Now that I've been reborn, I have to play tennis!

Chapter 88 Regardless of gender, I am the only son (5th update)
Meng Hao clenched his fists and roared to the sky once again, venting his emotions.

I won! My tour debut!

His ability certainly played a part in winning this match.

However, Meng Hao also knew that Dimitrov's failure to request a "medical timeout" after the first set to calm his emotions affected his performance in the second set.

Ultimately, from the beginning, the opponent did not treat him as a tournament-level opponent.

In a battle between experts, details determine success or failure!
After a brief celebration, Meng Hao walked to the net in the middle of the court and shook hands briefly with Dimitrov.

"Congratulations, you played very well!" This Bulgarian star may have been a bit of a jerk, but he still had a lot of sportsmanship.

If you lose, then prepare for the next match.

That's how it is for professional tennis players, one tournament after another.

At this moment, Meng Hao suppressed the joy on his face, looked around, and felt the cheers from the audience rising and falling.

Everyone even happily played the Mexican wave!

The host at the scene cheerfully announced: "A historic moment! This is the first time a Chinese male tennis player has defeated a player in the world's top 10!"

"This isn't just an ordinary ATP Tour event; it's an ATP 1000-level Masters tournament!"

Shanghai Masters, his tour debut, defeating a Top 10 player – could there be a more perfect start?
After shaking hands with Dimitrov and the referee, Meng Hao clenched his fists and roared excitedly.

This scene was also captured by the broadcast cameras.

CCTV host Zhang Sheng casually remarked, "You see, even Meng Hao gets excited! He was so calm when he won his matches before!"

"So it's not that he doesn't get excited, it's that the level of the competition he wins is too low for him to bother getting excited!"

So this is ah!

Everyone was stunned.

Meng Hao had just finished celebrating when the host pulled him aside.

According to regulations, winners of tournaments at the circuit level must give a post-match interview.

The host's microphone also had a prominent "ATP" logo on it.

"Can we do the interview in English?" the host asked in a low voice, "After all, this is a global live broadcast."

Don't you think it's strange for two Chinese people to be talking in English at a competition in China?

"There's no rule against conducting interviews in Chinese, is there?" Meng Hao raised an eyebrow. "Will you be fined?"

"No, that won't happen!" the host replied truthfully.

“Then let’s use Chinese!” Meng Hao said firmly.

Even if a post-match interview is broadcast globally, how many people will actually watch it? Besides, this is the Chinese season now, and it's understandable for a Chinese player to be interviewed in Chinese on their home turf.

Anyway, the host will translate automatically.

"Okay!" The host nodded. "First of all, congratulations, Meng Hao! Your first tour victory in your professional career is at the ATP 1000 level."

How are you feeling right now? Are you very excited?

Meng Hao smiled calmly: "I was indeed very excited just now, but I've calmed down now."

The host then asked, "The entire audience is cheering for you. What would you like to say to them?"

Meng Hao straightened his face and said seriously, "You know, being able to stand on the center court of Qizhong Tennis Court and play in front of so many enthusiastic spectators has always been my dream."

"It feels so good to have my dream come true!"

"I heard everyone's cheers, and I'm very grateful."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand in all directions, and the cheers grew even louder.

"It's just unbelievable!" the host said with some emotion. "In just over six months, you've fought your way up from the lowest level of competition to the Masters, and you've even won."

"You've improved so fast!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Hao calmly replied, "Actually, such beautiful stories often unfold in the professional tennis world, but this time it's the turn of us Chinese."

This time, even the host couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

That's so well said.

The story of tennis prodigies has played out in many countries, so why not ours? Finally, the wait is over!

"After defeating the tournament's 10th seed, what are your expectations for this tournament?" the host continued.

That's a bit more sophisticated.

Athletes often say, "Keep up the good work, strive harder, and try to go even further."

Meng Hao pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "Since we beat the 10th seed, it's like getting the 10th seed draw. I can't let this opportunity go to waste!"

He really dares to say that! While his tone wasn't exactly arrogant, it wasn't exactly humble either. After the interview, Meng Hao interacted with the fans in attendance, signed autographs, and then waved goodbye before leaving the stadium.

……

Back at the hotel, Meng Hao opened his attribute panel with a happy and relaxed smile on his face.

A Masters tournament with 56 draws is indeed highly prestigious.

After winning one round, he earned 50 ATP points, for a total of 304 points.

This means that his current ranking is temporarily in first place among domestic players.

However, the results of the other matches are not yet out. If Zhang Ze and Wu Di fail to advance to the second round, then the top spot will have to be taken by someone else.

The possibility is great!
"My first win in the tour is here, now it's time to claim my reward!" Meng Hao had a feeling that with his victory in the Masters tournament, the rewards would likely come in quick succession.

[Win an ATP Tour event!]

[Host has completed the process, as detected!]

Thus, Meng Hao naturally obtained the third experience card for Djokovic's 2023 US Open tour.

Next task!
Win an ATP 500 or higher tournament!

[Host has completed the process, as detected!]

I've received my fourth trial card.

Continue the mission!

Win an ATP 1000 or higher tournament!

[Host has completed the process, as detected!]

The fifth trial card has been obtained.

Meng Hao quickly accumulated 3 experience cards.

"The sixth mission is... to reach the quarterfinals of the tour!"

In tennis, the quarterfinals are called QF, the semifinals are called SF, the finals are called F, and the champion is called W.

Generally, when the ATP website records your results, it will indicate how many times you reached the quarterfinals, semifinals, finals, or won the championship, but it will not indicate how many times you reached the round of 16.

In the tournament, reaching the quarterfinals is a hurdle.

Meng Hao put the matter aside for the time being and used all three trial cards first.

Serve +3, reaching 85
Backhand +3, reaching 80
+5 at the net, reaching 75
Steps +2, reaching 79
Tactics +6, reaching 78
A look of surprise appeared on Meng Hao's face, but he quickly understood.

This time, I used three trial cards at once, but my forehand strength didn't improve at all.

It seems that going from 89 to 90 is indeed a hurdle.

90, that must be the threshold for becoming a superstar!
Even Murray, who is now considered a semi-superstar, may not have this level of forehand skill.

Fortunately, Meng Hao's strength is now well-balanced and he has no obvious weaknesses, so he went to sleep with a satisfied feeling.

……

On the afternoon of October 7, many more news articles about Meng Hao appeared online.

Actually, he was already trending on social media last night!

After all, it was a Masters Tournament victory, plus defeating a player from the Top 10.

But in this news story, Meng Hao was merely a supporting character.

Alongside the ATP Shanghai Masters, the WTA Premier 5 tournaments will also be held during the same period, with the Wuhan Open being the first Premier 5 tournament held this year.

Today, WTA major tennis tournaments are divided into Premier 5 and Crown events.

The China Open is a Crown tournament, awarding 1000 points to the champion; while the Wuhan Open is a Premier 5 tournament, awarding 900 points to the champion.

However, starting in 2021, all Premier 5 and Crown tournaments were merged into the WTA 1000 tournaments, with a unified ranking of 1000 points.

In addition, all previous WTA Premier 5 tournament champions have been upgraded to WTA 1000 tournament champions.

The reason Meng Hao is in the news now is that he has become the only male heir, regardless of gender.

In the first round of the Shanghai Masters, only he was the only local player to advance, while the other three were all eliminated; and in the Wuhan Super 5 Tour, all of the Chinese female players were eliminated in the first round.

Adding to the fact that the Chinese players' performance at the China Open was also abysmal.

Meng Hao is surprisingly the most outstanding local player in this "China Season".

At this moment, almost all the fans' eyes were focused on him.

This is the village's only hope!
……

(End of this chapter)