised, the harder you'll fall."

He had seen Wang Zhen's strength before; he was indeed strong, but not strong enough to guarantee him the men's singles title.

Everyone present was shrewd enough to guess what Luzhou was thinking.

What era are we living in? Everyone has an ace up their sleeve!

On the other hand, it seems that Old Zhou's side in the south wing doesn't have any particularly strong students in men's singles.

However, this is an old tradition. The South Wing is not weak overall, but they can't make it into the top three in the men's singles at the annual championships.

Old Zhou's side has probably gotten used to it. They're not so laid-back now. If it were a few years ago, when Luzhou was so arrogant, they probably would have stood up and fought back long ago. They wouldn't be so quiet now.

But if you have no cards to play, forcing a fight will only backfire.

Suddenly, Shen Yu felt a pang of sympathy for Lao Zhou.

Compared to other positions, Lao Zhou attaches great importance to men's singles.

(End of this chapter)