Tennis: He's so obedient!

Chapter 96: The First Round of the Tournament Begins! (Please Subscribe)

With the release of the match draw, heated discussions have begun on the forums.

"This year's China Open has four local players participating in the men's singles, isn't that a record!"

"Indeed, it was unexpected that Xiao Jiang received the wildcard for the Wuhan Challenge ATP Challenger Tournament."

"Yes, and Zeng Shaoxuan actually made it into the main tournament from the qualifying rounds!"

However, they were quickly given a cold shower.

"Don't be too happy yet. Didn't you see Xiao Jiang's draw?"

"Does anyone know about Xiao Jiang's opponent in the first round, Kei Nishikori? Can you tell me about him?"

"I just checked Kei Nishikori's stats. He's ranked higher than Koga and has a better record. This isn't looking good!"

"Anyway, this is Xiao Jiang's first time participating in an ATP Tour event, so let's treat it as a learning experience. I hope he can play well!"

"That's right. We celebrate when we get good results, and if we don't perform well, we can start over. The future is promising."

As a niche hobby, the tennis forum has a pretty good atmosphere. Even if a few haters try to mock Jiang Hong, they are immediately attacked by other forum members.

[Ding! A suggestion has been detected: Perform to your full potential in the first round of the China Open. Reward unknown.]

[Ding! A suggestion has been detected that the host has avoided being eliminated in the first round and has successfully advanced to the second round. Reward unknown.]

Jiang Hong raised an eyebrow as he looked at the suggestions on the panel.

Normally, these forum members would suggest that Jiang Hong make it to the finals and win the championship.

Surprisingly, no one made this suggestion this time.

Jiang Hong decisively included these suggestions.

……

9 Month 9 Day!
Jiang Hong arrived at the stadium's locker room, where Wu Qiang was checking ice packs, energy drinks, bananas, and other items needed for the game.

The men's singles competition officially began at 1 p.m.

However, due to venue limitations, it was impossible for the matches to start simultaneously, so the competition was divided into several batches.

As a wildcard player ranked low, Jiang Hong certainly couldn't play on the center court.

Instead, they were scheduled for the second match on Stadium 3.

Currently, China attaches great importance to such large-scale sporting events, and all the well-known domestic media outlets are invited to the stadium.

Even CCTV and Xinhua News Agency came!

The organizing committee staff informed Jiang Hong that the matches scheduled for earlier in the competition had ended and that he should prepare to go on stage!

Because it's not a central court, there's no player tunnel between the locker room and the court.

Even before Jiang Hong arrived, he could hear the host in the middle of the stadium trying to liven up the atmosphere.

After a long, rambling introduction that even Jiang Hong found utterly ridiculous, the players were finally allowed to enter the field!

At the host's call, Kei Nishikori of Japan was the first to enter.

Then the music suddenly became more rousing, and even the host's voice became louder.

"Next, let's give a warm round of applause to welcome our country's rising tennis star, Jiang Hong!"

Then a round of applause rang out. Although there weren't many people, the atmosphere was still very enthusiastic.

Jiang Hong tried hard to keep a straight face and not laugh.

He entered the stadium through the side entrance and saw a young player standing opposite him.

That was Jiang Hong's opponent in the first round—Kei Nishikori.

The other person was a few months younger than Jiang Hong, and was not yet eighteen years old.

However, Kei Nishikori's performance was even better than Jiang Hong's!
Not only did their opponent reach the final and win the runner-up title at the ATP Challenger Series Carson in May of this year, but they also achieved remarkable success.

Furthermore, they successfully reached the quarterfinals of the RCA Champions tournament held in the United States in July, an ATP Tour event.

It's important to know that Kei Nishikori hasn't fully transitioned into a professional player yet; he's still considered a junior player.

Furthermore, Kei Nishikori won several Futures Series titles in the United States.

Therefore, he is definitely a formidable opponent for Jiang Hong.

The other party's future is also very bright.

Later, they invited Michael Chang to join their coaching team, and for a very long time, they dominated Asian men's tennis.

This also set a new record for the best result ever achieved by an Asian male tennis player in a Grand Slam – runner-up!

However, now that he himself has become a variable, it's uncertain whether Kei Nishikori can still achieve such success.

However, Jiang Hong believes that the best result for Asian men's tennis in Grand Slams in the future will not stop at runner-up.

Kei Nishikori was also curious about Jiang Hong, and after the draw was released, the coaching team also collected information about Jiang Hong.

They knew that the opponent had won two Hope Series championships and one Challenge Series championship.

However, Jiang Hong had not participated in many competitions before and did not have much experience.

Moreover, Jiang Hong's ranking is much lower than mine, so defeating him shouldn't be too difficult, right?
Jiang Hong placed his tennis bag in the rest area, took out his racket, and began his pre-match warm-up.

Although his opponent was young, Jiang Hong would not underestimate him.

After both sides finished their serve and receive drills, Jiang Hong and Kei Nishikori came to their respective sides of the net at the referee's instruction.

After the referee confirmed the identities, Jiang Hong chose the front side, while the other party chose the back side.

The coin was tossed high into the air, tumbled, and fell to the ground.

"front!"

Jiang Hong has won the right to serve.

"Go, Xiao Jiang!"

Suddenly, just as Jiang Hong returned to the baseline, a unified shout rang out from the left side of the stands.

Jiang Hong turned his head and saw his old acquaintances from his support group!

At least when I'm competing nationally, I don't have to worry about not having anyone cheering me on!
However, Jiang Hong's cheerleading squad was quickly suppressed by the referee.

After the announcement of silence, no one continued to cheer.

Take the ball from the caddie and return to the baseline.

Jiang Hong looked up at Kei Nishikori in the opposite half of the court. This was the first time he had faced a star player from his previous life!
His gaze immediately sharpened!
Kei Nishikori gripped his racket, leaned forward, and prepared to receive the serve!

After determining the landing point of the serve, Jiang Hong immediately began serving!
Toss the ball, rotate your body, swing the racket, and hit the ball!
Forehand flat shot!

boom!
With a crisp crack, the tennis ball flew towards the opposite half of the court like a cannonball!
There were no fancy changes.

Miracles only happen with great effort!
The speed of this serve should be around 190 kilometers per hour.

The tennis ball flew straight towards the inside corner of the opponent's service court.

Kei Nishikori immediately adjusted his position with small steps, but he misjudged the direction of Jiang Hong's serve at the first moment.

So in a rush, he positioned himself sideways and swung his racket, but missed, and the tennis ball bounced and flew out of bounds.

"Pretty!"

"nice shot!"

"ACE!"

The spectators nearby widened their eyes and cheered immediately after Jiang Hong scored.

However, Jiang Hong did not show any joy on his face, after all, the first serve was nothing special.

Even the slightest hint of complacency could give the opponent an opening. 15:0!

After the referee announced the score, Jiang Hong went to the baseline of Zone 2.

It's still a forehand flat shot, and the speed is still very fast.

However, this time, Jiang Hong changed the landing point of his serve.

The tennis ball hit the outside corner, despite Kei Nishikori's best efforts to save it.

However, it was still a step too slow; the backswing angle wasn't right, and it didn't wrap around the high-speed flying tennis ball.

After hitting the racket, he was sent flying out of bounds.

30: 0!

Jiang Hong's tactics are simple: use his starting advantage to score quickly.

By taking the lead, you can put psychological pressure on your opponents.

After all, Kei Nishikori is only 17 years old. Let's try it and see if it works.

Facing Jiang Hong's third serve, Kei Nishikori finally woke up.

Although this serve was still very aggressive.

The moment Jiang Hong served, Nishikori Kei had already started his footwork.

When I saw the tennis ball flying towards the inside corner.

"Guessed it right!"

After taking two steps forward, he immediately turned to the side to prepare for the shot.

"boom!"

The racket perfectly wrapped around the tennis ball, instantly drawing a diagonal line straight towards Jiang Hong!

A shot that chases down the opponent's body!
Jiang Hong's attention was always very focused.

Therefore, he showed no panic when facing Kei Nishikori's return shot.

He took a slight step back and immediately swung his arm.

A forehand shot followed by a baseline smash.

Jiang Hong's return shot tore a hole in Nishikori Kei's defense.

The angle was extremely wide, heading straight for the blind spot on the other side.

Kei Nishikori had just positioned himself slightly to the left of the center line when he was surprised to find that Jiang Hong's baseline return was also so strong.

Immediately begin moving and quickly move sideways to the right.

He suddenly took a step to the side, almost stretching his body into a straight line.

He swung his racket violently, slamming it onto the tennis ball.

Because Nishikori's return shot was rushed, the tennis ball did not travel very high.

It just barely grazed the net and flew into Jiang Hong's half of the court!
Ding Ding Deng!
With a crossover step, Jiang Hong quickly went online.

Before the tennis ball even hits the ground, choose to intercept it in mid-air!

The tennis ball was hit directly into Nishikori's right open space.

boom!
Kei Nishikori had just regained his hitting stance and had no time to defend against Jiang Hong's attack.
They could only watch helplessly as Jiang Hong scored another point.

40: 0!

Jiang Hong's fourth serve still didn't change his serving strategy; he continued with a powerful serve.

However, compared to the previous shots, this one was more powerful and faster!

When Kei Nishikori's racket hit the tennis ball, it bounced directly into the crowd.

1: 0!

Jiang Hong successfully held serve, a smile spreading across his face.

He took a tennis ball out of his pocket and tossed it to the caddie next to him.

"Wow, I heard this guy is really strong, and I was a little worried, but I didn't expect him to get crushed by Xiao Jiang!"

"Xiao Jiang's serve has always been his specialty!"

"However, I see that Xiao Jiang's power has improved again, and his serve is even more powerful than before!"

After all, someone had previously dug up Kei Nishikori's match history on Tieba (a Chinese online forum).

It seems his competition experience is even better than Xiao Jiang's!
Unexpectedly, Jiang Hong underwent another transformation after the last competition.

Regardless of who he faces in the second round, Jiang Hong is currently very enthusiastic about the competition.

After the two sides exchanged possession, the game continued!
Kei Nishikori looked up at Jiang Hong; he really hadn't expected what happened in the previous game.

While dribbling the tennis ball, he mentally considered his serving tactics.

At the same time, they deliberately dawdle.

Using the methods taught by the coach, when facing younger players, one can disrupt their rhythm by delaying the serve.

If the opponent is impatient, they are more likely to make mistakes during the match.

Kei Nishikori finally began his serve just before the time was almost up!

boom!
Kei Nishikori's serve is not fast.

He has never been a player who relies on powerful serves, and many media outlets even believe that if Kei Nishikori improves his serve, he might have a chance to compete for a Grand Slam.

The serve was placed very precisely, only a few centimeters from the center line of the service court.

Although Jiang Hong quickly caught up, his return shot was of poor quality due to a lack of fluidity in his movements.

After the opponent switched lanes, they won the first point of the second game.

15: 0!

After winning the first point, Kei Nishikori finalized his serving strategy.

Kei Nishikori began to move Jiang Hong around using serves with various tricky placements.

However, Jiang Hong's serve reception skills are also impressive.

In Nishikori's serve, both players described it as a back-and-forth battle.

On the sixth ball, Kei Nishikori suddenly changed his rhythm, immediately following up his serve with a forehand attack, looking for an opening to deliver a fatal blow.

Kei Nishikori holds serve!
After scoring, Kei Nishikori swung his racket fiercely, as if to sweep away the gloom of the first set.

In the third game, it was Jiang Hong's turn to serve.

This month of intensive training was certainly not in vain, as he gave Nishikori no chance in his service games.

The opponent only scored one point.

Jiang Hong easily held serve by utilizing his serve and connecting tactics!

2: 1!

Jiang Hong entered the break with a temporary lead in the score.

Kei Nishikori, on the other hand, hung his head, his face gloomy, pondering whether he should change his tactics for the upcoming match.

……

(End of this chapter)