#roquen's xiyao tennis au

[fincalinde]

random question friday: what sport do you think lxc would play?

Random question Friday I answer several Tuesdays later! This fox cannot be tamed.

So lucky for you this happens to be a subject near to my heart and those closest to me are at dire risk of having it outlined to them at any given moment that LXC is without a doubt a tennis player. Here are my reasons three:

Tennis is a sport associated with wealth and social status. It has traditionally been a sport of the middle classes and above, which I have been informed is also true in China and is one of the reasons for the tennis boom there in recent years. As the leader of a prestigious clan, LXC is at the pinnacle of his society and in a modern AU would therefore participate in such sports.

Tennis requires extraordinary mental discipline. When you're on the singles court you have to solve your own problems and your own mental strength is vital because there's no team playing around you and every single point counts. That mental discipline is not a million miles from the kind of discipline required to become a truly powerful cultivator making maximum use of their talent.

Sexy Wimbledon whites.

I happen to love tennis so I'm aware I have a shocking bias, but I think it's just two keen interests I have happening to fit together surprisingly well.

As a bonus, this is my opinion on professional playing styles for the tennis AU I will never write but have bored on about privately for the past three years:

LXC - your classic elegant all court player, the most powerful one-handed backhand on the tour, as much as he enjoys singles in his heart of hearts he never has more fun than when he's playing doubles with a good partner

JGY - counterpuncher, scrambles like you would not believe, literally never knows when he is beaten and has pulled out more wins from match point down than any other player, has a completely undeserved reputation for gamesmanship via taking bathroom breaks and medical timeouts as a strategy (EVERYONE DOES IT)

LWJ - technically an all court player but drifts into pusher territory a little too often because he likes to hit perfect shots until his opponent makes a mistake - however when he does step up to play offensively, beware

WWX - loses points he should win because he's hitting tweeners for the lolz, gets seriously injured playing doubles with JC and changes his playing style drastically to shorten points, becomes serve and volley king and still hits tweeners and underarm serves whenever he wants, literally the worst doubles player known to man

JC - offensive baseliner constantly being berated by his mother (coach) to COME TO THE NET and can never volley as well as WWX does, hugely outstrips WWX in ranking after the Incident and is constantly paranoid that without said injury WWX would always have beaten/outranked him

NMJ - servebot, breaks rackets on court, has been defaulted from matches for rage hitting balls, is the toughest prospect out there on grass and hugely respected for it, retires early due to health and becomes his brother's very ineffective coach

NHS - defensive baseliner bc that's the farthest position from the balls shooting at him at 200kmph, hasn't even cracked the top 200 and all his tour-related costs are covered by NMJ, has won a couple of doubles titles where NMJ did all the work, still somehow makes more in endorsement deals than most of the rest of the cast put together

[fincalinde]

omg tennis is perfect and i love how this extends to the rest of the cast so thanks for the detailed response! if you don't mind making it longer... what's the deal with jgy's one (1) slam? and how does he feel about doubles?

No problem, thanks for the ask since it gave me the opportunity to ramble about tennis and Xiyao.

The way I have this outlined, the entire AU is larger than just their tennis careers, which means their careers are analogous to their Sunshot experiences rather than the entire novel. I'll talk about JGY's one slam and touch on his doubles career too.

JGY's slam is obviously a stand in for the climax of the Sunshot campaign. However, at the start of his career he's coming from nowhere, having taught himself mostly by watching others and training with ridiculous if not always effective dedication. His mother used all the money she had to try to get him a good tennis education, but that really just extended to buying equipment and the occasional lesson. As in canon, he's a prodigy whose development is held back by a lack of resources but who develops his own style by synthesising various different techniques.

He's too short to have a formidable serve, so his playing style is a bit like Diego Schwartzman at his peak i.e. clay his best surface, stellar return game, hits winners from defensive positions. But he also has amazing hands and good touch at the net. Just fantastic at disguised drop shots and disguised shots in general. He reaches a number of finals but not a slam final, and hasn't won any singles tournaments. Wins some minor doubles tournaments with NMJ, like 250 level and maybe also a 500, and then NMJ catches him colluding with the Wens to rig games for money at the Challenger level.

NMJ considers JGY dead to him after this and JGY ends up playing doubles mostly with other players who went to the Wen training academy and are still part of that circle. His ranking is as high as it's ever been, but still no slam and no reasonable expectation of one. Anyway, I won't go into more detail, but suffice to say that by the time we get to the equivalent of the endpoint of the Sunshot Campaign, NMJ is as close as he's ever been to finally beating WRH in a slam final because only JGY stands in his way at the semifinal.

Except NMJ is carrying an injury and this is his worst surface and JGY's best, so JGY exploits said injury and wins the match. Obviously everyone expects JGY to have expended all his energy taking down NMJ and thinks he'll get flattened in the final, but instead JGY comes out fresh as a daisy and beats WRH in straight sets, taking match point with a lob worthy of 2015 Davis Cup final Andy Murray. Right after this match is when WRH finds out that Someone Anonymous has whistleblown the entire illicit Wen betting operation and there's a huge scandal in which JGY comes out smelling like roses.

After this, JGY steps back from singles and has much more success in doubles with LXC, mostly because it's a conscious and deliberate move to keep that FO win shining bright in people's minds rather than let them see him not replicate that success. Doubles with LXC is both a move to build a popular brand and also just a thing they really enjoy doing together. At this point LXC is probably the only male top tenner who regularly plays doubles. LXC is also the first doubles partner JGY has who actually respects his abilities as a player and doesn't make snide comments about carrying JGY with his serve. Instead LXC waxes lyrical about JGY on the return and they win, like, everything together.

JGY retires from playing relatively young and ends up director of the FO because I refuse to let realism interfere with my fantasy. He is so good at his job that the FO becomes the most diplomatic and gracious and progressive of all four slams RIP to Mauresmo but he's different. He basically becomes a leading light in tennis despite the haters, and is instrumental in providing greater financial support and resources for lower ranked players plus ploughing funding into grassroots tennis.

[fincalinde]

tennis AU fiend back again - i was wondering whether you had any thoughts about what the scores are for the matches jgy has against nmj and wrh when he wins the FO

That's it, I've officially made a tag for this AU.

I do indeed have thoughts on the scoreline! Make way, make way for more tennis rambles. This is how JGY lifts the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Jin Guangyao d. Nie Mingjue - semifinal

No one can deny that Nie Mingjue comes into this match in bad shape. He's carrying a couple of injuries and dropped sets to players he'd usually beat in straights. But this is a grudge match for him—the tournament where his father's career ended with a humiliating defeat to WRH. NMJ's father never won RG. NMJ has also never won RG—yet.

JGY, meanwhile, is in the form of his life thanks to his affiliation with the Wen agency juggernaut. It doesn't matter. No one thinks he has a chance even against a NMJ who's below his best, and at first it looks like they're right.

Set 1 - 7-6 (7-5)

JGY manages to hang onto his serve by the narrowest of margins. He doesn't get a single break point on NMJ's serve until the tiebreak when he snaffles the crucial mini-break by forcing an error off NMJ's backhand. He takes his first set point with an absolute classic of a disguised dropshot that NMJ can't get to in time. The crowd are excited mostly because they're surprised this match might be remotely competitive.

NMJ smashes his racket. He doesn't get a warning for racket abuse.

Analogous to NMJ's assault on the Wen in the latter stages of the war culminating in the moment when JGY reveals himself as being in WRH's employ.

Set 2 - 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

JGY sends NMJ running back and forth, using his insider knowledge of NMJ's chronic injuries to his advantage and giving NMJ very little opportunity to unleash his forehand. NMJ just can't slide well on the clay—that level of flexibility has never been his strong point, and all the quick turns and being dragged crosscourt are taking a toll. The crowd are confused but there's not really a sense of doubt that NMJ will break back and take this set to restore order. Some people are starting to get behind JGY because regardless of MDZS canon it is a science fact that tennis fans enjoy a good upset and NMJ is more respected than beloved.

NMJ takes a medical time out during the change of ends at 2-5 just after being broken for the second time, and JGY serves out to love, taking his first set point with a rare ace.

Analogous to JGY's taunting of NMJ including handling Baxia and referring to his father's death.

Set 3 - 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 0-6

Normal service is resumed. NMJ is absolutely furious about being two sets to love down against Meng Yao of all people and he takes a bathroom break that's a couple of minutes over the maximum time allowed. The umpire doesn't penalise this and the crowd don't express disapproval either.

NMJ finds his forehand and blows JGY off the court as one would expect. The third set is over in twenty-six minutes. A lot of NMJ's shots are body shots, intentionally hit directly at JGY so he has to dodge at the same time as attempting to return. Several make contact. Set point is a forehand down the line JGY has no hope of getting near.

Analogous to NMJ attacking JGY and striking him.

Set 4 - 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 0-6 6-0

JGY has remained composed and smiling throughout the match, even applauding NMJ's good play at times. Now he's dropped the smile that disguises the intensity of his focus and after an epic battle with multiple deuces he breaks NMJ's serve.

Then he does it again. The crowd cannot believe this is happening. In contrast to the lighting-fast bagel of the third, this is the longest and most precarious and difficult bagel in the history of the sport. It lasts longer than most sets that go to 7-5. Nevertheless, NMJ does not win a game, and when JGY takes his seventh match point with a favourable netcord he looks over to the debentures where WRH is watching and applauding.

Analogous to JGY kicking NMJ and continuing to assault and berate him until WRH takes over.

Jin Guangyao d. Wen Ruohan - final

This one doesn't need much of a set by set breakdown because it's in straights and it's over sooner than anyone can imagine, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. JGY plays absolutely out of his skin and he's almost as surprised as everyone else not just that he wins but that he does it swiftly and in some style. We are talking 2019 Wimbledon final Halep level of play here. Absolutely eviscerating a legend of the sport.

First set - JGY breaks WRH at 4-4 then serves out. Second set - at 2-2, JGY wins the next four games. Third set - JGY wins four games on the trot to make it eight games in a row, drops one game on WRH's serve then closes out by holding and breaking WRH again. Championship point is the Murray-worthy lob that leaves WRH totally wrong-footed.

The crowd are shell-shocked but also going absolutely wild. JGY has gone from being that upstart who ruined the NMJ-WRH showdown everyone wanted, the one whose presence in the final has turned it into a procession for WRH, to immediate superstar.

Analogous to the suddenness of JGY killing WRH who is most definitely not expecting it, then revealing he's a spy and a war hero.

Bonus LXC

Naturally LXC attends both matches, the former ostensibly to support NMJ, though when JGY wins he goes to find him after the on court interview so he can congratulate him. After congratulating JGY and showing his support, he goes to commiserate with NMJ and spends an inordinate amount of time patiently rebutting NMJ's accusations of poor sportsmanship and corruption etc.

During the final he's in JGY's box and seems to be the only person on the planet who isn't surprised when JGY wins. He and JGY are confirmed to be entering the doubles at Wimbledon.

[fincalinde]

So funnily enough re: your tags, JGY wins one (1) slam and it's the FO, he defeats NMJ in the semis by exploiting an injury (RIP NMJ's groin or something), and everyone expects him to get mullered in the final against WRH who is still kinging it on court well into his 30s but then JGY destroys him in straight sets

As for the McEnroe NMJ thing, in terms of somehow now basically accepted and beloved with his bad on court behaviour looked on with indulgent fondness aka Zero Consequences - yes very McEnroe! But in terms of how his actual rage manifests on court, I think it's a mix of Marat 'won an award for number of rackets smashed' Safin and Serena 'I am a MOTHER' Williams

random question friday: what sport do you think lxc would play?

Random question Friday I answer several Tuesdays later! This fox cannot be tamed.

So lucky for you this happens to be a subject near to my heart and those closest to me are at dire risk of having it outlined to them at any given moment that LXC is without a doubt a tennis player. Here are my reasons three:

Tennis is a sport associated with wealth and social status. It has traditionally been a sport of the middle classes and above, which I have been informed is also true in China and is one of the reasons for the tennis boom there in recent years. As the leader of a prestigious clan, LXC is at the pinnacle of his society and in a modern AU would therefore participate in such sports.

Tennis requires extraordinary mental discipline. When you're on the singles court you have to solve your own problems and your own mental strength is vital because there's no team playing around you and every single point counts. That mental discipline is not a million miles from the kind of discipline required to become a truly powerful cultivator making maximum use of their talent.

Sexy Wimbledon whites.

I happen to love tennis so I'm aware I have a shocking bias, but I think it's just two keen interests I have happening to fit together surprisingly well.

As a bonus, this is my opinion on professional playing styles for the tennis AU I will never write but have bored on about privately for the past three years:

LXC - your classic elegant all court player, the most powerful one-handed backhand on the tour, as much as he enjoys singles in his heart of hearts he never has more fun than when he's playing doubles with a good partner

JGY - counterpuncher, scrambles like you would not believe, literally never knows when he is beaten and has pulled out more wins from match point down than any other player, has a completely undeserved reputation for gamesmanship via taking bathroom breaks and medical timeouts as a strategy (EVERYONE DOES IT)

LWJ - technically an all court player but drifts into pusher territory a little too often because he likes to hit perfect shots until his opponent makes a mistake - however when he does step up to play offensively, beware

WWX - loses points he should win because he's hitting tweeners for the lolz, gets seriously injured playing doubles with JC and changes his playing style drastically to shorten points, becomes serve and volley king and still hits tweeners and underarm serves whenever he wants, literally the worst doubles player known to man

JC - offensive baseliner constantly being berated by his mother (coach) to COME TO THE NET and can never volley as well as WWX does, hugely outstrips WWX in ranking after the Incident and is constantly paranoid that without said injury WWX would always have beaten/outranked him

NMJ - servebot, breaks rackets on court, has been defaulted from matches for rage hitting balls, is the toughest prospect out there on grass and hugely respected for it, retires early due to health and becomes his brother's very ineffective coach

NHS - defensive baseliner bc that's the farthest position from the balls shooting at him at 200kmph, hasn't even cracked the top 200 and all his tour-related costs are covered by NMJ, has won a couple of doubles titles where NMJ did all the work, still somehow makes more in endorsement deals than most of the rest of the cast put together