Lin Yan's voice came from the broadcast booth as the first serve hit the backboard.
"Two hundred and twenty-nine kilometers per hour. Cheng Che hit that speed in his first point of the US Open final, leaving the Italy completely unprepared."
The barrage of comments flooded in at that moment, but even faster than the comments came the roar of voices from the stands.
Half of the 23,000 people stood up from their seats. Some shouted " Cheng Che ", some shouted "KING", and some just waved the national flag frantically.
In Xia Country, in countless living rooms, the television was switched to the sports channel.
In Rongcheng, in an ordinary three-bedroom apartment, Zhou Jianguo sat on the sofa, holding a remote control, about to change the channel.
He had just gotten home from get off work and, as usual, turned on the TV to watch basketball, but when he pressed the button, it showed tennis.
"Tennis?" he muttered. "Change the channel."
"Don't change it!" a voice came from the direction of the kitchen.
Zhou Xiaoyu ran out carrying a bowl of unfinished rice, still chewing something, her eyes fixed on the TV screen.
She is a sophomore in high school this year and has never been interested in sports channels. Zhou Jianguo once suspected that she couldn't even distinguish the rules of basketball and football.
"You watch tennis?" Zhou Jianguo was taken aback, the remote control hovering in mid-air.
" US Open Final!" Zhou Xiaoyu slammed her bowl down on the coffee table, her eyes glued to the screen. " Xia Country is playing in the final!"
Zhou Jianguo glanced at the TV, and on the screen was indeed a young man in a white jersey serving the ball.
He squinted for two seconds, then turned to look at his daughter's face, slightly flushed with excitement, and a thought suddenly popped into his head: Did she want to play tennis?
"You want to learn tennis?" he asked tentatively. "Dad will buy you a racket and find you a training class?"
"Dad, don't say anything." Zhou Xiaoyu didn't even turn her head.
Zhou Jianguo put down the remote control, leaned back on the sofa, and looked somewhat helpless.
He initially thought his daughter was just accompanying him to watch sports, and he felt a warmth in his heart.
She watched it even more intently than he did, and it was tennis.
Who is this contestant?
He asked the question mainly to find something in common to talk about.
Zhou Xiaoyu turned her head and glanced at him, her expression a little excited, as if she didn't know where to begin.
" Cheng Che," she said proudly, "Is the top scorer in the college entrance Zhuangyuan, a student at Peking University, and has published two international papers. Peking University is even considering making him a full professor. He's a tennis Champion, having won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. If he wins the US Open today, he'll have won all four Grand Slams in one year."
Zhou Jianguo opened his mouth.
"What?"
"Four Grand Slams in one year," Zhou Xiaoyu repeated, her tone as if reading a textbook, "Meaning winning all four of the biggest tennis tournaments in one year. No one has ever done that before."
Zhou Jianguo stared at his daughter for two seconds, then turned his head to look at the television.
In the Cheng Che had just served a ball when his opponent returned it too shallowly. He stepped forward and hit a forehand smash, the ball flying over the baseline without the Italy even having time to run.
Another round of commotion erupted in the stands.
"How old is he?" Zhou Jianguo asked.
"Nineteen," Zhou Xiaoyu said, "Only two years older than me."
Zhou Jianguo paused for a moment, then leaned back on the sofa and put the remote control down completely.
He originally wanted to change the channel, but now he doesn't want to.
A 19-year-old Xia Country beat an Italy so badly in the US Open final that he couldn't even run anymore. He needs to see that.
"So how many games has he won so far?" he asked curiously.
"The first set isn't even over yet, we just broke serve." Zhou Xiaoyu's tone implied, "You're asking this question too early."
Zhou Jianguo said "Oh," and then looked at the TV screen.
Cheng Che walked behind the service line, bounced the ball twice, and looked up.
The camera gave him a close-up; his face, under the light, looked as clean as if it had been washed, with deep-set eyes and a very indifferent expression.
Zhou Jianguo was taken aback.
"This child is so..." he hesitated, then added, "... so energetic."
Zhou Xiaoyu didn't reply, but the corner of her mouth curled up slightly.
The game was progressing very quickly.
The score was 6-3 in the first set, 6-2 in the second set, and 6-1 in the third set.
Zhou Jianguo initially just wanted to "take a look," but as he watched, his body went from leaning back on the sofa to leaning forward, and then he simply sat up straight, with his hands on his knees and his eyes glued to the screen.
Every time Cheng Che hit a good shot, Zhou Xiaoyu would jump on the sofa, sometimes shouting "Beautiful!" and sometimes " Cheng Che is awesome!" After shouting, her mother would yell from the kitchen, "Girls shouldn't swear!" She would shrink her neck and then continue watching.
Zhou Jianguo didn't yell at her.
He almost shouted it out himself, but he held it in.
In the final game of the third set, Cheng Che served for the match.
He scored three points in a row: three serves, two direct points, and one forehand attack.
When the last ball landed, the Italy stood in the receiving area without making a sound.
He kept his head down, his racket hanging at his side, his shoulders rising and falling slightly.
Lin Yan's voice came from the television, veins bulging:
"Match over! Cheng Che defeated his opponent 3-0 to win the US Open Champion! Within a year, he has won all four Grand Slams: the Australian Open French Open Wimbledon, Wimbledon, and the US Open! He is the first person in the Open Era to do so!"
Zhou Xiaoyu jumped up from the sofa.
"We won!!!"
She shouted, then grabbed her father's arm and shook it hard twice.
Zhou Jianguo was shaken to the side by her, then stood up, saying "Good, good, good" with a big smile on his face.
"Dad, did you see that?! Four Grand Slams in one year!" Zhou Xiaoyu grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go. "He's nineteen! Only two years older than me!"
"I saw it, I saw it." Zhou Jianguo patted her hand. "Be gentle, you're going to pull my arm off."
On the television screen, Cheng Che stood on the field and bowed towards the stands.
Twenty-three thousand people stood up and applauded. Some cried, some shouted, and some waved the national flag above their heads.
He straightened up, bowed in each of the four directions, and then walked towards the players' tunnel with his racket in hand.
In the studio, Lin Yan took a deep breath, his voice a little lower than usual, but every word was steady:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just witnessed a historic moment. Cheng Che, at the age of nineteen, has won all four Grand Slams in a single year. This achievement is unprecedented. I don't know if anyone will ever surpass him, but today, he is the only one, a genius who is the focus of the entire world's attention."
At that moment, everyone watching the game in Xia Country unanimously agreed, "He's right."