French Open, second round, Philippe Chatrier Court.
Lin Yan's voice came from the broadcast booth, sounding much more relaxed than in the first round.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Cheng Che's opponent in the second round is Spain player Lopez, a clay-court specialist with good baseline rallies. But look at Cheng Che's performance today; he's already up 3-0 in the first set, completely dominating Lopez's forehand. The worst thing on clay is being grounded down by your opponent, but today Cheng Che is the one grinding Lopez down."
The screen was flooded with comments.
[It's 3-0, and only 15 minutes have passed]
His movement on clay was smoother than in the first round, and his sliding steps became more and more natural.
[Isn't Lopez a clay court player? It seems like Cheng Che is the one who plays on clay.]
[This guy was still adjusting after the first round, but by the second round he was like he'd been playing clay courts his whole life.]
[I watched his first interview, and he said he needed to wait a bit longer on clay, and today he really was waiting.]
Lopez's face turned green.
In the second set, Cheng Che won 6-3.
The score in the third set was 6-2.
The entire match lasted one hour and fifty-two minutes, five minutes longer than the first round, but the opponent was significantly stronger than Rojas in the first round.
Lin Yan said something after the match:
"After two rounds, Cheng Che Che's adaptability to clay courts is no longer a concern. The question now isn't whether he can play on clay, but who can stop him on clay."
In the third round, his opponent was a France player, and the stands were full of France spectators.
But Cheng Che only needed two sets. Halfway through the third set, the France called a medical timeout. After returning, he played two more sets and shook hands with Cheng Che.
Withdrawal from the competition.
Lin Yan remarked during the broadcast, " The France audience initially wanted to cheer for their local player, but after watching two and a half sets, they started applauding Cheng Che. He played some truly beautiful shots today, like his sliding backhand on clay, which created angles that his opponents simply couldn't reach."
The live chat exploded again.
[ The France have switched sides, hahaha!]
[The home crowd applauding the visiting team's players is such a funny sight!]
Cheng Che's backhand on clay is absolutely amazing; the power he unleashes after the slide step is as steady as if he were on hard ground.
[With his opponent withdrawing, Cheng Che has saved a lot of energy over these three rounds.]
[The first three rounds combined took less than six hours; that's efficient!]
Is he aiming for the Champion? I think so.
In the fourth round, the round of 16, his opponent was the tournament's 12th seed, a Croatia.
Cheng Che lost the first set in this match.
Four to six, his opponent's spin on clay was making him feel a bit uncomfortable.
But at the start of the second set, he adjusted his strategy, no longer trying to match baseline spin with his opponent, but instead hitting the ball deeper and flatter, forcing his opponent to retreat, and then looking for opportunities to come to the net.
The score was 6-4 in the second set, 6-3 in the third set, and 6-2 in the fourth set.
A 3-1 comeback victory.
Lin Yan said something after the match:
"That's the adaptability of an Australian Open Champion. After losing the first set, he immediately changed his playing style in the second set. The Croatia won the first set by relying on spin, but in the second set, Cheng Che flattened the spin, and his opponent couldn't play anymore. This kind of on-court adjustment can't be taught by a coach."
Someone in the live chat brought up data from the Australian Open.
[He came back from 0-2 down to win 3-2 at the Australian Open, and then rallied from a set down to win 3-2 at the French Open. Does he now only play if he loses a set?]
[ The Croatia looked quite pleased with himself after winning the first set, but his face fell starting in the second set.]
[ Cheng Che: Here, have this to cheer you up]
[This ability to adapt is truly amazing; anyone else might have collapsed.]
[Being pressed down by the spin on clay and still able to recover—that's the quality of a top athlete.]
In the quarterfinals, his opponent is the tournament's sixth seed, an Argentina clay court specialist.
Cheng Che lost another game in this match.
They lost the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6.
But starting from the second set, he completely took over the match.
Six to three, six to two, six to one.
In the last three sets, they only allowed their opponents to win six games.
After the match, Lin Yan took a deep breath. "Quarterfinals, 3-1. Cheng Che is in the semifinals. He's in the French Open men's singles semifinals now, his first time playing in the French Open, and he's already reached the semifinals. And look at his performance in the last three sets, his opponent couldn't keep up with him on clay."
Zhou Zhou, flipping through the data beside him, said, " Cheng Che played five matches at this year's French Open, four of which were 3-0 or 3-1, and one was 3-0. The total time spent was less than ten hours. This efficiency is extremely impressive for a clay-court Grand Slam."
The comments section was so full that the screen was completely obscured.
[Semifinals!!! Reached semifinals in his first French Open!!!]
[He's still two matches away from the French Open Champion ]
[The clay court specialist was defeated by him in six games out of the last three sets. What does that mean?]
[After winning the first set tiebreak, the Argentina let out a shout, but was completely silenced in the next three sets.]
[ With Cheng Che in this form, he shouldn't be afraid of anyone in the semifinals.]
[I looked at the draw; I might face Ruud in the semifinals, a clay-court specialist.]
[ Ruud needs to get past the quarterfinals first.]
Meanwhile, the media's opinion had already shifted.
Before the French Open, Europe sports media were still discussing "questions about Cheng Che's adaptability to clay courts."
After five rounds, the titles were all changed.
The headline in L'Équipe was. "From hard courts to clay, Cheng Che needs no adaptation period."
Marca's headline was even more direct. " French Open Champion? Cheng Che has proven he deserves it."
The La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote, "The hardest thing on clay is patience, and Cheng Che's patience is more terrifying than his forehand."
The shortest headline in Bild was. "A new candidate for King of Clay."
Domestically, the French Open receives more attention than the Australian Open.
The sports channel not only broadcast the games, but also did several special analyses, covering everything from the technical breakdown of clay court gliding to Cheng Che's diet management.
The actors from " The Realm and Old Friends " also tried to ride the wave of popularity.
Zhao Yiming posted a Weibo:
"My brother made it to the French Open semifinals, while I'm filming in Hengdian. The difference is just too big."
She posted a photo of herself in period costume on set, and the comments below were all saying, "You're working hard too, stop trying to ride on my coattails."
Actor Zhou posted. "Good luck Teacher Cheng, at the French Open! We're waiting for you to come back on set so you can treat us!" Someone in the comments section said, "Didn't you used to be sarcastic about him?", but was retorted by others.
Ning Qing also posted one.
There was only one image, a poster of Cheng Che the semi-finals posted by the official French Open account, with the caption:
"The clay court semifinals. Let's continue."
No emojis, no exclamation marks, just six characters. But the comment section is already going crazy.
[ Ning Qing posted on Weibo!!! She's never posted anything related to Cheng Che before!!!]
The word "continue" is so restrained and gentle.
Was she hinting at something? Or was it just a colleague offering encouragement?
[A regular colleague wouldn't post this kind of picture, would they? It's an official French Open poster!]
Don't overthink it, it's probably just simple congratulations.
[But she only posted six words, along with a picture. Don't you think that's special?]
[I don't care, I've bumped into something!]
In Paris, Cheng Che knew nothing about any of this.
He and Pei Jingshu were looking at the Boston lobsters in the shop window, their eyes sparkling.