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

Chapter 89 The Number One Person Who Sweeps Through Taiwan! (6 Updates!)

Will a tennis winter arrive?
This is a question raised by many practitioners!

The most exciting day at the China Open was the day Li Na retired.

Since that day, the popularity of tennis has visibly declined, and this situation has been exacerbated by the lackluster performance of Chinese players in the "China Season".

Some tennis-themed social media bloggers have clearly felt a decline in traffic, while newcomers to the media industry feel like they're "joining the National Revolutionary Army in 49."

With these concerns in mind, many people turned their attention to Shanghai.

At least for now, there is still one local player persisting, and his performance seems to be quite good.

"Baoli has a really good eye, especially after what happened at the China Open not long ago. It seems he made the right choice."

"Didn't Meng Hao say that he beat the 10th seed, so he's the 10th seed now! According to the draw, there's nothing wrong with that!"

Who will be his next opponent?

"Let me check... wait, it's Lu Yanxun!"

"This is truly a battle for the title of China's number one! It's generating tons of buzz!"

However, many fans have raised objections, noting that mainstream media in mainland China rarely report on Lu Yanxun.

Even though this guy made history by reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals, it was still the same.

This is completely different from the enthusiasm shown when reporting on Michael Chang back then.

After all, Michael Chang's identity is clear: he is an American of Chinese descent. Moreover, he has even given up helping the United States play in the Davis Cup several times in order to participate in the Yanjing Salon Tennis Open, which shows his sincerity.

The identity of Taiwanese athletes is still a sensitive issue.

However, given the lack of outstanding Chinese male tennis players in the current tennis world, this match can also be seen as a contest for the title of the best Chinese tennis player.

"Meng Hao VS Lu Yanxun!"

Many online self-media outlets have already started generating buzz.

However, some Taiwanese media outlets sourly commented: Meng Hao gets much more rest time than Lu Yanxun, which is unfair!

However, that's how tennis tournament schedules are; often, due to various objective factors, plans can't keep up with changes.

This situation frequently occurs in competitions in other countries as well, not just during the "Chinese season".

Absolute fairness does not exist.

Meng Hao may have gained a small advantage this time, but next time he might be the one to suffer a loss.

……

Meng Hao's second-round match was scheduled for 2 PM on October 8th, still in the center court.

With the start of the second round of the competition, the three giants took the stage, naturally occupying the prime time of the night.

Although the last round was quite intense, he had rested for almost two days and his physical condition had long since recovered to its peak.

"Actually, I still prefer to play during the day, after all, tennis is an outdoor sport full of sunshine!" Meng Hao felt a sense of comfort as he stepped onto the court.

On an October afternoon, the weather was clear and sunny, perfect for a tennis match.

Meng Hao quietly observed his opponent.

Lu Yen-hsun is 31 years old now, so he can be considered a veteran.

Defeating Roddick and reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2010 was a highlight of his career.

In competitive sports, luck does sometimes play a role.

Before reaching the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon, Lu Yen-hsun had been eliminated in the first round for four consecutive years. In that year, he was eliminated in the first round of the other three Grand Slam tournaments besides Wimbledon.

In addition, this person also has a nickname: "King of Challenges".

Because his ATP ranking points are basically earned by playing Challenger tournaments.

Meng Hao couldn't remember how many Challenger Tournament championships this guy had won in his previous life, but as of 2014, he had already won a total of 21 Challenger Tournament championships!
If we exclude him, the men's tennis team in mainland China has never won a Challenger title.

When compared like this, the difference is indeed quite large.

“However… the other party seems a bit tired!” Meng Hao’s eyesight was extremely sharp, and he quickly noticed this.

That guy seemed to have been fighting with a Spanish player for over three hours yesterday, and he's over 30, so his body recovers slowly to begin with.

Meng Hao currently enjoys all the advantages of timing, location, and support; there is absolutely no reason for him to win this game. (CCTV5 Studio)

"Cough cough cough..." Host Zhang Sheng said excitedly, "Meng Hao is almost certain to win today's match! After all, Lu Yanxun played three sets yesterday, and the third set even went to a tiebreaker!"

"Even if we consider a normal comparison of strength, Meng Hao is stronger than Lu Yanxun."

"Viewers always say I'm a jinx, but actually I'm right most of the time. You only remember the few times I was wrong!"

"You guys... can you understand football as well as I do?!"

At this moment, the audience began to curse and swear, and some even turned off the sound.

However, half an hour later...

Viewers turned the TV back on and went on a frenzy of online posts: "Zhang, you're a true football expert!"

The score of the first set was 6-0.

This is an incredibly brutal score.

Meng Hao actually gave Lu Yanxun an egg.

He completely controlled the game.

Lu Yanxun was indeed in very poor condition, while Meng Hao was full of vigor.

This score was therefore quite logical.

In the second set, Lu Yen-hsun still struggled, but fortunately he finally won a game.

The score was tied 1-1 after the third game.

Lu Yanjun appeared to have strained his thigh during a run, clutching it in great pain.

But this guy seems very stubborn and absolutely refuses to withdraw from the competition.

Meng Hao remained expressionless, merely glancing briefly at the scoreboard.

This is Meng Hao's serve, and the current score is 30-30.

After a short while, Lu Yanxun raised his hand to indicate that he was fine and was ready to continue the competition, but his face still showed obvious pain.

The first shot goes out of bounds, the second goes into the box!

Lu Yen-hsun, who had just been looking extremely pained, immediately returned a high-quality serve.

Meng Hao swung his racket and gently flicked the ball, picking up a small ball.

The ball wasn't particularly high quality, and his only purpose was... to examine the injury.

Although he's a newbie on the tour, do you really think he doesn't know anything?
When your opponent indicates that they have pulled a muscle and shows signs of pain, the first reaction of ATP veterans is to drop the ball to test the injury.

Let's see if you have a real strain or a fake one!
Lu Yen-hsun immediately ran to the net, his steps agile and swift, showing no signs of injury!
"This kid's ruthless!" he thought to himself. "These mainlanders keep talking about the deep bond between compatriots on both sides of the strait! Is this what they call a bond?"

Then, Meng Hao returned a high lob, moving his opponent from the net to the baseline.

Immediately afterwards, a sharp change of direction resulted in a direct score.

For the next ball, Meng Hao continued to place small balls, followed by a through ball.

2 is better than 1
Lu Yanxun did have some injuries, and Meng Hao's repeated "injury-checking" drop shots, coupled with wide-angle movements, seemed to have aggravated his opponent's injuries.

The fourth game, Lu Yen-hsun's serve.

He wanted to give it his all and put all his strength into trying to hold onto his serve.

After two 40-40 tie moments, he still couldn't hold on, and Meng Hao converted his third break point.

In the following match, Meng Hao pressed his advantage and played with even more momentum, while his opponent suffered a complete collapse, but never withdrew from the match. In the end, the score of the second set was 6-1!

6 to 0 and 6 to 1!

They only lost one game in two matches.

Meng Hao swept his opponent in the second round and advanced to the round of 16!

……

(End of this chapter)