Chapter 1731 Dreaming of returning to campus
Entangled, stalemate, shaky, changing rapidly——
The court was still filled with noisy sounds. No one spoke or talked, but the noise could not be completely eliminated. However, the two players facing each other across the net had no time to be distracted. They were fully focused on the game, running and sprinting back and forth.
Jilong, his attention was completely focused and he was completely immersed in it.
For a moment, it seemed as if he was back on the Bruins team. Teammates like Gawain and McDonald were watching the progress of the game on the sidelines, while he was fighting on the court. Although he was alone, he had a large team to back him up and was fully focused on the game.
You don't need to think about bonuses and living expenses, you don't need to think about registration qualifications and schedule planning, you don't need to think about not having the funds to hire a coaching team so you have to think about tactics and arrange training yourself, and you don't need to think about whether you should continue your career or give up your hopes.
Just... running, carefree, wholeheartedly, enjoying tennis.
Push the ground, brake——
With a forehand shot, the ball swept diagonally, "inside-out", and ripped open a hole across the court. Duckworth stopped and turned sharply to try to save the ball but was unable to control her body. She watched the tennis ball slide past her right side, land in bounds, and bounce out like a cannonball.
Boom! The air was surging—
Break!
The second break in the second set, “5:1”, Jilong expanded his lead and was about to serve to win the game.
Duckworth slammed her racket.
"ah!"
Jilong clenched his fists and roared angrily, then raised his head and saw Gawain and MacDonald cheering and clapping.
Everything was exactly the same as I remembered, and I couldn't help but feel my blood boiling.
Jilong seemed to have found his form. For the first time in a whole year, he found his familiar self and familiar style. He was searching hard for something, just like being trapped in a maze, going around in circles without any clue. But when he looked back, it just appeared.
That feeling is really hard to describe.
But, so beautiful, so happy.
His confidence grew little by little. Looking at Gawain and MacDonald in the stands, he seemed to be finally not fighting alone.
In the match point, Jilong showed some fluctuations, made many mistakes, and faced the crisis of break point again.
Although he was leading by two breaks of serve in the second set, it was not a serious crisis; but what was really bad was that his attention fluctuated and was distracted, and then the nightmare of the past six months came back, that wet and sticky discomfort, which found its way back into his palms.
Those mistakes, those failures, those confusions and difficulties… He was still hitting the ball, but he seemed to have forgotten the method and the purpose of hitting the ball. In the end, he hit the wall while hitting the ball again and again, making a bang, and his head was bleeding, but he still did not dare to stop.
I am afraid that if I stop once, I may lose the motivation to move forward, but I don’t know how to change the predicament. Then I will be trapped in a vicious cycle of “hitting the wall - failure - continue to hit the wall - continue to fail”. Apart from running blindly, I have no idea what I should do.
The nightmare has a firm grip on the heart.
Jilong couldn't help but wipe his palms with a towel.
Then, Jilong saw his teammates.
Gawain is still the same Gawain, focused and bright-eyed. He doesn't need words, just a look is enough.
"I trust you."
No matter when, he always silently supports the team in his own way, like a spiritual pillar, leading them to find a ray of hope in difficult situations, and moving forward unswervingly, fighting, running, challenging, burning all the way, and never giving up.
call.
Jilong let out a breath.
He regained his focus, continued to stick to himself, continued to play the game, there was no need to change, all he needed to do was just believe in himself.
Then--
The back and forth collisions lasted for eight minutes. I saved three break points and missed two match points.
A straight forehand shot that went all the way across the court scored the winning point.
“Win!”
Jilong, this is the only thought in my mind.
Despite the bad situation of continuous losses in the Challenge Tournament and Hope Tournament, they ended up winning two games in a row in the Rogers Cup qualifiers!
The last time Jilong won consecutive games was in Seoul two months ago, but he did not expect that the long two-month slump would turn around in such a way. The winning streak was accompanied by the first breakthrough in his career, and he advanced to the main competition through the qualifying round for the first time in his career.
At the same time, after a year, Jilong will once again step into the main competition of the ATP level event -
It was here a year ago, and after going around in circles, it’s still here a year later.
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Everything seems familiar, yet completely different.
Jilong could no longer control himself and roared out.
Perhaps, it is hard to understand for others: Isn't it just a place in the finals? It's not the semi-finals or the championship, is it worth making such a fuss?
But in fact, in addition to the top 50 or 100 players in the world, there are more than 3,000 unknown and low-ranked players in the tennis world. In this top sport with more than one billion viewers worldwide, there are only a handful of players who really win attention.
In highly commercialized competitive sports such as football and basketball, in addition to the top leagues, competitions at different levels and in different regions also have a large number of spectators, and even non-professional and semi-professional athletes can get attention. However, the world of tennis is so cruel and bloody.
Just like Geelong.
The proud son of the NCAA is now struggling in the challenge tournament, and it is even difficult for him to make a living, let alone achieve glory.
Even if it is just a place in the main competition, it is extremely valuable to him.
MacDonald understood, 100 percent.
Looking at Jilong who was finally released, McDonald felt as if he was seeing himself in the past six months, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
And, it continued until the end of the game, looking at the oncoming Jilong——
Unlike those large stadiums, these small stadiums have no locker rooms or player tunnels. Players and spectators leave through the same aisle, so spectators can get close to the players. If they wish, they can stay at the exit after the game to get autographs.
Jilong's footsteps paused slightly. The surging crowd in front of him were obviously not waiting for him. All eyes were focused on Gawain, but Gawain seemed unaware of it. He ignored the fans and spectators and waited for Jilong's appearance with McDonald.
"Marcos, great game!"
"Jilong, you are my prince!"
Gao Wen and McDonald, two lively guys, cheered like crazy fans, and instantly brought me back to the NCAA. That’s how those fans cheered for Jilong back then.
(End of this chapter)