Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 93 One Man's Doubles, The World of Ice
"Ptooey! Ptooey!!"

"Carlo, the doubles match hasn't even started yet, don't make your teammate anxious, okay?"

Payne looked annoyed: "Don't keep cursing yourself. Don't worry, I will definitely lead you to victory in the doubles match, or even the championship. You have to believe in our strength."

“Even though one of our opponents is that young man you played in the singles match this morning, he is very strong, there is no doubt about that, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to eliminate you 2-0.”

"But doubles is a two-person game. My teamwork with you is very good, which is something that most doubles teams can't match. This can be seen from the fact that we were able to win the doubles competition against our peers in Croatia and have an undefeated record."

"We've even won doubles in ATP Challenger tournaments. A doubles match from China is just a scene along the way for us to win the Junior Zagreb Cup doubles title."

"Once we win the junior Zagreb Cup doubles title, we'll head to Sweden and try to win two titles before the new year to improve our ranking and give us a good start for next year's competitions."

"If things go smoothly next year, we have a very good chance of breaking into the top 100 of the ITF Junior Circuit."

"In two more years, if we break into the top 20, we can participate in the ATP Challenger Series, and that will be the beginning of our real professional career."

"You're so optimistic," Carlo said, looking dejected.

Seeing Carlo's expression, Payne frowned, becoming increasingly dissatisfied: "Carlo, what's wrong with you? I already promised you I'd win the Junior Zagreb Cup Doubles Championship, and you're still not satisfied?"

"So what if you were eliminated in the first round? You made it to the semifinals in the singles competition last month, while I was eliminated in the first round, but I didn't end up like you."

"Okay, I did complain a couple of times, but it didn't affect our doubles match, did it?"

"We won the championship in doubles, right?"

"Can't you pull yourself together?"

"Cheer up?"

Carlo chuckled: "After the doubles match this afternoon, if you can recover quickly, then you can come and scold me."

"Don't end up grumbling and complaining more than I do."

"What do you mean?"

Payne laughed: "You're not really afraid of our doubles opponents, are you? You're something else, Caro. You never underestimate your opponents. I have to learn from you in that respect."

"Before I came to find you, I had already checked the records of those two in the ITF Junior Tournament. The one named Gu Cheng was participating for the first time. Although he beat you, he had almost no experience in major tournaments. On the other hand, the one named Yu Haoyang had won several championships, but his baseline technique was very poor. We just need to pay attention to his net play, which is also my strength. If we really meet, it's hard to say who will win."

"If you don't believe me, I'll send you the information."

As Payne spoke, he handed the phone to Carlo.

Carlo didn't look at it; he just took out his phone and opened a website: "Why don't you take a look at the odds the bookmakers are giving for the doubles match this afternoon?"

Payne leaned over to take a look, then suddenly froze: "Huh? Odds 3.7:0.35? Our odds are that high? No, our doubles odds have never been higher than 1.5, how come they're so high this time? Is there a bug?"

"Haha~"

Carlo showed no surprise at all: "If this could cause problems, those institutions would have gone bankrupt long ago. Who are you to be here talking about it?"

"I'm too lazy to look at the match data you found; it's not always very useful. But the odds provided by the bookmakers tell a lot more."

After saying that, he didn't forget to put on a mysterious look: "There are some things I'm too lazy to say anymore. The afternoon's match is coming soon, and you'll know what the real surprise is in a little while."

Although Payne didn't know what Carlo was trying to say, he didn't pay too much attention to it.

Who says organizations can't make mistakes?

Thinking of this, he didn't forget to take out his Happy Beans and place a heavy bet on himself.

……

After Hao Yang's match ended, Gu Cheng returned to the hotel.

When you come to a strange place to compete, experiencing the local customs and culture is secondary. Professional players don't have much free time to appreciate them, and they can't even do a quick tour.

Playing matches is tiring enough; there's no time to travel around.

For most professional players, life revolves around the hotel and the competition venue.

At most, I can go out to practice when I have a little free time, or train my physical fitness. But during competitions, when the schedule is tight, practicing is a luxury.

In events like the Zagreb Youth Cup, where matches are scheduled both in the morning and afternoon, to ensure sufficient physical fitness for the next day's matches, virtually no one dares to do much physical training outside of the matches.

Gu Cheng fared somewhat better. For him, winning the game was relatively easy, and his opponents also lost easily, as they didn't need to run around much. After all, they couldn't even touch the ball, so naturally, they didn't need to run.

For players like Yu Haoyang, who can easily drag a match into a tiebreaker, a best-of-three series can leave them with almost half of their stamina, not even enough time for a midday rest, and not even enough time to participate in the afternoon doubles match.

They wouldn't dare go to training anymore.

Therefore, many players generally do not sign up for doubles.

Of course, there are also players who are good at doubles but don't sign up for singles.

This varies from person to person.

There aren't actually many players who register for both singles and doubles.

However, Gu Cheng did not rest at noon; he called Yu Haoyang out for a walk.

In December, the temperature in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, is relatively high, around 13 or 14 degrees Celsius, giving it a crisp, autumnal feel.

The two walked around the area for a while, enjoying the exotic scenery along the way, when suddenly, their phones rang at almost the same time.

It was an alarm clock set after the singles match ended.

There is now less than an hour until the doubles match starts at 2 PM.

Gu Cheng was somewhat surprised: "Time really flies. We just left and now we have to head to the competition venue."

"That's because I know someone there."

Yu Haoyang smiled slightly: "If you go abroad to compete alone, the rest time is the most boring. It's one thing to not speak the language, but the habits are also different. Anyway, when I first started playing professionally, I wanted to give up every few days."

Gu Cheng smiled awkwardly. This was his first time competing abroad, and with his senior Yu Haoyang there, he didn't feel much of a sense of accomplishment.

"By the way, senior, what competitions should we sign up for after the Zagreb Youth Cup?"

"Return to China or go somewhere else?"

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Haoyang said, "I actually did some research last night. It would be fine to go back to China to participate in the ITF event held in Shenzhen, but I would recommend going to Sweden. After the Swedish event ends at the end of December, we can immediately participate in the Bellevue Junior ITF event, which is also being held in Sweden."

"With three singles and two doubles titles, your ITF Junior Circuit ranking points will be at least 400, which is enough to participate in Grade 1 tournaments."

"Of course, that calculation is definitely wrong. The ITF Junior Circuit ranking points are usually calculated by taking the best singles result from six tournaments throughout the year plus the best doubles result from six tournaments and dividing by 4. But you haven't played in all six tournaments yet, so the points are not easy to calculate. But playing in Grade 1 tournaments is definitely enough."

"Once I reach Grade 1, my ranking points will accumulate much faster. I just don't know if I'll be able to play in the junior Australian Open. That's probably unlikely. I'll have to wait until the year after next."

Gu Cheng nodded: "Then let's do as our senior says, and go straight to Sweden after the Junior Zagreb Cup."

……

The Zagreb Cup Junior Doubles Tournament officially began at 2 p.m.

9 PM Beijing time.

Zhu Wen's live stream.

"Brothers, after searching all afternoon, we finally found the live stream of the Zagreb Youth Cup doubles match. It's 2 PM local time now, and the doubles pair consisting of Gu Shen and Yu Haoyang is making their first appearance on the professional stage."

"Given Gu Shen's speed, the match shouldn't waste too much time. After the match, the brothers will have plenty of time to wash their feet. I have unconditional faith in Gu Shen on this point."

"Matches with him are always very short." "Aside from the slightly lower odds, which is a bit annoying, it has to be said that Gu Shen's style of winning steadily and shutting out opponents is so good that we brothers can treat him to a bath without any problem."

"Now let me introduce the players from both sides."

"Let's leave Gu Shen aside for now. Their opponents... oh wow, it's actually Carlo, who was shut out this morning, and his teammate Payne."

Mentioning Carlo immediately made the live stream chat lively.

[Who did Carlo offend? It's bad enough that he faced Gu Shen in the first round of singles, but he also drew Gu Shen in the first round of doubles?]

[I can't be this unlucky.]

[I'm so upset, Carlo really went all out to play against Gu Shen.]

The camera focused on Carlo, whose face looked genuinely grim, while his teammates seemed excited and eager to try. Didn't Carlo mention the shutout loss that morning?

[Carlo: I want my teammates to experience the despair I felt, otherwise it's too lonely being alone.]

……

After a brief struggle for the right to serve, the match quickly began.

Caro and Pine's doubles pairing earned them the first serve.

As an excellent net player, Pine originally intended to give the first game to Caro, since only in this way could he bring out his strengths. However, Caro refused on the spot, so Pine had no choice but to serve himself.

"Don't be so nervous! This is doubles," Payne said to Carol as he walked toward the baseline.

Carlo chuckled inwardly.

How could I not let my best friend experience the despair I had felt myself?

Payne walked to the baseline, glanced up at the formation opposite him. It was somewhat similar to the Australian formation, but not quite the same. The key was the way Yu Haoyang was holding his racket in front, which left him a little confused.

Will they really be able to react in a short time?
Tennis is very fast; some professional players can even return the ball at speeds of 200+ km/h. At such speeds and with such a posture, even the fastest reaction time might not be enough to prepare for the backswing.

"Who do you think you are!"

"But it's good, we should be able to get through the first round of doubles smoothly."

Payne felt underestimated, chuckled, then tossed the ball and leaped into the air, using his strength to strike the slowly descending tennis ball with his racket.

--boom! !
A crisp sound of the ball hitting the ground rang out, and the tennis ball flew rapidly towards the first court.

pound!!

This serve was fast and of high quality; judging from the serve, Payne's ability is no worse than Caro's.

Moreover, it is a standard overhead serve, which is similar to a smash and belongs to the category of powerful attacking techniques, but it is not as threatening as a smash.

In terms of serving alone, he is stronger than Caro and more decisive.

It makes sense. If two people can form a doubles team, their skills are probably not too different, but it wouldn't be fair to the stronger player.

After all, people like Gu Cheng who find "tools" to team up with are rare, if not nonexistent.

Gu Cheng smiled and stepped forward. This kind of high-pressure serve could actually be returned by the Giant Bear, but it was obviously not suitable for doubles.

When there are players on both sides in a doubles match, the bear's counterattack might actually give the opponent an opportunity.

Swish!
Gu Cheng's racket cut in from bottom to top, then lifted it upwards, sending the tennis ball flying with strong topspin, directly hitting the inverted triangle area of ​​the second court.

Payne caught up with a rhythmic stride and hit the bouncing tennis ball.

It's a topspin ball!

Using Swallow Return Flash to deal with topspin is a good choice. Of course, Phoenix Return Flash is also an option, but Gu Cheng has never seen Fuji use it before. Relying solely on his knowledge of the anime to try to replicate it using the Selfless Realm would consume a great deal of physical energy.

A downward cut sends the tennis ball flying.

"Carlo, this ball is yours."

While Carlo was still somewhat sullen, Payne's shout came from behind him. He came to his senses, looked at the tennis ball flying towards him, and suddenly an idea popped into his head.

If a tennis ball doesn't bounce after it hits the ground, what if you hit it back before it hits the ground?

Carlo suddenly became excited. Seeing the tennis ball flying towards him, he subconsciously swung his racket to intercept it in its path.

--pound!!
The tennis ball, spinning intensely, collided with the racket, the weight of it sending a sensation through his palm. Carlo couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Holy crap! It really works!"

Caro quickly applied force, and the tennis ball flew towards the right baseline.

Ta da~
When Yan Hui Shan was broken, Gu Cheng showed no surprise. This is what doubles is all about. A shot that is difficult to return in singles becomes much easier in doubles.

A front-and-back formation is not something that can be easily broken through by ordinary skills.

Furthermore, Caro and Pine's doubles partnership is truly formidable.

Swish! !

Gu Cheng caught up, his eyes sweeping over them out of the corner of his eye. The racket in his hand was like a hunting rifle, and Caro and Payne, standing on the other side of the court, looked like prey he had been eyeing.

In his field of vision, it seemed as if countless icicles had appeared on the field, and these icicles were the blind spots for Caro and Payne.

"Full of flaws!!" Gu Cheng smiled slightly; Atobe Keigo's Ice World was as useful as ever.

——Bang!

The tennis ball flew out and shattered the fused ice spike less than a meter away from Carlo.

The two players were too late to help, or rather, their feet seemed to be fixed in place, and they could only watch helplessly as the tennis ball flew out of bounds and crashed into the wall behind them.

"Gu Cheng scores, 15-0."

"Carlo, keep a close eye on him, this guy is tough," Payne shouted.

Carlo didn't say anything, thinking to himself, "This is nothing!"

However, one thing excited Carlo: he actually touched the ball and even completed a high-quality return shot, something he would never have dared to dream of in singles.

Pine then served a second ball, still a high-volley serve.

However, this ball posed little threat to Gu Cheng. He glanced up and saw countless ice spikes falling. Then, another ice spike that had merged into one was completely shattered.

"30-0!"

"40-0!"

When the score reached 1-0, Payne gasped, "They're unbelievable, they're too strong."

Carlo then reminded him, "Paine, haven't you noticed?"

"Ok?"

Carlo said, word by word, "From the start of the match until now, only one of them has touched the ball. In other words, it's less like they're playing doubles and more like it's been one against two. That player named Yu Haoyang hasn't even moved."

Upon hearing this, Payne's expression changed drastically. For the first time, he began to truly look at the boy who had stood at the bottom line and eliminated Carlo 2-0 in the singles match that morning. He inhaled sharply.

The illustration shows the player draw information for the Croatian Junior Zagreb Cup doubles tournament in early December 2014.

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(End of this chapter)