The U.S. Open began in 1881 at the Newport Casino Stadium and moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills in New York in 1915.

In the future four major tennis opens, Wimbledon is grass, French Open is red court, US Open is concrete hard court, and Australian Open is plastic hard court. But in the thirties, with the exception of the French Open, which was red court, the other three tennis tournaments were played on grass.

Ancient tennis originated in France, and in the 17th century, tennis was still a court game in France, when a golden container was placed next to the court, and after each match, the spectators put money on the plate as a prize for the winner. What started out as a well-intentioned method evolved into a form of gambling. Initially small, the gambling grew so large that some people lost their fortunes, so the King of France banned the game again, which was the main reason for the decline of tennis in the early 18th century.

Modern tennis began in Birmingham in 1987 and soon spread to the United States and the British colonies, where people quickly enjoyed the sport on the lawn. After all, in those days, it was much easier to find a piece of lawn than a piece of concrete, so tennis developed rapidly.

By the twenties, tennis in the United States has been very developed, the National Tennis Association of the United States will hold a lot of tennis tournaments every year, in addition, the states of the United States will also hold tennis tournaments, tennis youth tournaments and NCAA tennis tournaments, are also in full swing.

The West Side Tennis Club, where the U.S. Open was held, spanning two blocks, with 12 grass courts and 15 clay courts, including a 14,000-seat grandstand on the main court, which was considered the best tennis court in the world at the time. Even in the future, there will be few tennis courts in China that can accommodate 14,000 spectators.

Tennis only entered the era of the Open in 1968, and since then there have been four Grand Slams in the true sense of the word, and it is since then that tennis has developed rapidly, almost every decade there will be a leap forward, Jimmy Connors in the 70s, John McEnroe in the 80s, Pete Sampras in the 90s, and Roger Federer in the 21st century, each generation of athletes will bring earth-shaking changes to tennis.

Later generations generally believed that tennis before 1968 could only be regarded as amateur, and only after the opening of the Open era in 1968 did professional-level tennis really appear, which also shows from one side that the level of tennis before 1968 was not high.

Thirty years later, tennis in 1938 may only be regarded as a "tennis enthusiast", and it is difficult to play an amateur game.

In the thirties, the standard of being a good tennis player was to have a good sense of the Internet, know the skills of Internet volleys, and be able to make successful Internet volleys. In those days, completing a volley on the net could cause cheers from the audience, and once the opponent completed the volley on the net, most of the players were powerless, that is, they could not receive the volley from the opponent!

This will sound incredible to people in the future, even if you are a good tennis player who can volley online, you can run to play four Grand Slam level competitions, so if you calculate it, those physical education teachers who teach elementary school students to play tennis in the summer vacation will go to the tennis championship and come back.

However, this is the case, in the twenties and thirties, the concept of tennis was mainly the baseline play, players would stand on the baseline position to draw, in the case that everyone would not use the topspin ball, the sudden net volley, is indeed a good way to attack.

It's like two soldiers shooting at each other with rifles 200 meters apart, and suddenly a man runs to a distance of 50 meters and throws a grenade, are you surprised? Not surprised? Isn't it awesome?

Chen Qiang's current tennis level has almost an NTRP score of 3.5 points, and he can play a relatively high level of topspin, but considering that players in this era like to volley online, Chen Qiang still plans to improve his level again, at least to improve his tennis skills to a score of 4.0.

In the NTRP's 4.0 scoring scale, players already have the ability to return volleys, and although the direction of the backhand return volley is still lacking in depth, they are already able to use their forehand to return volleys from the distance and low net. It can be said that players with a 4.0 rating have been able to cope with online volleys. In addition, tennis players with a 4.0 rating already have the ability to serve ace balls, as well as the ability to score directly with high balls and small balls.

Chen Qiang came to the tennis court in the training space, hired a tennis coach, and began systematic and professional tennis training.

Chen Qiang's ultimate goal is to reach a score of 4.5, that is, the top level of domestic amateur level in the future, as for whether he can reach a score of 5.0, it depends on Chen Qiang's luck and talent.

With a rating of 5.0, China will be able to be regarded as a professional tennis player in the future, at least as if he is in the provincial team and plays tennis professionally in China. Chen Qiang doesn't know if his talent in tennis can reach the level of a professional athlete, so he is not sure if he can reach the level of 5.0 after professional training.

Once it reaches 5.0 points, it is very close to 5.5 points, 5.0 points and 5.5 points, there is not much difference in technology, the difference is mainly physical fitness and mentality, which is almost the difference between the professional primary level and experienced professional players, and the level above 5.5 points, more stability and the gap between game experience, such as 7.0 level players, belonging to international tennis players, this kind of athletes are not just light skills, various international competition experience, is their most valuable wealth.

……

There are a total of 128 places in the four Grand Slams in later generations, and it is very difficult to participate in the four Grand Slams. In the Grand Slam tournament, there are 104 places for direct participation, and these 104 places belong to the top 104 players in the world rankings, and if someone gives up the qualification or retires due to injury, it will be postponed according to the world ranking, and basically the top 110 players in the world can reach this direct participation place.

In addition, there are 16 qualifying places, and 128 people participate in the qualifying rounds, counting some withdrawals, basically the world ranking 110 to 250 will participate in the qualifying tournament to fight for these 16 places.

There are also eight wildcard slots, some for host players, some for sponsor players, some for high-profile players who have fallen out of the top 104 due to injury, and some as a promotion spot for wildcard tournaments.

In the thirties, it was much easier to participate in the US Open, and you could basically sign up for it. Even so, there were less than 128 contestants.

At that time, the athletes were still very self-aware, knowing that their level was not enough, and it was also ugly to participate in such a high-level competition, so those players who knew that they would inevitably play in the first round would not come to the competition.

If it is placed in the next generation, every place in the four Grand Slams will be contested by players, even if it is only a round of tours, but as long as it can be shown in the four Grand Slam competitions, advertising sponsorship contracts will definitely be indispensable.

Chen Qiang took a leave of absence from the embassy and took the train to New York, where he went to the West Side Tennis Club, where the US Open was held, to sign up.

The staff in charge of registration obviously did not recognize Chen Qiang, and the staff was also surprised that a Chinese person came to register for the US Open.

"Are you Japanese?" The worker asked.

"No, I'm Chinese!" Chen Qiang replied.

"I thought you were Japanese, but there were already three Japanese people who signed up for this year's National Tennis Championships." The staff member in charge of registration spoke.

Chen Qiang was surprised: "There are three Japanese athletes participating in the competition!" ”

"Yes, maybe you still know each other, let me see, one of them is called Nakano, one is called Kurazo, and the other is called Abe." The other party replied.

Chen Qiang nodded slightly, he didn't expect that Japan's tennis would be so developed, and three players could participate in the US Open.

In later generations, Chinese tennis has emerged a series of Grand Slam winners such as Li Na, Zheng Jie, Peng Shuai, etc., and when Japanese players Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka rose, many Chinese people exclaimed that Japanese tennis surpassed China!

However, in fact, tennis in Japan has always been more popular than in China. As early as before World War II, Japanese tennis players began to compete in the four major tennis tournaments, and the Japanese team also participated in the Davis Cup very early, and Japan's tennis reserve talent is very rich. However, China's tennis has only entered the real professionalism after entering the 21st century, and the reserve force is even more worrisome.

To get back to the point, the staff member in charge of registration was very talkative, or he was very interested in foreign athletes, and talked to Chen Qiang for a long time.

Finally, the staff member took out the registration form and asked Chen Qiang to fill it out, and Chen Qiang quickly filled out the registration form and handed it to the staff.

"Chen Qiang? I think I've heard this name somewhere. By the way, the Chinese athlete who performed very well in the Olympics before is called Chen Qiang! Are there many of you Chinese who have this name? The staff spoke.

Perhaps this staff member took Chen Qiang's name as something like "John", "Jack", "Lao Wang next door", etc., and many Americans call them like this.

Chen Qiang shook his head with a smile, and he said, "I think the Chen Qiang you are talking about is me." ”

"What!" The staff was shocked, and he now realized that the Chinese who had been idling with him for a long time was the "world's No. 1 athlete".

"Oh my God, you are that Chen Qiang!" After the staff was shocked, they immediately beckoned Chen Qiang to sit down, and personally poured Chen Qiang a cup of coffee.

Soon after, the director of the West Side Tennis Club also came over, and Chen Qiang enjoyed VIP treatment here.

……

The U.S. Open is hosted by the National Tennis Association, a non-profit tennis organization. The original National Tennis Championship was open to members of the National Tennis Association. At that time, if you wanted to join the United States Tennis Association as a member, you had to pay some membership fees every year before you could be eligible to participate in tournaments hosted by the United States Tennis Association. This is a bit like forming a gang in a future online game, and the members pay a weekly fee and fight a gang war.

Today, the National Tennis Association of the United States obviously does not have to live on that membership fee, and with the development of tennis, the ticket revenue for holding a large tennis tournament is much higher than the membership fee. So at this time, the National Tennis Association of the United States was very keen to hold large-scale tennis tournaments.

The U.S. National Tennis Championship is the largest tennis tournament in the United States, and the Tennis Association naturally attaches great importance to it.

At this time, the news of Chen Qiang's registration for the US Open has reached the ears of the senior management of the United States Tennis Association.

The top management of the United States Tennis Association is naturally very happy, and as the organizers, they certainly hope to attract more big-name players to the tournament so that more tickets can be sold.

In the conference room, senior executives of the United States Tennis Association were discussing Chen Qiang's participation.

"That Chinese is the 'world's No. 1 athlete', and with him participating in our competition, we will definitely be able to sell a lot more tickets."

"I think so too, but I don't know what the Chinese's tennis level is, can it reach the level of ordinary participants?"

"Since he dared to sign up, I think I should play tennis well."

"But he's a track and field athlete, not a tennis player."

"There are a lot of track and field athletes who are proficient in tennis, and we have a lot of excellent tennis players who are also athletes in the track and field field."

"That's right, the key is that the Chinese has great physical fitness, sprinting, high jump, long jump, hurdles, and discus, he can break world records, such physical fitness, engaging in any sport should be hand-to-hand."

"That's right, having a good body can indeed make up for the lack of technique."

"But after all, we don't know what the level of tennis is in that Chinese, he is the world's No. 1 athlete, and if he loses the first game ugly, it will not be good news for our game." So I suggest that in the first round, give him a slightly weaker opponent! ”

"I agree, that Chinese has some fame after all, and we need that Chinese to heat up our game and get more people to pay attention to our game, so it's better for him not to fall in the first round."

Several people discussed it and decided to arrange a weaker opponent for Chen Qiang in the first round of the game to ensure that Chen Qiang was promoted.

In fact, this is also a very normal thing, after all, it is a commercial competition, and the US Tennis Association is also counting on selling more tickets and making more money.

For example, one day, LeBron James goes to participate in a tennis match, then the organizer definitely doesn't want James to be cool in the first game, James stays one more day, the heat of the game will be one day higher, if James can reach the final, it is estimated that it can attract tens of millions of fans of Lao Zhan to watch this tennis final.

……

The U.S. National Tennis Championships was scheduled for September 8, but the weather was not beautiful, and in September, it was rainy in New York, and it was definitely impossible to hold tennis matches in the rain, so the game was delayed to September 24.

In the pre-competition publicity, the organizers are also focusing on promoting the news of Chen Qiang's participation.

Six years ago, the Los Angeles Olympics made many Americans know Chen Qiang's name. Two years ago, the Berlin Olympics coincided with the U.S. election, and in order to attack Roosevelt, the Republican Party kept advocating that Chen Qiang defeated the U.S. team alone, which made Chen Qiang's name resounding in the United States again.

So the name Chen Qiang is still very popular with Americans. At least Chen Qiang's ticket sales for the first round of the game were very good.

As for whether Chen Qiang can play tennis, not many people question it. In those days, it was normal for an athlete to be proficient in multiple sports, especially in the United States, where many athletes could practice in any sport, and it was common for one person to be the main force of the varsity team in multiple sports. So no one would be surprised to say that a track and field athlete is playing well in tennis.

Chen Qiang's opponent in the first round is Lanas, an American player, but Chen Qiang has never heard of his name, so he is not a well-known player.

This Lanas is indeed the weakest of all the contestants. In the 1938 U.S. Open, Lanas was left with only one name, and in the first round, he lost to another player who also had only a name.

However, Chen Qiang didn't know this, this was his first tennis match, so he took it seriously.

Chen Qiang originally planned to come to the US Open to abuse vegetables, but he didn't expect his first opponent to be real dishes!

……

Standing on the grass of the US Open, Chen Qiang looked at Lanas opposite.

"I don't know what the other party's strength is, maybe it's a master, I can't take it lightly, seek stability, and send a topspin ball first!"

Thinking of this, Chen Qiang directly sent a topspin ball.

In this ball, Chen Qiang deliberately sought stability, so he did not deliberately pursue the ace ball, but chose a relatively conservative landing point.

With a "poof", the ball fell to the ground and then bounced up quickly.

Lanas had already rushed over and swung his racket to catch the ball.

However, the ball cut was not caught!

When Lanas swung his racket, the tennis ball had already flown past Lanas, and Lanas was swinging the racket into the air.

"I didn't get it, what's going on?" Lanas was startled, then turned back and looked at the tennis ball that had flown to the sidelines with a confused expression.

As a tennis player, it's normal to touch the net when you return the ball, or to hit the ball out of bounds. Or the opponent's ball speed is too fast, the landing point is too tricky, and he can't run to the position of receiving the ball at all, which is also a common thing.

But Lanas, like this, ran to the receiving position and swung his racket into the air, which is almost unlikely. This kind of situation where you can't catch the ball when you get in position only happens to beginners.

Today, however, this is the case at the US Open!

The audience at the scene was also stunned for a few seconds, and then a noisy sound sounded from the stands around them, no one could have imagined that in a match of this level in the US Open, the players ran to the receiving position, but swung the empty racket! This situation will not happen even in the junior competition.

Chen Qiang on the other side smiled slightly, he knew why this happened.

The reflection angle of the topspin ball after landing is smaller, and the force of the forward rush is larger, so offensive players prefer to pull the topspin ball.

In the future, the topspin is the basic skill of professional players, and in this era, tennis players have never seen topspin at all, they receive topspin at the normal height and speed of the ball, and there is a ghost if they can receive the ball!

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