Pierce, Mahu, Pavic, this season's Grand Slam journey, Zhang Shuai's mixed doubles partner has been changing. This also confirms what China Jinhua himself said: there are many male players who find their partners on the tour, after all, there are only four opportunities a year. I'll tell them to see the chance! The people who came to me were all in the back row one by one.
A large part of the reason why Zhang Shuai is so "sought-after" comes from her breakthroughs in recent years and the stability of the doubles event. But those male companions who are constantly changing may be very envious, Zhang Shuai has a man around him who does not have to queue, and he has not left for so many years, he is Liu Shuo, who is praised by domestic fans as a "magical grassroots coach".
The story also goes back to 2008, when the fledgling Zhang Shuai participated in the US Open for the first time, and except for herself and a passport and a thousand dollars provided by the national team, any concept was zero — no coach, no team, no understanding. "When I'm playing on the pitch and I lose a point or I get a point, I don't know who to look at because I'm the only one." Zhang Shuai recalled.
What was even more unexpected was that the four Grand Slam experiences of the next 8 seasons were all losses, and she was often played by opponents with 6-0, 6-1 scores, and the somewhat ugly nickname of "Meal Girl" (an egg, a churros for breakfast standard) was called from that time.
At the 2016 Australian Open, Zhang Shuai won 7 consecutive games from the qualifiers to the main tournament, and finally reached the top 8, when everyone got up every day and looked forward to her continuing to advance. Careful fans also found that Zhang Shuai won the camera will always be given to a tall male coach on the sidelines. However, few people know how Liu Shuo, who had been carrying Zhang Shuai for 4 years, broke through the thick layer of "window paper" with his disciples at that time.
At the end of 2015, Zhang Shuai ranked 200 miles away, and she hadn't won much in almost a year, which was an unusually frustrating time, and she didn't want to play.
"The two of us face each other every day, and it's painful inside. The turning point came in November at the Tokyo Race, where Zhang Shuai won the championship, and that race was like a tonic, and it was at the time of our greatest loss. Liu Shuo once pointed out in an interview that the two masters and apprentices insisted on the key nodes to this day.
Since then, Zhang Shuai has become more and more confident, she no longer "a round of travel", but also won the Grand Slam women's doubles championship. The magic brought by Liu Shuo stems from the persistence of years and years, and it is the tenacity in the ordinary.
This may have something to do with his own experience —
Born in 1978 in an ordinary family in Kunming, Liu Shuo entered the Yunnan Provincial Tennis Team at the age of 12, won the national youth singles runner-up, and was once known as the most promising men's singles player in China. However, the elbow surgery ended his playing career, and he later had to start calling people as sparring partners in order to make a living.
During those years in Beijing, Liu Shuo trained a group of tennis players, and his disciples won national championships many times. The "grassroots coach" has since gained fame and has also served as the manager of the national junior team.
Not accepting defeat, not recognizing fate, and being reborn in nirvana in the ordinary, such a life creed has also been transplanted to Zhang Shuai. As a result, the "meal mother" you see now (this is no longer a joke) has always had a smile on her face that makes people feel like a spring breeze, that is, the relief of overcoming the self after experiencing the bittersweet and bittersweet.
As the saying goes, "Men and women are matched, and the work is not tired". Interestingly, because Zhang Shuai has rarely talked about her life for so many years, some fans once thought that Liu Shuo was her other half. But in fact, Liu Shuo was already married, and his children once told him: "I hope my father can go home early, but I want my sister (Zhang Shuai) to win forever." ”
Indeed, Liu Shuo, who has been running on the international field for many years, constantly communicating with foreign coaches, and learning a lot of things has enriched the training means, and as a regular visitor to the International Professional Coach association and the ITF senior coach training class, Liu Shuo is definitely less and more separated from his family. This is also no way to do it, after all, athletes eat youth rice, and Zhang Shuai is so special.
In 2012, Liu Shuo officially took over Zhang Shuai, ending the bitter history of the women's network "labor model" looking helpless and confused. Now, ten years later, 2 people have some changes - the apprentice is already a famous player in the tennis world, and no one dares to underestimate it; The master survived the "4 zhangs", and the amount of hair on his head gradually thinned out.
Zhang Shuai once said: "I am a cowboy, like to chase the wind, if I publish a book in the future, the story in it may resonate with the lives of some friends, and my experience may inspire some friends who are getting out of trouble." ”
Yes, I think the person who is most qualified to preface the story is None other than Liu Shuo!