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

Chapter 82 Return to Shanghai, Masters Tournament Opens

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The first two stops of the 2014 "China Season," the Shenzhen Open and the China Open, have concluded.

The champions of these two tournaments were Murray and Djokovic, one a near-superstar and the other a superstar.

The Shanghai Masters, as the grand finale of the entire "China season," will also officially kick off.

Experts from all walks of life have already arrived.

This week, apart from the Hope Series and the Challenger Series, there will be no other tournaments running globally during the same period.

A week later, Meng Hao returned to the Qizhong Tennis Center in Shanghai.

The atmosphere of this Challenger Tournament is definitely different from that of the Masters Tournament!
Not only are there more foreign faces, but fans are crowding everywhere, with huge crowds.

Many media reporters, carrying large and small bags, also checked into nearby hotels.

Various commercial activities are also constantly taking place.

In just one week, Meng Hao's popularity has once again expanded beyond his immediate circle.

He first became the spokesperson for "Baby Power", and then appeared at Li Na's retirement ceremony, where the two held a racket from the brand together, all of which implied the passing of the torch from the "leading figure in Chinese tennis".

Immediately afterwards, Meng Hao played an exhibition match against Nadal and surprisingly won 7-5.

Although it was an exhibition match, it was enough to excite the media and fans.

Finally, Nadal uttered another surprising statement: Meng Hao not winning a Grand Slam is equivalent to him not understanding football.

This immediately ignited public opinion and put Meng Hao at the center of the storm.

"According to the normal laws of development, this wave of public opinion may bring some fans, but there will definitely be more haters!" He remained calm and didn't get carried away at all.

The Shanghai Masters today does not have 96 draws as it did in later years, but only 56 draws.

The difference is that with a 96-point visa, you might have a few rounds of easier play, while with a 56-point visa, you're very likely to face a tough battle from the very first round.

With 56 players, the top eight seeds will receive a bye and advance directly to the round of 32, while the other 48 players will compete to determine the 24 advancing spots.

For top players, they naturally prefer the 56-signature Masters tournament, which is shorter and more efficient, while the 96-signature Masters tournament is simply too time-consuming.

Who are the top eight seeds?

Meng Hao looked at the list of participants and also observed them secretly.

The top seeds are Djokovic (No. 1), Nadal (No. 2), Federer (No. 3), Wawrinka (No. 4), Ferrer (No. 5), Berdych (No. 6), Nishikori (No. 7), and Raonic (No. 8).

Newly crowned US Open champion Marin Cilic can only be seeded 9th.

In addition, Murray, who is considered half of the giants, has been in poor form this year and is only the 11th seed.

Murray's ranking has dropped to 11th. This men's tennis world is really getting complicated!
“Basically, all the top players who could come have come!” Meng Hao muttered, stroking his chin. “However, many of the top players are in a period of fatigue after the US Open, so I have a good chance of playing the role of the dark horse.”

Making their tour debut at the Masters means facing far more pressure and attention than a mere 250 tournament.

Meng Hao returned to the players' locker room and did some physical training.

Not long ago, through his connections at the Juss Group, he hired a strength and conditioning coach and a physical therapist for a two-week term, each paid $3000 a week.

Typically, a tour-level coach earns at least $5000 a week, plus a share of the prize money.

For top players, the coach's salary will be even higher.

A professional tennis player can be viewed as an independently operated company, which is quite different from the club model.

The physical trainer Meng Hao hired was named Garcia, a Spaniard, and his hairstyle was very distinctive, just like the famous Mediterranean style in Spain! The physiotherapist Meng Hao hired was Anna from Russia. She was very beautiful, with blonde hair, a tall stature, and a curvaceous figure, but when she pulled up her sleeves, her arms were covered in hair. No wonder she was Russian, she had so much hair!
This is truly befitting of an ATP Masters tournament.

The players' lounge is spacious, tastefully decorated, and equipped with a wide variety of fitness equipment.

Here you can see many famous tennis players.

For example, Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer is riding his bicycle quietly by himself with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"Old Fei, it's one thing to play basketball elegantly, but do you have to be this elegant when riding a bicycle?"

There's Murray stretching, and Wawrinka tossing the ball.

Marin Cilic, the newly crowned US Open champion, is also diligently engaged in strength training.

What's wrong with being a US Open champion? As a country with a population of just over 300 million, Croatia, a US Open champion can only gain a limited number of commercial endorsements beyond 2000 ranking points and a considerable prize.

Cilic could only play diligently and earn prize money from matches.

On the contrary, his defeated opponent Kei Nishikori, thanks to his US Open runner-up finish, saw his commercial value skyrocket, and he was inundated with advertising offers.

Different nationalities, different fates!

Meng Hao also secretly observed his surroundings.

The ATP Tour is also a social circle, where players gather in small groups based on their relationships with each other.

Sometimes, relationships don't necessarily go well just because people come from the same country.

For example, some famous French players simply ignore each other, passing by without even exchanging a greeting. That's so French!

In this players' lounge filled with famous players, Meng Hao, who was participating in the tour for the first time, stood like a lackey.

He also discreetly walked to an inconspicuous corner to do physical training.

Nobody knows him, nobody cares about him, and nobody cares how he got his wildcard.

Some even believe that this young Chinese man has a powerful background and obtained this wildcard for the Shanghai Masters through connections.

This kind of thing happens frequently in professional tennis, and everyone is used to it.

Meng Hao didn't care at all and continued training on his own.

He also saw three other local players, who were gathered in another corner.

Three people? Besides Zhang Ze and Wu Di, the first and second brothers, Wang Chuhan was also very lucky to get the last wildcard.

This wildcard was originally intended for a famous foreign athlete, but the athlete had to withdraw from the Shanghai leg due to an unhealed injury.

So, this vacant wildcard slot ended up benefiting this fourth brother.

This year's Shanghai Masters will have four Chinese players participating, setting a new record in terms of the number of participants.

Meng Hao wasn't familiar with the three people there, and since they hadn't greeted him, he wouldn't take the initiative to make small talk.

Since Li Na's retirement, he is the only active athlete to endorse the "Baobaoli" racket.

A tall tree catches the wind!
After Meng Hao had been training for a while, his cousin Song Yu ran over and said, "Meng Hao, the draw is about to begin!"

The large screen in the players' lounge will broadcast the live stream.

So, everyone walked over to the location of the large screen.

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(End of this chapter)