Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 48 The child was too young to understand, so I hit him a little too hard.

As coaches leading teams from various provinces, they actually have a good relationship in private. They usually get along well with each other and there's no tension between them.

But that's when there are no matches. When you're actually leading a team in a match, it's a different story. Although it won't be like fighting to the death like enemies, there will still be sarcastic remarks and such.

Take Shen Yu from Shanghai for example. He's a bit younger, around 30 years old. Because of Shanghai's special status, he's actually quite familiar with every coach present.

But when he hears others praising Luzhou as a sure thing for the men's singles championship, he just can't accept it and has to say something to make himself feel better.

Not only do they have to criticize others themselves, but they also have to team up with others.

Regardless of whether we win in the end, at least we'll feel much better for the time being.

Just like now, by making Old Zheng from Luzhou feel bad, the goal has been achieved.

Moreover, they also released a smokescreen.

That Wang Zhen from Luzhou is indeed a headache.

Shen Yu thought that after the opening ceremony, he needed to go back and have a good chat with the students in Shanghai who were playing men's singles, about their life ideals. He couldn't afford to lose to the students in Luzhou.

"It would be best to join forces with others."

Shen Yu glanced at Zhou Yuan and finally gave up.

Old Zhou's temper is unusually calm today, probably because he has no cards to play and it's useless to approach him, so he can only turn his attention to other people.

As Shen Yu searched for his teammates, his opening ceremony speech drew to a close.

After the opening ceremony, everyone dispersed and headed to the hotel arranged by the organizers.

At lunchtime, Zhou Yuan sat down in front of Gu Cheng with a smile, carrying his tray. He then glanced at Jiang Bin, who paused for a moment, then awkwardly carried his tray to another table and sat down.

As soon as Jiang Bin left, Zhou Yuan's smile became even more enthusiastic: "Would you like some steak? I haven't touched my chopsticks yet."

Gu Cheng accepted it without hesitation.

All buffet restaurants are the same; dishes like steak, which are relatively more expensive than other dishes, are usually limited. You can only take one or two pieces at a time, and if you want more, you have to finish them and then queue up.

With so many students participating, even though they were spread across multiple hotels, the buffet restaurant was still packed.

Waiting in line again takes at least ten or twenty minutes, which is a waste of time just for one or two steaks.

After watching Gu Cheng eat for a while, Zhou Yuan put down his chopsticks and knife and fork: "Gu Cheng, I have something to tell you."

Gu Cheng looked up: "Please speak."

Zhou Yuan leaned forward a little, looked around to make sure no one else could hear him, and then whispered, "The schedule for the afternoon's matches has been released. The first few rounds will be a knockout tournament, with each match determining the winner. Once you reach the semifinals, you'll play three matches, and the first player to win two matches will be the winner."

Gu Cheng also put down his chopsticks.

"There are 32 spots in the men's singles competition. After about three rounds, you'll reach the semifinals. I looked at your first opponent; he's not very strong. With your skill, you should be able to win easily even without using your topspin serve, so..."

Zhou Yuan paused for a moment and said, "Until we encounter a particularly strong opponent, we should avoid using topspin serves and the like if possible. We need to keep some trump cards up our sleeves in case of unexpected situations."

"Of course, with your strength, even if you don't hold back your trump cards, no one else should be your match."

"So, you can decide for yourself what to do."

Gu Cheng nodded in agreement.

After that, Zhou Yuan didn't say anything more.

If it were anyone else, he would have given them a few more instructions, such as what to do in case of unexpected situations, or what to do when facing a very strong opponent, or not to lose the game due to carelessness, and so on.

But when it comes to Gu Cheng, those same old instructions are obviously unnecessary.

say what?
Are you suggesting we ask them to go easy on others?

There's no need for that; it would be an insult to your opponent.

……

At noon, before the competition even started and while the players were still resting at the hotel, news about the National Middle School Tennis Championships began circulating online after the opening ceremony.

"The first round of the men's singles competition will officially begin this afternoon!"

"Wang Zhen from Luzhou is currently considered a favorite to win the men's singles title due to his amazing strength."

……

There isn't much information online, mainly from local platforms, but it's enough to show that the tournament is still attracting a lot of attention, with even some national-level platforms endorsing it, drawing the attention of many tennis enthusiasts.

The match officially started at 2 p.m. Almost all seventeen courts in the tennis center were used.

Not long after finishing his meal, Gu Cheng got the venue and opponent for his afternoon match from Lao Zhou. The opponent was a senior high school student from Jiangnan. Lao Zhou said that the senior was quite strong, about the same as Jiang Bin and Chen Lin, or even stronger. However, the specific situation would depend on his performance in the match.

Some people are good at big competitions; the greater the pressure, the better they perform.

However, some people, no matter how strong they are, may lose a match due to nervousness.

This person is actually a strong contender for the top three.

The two players decided who would serve and who would choose sides by flipping a coin.

Gu Cheng was lucky enough to get the first serve.

Gu Cheng gently tapped the tennis ball, then tossed it, bent his knees, pushed off the ground, and leaped up. A crisp sound of hitting the ball rang out, and before his opponent could react, the tennis ball had already flown out of bounds.

ACE ball.

After several days of backswing practice, Gu Cheng's control over his body became increasingly better, and his body became more and more familiar with tennis. Even a very ordinary serve was fast enough that most opponents could not return it.

This shot naturally drew gasps from the surrounding spectators.

"Ace ball?"

"Where is this student from? His opponent seems to be from Jiangnan, right? He didn't even react."

"That serve must have been at least 180 kilometers per hour. Are high school students these days all this fierce?"

"With this level of skill, competing in the high school championships? What a waste of talent!"

……

Gu Cheng's opponent seemed to wake from a dream and became serious as well.

Gu Cheng then served his second ball, which was of very high quality, and the senior high school boy from Jiangnan was hit with an ace once again.

To the point that he's starting to question the meaning of life.

Didn't the coach just tell him to keep an eye on Wang Zhen from Luzhou and the players from Shanghai?

This guy in front of us seems even stronger than them!
He had watched Wang Zhen's matches and studied them for a long time. He even worked with his coach to devise a strategy to deal with Wang Zhen. Unexpectedly, before he even faced Wang Zhen, he felt like he was going to be eliminated in the first round.

"No...is it really that serious?!"

Gu Cheng's service game ended quickly, and as expected, he won with four aces. It was then his opponent's turn to serve. Jiangnan, the senior high school student, was originally a little confident.

But when his serve was broken repeatedly, and even when Gu Cheng took the point again, he was completely numb.

……

Just over 10 minutes later, Gu Cheng left the playing field carrying his racket.

The second round of the men's singles competition will be held tomorrow morning.

Not long after leaving the court, the sharp-eyed Shen Yu suddenly nudged Zhou Yuan, who was sitting next to him: "Hey, Lao Zhou, are those your students in the men's singles position? The match is over so quickly?"

Following the direction Shen Yu was pointing, Zhou Yuan saw Gu Cheng, who had a calm expression, and smiled slightly.

As expected, they've probably shut out their opponents again.

Shen Yu assumed that Zhou Yuan was silent because he was unhappy that his student had lost the game, so he didn't say anything at the moment.

A few words of comfort?

Ha~
If it were him, he would verbally abuse anyone who tried to comfort him in this situation.

But in his heart he was thinking, is the South Wing men's singles really that bad now? He was defeated by his opponent after only ten minutes on the court. If it were him, he would probably be cursing right now.

Just then, the student from Jiangnan returned. Jiangnan's coach coughed twice, feigning composure, and then called out, "The game is over? So fast? Did you say anything unpleasant?"

The boy who was called out was extremely frustrated. You said all I needed to do was watch out for Wang Zhen? Why did I get shut out in the first round by that first-year high school student from the South Wing?

Seeing that no one spoke, the coach in charge of the team from Jiangnan could only rub his hands and look at Zhou Yuan: "Sigh, Lao Zhou, the kid is ignorant and hit him too hard. I'll criticize him when we get back."

Old Zhou: "..."

Boy: ╯□╰

(End of this chapter)