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

Chapter 40: The Moonball Unleashes Its Power, Advancing to the Final Four!

Messi is hailed as the "strongest one-time Grand Slam winner," while his Slavic compatriot, the Russian-German Zverev, is hailed as the "strongest zero-time Grand Slam winner."

On another level, these two guys are naturally the ultimate backdrop.

From the Big Three to the Twins, these two guys have been paving the way time and time again.

"I hope that one day I can make these two guys the background!" Meng Hao couldn't help but think.

After experiencing "Aka's Indian Wells Tour", he opened the attribute panel.

Forehand +1, reaching 73
Hard court gliding +5, reaching 35
+3 at the net, reaching 53
Sure enough, once my forehand reaches this level, improvement becomes much slower.

The same principle applies to playing at the net.

Meng Hao checked the requirements for the second experience and found that it required him to defeat a player in the top 200, with no restrictions on the venue.

This is at least easier than running 5000 meters, right?

Holding the bright green tennis ball, Meng Hao drifted off to sleep contentedly.

……

In the second round, Meng Hao faced another local player, Wang Chuhan, and did not advance his ranking.

He simply maintained his usual level and easily won 6-2, 6-2, securing a place in the quarterfinals.

Just like the first round of the competition, the entire match lasted less than an hour.

Meng Hao's ATP live points have also reached 3.

According to some professionals, this young man definitely has some talent.

While young players are often easily motivated, Meng Hao seems to have a strong affinity for clay courts, easily integrating into the game – something that can't be achieved through sheer motivation.

"A 17-year-old boy who is just starting out in the professional competition easily won two games in a row, and he still had a calm and composed expression. This definitely shows the demeanor of a great general!"

CCTV tennis reporter Chen Yu watched Meng Hao's retreating figure while writing his article.

After defeating Wu Di, Meng Hao didn't write a draft, but after advancing to the quarterfinals, he decided to start writing again.

Two of the quarterfinal spots at the Kunming International Tennis Open were occupied by Chinese players.

Besides Meng Hao, there's Zhang Ze, the top male tennis player.

He's a top 200 player, and he even has a record of reaching the second round of the French Open qualifiers. Reaching the quarterfinals is entirely expected.

However, by the time you get to the quarterfinals, you'll find that most players are skilled at playing on clay, and world rankings are just a reference point.

"Meng Hao's next opponent is Ruben, a Spanish clay court player, ranked 237th in the world! This guy is already 36 years old, and he still travels all the way to China to play on clay! He's really going all out!" Chen Yu scratched his head, looking quite helpless.

If Meng Hao wins this match, he will advance to the semi-finals, which would be a truly remarkable achievement.

Indeed, defeating two Chinese local players is nothing special, after all, they are both known for their poor clay court skills.

If Meng Hao could defeat a veteran Spanish clay court player, it would better prove his strength.

……

Meng Hao checked the ATP website and found that since the tournament had not yet ended, the leaderboard would not be updated, and his name would not appear on the list.

However, he could roughly estimate where he would rank based on his current points.

With 3 ATP points, you'd be ranked around 1500.

Meng Hao stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "It's certainly a pleasant surprise to have ATP points now, but with this ranking, you basically can't get into the main draw of any 15K level hopeful tournaments. You'll have to play through three rounds of qualifying."

He really didn't want to play in the Hope Cup-level qualifiers; it was a waste of his energy and time.

"Let's ignore that for now and try to go as far as possible from this stop!"

Meng Hao picked up his tennis bag and went out.

Today's match is scheduled for 11 a.m.

By the end of April, the weather in Kunming was already getting hot.

Although the tickets were cheap and the Kunming audience was very enthusiastic for the midday game, not many people were willing to come at that time since the players weren't big stars.

The stadium, which can accommodate more than 3000 people, was sparsely populated and looked very deserted.

Meng Hao calmly looked at the player in front of him, a 36-year-old veteran.

"Ruben, whose highest world ranking once reached 50, won 11 Challenger titles in his career, most of which were on clay."

Information about this person flashed through Meng Hao's mind.

It is truly admirable that someone of this age is still fighting on the professional stage.

As for why this guy traveled all the way to China to participate in the clay court tournament?

The reason is simple: to participate in the French Open qualifiers.

Ruben is still a bit short of the qualifying score for the French Open, which is why he decided to come to the clay courts in Asia to crush the weaker teams.

There are simply too many clay-court masters in Europe, and at 36 years old, his competitiveness has long since declined.

But he doesn't want to retire now; he wants to participate in more Grand Slam tournaments and earn more prize money. "At his age, he could easily retire gracefully; it's truly not easy! In fact, this is the life of the vast majority of professional tennis players."

Meng Hao thought to himself, "Although I admire your perseverance and professionalism, I must win this match!"

He directly secured the first move.

Want to sweep our clay courts in China? Not so easy!

boom!
Meng Hao made a brilliant first shot, seizing the initiative.

Then he quickly stepped forward, aimed at the opponent's wide-open space, and hit the ball with great force, the movement was very smooth and seamless.

On his second serve, he hit an ace that was right on the center line.

On his third serve, Meng Hao made a mistake on his first serve and served a second serve.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate for several shots, and Ruben thought his chance to score had come.

How could a mere 17-year-old Chinese boy possibly go head-to-head with a seasoned veteran like myself?

Although Meng Hao defeated two Chinese players to advance to the quarterfinals, in the eyes of this veteran from Spain, a powerhouse in clay-court tennis, it was just a battle of weaklings.

"I just need to pay more attention to this guy's first serve; this Chinese guy's serve is really good," Ruben thought to himself.

However, his previous idea was soon overturned.

The opponent's baseline strength was surprisingly formidable.

That powerful topspin shot almost gave him the illusion that he had returned to his youth, playing against those top European clay-court players on the tour.

Did they release the small ball?

Ruben, disregarding his old arms and legs, immediately ran to the net.

Damn!

He used all his strength and barely managed to return the tennis ball, but Meng Hao was already waiting in front of the net.

The opponent extended their racket, made a light touch, and easily won another point.

The fourth serve was another high-quality first serve.

Ruben's return shot went out of bounds, and Meng Hao scored 4 points in a row in the first game.

Meng Hao then pulled out the last tennis ball from his pocket and tossed it to the sidelines with great style.

Love game!

The first game has now ended.

The second game was also Ruben's first service game.

At this moment, the old Spanish football scoundrel had put away all his contempt.

He was ready to give it his all in this service game.

However, this guy is 36 years old after all, and the quality of his serve has declined significantly compared to when he was younger. It would be difficult for him to produce a first serve of such high quality as Meng Hao.

This round was fiercely contested by both sides.

The clay court was covered with footprints and traces of sliding steps.

Meng Hao's defense was so outstanding that it completely surprised the opponent.

This is red soil after all; I love putting moon-shaped objects in it!
What is a lunar globe?
It means hitting the ball high and far, with its flight trajectory forming a huge parabola.

"???"

One high-quality lunar sphere after another completely overwhelmed Ruben.

In the first set, Meng Hao broke serve twice to win the match, finishing the set 6-2.

In the second set, Meng Hao again chose to play a moon shot in Ruben's serve.

That's definitely a bit of a rip-off!

They're all 36-year-old veterans, are you trying to force them to keep hitting the ball with force by placing such a low shot? But no matter how Ruben hits the ball, Meng Hao can always defend it.

Who can blame Meng Hao for having such an outstanding touch, always managing to unleash high-quality moon balls that leave opponents cursing?

"Is all you do in my serve a moon ball?"

"Is that not allowed? Is there a rule against it?"

The score was tied 4-4 after the first eight games, but in the ninth game, the 36-year-old Lu Ben's physical decline was obvious. He could no longer cope with Meng Hao's grueling moon shot and failed to hold the serve.

6 is better than 4!

After holding his serve, Meng Hao won the second set.

He successfully advanced to the semifinals, shattering the dream of the second person to qualify for the French Open!

……

(End of this chapter)