Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 140 Are you planning to shut out the Australian Open main draw as well?

Janowitz was a little confused.

He thought a lot.

Even before Gu Cheng served, he had already thought of every serve Gu Cheng had ever played so far, whether it was the easiest-to-counter topspin serve, the unpredictable and disappearing serve, the explosive serve that relied on power, or even some serves that Gu Cheng hadn't played yet.

The main reason is to prepare for unexpected situations and take precautions against unforeseen circumstances.

At the very least, we won't be caught off guard.

But seeing this serve, Janowitz realized that he had oversimplified things, or rather, he had never even thought of this serve.

"I think it's called... Tannhäuser serve?"

Janowicz wasn't entirely sure what the serve was called, because Gu Cheng hadn't used it before, and it didn't appear often in the main series of The Prince of Tennis.

It first appeared in a match against the United States, in a doubles game between Atobe Keigo and Sanada. Because they were at a disadvantage, Atobe had to use the Tannhäuser serve, which he had kept hidden for a long time, in order to stop the decline.

The key point is that Janowitz has never met him.

Of course, there are other ball skills to refer to.

Janowitz thought of the return shot that wouldn't bounce, also known as the Swallow Return.

The Tannhäuser serve and the Swallow Return are indeed similar in concept, but the difference is that the Swallow Return is a relatively passive skill. If the opponent does not hit a topspin shot, or hits the ball back before it lands, the return shot is not very threatening.

At least for professional players like Janowicz who have already broken into the world's top 100, he doesn't pose much of a threat.

The Tannhäuser serve is different. It's too aggressive. Because it's a serve, there's no other way to block it. Also, it's impossible to return the serve before it hits the ground.

The rules of tennis do not allow you to return a serve before it lands.

In other words, his only way out was completely blocked.

Unless, of course, the ball is returned after it has landed.

But he had just seen that the distance the ball bounced after landing from Tannhäuser's serve was even lower than that of the Swallow Return. With a serve of that magnitude, even if the racket could touch the ball, it would mostly be the iron hitting it, and it was hard to say whether it could even clear the net.

Now, Janowitz was in dire straits.

If they can't create any opportunities in the return game, the outcome of the first round might already be decided by now.

Janowitz knew he was probably no match for Gu Cheng, but he didn't want to lose too badly.

Moreover, these professional players had all been in contact with Gu Cheng after the Australian Open organizers announced his participation. The general idea was simple: whoever faced Gu Cheng in which round should do their best to expose more of his strength and skills, so as to provide some ideas for the players who came after him.

Or, there might be enough time to prepare some things so that Gu Cheng wouldn't have it too easy for him later.

It's fair to say that Janowicz came to today's match with a mission.

But Gu Cheng's serve caught Janowicz completely off guard.

If you can't even touch the ball, how can you expect Gu Cheng to expose more of his abilities?

……

CCTV5.

The ratings for the midday episode of "Fifth Auntie" skyrocketed because Gu Cheng was participating in the Australian Open.

What are the real-time viewership ratings?

"The real-time viewership ratings calculated at this time are only preliminary and not very accurate, but they should be close to the actual figures. The actual figures should be higher than the calculated ones."

"It's a weekday and noon today, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. As long as the real-time ratings aren't too low, it's fine."

"Not necessarily. Gu Cheng still has a lot of fans in China. This is also the first time that we have a player who has entered the main draw of the Australian Open, and he is participating as the top seed. The viewership will definitely not be low."

"It's better to be safe than sorry. The main problem is that it's noon, and it's a weekday, so there's not much information available. If it were evening, there would definitely be a lot more people looking at it."

"How much is expected? Is it five percent?"

"It's a bit uncertain if it's around noon. I estimate that two percent would be good."

The group chatted quietly backstage. They were quite concerned about the ratings, as this live broadcast had sacrificed a rather exciting football match, putting pressure on the station's leadership.

Supporting domestic professional players is definitely necessary, but the viewership ratings can't be too low.

Hopefully it can be higher; four percent would be acceptable, if not five percent.

Just as everyone was waiting anxiously, a young man ran over.

Upon seeing this, someone hurriedly asked, "How is it? Has it passed the third yet?"

Is it close to five?

Everyone kept pressing for answers, and seeing the other person struggling to breathe, they were all a little uneasy.

Before anyone could speak, everyone's hearts sank completely: "Could it be less than two percent?"

"If the ratings don't even reach two percent, we'll all get scolded."

"The main reason is that this live stream was added at the last minute without prior promotion, and it was also during the daytime on a weekday, so it's normal that not many people watched it."

But who knew that while the critics were still making excuses, the young man who ran in suddenly burst into laughter: "The current real-time viewership rating is nine percent, and it's growing at an extremely high rate. We couldn't believe it when we first saw the results. This is a weekday at noon! A viewership rating of five would be incredible, but it jumped straight to nine, and it looks like it's about to break ten."

"Hahaha……"

"Gu Shen is absolutely amazing! This is no less impressive than the Champions League final in football. He's incredible."

"Nine percent?"

"Is it almost at ten?"

"That's incredible!"

"Brilliant!"

"How can it be so high?"

"It seems like Gu Shen hit a serve called 'Tanhäuser'? There's a lot of discussion about it online now. As everyone knows, we bought the broadcasting rights for the Australian Open. No other country has it. If you want to watch a high-definition live broadcast, you can only come here. As soon as Tanhäuser's serve came out, the ratings jumped three points."

"Holy crap? Tannhäuser serve?"

"Before the tournament, many people were speculating whether Gu Cheng would use some unused techniques after participating in the Australian Open, given that most of his other skills had been studied. It turns out he really did hide his strength!"

"Could Gu really win the Australian Open at the age of fifteen?"

"It's hard to say, but if we actually get it, that would be incredibly awesome."

"He's only fifteen! A fifteen-year-old Australian Open champion, and from our country at that, I can't even imagine it."

"The station's leaders are already thinking about inviting Gu Cheng for an exclusive interview after the Australian Open."

"Really? I can ask for an autograph now?"

"Could you arrange a few matches? Even though we're all tennis trash, it would be nice to play a few points with Gu Shen."

"I'm not sure, but several leaders in our station like to play tennis, so they should arrange it, right?"

"Brilliant!"

The office erupted in cheers; everyone was overjoyed and shouted excitedly.

In the live broadcast room, Hu Li and Tong Xin had no idea about the ratings, but that didn't dampen their excitement.

"It's Tannhäuser's serve!"

"My goodness! Gu Shen can even serve Tannhäuser. With that serve, Janowicz is in danger. If he can't even touch the ball in Gu Shen's service game, he probably won't be able to cause Gu Shen much trouble. Gu Shen should be able to win the first round easily."

From the start of the match, Gu Cheng displayed exceptional focus. He stood in the service court, gently tapping the tennis ball with both hands, his eyes fixed on the opposite side's receiving court. This was his first game, and his moment to showcase his strength to the world.

"boom!"

An orange-yellow arc sliced ​​through the air as the tennis ball spun rapidly toward Janovic's backhand. Upon landing, it did not bounce, as if suppressed by some invisible force, and flew along the court out of bounds.

—It is the legendary "Tannhäuser serve"!
Will Keigo Atobe's signature move be revived?

Janowitz clearly hadn't anticipated this serve, but after the amazing first serve, he quickly adjusted his stance for the second, trying to respond with the frame of his racket.

However, the ball's speed and spin were so strong that before his racket, which had just been lowered, could even touch the edge of the ball, the tennis ball flew directly out of bounds.

"ACE! 30-0!"

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the audience. Gu Cheng smiled slightly, a hint of confidence in his eyes.

Despite a poor start, Janowicz is, after all, an experienced professional player.

He quickly adjusted his rhythm and adopted a more aggressive serve return strategy in the second point.

When Gu Cheng served again, Janowicz anticipated the move and quickly moved to his forehand position. He used his racket to touch the tennis ball that was close to the ground, but because the racket frame had almost no elasticity, the tennis ball only rolled forward a little bit.

Janowicz's counterattack came quickly, but it was clear that he had underestimated the Tannhäuser serve.

If this method makes it easy to return Tannhäuser's serve, the American team will no longer be at a disadvantage in receiving serves when facing Tannhäuser's serve.

For the third goal, Janowicz used the same method.

This time, the tennis ball flew a little further, but it was still far from clearing the net.

40-0!

Overwhelming!

"Janowitz is still very capable, and his tennis IQ is very high. He is gradually probing the extreme angle of Tannhäuser's serve. If this continues, after a few more service games, he will really be able to return Tannhäuser's serve."

"A counterattack might be possible, but it's far from a proper counterattack."

"If Gu Cheng's Tannhäuser serve is combined with a serve-and-volley, even if Janowicz manages to get the serve over the net, the final result will still be a smash from Gu Cheng."

"But that was a form of retaliation, wasn't it?"

"That's true. It just goes to show how strong a professional player is to break into the world's top 100, especially since he was a Wimbledon semi-finalist. If it were me, I would probably just stand there and not even think about returning the serve when faced with Tannhäuser's serve."

"Janowitz made a brilliant decision!"

……

At this point, Gu Cheng had already hit the fourth point of his service game.

As Janowicz ran, he observed the trajectory of the tennis ball. After roughly noticing the trajectory of the ball after it landed, he bent down and prepared to receive the serve.

After the tennis ball landed, Janowicz quickly lowered his body, the ball arcing behind him in a wide arc, and then, in the instant the tennis ball flew past, his racket collided head-on with the ball.

With a "clang," the tennis ball flew forward a distance, but it still wasn't high enough, and finally landed about ten centimeters below the bottom edge of the net.

"It has to be these top 100 professional players in the world. If it were an ITF junior tournament, let alone fighting back, it would be hard to say whether they could even get a chance to fight back."

"Even though it didn't go over the net, you can still see how precise Janowicz's distance control is."

"Gu Shen is just too awesome."

"Go for it, Gu Shen! Strive to win all the honors at the Australian Open."

……

"Match ends, 1-0, Gu Cheng leads."

It's Janowicz's turn to serve.

In the stands, Polish fans waved their national flags. As the first Polish player to reach the Australian Open and the first professional player to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, Janowicz is extremely popular. Many Polish fans came to cheer him on.

However, the Chinese fans cheering for Gu Cheng were equally enthusiastic, and the two passions intertwined, making the atmosphere even more heated.

On the commentary desk, the two commentators had already begun analyzing the possible outcomes of this game.

"Janowicz must hold this service game, otherwise he will have a hard time turning the tide," one commentator said. "But he is facing Gu Cheng, who is in excellent form, especially his serve. Even though Janowicz is trying hard, he is still far from being able to return the ball."

At that moment, the live broadcast camera focused on Janowicz, who was wiping away sweat.

Although young, this young player, who is rich in competition experience, took a deep breath, his eyes revealing a sense of composure and determination.

He knew he couldn't afford to lose points like this in his service games. Even if he couldn't hold his serve, he couldn't let Gu Cheng have it too easy when receiving serves.

We can't give Gu Cheng too many opportunities, especially on crucial points.

Janowitz wiped his sweat, quickly threw the towel onto the chair, and then went to the baseline.

He tossed the ball up, and his first serve was a low slice serve with a slight spin, landing precisely on Gu Cheng's forehand sideline.

Gu Cheng quickly moved into position and returned the ball with a clean and crisp forehand straight shot. The ball crossed the midcourt and landed near the baseline. Although Janowicz ran hard, he was still a step too slow.

"15-0!"

Janowitz frowned and bent down to pick up the second ball. He decided to change his strategy, hitting a high-speed flat serve aimed directly at Gu Cheng's forehand corner.

The ball was extremely fast, flying almost close to the net.

Gu Cheng made an accurate judgment and started ahead of time, using a powerful backhand diagonal shot at an extremely tricky angle, forcing Janowicz to barely block it back.

Gu Cheng seized the opportunity, quickly moved to the net, and hit a very aggressive drop shot during the volley. Janowicz tried to lift the ball high over the top, but Gu Cheng was prepared. He leaped into the air and completed a thunderous high-pressure smash!

"boom!"

The ball bounced far after hitting the line, and Janowicz didn't even try to catch it.

"30-0."

The Chinese fans on the sidelines began chanting in unison: "Gu Shen! Gu Shen!"

The sound surged like a tide, shaking the entire stadium.

Janowicz knew he couldn't stay passive any longer. He adjusted his breathing, positioned himself slightly forward, and prepared to deliver a more aggressive serve.

For his third shot, he chose a flat inside-outside shot with incredible speed, aiming at a part of Gu Cheng's body.

Gu Cheng did not back down. Instead, he stepped forward and used a slight adjustment of his wrist to hit a powerful forehand passing shot. The ball was low and fast, flying directly along the sideline and bouncing out of bounds after landing.

"40-0, three break points!"

A deafening cheer erupted from the crowd. Gu Cheng stood behind the baseline, his expression calm, as if everything was under his control.

What is suppression?

That's the power of suppression!
(End of this chapter)