Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 5 This guy is unbelievably strong
"That shot... was so fast!"

Xiao Fan's pupils contracted, and before he could react, the tennis ball appeared in his half of the court like a yellow lightning bolt.

However, Xiao Fan had good practical experience in matches, and he quickly regained his senses. His footwork was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, he was already on the left side.

However, he clearly underestimated the speed of Gu Cheng's shot. Before he could even swing his racket, the tennis ball hit the ground with a dull thud and flew out of bounds.

“ou...t?”

Xiao Fan glanced at the faint marks on the ground and realized that the tennis ball had not landed in the boundary.

Xiao Fan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Even so, Xiao Fan still subconsciously looked up at Gu Cheng opposite him.

For some reason, even though he knew that his opponent was two or three years younger than him and that he was quite talented in tennis, Xiao Fan felt inexplicably nervous.

Even though that serve was out of bounds, it still gave him quite a shock.

"Maybe we should change the racket." Xiao Fan felt that the reason the serve was going out of bounds was largely due to the racket.

It takes some time to get used to a new weight.

Even top-ranked professional athletes need time to adapt when using different tensions, let alone a fourteen or fifteen-year-old student.

However, Gu Cheng's return shot was somewhat unexpected.

"This one will do. I should be able to get used to it after a couple of shots." Gu Cheng shook his head and declined the suggestion to change his racket. The reason why his serve went out of bounds just now was not so much because of the racket, but because he had not yet fully adapted to his original body.

"Then should I slow down a bit?"

"Need not."

After his proposal was rejected one after another, Xiao Fan didn't know what else to say.

However, Xiao Fan didn't say anything, but those gathered around the court, especially those familiar with Xiao Fan, were somewhat angry about Gu Cheng's slightly impolite behavior.

"No, does he really think he's a professional player? Xiao Fan was so obviously going easy on him, and he still doesn't appreciate it. Does he really think someone who can get third place in a major competition is comparable to those amateur players?"

"He was a bit too confident; he'll come to terms with reality after playing two or three games."

“I think two or three games would be too much. I’d probably beat him out of his spirit in the return game. Tennis isn’t like chess. Even the best chess player can’t feel the difference in skill in the opening stage. But in tennis, as long as you don’t deliberately hide your strength, you can see how big the gap is in just one or two points.”

Many people around shook their heads, but some disagreed with these words.

"There's no doubt that Xiao is strong, but his opponent doesn't seem that weak either. You all saw that return shot just now; it was really fast. Most people couldn't hit that."

"Let's not talk about anything else. Just ask yourself honestly, can you even handle that kind of serve return?"

"They must know Xiao Fan's strength. Would they dare to accept the challenge if they didn't have some skill?"

"Anyway, I think that this high school student may not be as good as Xiao Fan, but he won't be too bad either. It's unlikely that he will be shut out. I guess the final score will be around 6-2."

"No way, he can win a game against Xiao Fan? You're kidding!" someone scoffed. "We're not bad amateurs, but who among us can get two points against Xiao Fan?"

The middle-aged man who spoke curled his lip: "If you don't believe me, just wait and see!"

……

Xiao Fan took a breath, snapping out of his daze from Gu Cheng's incredibly fast serve, and immediately switched to the left service court.

The service court is divided into the left service court (section 2) and the right service court (section 1). At the start of each game, the player serves from the right service court. After scoring or losing a point, the player switches to the left service court, and so on.

After bouncing the tennis ball a few times on the ground, Xiao Fan looked up at Gu Cheng, then tossed the ball upwards and bowed slightly.

The next second, accompanied by a sound, Xiao Fan swung his racket forcefully.

Bang!
The tennis ball arced through the air and landed on the left side of the court to Gu Cheng's left.

Having witnessed Gu Cheng's serve return, Xiao Fan pressed the ball even deeper and faster this time, sending the tennis ball flying almost along the service court's sideline towards the baseline.

Gu Cheng moved quickly and swung his racket at the bouncing tennis ball.

This time, Gu Cheng controlled his power slightly, but the tennis ball still flew out of bounds.

30-0, Xiao Fan is in the lead.

"That serve was so fast, it seems Xiao Fan isn't going to hold back."

"Definitely. If I were rejected repeatedly, I wouldn't give them a friendly look either. I'd be lucky if I didn't beat them up. Why would I hold back?"

"Xiao's serving skills are getting better and better. You can really see his improvement every now and then. It's a pity that he's a bit older, otherwise he could really become a professional player."

Those present were all tennis enthusiasts and knew some basic knowledge.

Tennis professionals typically determine their career path around age six or seven, and by age twelve or thirteen, they need to start playing in ITF tournaments to accumulate ranking points. Xiao Fan is now nineteen, but he's still playing in domestic tournaments, which essentially ends his path to becoming a professional tennis player.

Unless you are exceptionally strong, you can only qualify for ATP tournaments through a wildcard.

If they really had that kind of ability, they would have gone abroad long ago, why would they stay in the country?

There is no solution to this problem.

Gu Cheng's two consecutive serves went out of bounds, causing him to frown.

He hadn't forgotten the techniques he'd mastered in the world of Prince of Tennis, but his current body, which was basically only used for basketball, was clearly not yet adapted to tennis, and he always felt a bit awkward when swinging the racket.

The ball was handled very well, but it still flew out of bounds.

"The body still needs time to adjust!"

Gu Cheng was speechless for a moment.

Xiao Fan noticed the fleeting look of confusion on Gu Cheng's face, but said nothing at the moment.

Two consecutive service return errors did not affect his judgment of Gu Cheng's ability.

Not weak. If you're using a racket with the right tension, your opponent can definitely cause you a lot of trouble.

"While the opponent is still adjusting, let's quickly take the serve and see what happens."

"I won't hold back."

Xiao Fan held the tennis ball, his eyes sharp, knowing that giving it his all was the greatest respect he could show his opponent.

The racket was swung, and the tennis ball flew out.

boom!
"Even faster than the previous serve, is Xiao Fan not planning to waste any time?"

Looking at Xiao Fan's serious face, the spectators around couldn't help but gasp. Although Xiao Fan was just a relatively unknown professional player, he had participated in quite a few competitions and had even played against several world-ranked professional players.

Although he lost the match, Xiao Fan's all-out effort still caused considerable trouble for those professional players who had made it into the top 100 in the world.

Now, this same seriousness is being used on a fourteen or fifteen-year-old student, which, to be honest, is puzzling to many.

Gu Cheng's serve reception speed is not weak, but it's not enough to make Xiao Fan go all out, is it?
However, while everyone was still wondering, a loud bang was heard, and the tennis ball hit the wall behind Xiao Fan, hitting the baseline.

"No...no out of bounds?"

The person speaking had a trembling voice and looked at Xiao Fan, who had only run halfway, with a look of astonishment on their face.

Xiao Fan was also somewhat skeptical, but his feeling was more direct than others: "They adapted so quickly!!"

Xiao Fan lowered his head and dribbled the ball towards the ground.

boom! boom! …

Those who knew Xiao Fan well whispered, "That last shot seems to have startled Xiao Fan as well."

"This young man is quite capable!"

"Will Xiao Fan lose?"

"How could that be? He hasn't even used his full potential yet."

After thinking about it, everyone's anxiety subsided a little.

Just then, accompanied by a sound, Xiao Fan swung his racket forcefully.

As the tennis ball flew out, the other players also moved towards the center net.

Serve and volley.

"Just as expected, it's serve and net!"

A collective gasp came from the sidelines: "Xiao Fan's serve and net play was praised even by Na Jie before. This young man is probably in for a tough time."

"There might be a gap in skill level to begin with, and when faced with Xiao Fan who goes all out with his serve and net play, I really can't imagine what other tricks he might have up his sleeve to get points from the return game."

"no……"

While the group was still whispering among themselves, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Holy crap, that was a fast serve return! That kid pushed Xiao Fan back to the baseline, not giving him a chance to serve and volley!"

"Is this okay?"

"That ball went too deep. Wasn't he afraid it wouldn't clear the net? Or even go out of bounds?"

"Is this his response?"

Everyone was somewhat baffled as to why Gu Cheng was so bold. In their view, the probability of such a deep serve going out of bounds was too high.

Xiao Fan was stunned when he saw the ball, and his foot, which had stepped out, was forcibly pushed back.

He originally planned to catch his opponent off guard with his excellent net play, but now, his serve-and-volley strategy has been thwarted before it can even be used.

However, he didn't have time to think too much at the moment and quickly followed up, pushing the ball to the left.

boom!
boom!
boom!
……

The sound of the ball hitting the shuttlecock continued. Before, people were whispering and discussing among themselves, but now the court was eerily quiet except for the sound of the ball hitting the shuttlecock. Everyone's eyes were focused on the game.

The two players on the field fought like lions and tigers, making every point incredibly intense.

"This……"

Those watching were all amazed by what they saw.

It's truly breathtaking!
Seeing that Xiao Fan, who had initially held the advantage, was gradually losing ground, some supporters were shocked and couldn't help but look at the calm and composed young man from beginning to end, and couldn't help but gasp.

"Where did this deity come from?"

"It was so exciting, it really felt like watching a professional match."

"Xiao Fan's performance today was the best I've ever seen, but even so, he was still completely dominated by that high school student. This is... unbelievable!"

The middle-aged man, who had previously thought Gu Cheng was quite strong, had a gleam in his eyes: "I thought he was strong after seeing those two returns of serve, but I really didn't expect him to be this strong."

"Brother Xiao Fan won't...lose, will he?"

These words immediately caused an uproar among those around them.

"How is that possible... Xiao Fan is a professional player!?"

"How could he lose to a high school student?"

The course of the match was somewhat unexpected. It was hard for everyone to believe that Xiao Fan, who they considered to be very strong, would be completely outmatched by a first-year high school student.

The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "Lose?"

"Judging from this situation, it might not be as simple as just losing!"

(End of this chapter)