G.o.d of Tennis Chapter 19.1
Chapter 19.1: 3rd Round Qualifying #1
Translator: Pineapple
Editor: Oer_
Metz, France.
The preliminary was ongoing at the tennis courts of the Metz Open. Two players were moving their bodies across the court. One of the players, Choi Yeon Hyuk, hit the ball fiercely and got the point.
*Pang!*
“Game Yeonhyuk Choi!”
Choi Yeon Hyuk’s game was played before Han Woo Jin just like yesterday.
He won the point easily and was leading the game. His opponent, a Nigerian player, couldn’t even touch Choi Yeon Hyuk’s feet.
Even though he was watching his rival play, Han Woo Jin was still thinking about yesterday. It was about ‘Slug’s’ power during their practice together. If it was just a casual skill then he wouldn’t worry about it that much.
‘It’s dangerous.’
That’s all Han Woo Jin had to say about that skill. It wasn’t dangerous to him. It was dangerous to the opponent that will be receiving the ball. It’s not a skill used for getting points but to injure your opponent.
A smash is when you hit the ball from high above downwards to the ground with as much power as you can.
The problem is the direction, not the ball’s power and speed. Usually a smash’s is supposed to be aimed where the opponent cannot return it because it is obvious to see the direction of the smash.
But ‘Slug’ was the opposite. Regardless of what kind of position and direction he sent it, the ball always landed right in front of the opponent’s foot.
“…Hoo.”
He couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
After their meal yesterday, he practiced for a short bit and found out ‘Slug’s’ principle.
When Slug is used, after he hits it and before it arrives at the ground it changes its trajectory slightly due to the twist in his wrist. This meant that it will bounce up at an angle that is away from the opponent’s rackets sweet spot.
‘This is how they get injured.’
The speed of the ball that the player hits is over 180 km/h. Players have to return over 200 serves and smashes.
Although players have to hit the ball at that speed with only a 300 gram racket, that is all due to using the sweet spot of the racket. The center of the racket is made with very strong material which allows the ball to bounce back.
The center of the racket is what we call sweet spot and it is the tennis player’s job to make sure the ball hits that area.
This ‘Slug’ is a bad technique that can injure other people. Right before the ball touched the racket it diverges from its course as it bounces up and the player is unable to hit the ball in the sweet spot of his racket. If the ball hit the side of the racket then the person who hit the ball might experience sharp pain in their wrist and fingers.
“This technique is good but it’s a problem.”
Obviously this technique is very useful. If the player can read the direction of a smash, then they can return it easily. The player doesn’t need to wait for the ball to bounce because the player knows where it will land and aim it at their racket. That’s why most people will get injured by the slug.
And some players might fall on the ground in pain.
That is the reason that he was truly worried about. If he used Slug a lot, it wouldn’t be considered a foul, but Han Woo Jin might end a player’s career.
Because he only has two special techniques and was annoyed that he had to worry so much about it. He remembered the moment he saw his status the moment he obtained the Slug.
[You obtained two special techniques. You can obtain your next special technique once your forehand level reaches 15.]
He was wondering why no notification came up when his forehand skill was raised to level 10. He wanted to increase his skill levels as soon as possible but it was an arduous process. At that moment he heard the referee’s voice.
“Set won by Yeonhyuk Choi! Score 6-2!”
“He already won a set?”
It was so fast.
Han Woo Jin frowned. As soon as he finished his game, Han Woo Jin’s turn to play moved up. He was still tired because of yesterday’s games and he wanted to rest longer even if it was five minutes more.
But things don’t always go the way he wants. Choi Yeon Hyuk also won the second set 6-2.
After Choi Yeon Hyuk’s match was over, they needed to clean up the court. Choi Yeon Hyuk, who won easily, found Han Woo Jin and waved at him. His play time was moved up 20 minutes, so he really hated Choi Yeon Hyuk’s happy wave.
‘I hate how he’s acting, but he doesn’t have any bad intentions.’
Choi Yeon Hyuk’s always happy face made Han Woo Jin feel a bit tired. He waved back and stood up.
It was time for him to play his third match of the tournament.
When he arrived at his court, his opponent was already in front of the referee. Han Woo Jin gripped his racket and looked at his stats.
[Herbert Wesley]
Strength 54 / Stamina 55 / Agility 53
HP 1880/2200 SP 510/510
Forehand: 8/20
Backhand: 8/20
Serve: 8/20
Volley: 7/20
Smash: 6/20
Drop shot: 7/20
Lob: 7/20
Special skill: None
‘This is easy.’
Han Woo Jin evaluated his opponent. He was confident that he could beat Herbert. His stats and skills weren’t as high as Daniel’s and he also didn’t have much experience according to the system. He wasn’t a bad player but he wasn’t that good either.
Compared to Han Woo Jin who only looked like a rookie but had years of experience, Herbert is a true newbie. He was still a flower that hasn’t bloomed. Even though he won the first and second games.
“Player ready!”
Herbert won the coin toss.
Herbert made slight eye contact and decided to serve first. Han Woo Jin who had an unfriendly expression, this guy was very shy compared to him. His brown hair trembled uncomfortably.
Woojin Han on my right! Herbert Weasley on my left! Herbert to serve!”
The two players got into position. Herbert practiced tossing up the ball really high. He was obviously ready to do an overhead serve.
“Love all! Play!”
Herbert lightly nodded to Han Woo Jin and threw up the ball. n.o.body would say anything if he did a surprise serve, but he took the time to see if Han Woo Jin was ready first before playing and was very courteous. An opponent who plays by the textbook wasn’t hard to play against.
*Pang!*
He hit the ball exactly diagonal across the court. Han Woo Jin let out a big sigh because the ball landed exactly as he expected. It wasn’t fast and didn’t curve.
‘How in the world did he get this far? Were his opponents that bad?’
*Pang!*
He hit the ball before it bounced. The ball the was returned with rising was a perfect return ace.
“Love fifteen!”
“Euk!”
Herbert moved his shoulders back and shrunk down due to the surprise. Usually if an opponent sees your expression like that then their confidence rises. Han Woo Jin saw his expression.
He looks really young, and had freckles across his face.
He was probably 18 or 19 years old? This might be his first tournament right after he debuted. He definitely wasn’t used to this kind of tournament.
‘But I still can’t go easy on you.’
Han Woo Jin examined Herbert’s serve coldly. He might be perplexed after that return ace and he threw up the ball and used the same serve.
If a player moves without thinking, that is basically saying to ‘kill me’ in the pro world. He now expected to have an easy game and once again did a return ace.
“Love thirty!”
The reason that experiencing a tournament is very important is not just so a player can get the know-how and tricks that other players use. It’s also to harden their mental and make them mentally stronger regardless of the situation. This was something that Herbert needed badly.
His face turned pale right away after that second return ace. He looked as if he didn’t have any thoughts on what to do on his next serve. This wasn’t a problem about his physical abilities or technique. It was because of his lack of mental fort.i.tude.
He didn’t know who his agent or coach is but how could they send this young boy and play in an ATP tour without any strategy?
Han Woo Jin clicked his tongue while looking at Herbert who looked like he was panicking.
This game from this tournament might traumatize him. As the tournament progresses more and more people will watch so he might also have stage fright and be afraid of holding his racket in fear of embarra.s.sing himself.
“Herbert! Serve now!”
Finally the referee spoke to him to hurry up.
A vicious circle occurs. Regardless, Herbert’s mental wasn’t in a good place, and the referee’s urging didn’t help. Therefore, he hit the ball with a trembling hand.
“Fault!”
His serve didn’t go over the net and dropped to the ground on his side. His bad mental made his serve’s precision go down. He tried to serve one more time but the spin made it hit the net once again.
“Fault! Love forty!”
This wasn’t Han Woo Jin winning this game.
It was Herbert destroying himself.
‘I can’t see this anymore.’
Han Woo Jin waited for his next serve. Thankfully, this time the serve went over the net.
Of course, his ball was returned easily.
“Game Woojin Han!”
The two players moved and changed sides. He saw that Herbert’s lips were blue while walking past him. He looked incredibly nervous which is why his blood left his face. What should he do in this type of situation?
Han Woo Jin kept on sighing and returned the ball. As soon as it was his turn to serve, Herbert got to take a break. There is no possibility of him breaking Han Woo Jin’s serve game.
Han Woo Jin didn’t go easy on him. He didn’t feel the need to use the Sparrow, but he still maintained his serve’s speed and direction.
*pang!*
“Fifteen love!”
You could only hear the ball hit the racket and then hit the ground. It wasn’t at a level Herbert was able to return.
Han Woo Jin didn’t realize his status, but his stats increased one level more than when he started this tournament. He was stronger than when he first faced Fabian and his agility increased from when he played with Daniel. Even if he was at his state from before the tournament, Herbert would have never been able to beat him.
*Pang!*
The second serve bounced and curved downwards and hit the exact center of the court. It was a beautiful drive serve with a perfect spin. It had a perfect direction that was basically a textbook model.
“Thirty love!”
His service ace continued. The third time was a topspin serve. It looked like he was just practicing his techniques, placing the ball here and there.
If he focused just a little bit, he would have been able to return those serves but Herbert’s racket didn’t even come near the b.a.l.l.s.
“Forty love!”
The game was almost over. Han Woo Jin didn’t even think about his opponent’s feelings he just concentrated on winning. If he breaks here then he would break somewhere else sooner or later. A person who pursues their dream can’t help but block others from their dreams as well.
The second game’s last serve flew at a terrifying speed.
*Pang!*
It was a straight flat that was over 200 km/h.
The ball bounced up as if it was doing its best to avoid Herbert. He even calculated the direction of the bounce so it was a perfect service ace.
“Game Woojin Han!”
Score 0-2.
He thought that his opponent’s luck was good, but Han Woo Jin wasn’t in a good mood. Because if he beats an opponent with such a large difference in skill, then he will lost stats from the system.
Chapter 19.2
Translator: Pineapple
Editor: Oer_
The game ended quickly. The rallies of a player who had a broken mentality weren’t long. Han Woo Jin won his third match easily in contrast to the second game.
As soon as the referee announced his victory, he saw words show up in his head.
[Great play! Congratulations for winning your first perfect victory in an ATP 250 league, you have gained one stat random stat point.] [Great play! All of your stats have increased by one due to you successfully pa.s.sing the preliminaries.] [Great play! Your skill levels increased due to winning a matching an ATP 250 league, but your experience has also decreased because of the huge difference in skill between you and your opponent.]
Han Woo Jin ignored the notifications from the system as he held out his hand over the net. His opponent just blankly stared at his hand in a daze.
“ [You worked hard.] “
“ […] “
Han Woo Jin spoke in his broken English as Herbert didn’t reply. He just gripped Han Woo Jin’s hand once and let go. He didn’t want to say anything else, it would just demoralize him further. Han Woo Jin was about to say something but stopped himself. It’s not something the winner should say.
‘It should be something that’s told to him by his coach.’
Comfort, encouragement and criticisms shouldn’t be heard from your opponent. Han Woo Jin, with nothing left to do, exited the court. When he walked up to the stands his team, they had a festive atmosphere, because the two newbies were able to make it up into the main tournament.
Coach Jeon tried to maintain a dark expression but his lips kept trembling.
“Good, you guys did well. Frankly, I didn’t expect you guys to make it this far.”
He complimented them with a trembling voice. Although Coach Jeon made an error in prediction, he was still very happy about it. He thought that one of them wouldn’t make it to the main tournament but both of them were able to do it with great success.
‘They are maintaining good momentum.’
If they continue playing like this they might get better results than expected. Even just thinking about it made him excited.
n.o.body who partic.i.p.ates in an ATP tour as the second tournament in their career does well in that ATP tournament.
President Cho and Coach Jeon’s expectations were low in the beginning and now they had high hopes for them. Coach Jeon felt like he could already hear President Cho’s excited voice over their accomplishments.
“Hey Joonsung, when can you get the main tournament’s bracket?”
They’ve only known each other for short while but they were already speaking to each other casually. Coach Jeon was a very well known individual in the tennis world in Korea and he had experience and a good track record, so Choi Joon Sung followed him and made friends with him.
“That… will probably take a while until all games are finished. They said that they can fax it to us or email but I think it’s better to get it in person.”
“They’re so slow. You two don’t have anything you want to do here right?”
“Yes.”
“Me too.”
There was no reason for them to stay here any further. They were speaking for so long that the last game almost ended. Currently Han Woo Jin and Choi Yeon Hyuk’s HP were over the 80% threshold. That showed just how well they played during this match.
The people who exited the stadium all went to their respective vehicles but Han Woo Jin stopped for a bit and he changed his mind. Compared to yesterday, he wasn’t as fatigued. He thought he might as well take a short tour while he was here in France.
“Coach, can I walk back?”
“Why, do you think there will be something interesting on the streets?”
Coach Jeon replied sharply but didn’t deny him. A player who has good results should be treated well and be given freedom. With a short nod he approved of Han Woo Jin’s request.
“Don’t be too late. I’m not worried about you but be careful not to fall down.”
“Yes, then I’ll head off first.”
The group entered the car without Han Woo Jin. Shin Sae Yeon lowered the window and extended her hand. He thought that he forgot something and he just stared at her face blankly.
“Are you just going to walk with your racket? If you give it to me I will put it back in your room.”
“Ah… It’s fine, I’ll carry it. It’s not that heavy anyway.”
Han Woo Jin replied casually. His game was a bit boring but he won. The fact that he was able to enter the main ATP 250 tournament made him feel great.
Shin Sae Yeon, looking at his expression smirked and put her hand back and slowly rolled up the window. The car began moving and Han Woo Jin was the only one left at the parking lot.
“Let’s take it slow.”
Yesterday’s games were finished after the sun went down because the first and second preliminary games were held on the same day. But the third match of the preliminaries only had four games on that day. Han Woo Jin exited the court and raised his hands to cover his eyes while looking towards the sun.
HIs eyes burned a little but his skin was cool. In Korea, it is very hot and humid. As soon as he began walking he felt a cool breeze.
‘This is definitely a foreign country.’
It wasn’t good or bad. It was just very different from home. The sidewalks looked pretty because they were decorated with gray and white stones, and there were many pretty flower pots on the ground buildings. To his side was the beautiful Moselle river.
He walked along in a good mood. He stopped in front of a park bench.
“Hoo.”
It was a beautiful city. When he thought of Europe he only thought of splendid and expensive things. But Metz was a country city and had a lot of culture and nature. You could see many cute children running around in the park.
Didn’t he have a time like that?… Han Woo Jin laughed unconsciously. Come to think of it, there wasn’t a time when he was like that.
‘Who would play with a kid who only swings his racket all day?’
Even during elementary school, right after school ended, he would go home and swing his racket. Naturally, among his peers he was bullied and it was even more severe during middle school. After he played started to play games during high school, he could no longer make any friends.
Because of his difficult past, it was hard for him to look away from those playing children.
*Tong!*
A familiar sound entered his ears. It was a sound he would recognize even while sleeping. It was the sound of a tennis ball hitting a racket.
‘Who’s playing?’
He got up from his seat and went over to the noise.
Soon a man entered his view. He was probably 190 cm. He was. .h.i.tting the ball with his racket and loosening his wrist. He couldn’t see his face.
But Han Woo Jin knew who he was and mumbled his name.
“Murray…?!”
The man who was bouncing the ball stopped. The English youth with bright brown hair looked towards Han Woo Jin who said his name.
Andrew Murray asked him.
“Who are you?”
When people encounter unexpected events that they never even thought of their body tend to go stiff. That’s what was happening to Han Woo Jin. He never thought about being able to meet this man and didn’t know what to do.
Andrew was just calmly staring at him. He was curious about this asian man who spoke his name.
“ [I’m…] “ Han Woo Jin began to speak in English.
What do I say?
Woojin Han? I’m from Korea? Pro tennis player?
If a person is cornered, they will come to their sense. Han Woo Jin answered with an honest statement. Even though he was talking about his future.
“ [Andrew, I’m your fan.] “
“ [Fan?] “
Right now Andrew is a player who has only been a pro for one year. Even though he had a decent track record so far, it wasn’t so good as someone would say that he was great. However, this man did. That’s why he couldn’t help but be confused when this man came up saying he was a fan, even more that he was Asian.
Han Woo Jin could only speak simple English so it was difficult to understand anything other than simple things. If Andrew asked him something and he couldn’t answer properly, Andrew would think he was weird.
Fortunately Andrew didn’t say anything. He stopped bouncing the ball and was thinking.
Han Woo Jin realized that he had his racket in his bag. This was his chance. He has went into his bag and held his racket. He wanted to see the stats of future world ranker Andrew Murray.
Andrew Murray’s status appeared.
“…”
His mouth couldn’t help but widen in shock.
[Andrew Murray]
Strength 60 / Stamina 61 / Agility 65
HP 2410/2440 SP 830/830
Forehand: 11/20
Backhand: 15/20
Serve: 11/20
Volley: 11/20
Smash: 10/20
Drop shot: 13/20
Lob: 12/20
Special skill: ???, ????
Insane.
He couldn’t say anything. Han Woo Jin found his hand trembling. He expected him to have good stats. However, he was beyond his expectations.
HIs total skill level was 83. He understood, because he had a great physique but he never spected his skills to be this great. He is only 19 years old but his skills were the same as a world ranker.
He was shocked. He felt as if he was electrocuted. Compared to Han Woo Jin, who couldn’t say anything, Andrew opened his mouth and spoke.
“ [Oh, I have an idea. You’re Han Woo Jin right?] “
“ [Y-you know me?] “
He never expected that Andrew Murray knew him and he was shocked. Andrew probably knew that Han Woo Jin’s English was that good so he spoke slowly for him. His British p.r.o.nunciation was easy to understand.
“ [Out of all the preliminary games, yours was the best. I couldn’t recognize you because I sat far away during your matches but now I know.] “
He smiled and spoke in a friendly manner. He was still young so his personality was nicer than the future Andrew.
He didn’t know about the current him. But the future Andrew Murray has anger issues and erratic game records.
As he was reminded of that, he became more relaxed. Han Woo Jin spoke a bit more with Andrew who spoke to him. His English wasn’t that great so he couldn’t communicate that well but his chest was pounding loudly because he was currently speaking to someone who he’d only seen on TV or in the newspaper.
“You called me?”
“Yeah, did you have a good walk?”
Han Woo Jin, who entered the hotel was called immediately by Coach Jeon. Everyone was already here in a discussion. It looked like they already received the tournament schedule.
“Did my next match come? It came faster than expected…”
Han Woo Jin looked at the paper on the table and there were 32 players matched up against each other.
First he found his own name.
John Walter : Woojin Han
‘That’s good. He’s also someone from the preliminaries.’
The players from the preliminaries, compared to those who got directly entered into the main tournament, have some disadvantages. Physical exhaustion and exposure of their skills. However, those disadvantages disappear if those two players are in the same situation.
Han Woo Jin already knew John Walter’s skills. He was strong compared to Herbert but shouldn’t be difficult to defeat.
He is very lucky. Then he searched for Choi Yeon Hyuk’s opponent. Han Woo Jin’s game was towards the end of the brackets and he would be playing near the end. On the other hand, Choi Yeon Hyuk was at the beginning.
He moved his eyes.
He suddenly stopped.
This… is not good.
Andrew Murray : Yeonhyuk Choi