Chapter 5

Without mentioning a certain closeted man who had been holding it in for years, after a morning of rest, the "Grand Master" tournament reignited at 2 PM!

"Uh... it's actually a girl? Could it be that the guy in the previous round surrendered just by seeing her flowing skirt?" Looking at his opponent, who was tidying up her racket, Comrade Fan Ju couldn't help but make a possible guess.

If we were to talk about a normal competitive match, there is an inherent technical gap between male and female players, which can be seen just by looking at the size of their arms, legs, and waist. Of course, if we consider the chest, some exceptionally gifted women could turn the tide.

Male professional players typically serve at speeds starting from 180 km/h, while female players often serve at around 150 km/h. This is just the basic data for professional entry. Male players still have a lot of room for improvement, reaching speeds over 200 km/h, which is considered a good serve. Female players who can serve at over 200 km/h, combined with decent technique, can achieve great success in women's tennis, as seen with the Williams sisters in the current women's tennis scene.

After all, serving speed isn't just about hitting the ball hard; the first bounce must land in the service area, and it must be tricky enough. Otherwise, even if you hit the ball faster than light, it would just fly into the sun, and you'd still get no points.

Serving speed is just the most obvious physical difference between male and female players. There are many other inherent disadvantages due to height and explosive power.

Even in mixed doubles, serving is always male against male and female against female. If a male player were to serve to a female player, a serve over 190 km/h would likely result in an ACE, breaking many ACE records in various matches.

Fan Ju looked at the tennis girl in front of him and wondered if he should go easy on her. However, he subconsciously glanced at the sidelines, where Yan Ximu and her group of sisters were already standing, "eyeing" him like tigers. With a group of "tigresses" watching, even if his opponent's skirt was flowing, Fan Ju still had to make the tough decision to "crush the flower"!

"Junior, you serve first. I'll let you have it later," announced the start of the match. Fan Ju, following the "custom," walked to the net to decide the serving rights. However, the senior girl on the other side was surprisingly confident. Facing a boy who was half a head taller, she directly proposed to let him serve!

"Ximu, what do you think that little fox is saying to your Fan Fan? Could she be interested in him?" The girls on the sidelines knew that Yan Ximu was a醋精 (jealous person). They weren't saying this out of good intentions. After all, they were watching him play with a "fox" under the scorching sun; how could they let her off easily?

Yan Ximu's face darkened at the "gossip," but she soon smiled. Without answering her friends, she shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Fan Ju, if you lose, you'll be kneeling on the washboard when you get home!"

Washboard? Fan Ju knew who was making the threat without even looking. He had planned to be modest, but now wasn't the time.

"Oh? Serving rights? Thanks, don't worry, I won't go easy on you. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble when I get home, hehe!" After saying this, he didn't continue to joke around. He took the tennis ball representing the serving rights and quickly moved to the serving line, ready to start.

The tennis girl was taken aback. Usually, when playing against men, even if they didn't let her win, they would at least be modest. This "decisiveness" was something she had never encountered before.

However, the tennis girl wasn't worried. Her family had been well-off since she was born, and she started playing tennis at the age of 12. She had been playing for 6-7 years, and her tennis skills, while not professional, were certainly at an amateur level.

In her view, as long as she didn't face the male tennis club president, who had amateur-level skills, she could easily reach the semi-finals.

Seeing the tennis girl take her position, Fan Ju once again used his signature badminton serving technique. In the morning, he had tried the standard high toss serve a few times, but he found that unless he could enter a three-times speed state at the moment of impact, his serving accuracy was hopeless.

Using the three-times speed state every time was unrealistic, so he decided to use the two-times speed state, which was more stable.

In the two-times speed state, Fan Ju had the spare capacity to observe the direction of the opponent's return and adjust his body to return to normal speed for a counterattack.

"Huh? So fast?"

The first time anyone saw Fan Ju's serving motion, they probably wouldn't realize that such a training motion could produce such a high-speed serve. The tennis girl had planned to return the serve easily, but the 90 km/h serve forced her to react quickly.

She did hit the ball, but the high, floating return showed no sign of amateur-level tennis, making the tennis girl feel embarrassed. After all, the audience wasn't just Fan Ju's supporters; she was a "seed" player, and her charm as a girl attracted many spectators.

Losing face at the start, the tennis girl naturally felt不甘 (unwilling to accept it). Her body, which hadn't fully warmed up, turned red with anger, as if she had just done some intense private activity.

With Yan Ximu's sharp gaze on his back, Fan Ju didn't dare to stare at the swan across the net. Besides, there was a tennis ball flying high in the air, and Fan Ju naturally didn't want to miss the chance to show off for the young lady.

"Smash!"

Like the protagonists in manga who shout their special moves before attacking, Fan Ju couldn't help but be a bit cliché. However, this cliché was quite impressive. Running to the center of the court, he used the remaining two-times speed to jump 90 cm high, the slowed time not only improving his reaction but also increasing his jumping power.

The tennis girl had just shifted her attention from the ball flying into the sky when she suddenly heard a loud shout. She found herself already under a huge shadow.

The sun in late spring wasn't scorching, but the pre-match warm-up was enough to keep the tennis girl from feeling cold. However, this shadow, like a cloud blocking the sun, sent a chill of fear through her chest!

In mid-air, Fan Ju was like a flying eagle, his racket like the eagle's outstretched wings. In the two-times speed state, his body, which was usually hard to control, became easily manageable. The slow-moving tennis ball was like a sparrow in a cage, seemingly unable to escape the hunter's grasp.

"Bang!" The fierce collision with the wire netting woke up the audience, who had been immersed in the shout. However, they looked at each other, unsure if what they had just seen was real.

Why were they unsure? Fan Ju's overhead smash, both in terms of momentum and action, was as strong as a professional player's. However, showing off always comes with a price. Before showing off, he hadn't considered why he could show off. This impressive move resulted in a high-flying missile.

The overhead smash naturally earned applause, but the high-flying missile, while fast and powerful, didn't add any points.

After all, it was only the second day of his superpower, and Fan Ju was far from proficient in quickly activating and switching the speed state, even the duration was still unfamiliar, leading to this farce.

Regardless of Fan Ju's show, the tennis girl was still shaken. The flower that had grown in a greenhouse suddenly realized that compared to delicate flowers, weeds have a stronger vitality, and tall trees never grow in a greenhouse.

The weed she had underestimated clearly had far stronger skills. Just the smash alone, if it had hit her, would have sent her to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Fan Ju probably didn't realize that his casual smash could make his opponent think so much. However, he noticed that as the match continued, the originally arrogant tennis girl suddenly turned into a gentle lamb.

Whenever Fan Ju prepared to hit a powerful shot, the girl suddenly became nervous. Her returns, which should have been strong, became weak and feeble.

This made Fan Ju, who had planned to use his speed ability to perform well, feel like hitting a pillow. He used his strength, but never got the expected feedback, feeling helpless.

When the tomboy turned into a girl, the match lost all suspense. When the match ended 6-1, besides the cheering of Yan Ximu and her cheerleading squad, the tennis girl finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a group of tennis spectators who were shocked by the outcome became the best backdrop for Fan Ju's tennis career.