American tennis star Noel is a native of Los Angeles. He has entered the quarterfinals of three consecutive US Opens.
Noel is currently ranked 25th in the world. According to the rules of the four Grand Slams, the top 32 players in the world ranking are seeded players, so Noel will be the 25th seed in the upcoming US Open.
At this time, the person sparring with Noel on the court was a Chinese young man. This was his new sparring partner.
This Chinese young man is Chen Zhen.
Noel is also a client of Li Dai. Under Li Dai's introduction, Chen Zhen got the opportunity to be Noel's sparring partner.
Being able to serve as a sparring partner for first-class players is also a precious opportunity for some low-level professional players. Chen Zhen also cherishes this opportunity very much. Even as a sparring partner, he treats it with a 100% serious attitude. .
For Chen Zhen, he never met an athlete of Noer's level in his usual training. In the process of working as a sparring partner for Noer, Noer or Noer's coach gave him a few words, saying that it was difficult for him to Gains gained.
Noel is also happy to give Chen Zhen a few words of advice occasionally. Noel certainly hopes that his sparring partner can be stronger, so that the training effect will be better. Moreover, Chen Zhen’s world ranking has just entered the 200th place. It is difficult to reach the main draw in a Grand Slam competition. And Noel is a seed player. Chen Zhen’s ranking is no threat to Noel. Even with Chen Zhen’s strength If he makes progress, he won't be able to become Noel's competitor, so Noel is not worried about teaching his apprentices to starve their masters to death.
At dusk, when the day's training was coming to an end, Dai Li appeared on the training ground.
"Coach Li, the young sparring guy you introduced is very good. He works hard. But he doesn't seem to be very talkative. He always speaks when I ask." Noel greeted with a smile.
"Yes, this young man is a bit introverted." Li Dai continued: "Noel, starting tomorrow, I'm afraid he won't be able to be your sparring partner."
"Why? This young man has done a great job, and there are still ten days left before the US Open qualifying rounds. He can stay here for a few more days," Noel said.
"I found a tennis coach for him, and he is going to have a week of special training." Li Dai lowered his voice and continued, "It's Coach Wiggins' private training camp."
"Coach Wiggins!" Noel suddenly exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down, I don't want Chen Zhen to hear this." Li Dai said.
"Oh my gosh, Wiggins is the best tennis coach in the United States. His private training camp charges as much as 20,000 US dollars a week!" Noel exclaimed.
"To be precise, it's 20,000 US dollars for five days. Coach Wiggins will have two days off on the weekend." Dai Li shrugged helplessly.
"Coach Li, with all due respect, the money you spent is not worth it. With Chen Zhen's current level, it is really a waste to sign up for Coach Wiggins' training camp. Even if there is Coach Wiggins, With special training, he won't be able to achieve very good results at the US Open, and even if he enters the main draw, he will only be out in the first round," Noel said.
Li Dai knew that Noel was telling the truth. If Chen Zhen was an athlete with an S+ talent level, he might be able to create some miracles if he was given a week of special training. But Chen Zhen was only a B+ talent player, even if he was given a week of special training. Even though he has the best training in the world, he is only at the entry level of a Grand Slam main draw. It is impossible for him to go very far in a Grand Slam competition, or even pass the first round.
"If you look at the return on investment ratio, this is indeed a loss-making business." Dai Li smiled slightly, and then said: "But if we can fulfill the dream of two generations, then I think the 20,000 US dollars is well spent. worth."
…
Late at night, Chen Zhen, who had trained hard all day, had fallen asleep, while Chen Jianguo was hiding in the toilet, talking on the phone in a low voice, for fear of waking up his son.
"Don't worry, we are living a good life here. Coach Li takes good care of us. There is no problem with food and accommodation. It is enough. The money I brought is definitely enough. I will take my son to New York to play the US Open in two days. The qualifying matches and air tickets have been booked, and we will return to China after my son’s competition is over.”
After ending the call with his wife, Chen Jianguo called Xu Zhongyi again.
"Old Xu, thank you so much this time. Coach Li found a coach specifically for Chen Zhen. Now he no longer has to be a sparring partner for Noel. Yes, he is a professional tennis coach. I have also gone to see him. His level is dozens of levels higher than mine. Speaking of which, it’s Lao Xu who’s tough on you this time!”
After chatting with Xu Zhongyi for a few words, Chen Jianguo looked at the time and calculated that it should be domestic working hours now, so he made another call.
"Is it Minister Huang? I am Chen Jianguo, Chen Zhen's father, yes, and also his coach. Chen Zhen and I are in the United States now, preparing for the US Open. Yes, thank you for your concern, leader. Call you There is one thing I want to ask you. You see, the US Open Tennis Open is about to begin, and our Chen Zhen is also about to participate in the qualifying rounds of the US Open. Can you please help contact the media and report it to us."
"The leader is right, more exposure can also lead to more sponsors. Since the reform of tennis in our country and the professionalization of athletes, it is indeed not as stable as the iron rice bowl before. I often go abroad to compete, and the cost of food, clothing, housing and transportation is quite high. Yes, if we don’t have a sponsor, we really can’t bear it.”
"Then thank you very much, Minister Huang. Yes, you are right. You need to be strong to fight. The key is for Chen Zhen to achieve good results. He has been training very hard recently and just went to a US tennis tournament today. The amount of training provided by the coach, that coach’s name is Wiggins, I heard he is very famous in the United States.”
"Yes, it's in Los Angeles. Yes, the coach's name is Brad Wiggins. You know him too!"
"Oh? You came to the United States for study and study before, and have you ever visited Coach Wiggins' training camp? So, Coach Wiggins is really famous. Even our country's tennis management center comes here specifically. study."
"What are you talking about? Coach Wiggins's training fee for a week is as high as 20,000 US dollars?"
Chen Jianguo's expression froze instantly.
…
In the early morning, the alarm bell woke Chen Zhen up. Although he still wanted to sleep for a while, when he remembered that he had to force Wiggins to train, he forcibly got up from the bed.
Then he saw his father sitting alone on the sofa in the room, staring at the window in a daze.
"Dad, you're up so early." Chen Zhen said, and at the same time saw Chen Jianguo's pair of conspicuous dark circles.
"Dad, are you awake? Are you insomnia? You haven't slept all night?" Chen Zhen looked at his father with some distress.
Chen Jianguo slowly turned around. He sighed and said seriously: "Son, when you get to Coach Wiggins, you have to train seriously. You can't miss even one second!" Can’t waste it!”
Chen Zhen could feel that Chen Jianguo's tone was extremely solemn. He had not heard his father speak to him in this tone for a long time.
"Dad, what happened?" Chen Zhen asked subconsciously.
Chen Jianguo shook his head: "We owe Coach Li a huge favor this time. If you don't make it to the main draw of this US Open, we will really be sorry for Coach Li!"
Chen Zhen nodded in understanding. He didn't know yet that the Wiggins training camp he was about to go to was worth 20,000 US dollars for five days, and it would cost 4,000 US dollars for one day.