Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 96 Semifinals, You've figured out all my skills?

Have you watched the Prince of Tennis anime?

Have you watched "The Prince of Tennis"?

"I've already seen the school's main draw for Prince of Tennis."

"So few? I've already seen the regional competitions."

"Those skills are amazing! Topspin serve, the serve that disappears, so cool! Turns out those weren't magic, they came from anime!"

"But aren't those all special effects? Can special effects really be achieved in real life?"

"I can understand the disappearing serve; I've watched Prince of Tennis. But I really don't know how to explain the Swallow Return Flash. How can a tennis ball hit the ground at that speed and not bounce back?"

"What are those compared to the Kanto Tournament? It was only when the Prince of Tennis started to truly demonstrate the terrifying skill level that the invisible backswing, the invisible serve, the whirlwind smash, the irregular serve, the state of selflessness—those skills were truly amazing."

"The Kanto Tournament was actually alright, but things went wrong after the National Tournament started, especially the new Prince of Tennis. Calling it magic is no exaggeration. Have you ever seen a ball that can go through a wall? It's like a walking RPG."

"Asura God Path!?"

"That can't be right!"

……

Not only professional players, but even tennis enthusiasts have started to learn about The Prince of Tennis, studying Gu Cheng's recent matches frame by frame and the techniques he used in those matches.

12 month 5 day.

After breakfast, Gu Cheng took a taxi to the competition venue.

He and Yu Haoyang sat in the back row.

"Are you also participants in the Junior Zagreb Cup?"

The driver was a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a leather jacket and with shiny hair. Seeing that Gu Cheng was carrying a tennis racket, he asked him a question out of curiosity.

After a few days of study, Gu Cheng had a pretty good grasp of Croatian and could communicate without any problems.

Upon hearing the driver's words, Yu Haoyang, who was standing to the side, turned to look at Gu Cheng with a puzzled expression.

Gu Cheng smiled and nodded: "Mm."

"Have you watched Prince of Tennis?"

"I heard that a prodigy emerged at the Junior Zagreb Cup. Several of his tennis skills are derived from the anime 'The Prince of Tennis.' If you don't learn about him, you'll be at a disadvantage if you play against him!"

Gu Cheng paused for a moment before saying, "Of course I saw it. I saw it a few days ago."

"The Prince of Tennis is really popular now. The number of views has surged recently, and more and more professional players are studying that genius boy. I stayed up late last night to watch the Prince of Tennis. To be honest, it's pretty good. It's just that the tennis skills become more and more unrealistic as it goes on."

"How should I put it, well, it's abstract."

“It’s too abstract.”

As the driver spoke, he turned around while waiting at the traffic light, and the dark circles under his eyes proved that he was not lying.

"It's a bit abstract."

"It was quite exciting at the beginning. Professional players have used the outside spin serve in real life, and the one-legged shuffle step is also possible..."

Before the driver could finish his remark, he realized they had arrived at their destination.

As he got out of the car, Yu Haoyang joked with a smile, "Your fame is growing bigger and bigger; even the driver knows about you now."

"But how come you can speak Croatian? That must be Croatian, right?"

In terms of languages, besides Chinese, Yu Haoyang only learned English, since it's a common language. He simply didn't have the time to learn less common languages ​​like Croatian.

The key point is that a language cannot be learned in a short period of time. Instead of learning a language specifically for a few games, he would rather practice more football.

"I learned this before I came."

Yu Haoyang's eyes widened in surprise: "Really? I thought you had already learned it? You're so talented in languages?"

"By the way, how are your grades?"

"My studies are just so-so. Except for English, which is pretty good because of the competition, everything else is at the bottom. But that's how it is for us professional players. I'm considered good. Some guys fail almost every subject."

"But you have a real talent for languages. Even if you didn't play tennis, you would still be a translator who would outshine a lot of people."

Gu Cheng took out his phone and found a photo of the honor roll: "Take a look for yourself."

"where?"

The photo was a bit small, so Yu Haoyang squinted to find it.

"At the very front."

With Gu Cheng's reminder, Yu Haoyang immediately leaned over to take a look, and was so shocked that he rubbed his eyes several times in a row: "1025 points? First in the whole school?"

"Fuck!"

"Brilliant!"

"You're the first person who plays professionally and has such good grades. It's infuriating! Not only are you better at basketball than me, but you're also at the top of your class academically, leaving the second-place student by almost a hundred points. You're too monstrous!"

"I'm going to brag to everyone about how awesome this is."

Yu Haoyang was shocked. He thought Gu Cheng's studies were similar to his own. After all, playing professional games really doesn't give you much time to study. Like now, he has to stay away from home for at least a month or two. If he doesn't study regularly, his grades can't keep up.

But he never expected that Gu Cheng was a freak.

Throughout the journey, Yu Haoyang kept muttering to himself.

The two arrived at the competition venue, indoor court number 2.

Before Gu Cheng walked onto the court, Yu Haoyang stopped him: "Although I think it's no surprise that you'll win the championship, all the professional players have been studying you and the Prince of Tennis lately. They probably all learned some ways to counter your skills from the Prince of Tennis."

"So you should still be careful."

"Of course, if you have a lot of ball skills, then disregard what I said."

Gu Cheng smiled slightly.

Yu Haoyang's pupils contracted: "You don't actually have other ball skills, do you?"

Gu Cheng didn't say anything, but simply picked up his racket and walked into the court.

the other side.

Thomas, a 17-year-old from France, is currently talking with his coach.

"Have you seen everything I showed you these past two days?"

"Looked."

"Just look at it."

"The topspin serve isn't difficult to handle, but it bounces towards your face. Most people would be startled and miss the opportunity to return it, but you're bold, so I'm not worried about that."

Thomas's coach, who looked to be in his early forties, glanced at Gu Cheng, who was already walking towards the court, and quickly said, "As for the 'disappearing' serve, I told you about it last night. It's actually a chop serve. Because of the ball's spin, the point of contact between the ball and the racket changes, causing the ball to fly outwards at high speed when it appears in front of you, making it look like it has disappeared." "Simply put, it's a visual illusion. You just need to be careful not to be affected by the illusion in front of you, and returning this ball won't be too difficult."

"As for the boomerang, there's even less to worry about; that's a skill used only in special circumstances."

"Another point is the 'swallow return' shot. If you're not confident you can return it before it lands, then try to avoid hitting topspin shots."

"Only by sealing Yan Hui Shan will you have the qualifications to fight him."

"That single-leg shuffling step is a bit troublesome. The reason why the opponent was able to casually trick the opponent into making a move first was largely due to that footwork."

"Furthermore, your bottom-line techniques will also be limited."

Thomas kept these things in mind, and seeing the referee already seated in the referee's chair, he asked with a hint of impatience, "Anything else?"

Thomas's coach took a breath: "The last thing is the situation that Caro and Payne encountered in the first round of doubles, where they couldn't move. In Prince of Tennis, it seems to be a technique called 'Ice World' by Atobe. It's like he can see through blind spots and make his opponent unable to move as if they were frozen. That's what I'm most worried about."

Thomas frowned: "There's no way to solve it?"

Thomas's coach shook his head: "I haven't thought of anything yet. The main problem is that everyone has weaknesses and blind spots. Unless your basic skills are stronger than his, you will inevitably fall into the ice world."

Upon hearing this, Thomas smiled slightly: "In terms of basic skills, I really don't think I'm weaker than him. If I had known about The Prince of Tennis earlier, maybe I would have learned those skills too."

The coach nodded: "So, mastering ball skills has become a consensus among all professional players, but apart from the topspin serve and the one-legged shuffle, there are no reports of anyone mastering other ball skills yet."

Thomas said, "There must be a technique involved, otherwise how did he master it? Could it really be like what's said online, that he has mastered some kind of magical skill?"

"It's the 21st century, there's no such thing as magic anymore."

"As long as you have confidence, that's enough."

The coach paused and then said, "But we still need to go all out. Besides his ball skills, his own strength is not weak either, otherwise he wouldn't have the title of 'playing field cheat'."

"I know."

"Aside from the world of ice, which I need to be careful about, the others... don't pose much of a threat to me."

"Don't underestimate anyone. You've already seen that American prodigy and his final match. He's no weaker than you."

Thomas squinted: "That's because he's too arrogant. He doesn't even bother to study his own opponents. How could he not lose?"

“But I’m different.”

After saying that, Thomas picked up his racket and stepped onto the court.

Upon seeing the two enter the arena, the referee, after confirming their identities, immediately took out a coin and let them guess who would go first.

"Character!"

"Then I'll spend it."

Then came Thomas's voice.

The referee then showed a coin; it was heads, and Gu Cheng got the first serve.

The referee then looked at Thomas: "Which side do you choose?"

Thomas shrugged: "Indoor hard courts, aren't they all the same?"

Having the first serve gives a player a certain advantage, as does having the first side to choose, but that applies to outdoor courts because the advantages vary depending on wind direction and sunlight.

But there are fewer restrictions on indoor venues.

It's the same anyway.

The referee didn't say much and gestured for the two to return to the field.

Before leaving, Thomas called out to Gu Cheng, "Hey."

Gu Cheng turned around.

"Besides the skills you've already shown, do you know any other skills? Can we try playing in this match?"

Gu Cheng didn't understand the French Thomas was speaking. After all, he wouldn't try to learn every language he could find, and learning a new language with his talent would be quite physically demanding.

The point is, there's no need.

He's not going to France for the competition for the time being, so he doesn't need to master French at all.

Ignoring Thomas's ugly face, Gu Cheng turned and returned to the baseline.

……

Zhu Wen's live stream.

"Brothers, welcome home. This is the scene of the semi-final of the Junior Zagreb Cup, the match between Gu Shen and French player Thomas."

"The semifinals will be a best-of-five series, so everyone should be able to enjoy watching today."

"Brothers who want to make money should act quickly. While many professional players are studying Gu Shen and the Prince of Tennis, Gu Shen's odds are a bit higher. Buy early and you'll make money sooner."

"Enough said, the match has already started."

……

on the field.

The first game was Gu Cheng's serve.

After a few days of anticipation, and with Gu Cheng's amazing shots, the number of spectators at the Zagreb Junior Cup was noticeably larger than in previous rounds.

After the referee announced the start of the match, all eyes turned to Gu Cheng.

Thomas, who was ignored by Gu Cheng, looked rather unpleasant. He turned around and shouted in English, "Aren't you going to talk? Are you afraid of losing?"

Gu Cheng was taken aback: "You were speaking French just now."

Thomas was stunned, only then realizing that he had subconsciously spoken French. Most professional players, apart from their home country, mostly speak English and rarely have any knowledge of French.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think of that."

"fine."

“I’ve watched all your games, and those skills are really interesting. But I’m confident I can fight back. If you have any other skills, I’d love to see them.” Thomas said sincerely.

"Will do."

"Really? I'll be waiting to see."

Gu Cheng glanced at Thomas indifferently, tossed the weighted wristband aside, and as he tossed the tennis ball into the air, he suddenly smiled: "Since you want to see for yourself, then... so be it."

Before Thomas could react, with a whoosh, the tennis ball streaked through the air, flew across the net like lightning, and plummeted to the ground, then flew out of bounds with lightning speed.

—Knock knock!

The tennis ball had somehow rolled to Thomas's feet.

(End of this chapter)