Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 82 Young man, let's strive for the Grand Slam of youth achievements (24)

"What's the benefit?"

"You could win all four Grand Slam titles for juniors!"

"After winning the four junior Grand Slams, I will go on to play in ATP tournaments and win all the honors in professional tennis in the shortest amount of time."

Do you know how many professional athletes have won the four major junior championships?

Zhang Ming said slowly and deliberately, "Federer, Murray, Wawrinka, and Cilic—only four people in total. This is a special honor. The key point is that even these people have only won one of the tournaments; they haven't achieved a Grand Slam. Federer won the Wimbledon Junior Championship in 1998, Murray won the US Open Junior Championship in 2004, Wawrinka won the French Open Junior Championship in 2003, and Cilic won the French Open Junior Championship in 2005."

"And you may become the first person in history to win a Junior Grand Slam title."

"You can't say you've won every honor in tennis if you haven't won a junior Grand Slam title. Anyway, you're qualified to participate in ITF junior tournaments, so you might as well take these titles."

"Young man, aim for the Junior Grand Slam!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Cheng twitched his lips: "Why not take it if it's free? Brother Ming, you really think highly of me."

Zhang Ming scoffed: "Don't play the newbie in front of me. I've watched every single one of your matches in the Australian Open wildcard tournament. Putting aside how you learned those tennis skills, your basic skills alone are on par with those professional players ranked around 100. Do you think the title of 'court fraudster' is just given to you by netizens?"

"Netizens and viewers have discerning eyes, and I am still young, not old and blind yet."

"Also, that serve you used at No. 1 High School, that serve that you've never used in any public setting before, I'm not saying no one can return it, but even if someone could, I'm afraid there are no more than a handful of people who could."

Zhang Ming still vividly remembers the mirror serve that Gu Cheng used when he was in No. 1 High School. It feels like it happened yesterday. That serve was better than any other ball skill that Gu Cheng has ever played.

Gu Cheng is confident that he can counter or break through any of the other tennis techniques he has played. Many of these techniques have already been shown in The Prince of Tennis, so all that's left is to put them into practice.

The only exception was that mirror serve, which was probably a technique created by Gu Cheng himself.

Anyway, he stayed up all night to watch the entire Prince of Tennis series, and from beginning to end, he didn't see any mirror serve at all. However, Gu Cheng's serving posture was somewhat similar to Atobe's Tannhäuser serve.

However, one serve doesn't bounce after landing, while the other splits as soon as it crosses the net, and it's faster than Tannhäuser's serve. The difference between the two serves is quite significant.

However, they also have something in common: retaliating is very difficult.

Tannhäuser's serve is somewhat like a version of the Swallow Return, but even more powerful.

After all, Swallow Return Flash can be blocked, while Tannhäuser's serve cannot.

Zhang Ming even suspected that the guy he was talking to at the moment might have even mastered Atobe's Tannhäuser serve, but he just didn't have any evidence.

He didn't yet know just how much strength that guy was hiding.

We'll find out later.

After the Australian Open wildcard tournament ended, especially the video of the final match against Wilin, it seemed to have grown wings and flown to every corner of the world.

At this point, many professional players are probably already studying the video frame by frame.

The emergence of ball skills has brought an unprecedented shock to the tennis world, affecting not just one or two people, but all professional players.

Everyone is thinking, if Gu Cheng can make it, what about themselves?
Even Zhang Ming had this thought, let alone others.

Moreover, this can be seen from the match between Gu Cheng and Lin Bin, where Lin Bin played a simplified version of the outside spin serve. Putting aside the fact that other ball skills cannot be mastered by others, what techniques are involved, and what needs to be done, the outside spin serve is highly feasible.

Gu Cheng can use his current skills to overwhelm opponents, but as his opponents become stronger and others study him more, many of his skills will be deciphered—that's undeniable.

Zhang Ming never underestimates any professional player, especially those prodigies who have reached the top of the professional scene.

But he wasn't worried about anything; Gu Cheng was a shrewd little devil.

God has no idea how strong he really is!
Regardless of whether he's hiding his true strength, his mirror serve alone is enough to make him a force to be reckoned with in professional matches.

To be honest, listening to Zhang Ming's rosy promises, Gu Cheng's mouth went dry, and a hint of longing even appeared in his eyes. Perhaps, he really could give it a try.

He won every honor in the tennis world, including junior tournaments, achieving a feat that is unprecedented and likely to remain so.

Gu Cheng took a breath, and his tone became slightly more serious: "Senior Zhang Ming, I'll leave the matter of the tool to you."

"Leave this to me, no problem. Gu Cheng, I've done a pretty good job as your babysitter, haven't I? Don't you have anything to show your appreciation?"

Gu Cheng tentatively asked, "I'll play games with you later."

Zhang Ming: "..."

I don't seek out masochism.

He no longer invites Gu Cheng to play games; it's just asking for trouble, there's no gaming experience at all. Before playing amateur tennis with Gu Cheng, he used to play for four or five hours every day.

But after playing with Gu Cheng a few times, he found that he didn't seem to have much interest in the game anymore.

There was no pleasure at all.

I was even a little depressed.

Although he could easily defeat weaker opponents, every time he did so, he would think of the time when Gu Cheng had defeated him, and it felt like something was blocking his heart, making him extremely uncomfortable.

As a result, he hardly plays that game anymore.

"I've given up swimming."

Hearing this, Gu Cheng was slightly taken aback. He clearly saw that Zhang Ming was online for a long time yesterday, and was still playing yesterday. Why did he quit the game today?
"By the way, Ming-ge, I see that the ITF Junior Championship's annual points are calculated by taking the six highest points from each tournament and the six highest points from each doubles tournament. If it's doubles, then I'll need to find someone to partner with, right?"

"Thank goodness you knew, otherwise I would have completely forgotten about doubles."

Through the microphone, Gu Cheng heard Zhang Ming make what sounded like he was slapping his own head: "What are your plans for doubles? There are quite a few players active in ITF junior tournaments in China, far more than in ATP tournaments, so it's relatively easy to find people." Zhang Ming threw the question back at Gu Cheng, who was now somewhat at a loss.

He had only recently returned to this world and had limited contact with tennis players. The only one he was relatively familiar with was Zhang Ming, but Zhang Ming played in ATP tournaments, so it was impossible for the two of them to team up in the short term.

As for everyone else…

“Ming, as you know, I don’t know anyone in China who is competing in ITF events. I don’t even know who they are. If you ask me to find someone, I really don’t know who to ask.”

What are your expectations of your teammates?

"Tell me first, so I can find someone for you."

Zhang Ming had already been playing in ATP events a few years ago, and he actually knew quite a few people in China who were playing in ITF events.

If it were anyone else, he would probably just recommend someone of similar ability, but Gu Cheng's situation is special, so he felt that he should listen to Gu Cheng's own opinion.

"Require?"

Gu Cheng quickly said, "What do you think about finding someone to be a tool?"

"A tool?" Zhang Ming asked, his tone questioning. "No, explain yourself clearly. What kind of person is a tool?"

Gu Cheng quickly replied, "We won't split the money."

No money involved?
What the hell!

This guy!
Faced with Gu Cheng's request, Zhang Ming was completely stunned. His brain seemed to freeze for a moment, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He was just thinking about what attributes a doubles support player should have, and it turns out you're not planning to give them a single penny!

He had never heard of a doubles team where the team doesn't share the winnings with the other player. Even if the two players are stronger, and the split might be slightly different, it's definitely not the case that the team doesn't share any winnings at all.

Generally speaking, at the very least, they should give at least 30% as a token gesture.

But when it came to Gu Cheng, he didn't want to give him a single cent.

Zhang Ming felt an urge to punch someone when he heard this, but when he thought of Gu Cheng's abnormal strength, teaming up with him would basically be equivalent to winning a doubles championship for free.

Is it worth it to get the doubles championship and ranking points for free without paying anything?

It's definitely a great deal.

Those who can afford to go abroad to compete in ITF junior tournaments are generally from well-off families. Even without the doubles championship prize money, they won't suffer too much loss, but there can only be one champion.

Whether you win the championship or not, you still have to pay for the expenses of traveling abroad to compete.

But now, having spent the money, and even winning a championship, it's a win no matter how you look at it.

but……

One thing we have to consider is whether anyone is willing to accept the condition of not sharing the money.

While many people would be happy to win a championship without receiving any money, it wouldn't sound good if word got out!

This person, in order to win the doubles championship, has no shame whatsoever, and doesn't want a single penny...

There will definitely be many more similar comments in the future.

Zhang Ming was certain of this.

Finding a true "tool" (someone who is useful and helpful) is harder than finding a teammate with comparable abilities to Gu Cheng.

"You've really stumped me."

Zhang Ming sighed, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly said, "By the way, you know Yu Haoyang, Coach Zhou Yuan's student, right?"

"We're not very familiar, but we've met a few times and played a game together."

"It's enough that I've seen it."

"That guy is playing in the ITF junior tournament. His family seems to be quite wealthy. They're not short of money, at least not short of the meager sums from winning the junior doubles championship. If you ask him, you might be able to, but don't get your hopes up too high. Not sharing the money doesn't just mean not sharing the money, it also means saving face."

Gu Cheng clicked his tongue in amazement.

Although the prize money for the ITF junior tournaments can't compare to that of the ATP tournaments, it's still around 40,000 to 50,000 yuan. These days, most families of three can't save that much in a year.

The higher the level of the competition, the greater the prize money, which can be over 100,000.

But Zhang Ming described it as a pittance, which gives you an idea of ​​just how wealthy a family must be to have a professional tennis player.

There's a reason why tennis is considered an aristocratic sport.

However, the same applies to football and basketball. If you really want to train your child to be an athlete or a professional player, the amount of money you have to spend is astronomical.

At the very least, it's something that ordinary people can't afford.

After finishing his call with Zhang Ming, Gu Cheng glanced at the time; it was already 1 a.m. If he called Lao Zhou at this hour, Lao Zhou would probably be scared half to death by the ringing of his phone.

However, it's more likely to be silent.

But Gu Cheng still sent Zhou Yuan a message: "Coach Zhou, could you ask senior Yu Haoyang if he's willing to be a tool?"

(End of this chapter)