Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 122 Fei Tianwang, the master of market control (please subscribe)
The scene in the Auckland Open final may become an eternal classic in the history of Chinese tennis.

Chen Ran went directly to Australia after leaving New Zealand and did not return to China during this period, so he did not know how popular he is now in China.

Reporters like CCTV and "Sports Weekly" followed Chen Ran from New Zealand to Australia, but they didn't notice the changes in the country.

But many reporters here have flown directly from China to Melbourne, Australia, and they know the current domestic situation very well.

Chen Ran's popularity continues to soar.

It’s not just about being a tour champion, nor is it because Chen Ran defeated Asia’s No. 1 Sri Chapan.

It was because Chen Ran, facing the boos from thousands of Thai spectators, not only did not back down, but directly provoked them.

Faced with boos all over the sky, Chen Ran became more and more courageous in fighting, and even broke Sri Chapan's mentality.

Let’s break it down: winning the first tournament is 1, winning Asia’s No. 1 spot is 1, and challenging thousands of Thai spectators is also 1.

Therefore, Chen Ran's popularity after that final was that 1+1+1 was greater than 3.

Nowadays, these boys and girls born in the 80s and 90s just like athletes with such personality.

Chen Ran didn't know yet the sensational effect caused by his behavior, but the reason why he did it at that time was actually after careful consideration.

He doesn't mind playing under extreme pressure, but he also considers personal gains and losses.

This is the good thing about tennis, there is no direct physical confrontation.

If you are a football player and you provoke the opponent's fans and anger the opponent's players, I might as well give you a sliding tackle from behind.

Tennis has no such risks.

The Chinese reporters and media present also understand that every step Chen Ran takes now is a new history of Chinese tennis.

After all, before this, China's tennis was almost blank.

Some sports reporters also compared Chen Ran's first Grand Slam game to Wang Zhizhi's first game in the NBA, both of which have epoch-making significance.

"Yes, we also believe that in the second round, more viewers will watch your game through television broadcasts." The Xinhua News Agency reporter also laughed.

Chen Ran knows how to promote himself at all times.

As soon as the first round was over, I started to build momentum for the second round.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Ran named another foreign reporter.

"Hello, I'm from ESPN." This guy was the first to name his identity.

ESPN TV is a transcendent existence in the entire world of sports media.

The foreign reporter continued: "Chen, you have surpassed Mr. Zhang Depei and become the youngest first Grand Slam winner in history, so is your next goal to become the youngest Grand Slam champion?"

You see, these foreigners create topics.

"There are seven rounds in the Grand Slam main draw. I am only in the second round now. It is too early to discuss this issue." Chen Ran replied decisively, "For me, when I reach the final, I will consider the ownership of the championship. question."

Don't want me to be at the center of the public opinion storm, and don't want to make big news at every turn.

"More and more people are comparing you to Yao Ming. What do you think?" The ESPN reporter went around and mentioned Yao Ming again.

In this era, many international Chinese athletes cannot avoid Yao Ming.

Even when Li Na reached the Grand Slam final for the first time eight years later, foreign reporters always kept talking about Yao Ming when asking questions.

"This is a matter for reporters and fans. They may want to create some topics, but I really don't have the energy to pay attention to these games." Chen Ran spread his hands. "I am too busy just training and watching game videos every day."

He answered the question naturally.

"Don't you have your own coach yet?" This question is also of concern to many reporters.

"Not yet, but tennis is an individual sport and I have my own training plan, but I have a physical coach."

"Will you be assigned a coach in the future?"

"After the Australian Open, I will seriously consider this issue."

Afterwards, CCTV reporters also started asking questions.

"Chen Ran, can you tell me the biggest difference between participating in the Tour and the Grand Slam."

After thinking for a while, Chen Ran replied slowly: "Obviously the level of attention is completely different, and the pressure you face is also different. Here, all details will be magnified. There will be many reporters to interview in the first round. "

"If it's a tour..."

"I have never participated in the Masters, but at the 250 level, you may have to reach the semi-finals to get some attention."

"But so far, the biggest stadium and the largest number of people I have ever experienced is the final of the Magic City Challenge."

As soon as these words came out, some Chinese reporters laughed heartily, while some foreign reporters were confused.

Can the finals of a mere regional challenge match compare to tour events and Grand Slams?
The interview was not long, lasting just over 20 minutes and then ended.

Chen Ran also immediately left the press conference and returned to the hotel where he was staying.

……

When this year's Australian Open ended its second match day, all the first-round matches were over, which meant that 64 players had gone home.

There were no major upsets in the first round, but there were quite a few minor upsets.

Schuettler, the 31st seed from Germany, was not alone. Kubeck, the 32nd seed from Austria, accompanied him home.The two lowest seeds were eliminated.

In addition, the 26th seed Robredo of Spain and the 21st seed Pavel of Romania also went home.

In the first round, a total of four low-seeded players went home.

Chen Ran also waited for his second-round opponent, Australian local player Arthurs.

This person is already considered a 32-year-old veteran. In the first round, he went through five sets of battles. His physical energy was severely exhausted and he had already reached his limit.

What's more, Chen Ran also rested for half a day.

It can be said that the right time and location were on Chen Ran's side. Even the local Australian audience did not think Arthurs had a chance to win against Chen Ran.

Time quickly came to the third day of competition day.

Chen Ran's game was scheduled for a night game, and he did some basic training during the day, mainly focusing on warming up to find the feel as soon as possible.

During this period, Chen Ran received a call from Dong Bing, Vice President of Nike.

He always felt that the other party seemed to have something to say, but he never said anything. He just congratulated him on winning his first Grand Slam victory and hoped that he would continue to work hard and continue to create the history of Chinese tennis.

The other party also said that the company has produced an advertisement and will put it on CCTV and major local TV stations during the Australian Open.

How effective can advertising be?That all depends on Chen Ran's performance at the Australian Open.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ran felt that Dong Bing had something he didn't say, but he focused on the next game and didn't take it to heart.

In the afternoon, Chen Ran took Sergey and several familiar Chinese reporters to select a second-round game.

They thought Chen Ran would choose the match between Agassi, Hewitt, or Safin, but Chen Ran unexpectedly chose the No. 6 seed Swiss Federer.

Zhou Yuan from "Sports Weekly" is considered a senior tennis reporter. He was a little puzzled by Chen Ran's choice.

Federer?
Apart from being a good-looking player, what else can this guy do?
Hewitt, who is the same age as Federer, has already won two Grand Slams and has completely crushed him to death.

Safin, who is one year older than Federer, already has a Grand Slam.

Even Spaniard Ferrero had a French Open runner-up.

Federer's best Grand Slam record is just a quarterfinal.

Not to mention the entire men's professional tennis world, even among the players born in the 80s, there are at least three people who are better than him.

By the way, there's also American supernova Roddick.

He is younger than Federer, and his upward momentum has already surpassed that of Federer.

There were tennis kings born in the 70s, and then there were the wolves born in the 80s. Zhou Yuan felt that Federer had little chance to stand out.

Just the four post-80s players Hewitt, Safin, Ferrero and Roddick are the four mountains that Federer cannot overcome.

But in this team, although Chen Ran is the youngest, he also has the biggest ideas.

Chen Ran chose Federer's match, and everyone else could only obey.

Federer's match was arranged by the organizing committee at the Australian Open's second court, Hisense Stadium, which can accommodate 10500 spectators and is equipped with a closable roof.

Tennis matches are held outdoors. If it rains, they must be postponed or arranged to be played in a covered court.

Federer's second-round opponent was an Austrian player.

After Chen Ran arrived at the court, Federer was already leading his opponent 2-0, and the scores in the two sets were also quite different, one 6-2 and the other 6-1.

But in the third set, maybe the Austrian player fought against the odds and performed beyond his level, or maybe Federer's condition fluctuated.

The two sides fought very anxiously and fiercely, and it even reached a tiebreaker.

"look……"

Zhou Yuan, who was sitting next to Chen Ran, muttered in a low voice: "Federer's state is too unstable. He had such a huge advantage in the first two sets, but the third set turned out to be so difficult."

"Yes, he is also the No. 6 seed. Such a high-ranking seed was dragged into a tiebreaker against hundreds of opponents." Hu Litao from CCTV also shook his head disapprovingly.

Chen Ran ignored these guys talking to themselves.

The so-called layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

While observing Federer's game, he vaguely noticed a familiar scene.

The 22-year-old Fei Tianwang is also playing control!

Chen Ran's intuition told him that Federer deliberately dragged the game into a tie-break.

Even in a Grand Slam match, it may not be a good thing if you sweep your opponent in straight sets in a short period of time.

Maybe you haven't even fully entered the state of the game, and the game is over.

In the next round, Federer will meet a seeded player.

"He is prolonging the time on purpose!" Chen Ran came to this conclusion.

Federer is practicing with this Austrian!Because he will meet a seeded player in the next game, Federer is looking for himself.

……

(End of this chapter)