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

Chapter 33 Was it necessary to sign this document?

After Meng Hao came out of the train station, the two foreign female players asked him if he would like to share a taxi with them.

The reason is simple: to save money!

Moreover, they were worried about being ripped off by the driver, so it would be better if a fellow countryman accompanied them.

What they didn't know was that Meng Hao was also visiting Kunming for the first time and wasn't familiar with the place.

The three of them shared a car, and Meng Hao wouldn't act like a sucker just because they were strangers or to fulfill his duty as a host.

Taxi fare will be split equally, no questions asked!

About an hour later, the group arrived at the hotel designated by the event organizing committee.

This hotel is really nice, almost a four-star standard.

No wonder foreign players love to play in China; they wouldn't get such good accommodations in similar competitions abroad.

Although the competition is not of a high level, the local government of Kunming truly treats it as an international event.

Another unique aspect of tennis tournaments is that they can be upgraded.

A few years later, the Kunming leg of the competition was indeed upgraded, transforming from a hopeful race into a challenge race, and a high-level challenge race co-organized for men and women.

Meng Hao then checked into the hotel and took out his phone to let his parents know he was safe.

In the hotel lobby, a number of domestic and foreign players, both men and women, gradually checked in, but Meng Hao barely remembered any of them.

That's normal. Of the players competing here today, only a very small number will eventually make it onto the tour.

"We finally got a wildcard, we must seize the opportunity!"

"And this is a clay court, which I love playing on clay!"

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, Meng Hao arrived at the training field full of energy.

As expected of a tennis tournament fully supported by the municipal government, this place boasts a whopping 11 clay tennis courts.

It's important to know that, even though they are both tennis courts, the cost of building a clay tennis court is much higher than that of a hard court.

Of course, the most expensive option is a grass tennis court, because these turf surfaces require planting and maintenance.

Clay courts! Meng Hao was there, experiencing the 2005 French Open journey countless times from Nadal's perspective. This time, he actually came to the clay courts.

However, as a novice youth player, he was unfamiliar with the place and the people, and almost no one would ask him to practice.

This is normal. The circles of professional players are completely different from those of junior players. Their experiences, thoughts, and perspectives are worlds apart.

Regardless, they are among the top 500 or 600 players in the world in this industry.

Therefore, it's understandable that they wouldn't want to practice with a completely unfamiliar teenage player.

However, he was lucky enough to run into the same two foreign female players from yesterday.

Female players, on the other hand, tend to prefer practicing with male players.

After all, due to physical differences, male players are far superior to female players.

For Meng Hao, practicing with female players is always better than practicing with no one at all.

His practice partner was the older female player.

As expected of a Russian player, even though she's a woman, her shot was incredibly powerful and the ball felt heavy. Moreover, as a veteran player who has been in the professional arena for a long time, her shot was very skillful and varied.

Meng Hao was completely absorbed in his work, and his clay-court sliding technique became increasingly skillful and adept, as if he were born to play clay. Under the sunlight, a figure kept running, leaving behind trails of marks after each slide.

This is a beautiful sight unique to clay tennis courts.

After gradually adapting to the clay court, Meng Hao also demonstrated overwhelming strength. Female players found it almost impossible to withstand his powerful topspin and excellent ability to change direction.

"My goodness! Although I know that the male players are generally much better than us, I'm sure you have the potential to be the dark horse of this tournament!" the foreign female player said breathlessly after finishing her practice.

She had trained with players ranked in the top 200 of the ATP before, on clay courts, which were their preferred surface. The impact of Meng Hao's shots on her was similar to that of those guys.

Strong, very strong!

Moreover, this young Chinese man is very fast and has excellent physical fitness.

On clay courts, you have to be able to run!
"A dark horse? That depends on the draw!" Meng Hao chuckled and looked towards the adjacent stadium.

There were two foreign players practicing there; they were clearly clay-court veterans.

……

That afternoon, the Kunming organizing committee officially announced the competition draw, with a total of 32 participants in the main competition!
As a special correspondent for CCTV's sports channel, Chen Yu also came to the scene to report.

He slowly addressed the camera: "Dear viewers, the Kunming Open tennis tournament that is about to be held here is very important for our country's tennis players."

"Because this week is the deadline for the French Open qualifying rounds."

"Our country's player Zhang Ze has already secured a spot in the qualifying rounds, while Wu Di, in order to secure a spot in the French Open qualifying rounds, must at least reach the quarterfinals in this tournament!"

"We hope to see two Chinese male players in the French Open qualifiers!"

After hearing the CCTV reporter's words from afar, Meng Hao realized that it was already the end of April, the deadline for registering for the French Open qualifiers was fast approaching, and the deadline for registering for the main draw would be later.

"Qualifying rounds? Actually, for most professional tennis players, being able to reach the qualifying rounds of the four Grand Slam tournaments is already a pretty good achievement."

Not only does it come with a generous bonus, but it also serves as a respectable resume.

About twenty minutes later, the match draw was officially released.

Meng Hao stared at the lottery results in a daze, muttering to himself, "No way, they really sent me to their death?"

As a clueless rookie player with no world ranking and a wildcard entry, he participated in an adult tournament for the first time, only to find that his first-round opponent was Wu Di, now known as the second-best player in China.

What left him speechless was that all four players in this 1/8 section were domestic players.

In other words, the potential opponents in the next round will inevitably be domestic players.

For a certain national team player, this is practically a draw that guarantees a place in the quarterfinals!

"Was it... really necessary to draw these lots?" Meng Hao smiled wryly at the result.

That makes sense, since the results of this tournament determine whether that guy can qualify for the French Open.

After all, this is a qualifying tournament for one of the four Grand Slams.

Can he break through the French Open qualifiers by winning three consecutive matches?

If this were the Australian Open or US Open on hard courts, the opponent would indeed have a chance, but this is the French Open on clay, so the possibility is extremely slim.

……

(End of this chapter)