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

Chapter 63 I Belong to the Tour! (Please Read On)
P.S.: Dear readers, please continue to support me! I updated three times yesterday, and my ranking on the charts dropped today, so I'm under a lot of pressure!

……

After the match, Coric squatted on the ground, one hand covering his mouth, his eyes red and he was almost crying.

The second set was incredibly intense and very close.

The difference between them is just a "mini break".

Throughout the match, both Meng Hao and Coric committed a double fault.

Meng Hao's double fault occurred in a regular game and did not affect his ability to hold serve. Coric's only double fault occurred in the tiebreak, which became the fatal point that led to his defeat.

Coric was naturally heartbroken to lose his first Challenger final so disappointingly.

At his age, his emotions are still very volatile.

"Damn it, I really don't want to see that Chinese guy's smug look on his face when he celebrates his victory!" Coric thought helplessly. "But that's the privilege of a champion!"

The thought of the upcoming awards ceremony filled him with anguish.

This is one of the cruel realities of professional tennis: the champion takes the trophy while the runner-up serves the dishes.

The difference between champion and runner-up is like heaven and earth.

The points are 50 and 25, the prize is $6200, and the runner-up is $3500.

Moreover, the champion and runner-up must take turns giving speeches on stage, with the runner-up speaking first and the champion following.

Losing the final was already agonizing enough, but having to go on stage and congratulate the opponent was like adding insult to injury.

Huh?
When the two shook hands, Currich noticed that Meng Hao's expression was very calm, not at all as crazy as he had imagined.

He looked puzzled, expecting his opponent to celebrate wildly and extravagantly. Instead, the other person simply raised his hands, clapped his hands lightly, and then turned around.

Is this the end?
He had previously checked the data and found that Chinese men's tennis had never won a Challenger tournament title to date.

This is the first Challenger title in the history of Chinese men's tennis!

The other party's reaction was far too indifferent!
Coric felt that even if he had been the world's number one junior in 2013, he would have been excited and shouted with joy if he could have won such a challenger title.

The other person's age is about the same as mine.

Meng Hao remained very calm, showing little excitement on his face, only a faint smile on his lips.

Even CCTV reporter Chen Yu was much more excited than Meng Hao.

"Dear audience members, did you know?"

"This is the first Challenger title that our Chinese men's tennis team has won!"

"Do you know what this means? Meng Hao's small step is a giant leap for Chinese men's tennis!"

Chen Yu gave an excited speech.

"What? This is the highest-level championship our country's men's tennis team has ever won? That's it?"

Although some audience members were happy for Meng Hao's victory, they were quite stunned when they received the news.

Such a rudimentary venue and such a low-level event—this is history!

Is the history of men's tennis in our country really that pale?

This is even worse than the Chinese national football team!
Think about women's tennis, she already has two Grand Slam titles.

The difference is too big!
Those who are here to watch the tennis match today naturally have some knowledge of the sport.

At that moment, Meng Hao shook hands with the British referee on duty.

The British referee said, "Young man, you're great, you have a lot of potential. But your English... well, you should work on it more."

Meng Hao replied with a smile, "Chinese English is real English!"

The British referee was stunned. Chinglish is real English? You really dare to say that?

Americans say American English is the real English, Indians say curry-flavored English is the real English, and now a Chinese person is saying that too. So what about my authentic London accent?
After stunning the British referee, Meng Hao wiped his sweat with a towel, put his racket back in his backpack, walked over to Chen Yu, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother, is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

"Shouldn't it be? This is the first Challenger title in men's tennis!"

“What you said is true…” Meng Hao said slowly to the cameraman, “but as you know, there are about 200 challenge events like this every year. I’m just the champion of one of them, and it’s the lowest level, 50K.”

"I don't think there's anything special to celebrate about such a small championship in such a great country like ours! Although tennis... men's tennis isn't our strong suit!"

"After all, our country has produced so many great world champions!"

He spoke with righteous indignation and passionate fervor!
Chen Yu, the cameraman, and the staff and fans watching all cheered.

"He's so young, yet he's so calm!"

"This child is destined for greatness!"

There are also dissenting opinions: "Maybe this guy is just naturally good at talking and pretending, and he may already be very proud of himself."

Meanwhile, CCTV reporter Chen Yu vaguely recalled a sentence Meng Hao had written on Weibo, and thought to himself: "His goal is to be in the ATP top 100 and win tour titles!"

Then, the awards ceremony began.

The awards ceremony for the Challenge will not be as amateurish as the Hope Cup.

After all, this is a professional tournament championship, and it is managed by the ATP, not the ITF.

The runner-up, Coric, had red eyes, as if he had just cried, while the champion, Meng Hao, looked calm and composed, with even less of a smile on his face than the staff.

Despite his reluctance and unwillingness, Coric still forced himself to congratulate Meng Hao on winning the championship.

Meng Hao was just going through the motions, nodding symbolically.

Then, Meng Hao, the champion, gave a speech.

"First of all, congratulations to Borna Coric, you've had a wonderful week, reaching the finals at such a young age."

He wasn't really mocking or deliberately criticizing the other person, because he had seen many champion speeches at tour award ceremonies.

Their first words were all congratulations to the runner-up. After all, being runner-up is already a very good result!

“This championship is fantastic! Guangzhou is also great, very beautiful!” Meng Hao raised the small trophy in his hand and continued, “I told myself not to be arrogant or complacent. This is just a challenge championship.”

"I believe I belong on the tour!"

Then, Meng Hao looked at Coric, whose face was full of sorrow, and said, "I hope our next match will also be on the tour!"

Cilic paused for a moment, then nodded.

Meng Hao looked away and smiled, "Finally, thank you all for coming to support me! It's been a wonderful week, and I hope to have the opportunity to return to Guangzhou in the future."

He concluded his brief speech.

Then, the CCTV reporter pulled him aside for another interview: "What are your plans for the future?"

"I'm still wondering whether or not to go to Jinan. I haven't decided yet," Meng Hao said with a shrug and a nonchalant air. "First of all, I'll go back to my hometown to rest for a while."

Chen Yu asked curiously, "So where's your championship trophy? You must be putting it in the most conspicuous place at home, right? By the way, you also have three other Hope Tournament championship trophies!"

"It?" Meng Hao looked calmly at the small trophy in his hand. "I'll dedicate it to my alma mater, just like those three Hope Tournament championship trophies!"

If you want to enter my home, you should at least have a tournament championship trophy, right?

……

(End of this chapter)