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

Chapter 77: Victory over Ziwei Brings Benefits
During the "China season," tennis naturally becomes much more popular than usual.

This also gave Meng Hao's 100K challenge championship a level of popularity that he wouldn't have otherwise had.

Both major portal websites and official media accounts on Weibo devoted considerable space to the reports.

In order to attract traffic, those tennis social media bloggers even posted highlights of the matches and the complete award ceremony video.

This is the first time in history that there has been both live streaming and post-match edited videos.

Through the internet, fans have witnessed a prodigy whose talent almost overflows the screen.

"Absolutely flawless technique!"

"His footwork is just like Federer's, so agile!"

"His backhand seems to have some of Djokovic's style."

"His forehand is so powerful! It's a bit like Nadal's, but also a little different!"

"Brothers and sisters! I believe him now, he will definitely appear in the year-end finals within three years!"

"Injuries are his only enemy!"

The twists and turns of this challenge have earned Meng Hao a lot of popularity.

He was first persecuted by the draw, facing the second seed, a top 100 player, in the first round.

Then, amidst the encirclement of a group of "second brothers" (a term used to describe close friends or relatives), they broke through the encirclement!

In the final, Meng Hao surprisingly defeated Alexander Zverev, who is currently considered the top youth player and a future superstar.

This move caused Meng Hao's popularity to skyrocket.

"A prodigy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, carving a bloody path out of adversity!"

Who wouldn't love a story like this?

Some eagle-eyed netizens also spotted something interesting: "Who's that beautiful woman standing next to Meng Hao in the group photo? She's gorgeous!"

A fan who was at the event said, "It was his cousin, and she was also in charge of translating."

Then someone quickly chimed in, "I know her! She's my classmate from Shanghai International Studies University!"

"So this beautiful woman's name is Song Yu! She really is jade-like!"

"I have a friend who wants to be Meng Hao's brother-in-law..."

……

After this stop, Meng Hao originally intended to return to his hometown to rest, because the Shanghai Masters would start on October 6th during the National Day holiday this year, which was still more than half a month away.

However, he unexpectedly received an invitation from the Jiushi Group, so he stayed in Shanghai to accompany the young players to practice, in order to avoid the fatigue of traveling.

The deep-pocketed Juss Group is not only the organizer of the Shanghai Masters, but also the organizer of the Formula 1 Shanghai Grand Prix.

Meng Hao's cousin, Song Yu, also returned to the school to handle some matters.

Meanwhile, the Incheon Asian Games had already begun.

Compared to other sports, the professional tennis schedule is extremely tight, which means that the Asian Games tennis competition only lasts for five days, and the Chinese season starts the following week.

Meng Hao also paid some attention to the tennis competition at the Asian Games.

The team, which always thought highly of itself, sent its second-tier team to participate, but they were defeated by the Chinese team in the semi-finals of the team competition.

However, the Chinese men's tennis team encountered Kazakhstan, who were accused of "cheating," in the final.

Kazakhstan isn't good at training its own talent, but it's adept at poaching talent from other countries.

Ultimately, Kazakhstan, relying on their star players, won two consecutive matches against China, forcing the latter to settle for second place in the men's team event.

The Chinese men's tennis team won the runner-up title, while the Chinese women's team, missing Li Na, lost to Chinese Taipei in the final and also finished as runners-up.

In singles, the men's tennis team failed to win any medals, while tennis beauty Wang Qiang won the gold medal on behalf of the women's team.

The winner of the men's singles gold medal was none other than Yoshihito Nishioka, a talented newcomer from Xiao Ri Zi.

"Him? He was Meng Hao's defeated opponent just last week! And this week he won the Asian Games!"

"It's only because Meng Hao didn't participate in the Asian Games that he won the men's singles gold medal!" Many of Meng Hao's fans complained online, and also secretly mocked the Tennis Association for having shady dealings and not letting Meng Hao participate in the Asian Games.

That's how competitive sports are; when a star achieves good results, they attract a group of fans, and these fans can be quite arrogant.

Just like LeBron James' fans, who have criticized almost every NBA superstar.

Meng Hao stayed in Shanghai for a few days and took the opportunity to use up the last three trial cards for [Aka 2024 Indian Wells].

He is ready to appear at the Shanghai Masters in top form.

Serve +2, reaching 82
Forehand +2, reaching 89
+4 at the net, reaching 70
Steps +2, reaching 77
Tactics +2, reaching 72
Upgrade potential: 12%
After spending a week in Shanghai, Meng Hao received a rather unexpected phone call.

His own racket sponsor, Babolat.

This time, the caller wasn't Shen Dongguo's mother, but someone else.

"Hello, Meng Hao! I'm Chen Song, the head of Baboli in Greater China. First of all, congratulations on winning the Shanghai Challenge and also receiving a wildcard for the Shanghai Masters!"

"Thank you, Mr. Chen! Your rackets are great!" Meng Hao replied politely. "I hope that Babolat will bring me good luck at the Shanghai Masters."

This young man is quite eloquent!
Chen Song thought to himself with satisfaction, and then said, "Then I'll get straight to the point. You and Babori have had a good working relationship before. After just a company discussion, we've decided to choose you as the spokesperson for Babori rackets in China!"

So fast!
Meng Hao took a deep breath, also feeling somewhat surprised.

From Babori's perspective, this was a gamble.

Meng Hao, after all, has yet to win a match on the tour.

"Is it because Na Jie is retiring?"

Li Na is currently Baboli's spokesperson, and with her impending retirement, Baboli is eager to find a new spokesperson in the Chinese market to take over the mantle.

"We do have that connection, but let's discuss the details when we meet! By the way, do you have an agent?"

"I don't have an agent right now, but you can talk to me!" Meng Hao said confidently. Not having an agent meant he wouldn't have to split the profits.

He understands commercial contracts and won't fall into a trap. Besides, sports stars' endorsement contracts are basically custom-made. If such a big company dares to set a trap, it's ruining its own reputation.

"Okay, you're still in Shanghai, right?"

"I've been at the Jiushi Tennis Training Center these past few days, practicing with those kids!" Meng Hao said.

He deliberately brought up "Jiushi Group" to make the other party feel that he had a close relationship with Jiushi, so that they would not dare to play tricks in the contract.

After all, Jiushi Group is one of the largest state-owned enterprises in Shanghai.

A day later, Chen Song arrived at the Jiushi tennis training center.

Meng Hao also secretly observed him. He was a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty years old, dressed in a suit and tie, looking like a successful person.

Since both sides were sincere, the negotiation process was relatively easy and pleasant.

Chen Song also got straight to the point, saying, "The company originally decided on Zhang Ze as the spokesperson. He has experience in the quarterfinals of the China Open, and this year he won three consecutive matches in the Australian Open qualifiers to enter the main draw of the Australian Open, which is an unprecedented achievement in men's tennis."

"But he's already 22 years old. That's not considered very old, but it's not young either. Plus, his world ranking isn't even close to the top 100, let alone the top 100."

"The company has been hesitant and unable to make a decision."

Endorsements are different from commercial collaborations; the former requires not only providing rackets but also investing real money.

"Mr. Chen, is it because I'm relatively young and have more potential?" Meng Hao asked with a smile.

“In tennis, sponsors always value potential and bet on it early! 20 years old is definitely older than 22 years old, and 18 years old is certainly older than 20 years old!” Chen Chong said truthfully.

Meng Hao will turn 18 next month.

“Besides… you also beat Zverev!” Chen Chong added.

Sure enough, beating Ziwei is the key!
This is what made Baibaoli make up its mind.

"The Big Three and the Gemini have already taken so much from Ziwei, it's my turn now!" Meng Hao couldn't help but think.

……

(End of this chapter)