On the day of the semi-final, the Centre Court at Melbourne Park was packed to capacity.
The stands, which can accommodate 15,000 people, were packed with people from the bottom to the top.
But if you look closely, you'll notice a very obvious phenomenon.
The proportion of female viewers was ridiculously high.
On the left side of the stands, an area was filled with young girls, holding up various support signs with messages of " Cheng Che, fighting!" written in different languages.
On the right side of the stands, several blonde, blue-eyed girls were wearing homemade T-shirts with Cheng Che's cartoon image printed on the front.
In the middle of the lower stands, a group of Asia girls were holding up the Xia Country flag, while several South Korea girls were sitting nearby, speaking in Korean.
A middle-aged Australian man sat in the middle of the stands, holding a beer in his hand. He looked around and turned to ask the person next to him.
"Today is the semi-final, not a concert, right?"
The person next to him chuckled, "You didn't know? Today, most of the tickets for the Centre Court were bought by Cheng Che's fans. They flew in from all over the world."
"Just to see a tennis player?"
You'll understand once you watch his last game.
The man shrugged, turned back, and took a sip of beer.
At this point, the stadium announcer began broadcasting the players' entrance.
"First to enter is Daniil Medvedev from Russia— "
A round of polite applause rang out from the stands.
Medvedev walked out of the players' tunnel, expressionless, his steps steady.
He is the world's fourth-ranked player, highly experienced, and has reached Grand Slam finals.
He walked to his seat, put down his golf bag, and began to organize his equipment.
Then the loudspeaker came on.
"Next to enter is Cheng Che from Xia Country— "
In that instant, the entire stadium seemed to have been switched on.
A tremendous roar erupted from all sides of the stands simultaneously.
The girls holding up support signs stood up, the international students waving national flags stood up, and the foreign fans wearing homemade T-shirts also stood up.
" Cheng Che!!!"
"Come on!!!"
"Aaaaaaahh...
Cheng Che walked out of the players' tunnel.
The sunlight shone on him, making his dark blue jersey shine.
He raised his head, glanced around the stands, his expression calm, with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
The arc that fell onto the stands looked like a drop of water falling into a pan of oil.
"I love you!!!"
A shout in Spain came from the high stands, sharp and loud.
" Cheng Che! You're the most handsome!!!"
This is in French, coming from the left-hand stands.
Please marry me!!!
This was in English, and the voice came from the middle of the lower stands. After the shout, laughter and screams erupted around him.
"Oppa!!!"
This is Korean, coming from the direction of that group of South Korea girls.
" Cheng Che! Go! Go! Go!!!"
This is Chinese, neatly and uniformly, bursting forth from the ranks of international students, with a well-trained rhythm.
Cheng Che stood on the court, listening to these sounds, his expression remaining largely unchanged.
He raised his hand and waved towards the stands.
This wave triggered another wave of screams.
Medvedev stood beside his seat, watching this scene with a subtle expression.
He's played basketball for so many years and seen all kinds of home crowd atmospheres, but this is truly the first time a young player has been idolized by the entire female audience during a semi-final match.
Although he had seen it before, it wasn't this exaggerated.
He shook his head, bent down to take out his racket from his bag, and began to check the strings.
He was determined not to look at the other side or the stage.
Those sounds had nothing to do with him.
In today's match, he only needs to focus on one thing: victory.
He has already lost to Cheng Che once, and he will never lose again.
In the stands, a local Australian female reporter was conducting a live broadcast.
She held up the microphone, with a packed stadium in the background.
"I'm on Centre Court right now, and as you can see, the proportion of women in the stands today is extremely high. They come from all over the world: Xia Country, South Korea, Japan, Spain, France, the United States, and even Brazil. Many of them flew all the way to Melbourne specifically to watch Cheng Che play. This has gone beyond the scope of a tennis match; it's more like an idol meet-and-greet."
She paused for a moment, then turned her head to glance at the court.
"But Cheng Che is not an idol after all; he is a semifinalist at this year's Australian Open, having not dropped a set. Today, his opponent is Medvedev, ranked fourth in the world. This match will be the real test."
In the domestic broadcast studio, Lin Yan looked at the full stands on the monitor and took a deep breath.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now broadcasting live from Centre Court at Melbourne Park. Today's attendance is the highest since the start of this year's Australian Open. As you can see, the majority of the spectators in the stands are women."
He paused for a moment, his voice tinged with emotion.
"I've been commentating on tennis for twenty years, and I've never seen anything like this. Even during Federer's peak, the proportion of women in the stands wasn't this exaggerated. The attention Cheng Che has brought has far exceeded tennis itself. This is a phenomenal level of personal influence."
Zhou Zhou chimed in, "And look at the distribution of these girls; they're not concentrated in one area. They're everywhere—on the left, on the right, at the bottom, at the top. They come from different countries, holding signs in different languages, but their target is the same person."
Lin Yan nodded:
"This is good for tennis itself. No matter why you started watching tennis, once you're sitting on the court, you're a spectator of the sport."
The screen was flooded with comments.
[ Lin Yan is right, I only started watching tennis because of Cheng Che.]
[I used to not even know what a Grand Slam was, but now I even understand the rules of a tiebreaker.]
What does the sign held by the foreign girl in the red dress in the stands say?
[It sounds like " Cheng Che, I love you" in Russian]
Sisters, our team has grown to encompass the entire world!
When has Xia Country's tennis team ever had this kind of prestige?
[This is the first time I've felt like I'm watching a concert while watching a tennis match.]
In the center of the court, Cheng Che had already sat down in his chair.
He placed the racket on his lap, lowered his head, and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
The "[ Stars Surrounding the Moon ]" effect continued to operate, and he could feel those gazes coming from all directions, carrying various emotions.
Excited, infatuated, expectant, doubtful.
He opened his eyes and looked at Medvedev opposite him.
The Russia were also watching him, their gazes cold and expressionless.
Cheng Che stood up, took his racket, and walked to the net.
Medvedev also came over.
The two shook hands at the net without saying a word. Medvedev glanced at him, then turned and walked away.
Cheng Che returned to his half of the court, stood behind the baseline, and waited to choose a coin.
The referee announced the coin toss. Cheng Che won and chose to serve first.
He walked behind the service line, dribbled the ball twice, and looked up.
All the noise in the stands fell silent.
He tossed the ball and swung his racket.
A number appeared on the ball speed display.
217 kilometers.
Medvedev had barely moved a step when the ball hit the service area, bounced out, and struck the barrier behind him.
Fifteen to zero.
The roar from the stands erupted once again.
" Cheng Che!!!"
"Aaaaaahh...
Inside the players' box, Qin Lie sat in a chair with his arms crossed, watching Cheng Che on the field.
The corners of his mouth curved slightly.
He knew that Cheng Che was in even better form in today's match than he was against Rojas.
That ball speed was his fastest serve of the Australian Open this year.