On January 15, the 2007 Australian Open officially started.
On the first day of the competition, many big names appeared. In the men's event, Federer, Roddick, Djokovic, Safin, etc. all defeated their respective opponents. The only one who could be called a big upset was the fourth seed in the tournament. Croatian star Ljubicic lost to American player Fish. Although Fish once entered the top 20 in the world, due to wrist injuries in recent years, he has only been able to win in some low-level events. This time, he did not qualify for seeding in the Australian Open, but ended up winning 3:1 in the match. With a total score, he easily defeated Ljubicic, ranked fourth in the world, and advanced to the second round.
In the women's event, Mauresmo, Serena Williams, Kuznetsova, Petrova, Dementieva, Jankovic, etc. also defeated their opponents.
The match between Zhang Guan and Sharapova was scheduled for the second day, so they did not appear on the first day of the Australian Open.
…
"Your opponent in the next game is O'Roches." After Coach Joyce finished speaking, he carefully looked at Zhang Guan's reaction, then sighed helplessly, and then said: "It seems that you don't have any I’ve heard of this player.”
Zhang Guan answered honestly: "I really don't know him. You know, I don't know many tennis players, and they are all well-known players like Federer and Nadal."
"Roches is actually also a well-known player. He is the number one tennis player in Belgium. He once won the French Open men's doubles championship in 2004." Coach Joyce introduced.
"The French Open men's doubles champion! He should be very powerful, but this time he is not a seeded player. What is his world ranking?" Zhang Guan asked immediately.
"Roches' highest ranking in the world is 24th, but now he is ranked outside the 50th, so he is not a seeded player." Coach Joyce continued: "Roches' registered height in the ATP is 168 cm, but his actual height is only 165 cm. It can be said that he is the shortest among the active ATP tennis professionals."
"Oh!" Zhang Guan suddenly felt a lot more relaxed. In Zhang Guan's view, in the sport of tennis, a height of 165 centimeters must be at a disadvantage in the competition. What's more, Zhang Guan's height exceeds 190 centimeters. There is such a height difference. Zhang Guan felt that his advantage was even greater.
However, Coach Joyce said next: "The European media gave Roches a nickname, 'Giant Killer'."
"What? Such an arrogant nickname!" Zhang Guan's eyes widened.
"Arrogant? It's nothing compared to you. You even dare to claim the title of Australian Open champion! You still have the nerve to call me arrogant. After all, Roches also won the Wimbledon doubles championship." Sharapova interjected from the side.
Zhang Guan smiled awkwardly and motioned for Coach Joyce to continue explaining, so Joyce continued: "Don't underestimate Roches. Although he is only 165 centimeters tall, his skills are very good. If he were taller, with his skills, he would definitely be more than what he is now."
"What are the characteristics of Roches?" Zhang Guan asked seriously.
"To put it simply, Roches' characteristics are persistence and stability. Roches moves very quickly and plays very tenaciously. His persistence ability is very strong, and he is very stable in receiving and returning the ball. Sometimes even When given the opportunity, he will not take the initiative to attack, but will continue to stalemate with his opponent. Therefore, his playing style is very grinding. For those players who rely heavily on serving and have poor stalemate ability, Roches His playing style can restrain them; at the same time, some players whose performance is unstable on the spot can be easily defeated by Roches." Joyce said.
"Then how should the game be played? How should I target him?" Zhang Guan asked.
"Actually, I think you have an absolute advantage now because you have never participated in a tennis match, so no one knows your characteristics and playing style, so they can't target you. Roches doesn't know you, so I suggest you choose to use a quick battle method first, play a little more proactively, and catch Roches by surprise. If you can't win with a quick battle, then you must have a stalemate with Roches. I think with your current strength , even if it is a stalemate, Roches is not your opponent." Coach Joyce stretched out a finger and continued: "In the game, the most important thing you need to pay attention to is stable performance. Your strength must be stronger than Roches. , as long as you perform stably, victory will definitely belong to you!"
At this time, Sharapova came from the side and delivered a glass of juice to Coach Joyce. At the same time, she said to Zhang Guan: "During the competition, you have to be more serious. Don't let down your guard because you think someone is short." , such short players often have a lot of experience in playing against tall players, because their opponents are always taller than them, so they are very difficult to deal with, just like Haining! Yes, he is also a Belgian!"
When Sharapova said this, there was clearly a sense of childish grudge in her tone. Belgian tennis queen Henin is only 167 centimeters tall, which is considered short among female athletes, but she has repeatedly caused Sharapova to suffer. For example, in last year's Australian Open, it was Henin who eliminated Sharapova.
Coach Joyce moistened his mouth with juice and continued: "Zhang Guan, except for me and Martha, I don't think anyone knows how strong you are. I think you will give everyone a good performance in tomorrow's game." A big surprise for the world! By then, the entire Australian Open will be shocked by you!"
…
O'Roches looked at the match list with a proud smile on his face.
"I really hit the jackpot. I didn't expect that my opponent in the first round was Zhang Guan! I heard that it was supposed to be Guccione. If it was really Guccione, I would have to work hard. I don't like competing the most. He's just a player playing men's doubles! But if Zhang Guan... Hahaha!" Roches couldn't help but laugh happily.
"A person who has never played a professional game, a person who obtained an ATP professional tennis player certificate through charity performances, a person who relied on sponsor relationships to get a wild card, and more importantly, he is basically a track and field athlete. !What’s the difference between this and a first-round bye!”
"No, there is still a difference! It's Zhang Guan's first time participating in a tennis match. It will definitely attract the attention of the world, and maybe it will be a global live broadcast! If I defeat Zhang Guan in the match, I will definitely become tomorrow's Headlines!”
Roches suddenly felt that happiness came so suddenly. For an athlete who was not even a seed player, he could get high media exposure while abusing his food. This was really a big win!
At this moment, Roches' cell phone rang, it was his agent calling.
Roches picked up the phone and said, "Tom, what's the matter?"
"It's about tomorrow's game. I just received a call from the sponsor. They hope that your game against Zhang Guan won't end so quickly. It should take as long as possible. It is best that the whole game should be more than three hours. For this reason, they have provided you with a bonus of 100,000 US dollars. As long as you can delay the time for more than three hours, the 100,000 US dollars will be yours. You should understand what this means!" the agent said.
"I understand, sponsors want to increase exposure!" Roches then joked: "But three hours is really difficult! I'm afraid that if I'm not careful, I will blow up Zhang Guan in thirty minutes! Haha. Haha... But don’t worry, if that happens, I will definitely let him off the hook secretly and deliberately lose a few games to him!"
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(End of chapter)