Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 95: That anime is called The Prince of Tennis!
The doubles match ended very early.

"Winning the game while standing up is so satisfying!"

Yu Haoyang was filled with emotion as he left the court.

Especially when she recalled the embarrassing situation of struggling to even get past the first round in the previous doubles team match, she felt that teaming up with Gu Cheng in doubles was too easy. He only needed to stand there and wait for the match to end, and the 5 points in doubles would be easily obtained.

This feeling is exhilarating, unlike anything I've ever experienced before.

"Was that an ice world just now?"

"Did you see it?"

Yu Haoyang laughed and said, "It's so obvious. If I still can't see it, then all those times I watched Prince of Tennis were for nothing!"

"At first, I didn't think in that direction. I just thought that your return shot might be at a tricky angle, making it difficult for your opponent to return it. But then, apart from your service games, the two of them didn't move at all, so I guessed it."

"Besides Atobe's world of ice, I really can't think of any other possibility."

"Smart." Gu Cheng gave a thumbs up.

The two left chatting and laughing, leaving Carol and Payne looking at each other in bewilderment.

……

On the second day of the competition, Gu Cheng once again won the singles match with two 6-0 scores, and his ranking points increased significantly. However, Gu Cheng, who has not yet played in all six tournaments, still has no ranking.

Gu Cheng's name is not found on the ITF Junior Circuit charts.

Yu Haoyang is ranked in the 300s, which is not high but not low either. However, after the Junior Zagreb Cup, Yu Haoyang's ranking should improve significantly.

If Yu Haoyang can make it to the semifinals or even the finals in singles, his ranking may suddenly jump significantly, and he might even break into the top 300.

The ranking difference between players ranked 300 and those ranked outside 300 is not significant.

In the afternoon doubles match, Yu Haoyang continued to play the role of a support player.

In the evening, the two went to a nearby court to practice.

Yu Haoyang has been practicing half-volley and single-leg shuffle steps very hard these past two days, but he hasn't seen any results yet because the time is too short.

After three days of competition, Gu Cheng successfully advanced to the semifinals.

The doubles team has successfully advanced to the finals because they have half the number of spots compared to the singles team.

Gu Cheng's performance at the Junior Zagreb Cup quickly spread around the world as the competition progressed.

Many professional players have begun to study Gu Cheng's tennis skills, especially young professional players under the age of 18. Playing the King of Tennis has become a must before the competition.

This incident was also widely reported by local Croatian newspapers.

As Gu Cheng's opponents in the first round of the Junior Zagreb Cup, Carlo and Payne were interviewed by the Zagreb Sports Daily.

The reporter for the Zagreb Sports newspaper is a tall and imposing woman in her thirties, who is also a former Croatian professional athlete, Hera Hoffman.

Hera retired three years ago due to injury and later became a reporter covering tennis for a sports newspaper, maintaining an unprecedented passion and attention to the sport.

Hera: "First of all, welcome Carlo and Pine. Thank you for agreeing to this interview."

"Thank you, host." Carlo greeted the host with the demeanor and politeness of a European gentleman.

Hera: "I actually contacted Carlo before this and explained the purpose of this interview. As the first person to meet Gu Cheng at the Junior Zagreb Cup, I would like to hear your thoughts on him, especially his skills. Could you tell us about them?"

"can."

Carlo sat up straight: "To be honest, I was actually quite disappointed when I first found out that my opponent was a Chinese teenager."

Hera's eyes lit up: "Oh!?"

Carlo said, "Actually, the reason is very simple. Among the current professional players, there is not a single Chinese player in the world's top 100 male tennis players. The highest-ranked player is over 100. As we all know, the top 100 and those outside the top 100 are two different worlds."

"So, once I got to the competition venue, this preconceived notion made me lower my guard."

Hera laughed: "What Carlo means is that if you hadn't let your guard down, the outcome of the match would have been different?"

Carlo shook his head: "No, Gu Cheng is much stronger than me. I think that apart from the top 100 professional players in the world, no professional player outside the top 100 should be his match."

Hera exclaimed in surprise, "You mean Gu Cheng actually has the strength to be among the top 100?"

"Yes."

"how is this possible?"

"Gu Cheng should be about your age, right?"

"To be precise, I'm probably a year older than him."

Hera hadn't watched Gu Cheng's matches, and her interviews with Caro and Pine were mostly for official purposes. Although she had always followed professional matches, it was limited to ATP events and ITF junior tournaments. Apart from the four Grand Slams and the year-end finals, she didn't watch many other events.

So when Carlo mentioned this, the surprise on his face deepened: "Carlo has played against players in the top 100?"

"Yes, I have, and more than one."

"In fact, even the top 100 professional players don't put as much pressure on me as Gu Cheng, especially his serve and return shot, which are like Harry Potter's magic, something that ordinary people can't return."

When Carlo mentioned Gu Cheng's tennis skills for the first time, Hera, who was leaning back on the sofa, immediately sat up straight: "Could you tell me more about it?" Carlo nodded and said: "Let's talk about the serve first. To be honest, before this, I never thought that the serve would really disappear. In fact, before playing against Gu Cheng, I had heard that the American prodigy lost to his peer in the Australian Open wildcard tournament, and someone had also mentioned to me the opponent's strong strength and those amazing skills he displayed in the match."

"But I just took it as a joke at the time and didn't pay attention to it until I experienced it myself."

"Then there's that return shot that doesn't bounce. It's okay in doubles, since someone will be positioned further forward. You just need to return the shot before it hits the ground."

Hera quickly asked, "What if the ball hits the ground?"

"The ball would skim the ground and go out of bounds," Caro recalled.

Hera was shocked: "How is this possible?"

Carlo laughed and said, "I also think it's impossible. It's a phenomenon that even Newton couldn't explain, but I saw it with my own eyes, and the video of the competition is available online. If the host doesn't believe me, he can search for it online later."

"Actually, both of those balls were normal."

Hera had just accepted the disappearing serve and the Swallow Return, when Caro dropped another bombshell: "What I find most unacceptable is that Gu Cheng seems to possess a magical ability similar to the Monkey King's immobilization technique. He can make us unable to move for an instant, even if it's just for a moment, but that's enough to make us unable to do anything and can only watch helplessly as the tennis ball flies out of bounds."

“This isn’t just my feeling; Payne feels the same way.”

After he finished speaking, he looked at Payne.

Payne turned to Hera and nodded, saying, "Yes, I feel the same way as Carlo. That's a magical ability that mortals can't access; it's the realm of gods."

Hera seemed somewhat skeptical; how could a person be frozen in place?

Payne looked at Hera: "We're not exaggerating, Miss Hera. The feeling... is like being locked in by some irresistible force, as if you're bound by invisible threads. Even if you're conscious, your body is completely out of your control."

"At that moment, it was as if time stood still. We could only watch the tennis ball fly past us, powerless to do anything about it."

After finishing speaking, Payne paused, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, a mixture of awe and resentment.

"Before that doubles match, I always thought that my doubles partnership with Caro was unmatched among our peers, but the appearance of that 'freezing spell' shattered my understanding of tennis."

Hera frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Although you've explained it in great detail, I still find it hard to believe. Is it possible that this ability you're describing is a manifestation of psychological factors?"

"Perhaps it wasn't a true immobilization technique, but rather that Gu Cheng achieved this effect to some extent through his rhythm, movements, and even his gaze?"

“No, Miss Hera,” Carlo interjected at this moment. “Miss Hera has never played against Gu Cheng, so she doesn’t have that immersive feeling. That power is beyond human limits, and it’s not just a psychological suggestion.”

"But Miss Hera did point out one thing: eyes."

"Eyes?" Hera repeated softly.

“Yes.” Payne nodded: “When we are immobilized, his eyes will suddenly become ethereal. At that moment, it’s as if a force is penetrating you. In front of him, you will feel completely naked.”

"It's as if there are no secrets, and all the strengths and weaknesses can be seen through."

Carlo stood up, his body trembling slightly: "I don't know how he did it, but I'm sure that Gu Cheng must have mastered some unknown power."

Hera fell silent.

At that moment, a voice suddenly came through the earpiece: "Hera, we have made a new discovery regarding player Gu Cheng."

"what?"

"The Prince of Tennis!"

The voice on the other end of the headset was excited: "It's The Prince of Tennis! It seems that Gu Cheng's tennis skills all come from The Prince of Tennis. Nowadays, professional players all over the world are watching this anime and trying to learn the tennis skills in it."

"A dramatic change is about to occur in the world of tennis; a new revolution will sweep the entire world."

"Mastering ball skills may become the pursuit and goal of every professional player."

"In the future, players who lack ball skills may only have one outcome... they will be eliminated."

"As far as I know, nowadays it's not just young professional players, but even those ranked in the top 100 in the world are starting to study Gu Cheng's matches, analyzing his match videos frame by frame. The number of views for the anime 'The Prince of Tennis' has increased by more than a hundred times in the past two days."

Hera: "..."

She was stunned.

Anime? The Prince of Tennis?
Is the world crazy, or is she crazy?

She hadn't watched The Prince of Tennis, but she'd heard of it!

Aren't all the ball skills in those videos special effects?

No wonder Carole and Payne felt a vague sense of familiarity when they mentioned Gu Cheng's playing skills; now it all made sense.

Can……

That's anime!
Are the ball skills depicted in the movie something you can learn in real life?
Hera didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing what the other person had said. She just noticed that Carlo and Payne's expressions suddenly turned serious: "Carlo and Payne, if you don't mind, I actually suggest that you go back and find an anime to watch online."

"Anime?" Carlo and Payne exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

Weren't we talking about player Gu Cheng? How did it get mixed up with anime?

Hera nodded: "Yes, that anime is called The Prince of Tennis!"

(End of this chapter)