The match between Zhang Guan and Lee Hyung-taek was scheduled for the second game to take care of the viewing time in Asia. At this time in South Korea, it happened to be around 7:30 pm. For a barbecue restaurant, it was a good time to open its doors to welcome customers.
What was playing on the TV screen was the match between Zhang Guan and Li Hengze.
"Oh, Lee Hyung Taek's game has begun!" This person's voice immediately attracted everyone's attention, and the Korean commentator on the TV station started the flattering mode again.
"The game started with Zhang Guan's serve. If Lee Hyung-taek can break serve in the first game, he will be in a very advantageous situation!" As soon as the Korean commentator finished speaking, the referee on the TV shouted That "ACE".
At this moment, the Korean commentator suddenly stopped talking, and the barbecue restaurant was also silent. Only the applause of the audience could be heard from the TV.
After a few seconds, the Korean commentator said: "Zhang Guan was very lucky. He hit an ACE ball on his first serve. However, ACE balls are not common in tennis matches, especially in the French Open, where ACE balls are more common. It’s something you can only meet but cannot ask for, and the average man’s choice can only serve about 10 ACE balls in the whole game!”
"So that's it." The commentator's explanation made the Korean audience in the barbecue restaurant breathe a sigh of relief. Only about 10 ACE balls can be issued in a whole game, which obviously shows that ACE balls are very dependent on luck.
But in the next second.
"ACE!" This was the voice of the on-site referee on the TV, and the score in the lower left corner of the screen also changed to 30-0.
Zhang Guan sent another ACE ball.
The applause on the TV once again spread throughout the barbecue restaurant, and the sound of oil dripping from the barbecue stove was so harsh to these Korean viewers.
The TV screen was focused on Li Hengze, who once again went to the sideline of the runway to lower his head to observe the landing point of the ball. However, at this time, the referee also stepped down from the high stool in the middle and went to confirm the ball's landing point nearby.
The French Open is a clay court, and the ball will leave traces when it falls, so there is no Hawkeye imaging system installed. When none of the previous four Grand Slams had a Hawk-Eye system, the French Open was also known as the fairest Grand Slam.
Under this mechanism, the referee comes down to observe the landing point of the ball. This is a very common thing in the French Open. Therefore, the referee on the clay court is busier than the referees on other venues. They have to Climbing up and down to see where the ball landed, the referees at other venues only need to directly activate the Eagle Eye imaging.
The referee's judgment on this ball was still very accurate. From the traces, it can be judged that the ball fell in bounds.
"What are you doing? How come you hit the ball so accurately? It's on the sideline again!" Li Hengze felt a little depressed, and then he continued to catch the ball.
This time, the Korean commentator didn't say anything at all. Two consecutive ACE balls left him at a loss for words.
…
"It still feels good, you can try it again!" Zhang Guan smiled slightly, aimed at the sideline again, and served.
"OUT!" the line judge's voice sounded, indicating that the ball was out of bounds.
There is no Hawkeye system in the French Open, and Zhang Guan cannot challenge. Moreover, the Hawkeye system in the system has already told Zhang Guan that this is indeed an out-of-bounds ball.
"I didn't control it well and it went out of bounds. But two consecutive ace balls are already very good." Zhang Guan's expression was still very relaxed. Even if he made a mistake in his first serve, he was still very satisfied with the opening.
However, this first-serve error made the Korean commentator excited.
"A mistake in the first serve! A mistake in the first serve by Zhang Guan! Good opportunity, good opportunity for player Lee Hyung-taek! The time for player Lee Hyung-taek to counterattack is coming!" Koreans shouted like chicken blood, and the Korean audience in the barbecue restaurant immediately followed suit. Get excited.
"I said it's impossible to always be an ace player. It was just Zhang Guan's good luck!"
"Zhang Guan made a mistake on the first serve, and will definitely be more conservative on the second serve. Player Li Hengze will be able to recover one point!"
The next moment, Zhang Guan was seen ready for his second serve.
The tennis ball flew over the net and landed at the center line. After landing, the originally fast ball also slowed down a lot.
Li Hengze ran quickly and prepared to catch the ball. However, to his surprise, the ball bounced up to his shoulder.
"It's a topspin serve! Why does it bounce so high? It spins so hard." Li Hengze had to raise the angle of the return ball. However, although the ball flew over the net, it fell out of bounds.
"OUT!" The referee ruled that Li Hengze received the serve and went out of bounds, and the score became 40-0.
Li Hengze shook his head angrily. He did not expect that the ball would have such a strong topspin. He lacked mental preparation and made a mistake when receiving the serve.
"Hey..." Someone in the barbecue restaurant sighed first.
At this time, the voice of the Korean commentator sounded again: "The game has just started. Player Li Hengze has not yet entered the state of the game, and his hand is not very hot yet. This is also a relatively normal situation."
On the TV, Zhang Guan has already started his fourth serve.
There was a crisp landing sound, and the tennis ball landed ten centimeters inside the sideline. This was a flat serve, so it did not bounce as high as a topspin serve. But the ball still loses a lot of energy when it hits the ground, and the ball speed has slowed down a lot when it bounces back up.
Li Hengze swung the ball with his forehand and returned the ball over the net.
"Wow!" The audience in the barbecue restaurant exclaimed, as if Li Hengze had done something great.
In fact, this is just a return of serve, an ordinary return of serve, and the quality of the return is not high, the landing point is very positive, and the strength is not very sufficient. This level of receiving the serve is a good opportunity for any receiver to launch an attack.
Zhang Guan directly responded with a forehand, and the tennis ball went to the other side of the court. With this blow, Zhang Guan added a lot of topspin, and the degree of spin of the ball was no less than that of Nadal's forehand.
"Diagonal!" Li Hengze ran over quickly. As an Asian athlete, although his strength was average, his mobility was still very good. Even though he was 31 years old, he still ran over desperately.
The tennis ball landed on the ground and then bounced up. Li Hengze was about to reach the position to catch the ball. He stretched out his racket to catch the ball, but found that the height of the tennis ball bounced was close to his head.
"It still bounces so high! Another high-intensity top spin!" Li Hengze braked hard. If he didn't stop, he might have to catch the ball with his face. Then he raised the racket and struck once.
The tennis ball hit the net but did not fly to the other end.
Li Hengze's return ball did not pass the net, and the referee immediately announced that Zhang Guan had won the first game.
…
The barbecue restaurant was quiet. Three minutes ago, everyone was still dreaming about Li Hengze breaking serve in the first game. However, three minutes later, Zhang Guan gave Li Hengze a "love-game".
"What's going on? Didn't the media say that our player Li Hengze is certain to win? How come he didn't even win a ball and just lost a game?"
The fourth update has arrived. Do you still have monthly passes? If there are any, throw them over! I'm going to work on Chapter 5 now.
(End of chapter)