Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 142: Medical withdrawal, new coach, return to China ([-] updates completed)
Chen Ran didn't know how he walked out of the court. Even when he shook hands with Agassi, he couldn't remember what the other party said.

Even the host wanted to interview Chen Ran, but he declined due to physical discomfort.

Of course, some Chinese reporters who wanted to interview later received the same treatment.

After Chen Ran left the court, he returned to the medical room for some simple recovery and examination.

The soreness in the muscles was still there. Even in the final stage of the game, Chen Ran's other leg had a slight cramp. Fortunately, he had taken precautions and the pain was not that intense.

So Agassi just saw Chen Ran touching his calf during the game, and his first reaction was that the opponent was confusing him.

"It hurts here?"

"Correct!"

"It hurts there too?"

"Yes!"

Chen Ran was lying on the hospital bed, grinning and shouting.

During the game, he was so involved that he didn't feel any pain, but after the game, the pain came like a flood.

The person who examined Chen Ran was a relatively experienced medical staff arranged by the organizing committee.

Although there is no direct confrontation in a tennis match, the intensity of the match is not low at all, and the probability of player injury is not low, especially in such a cruel match as the Grand Slam.

Therefore, the medical staff and medical equipment configuration of the four Grand Slam tournaments are very good.

"I feel like your muscles are strained!" the medical staff made their own judgment. "Maybe your muscles are even slightly torn?"

"Slight tear?" Chen Ran frowned very tightly, "Then can I still participate in the next round?"

"Even a minor muscle tear will take at least two weeks." The medical staff spread his hands and said helplessly: "If you really want to participate in the competition, you can only hit the ball in a stance."

"If you run frequently, the injury will definitely get worse!"

"Standing the ball is no different from a passive game, and there is no chance of victory."

Chen Ran was lying on the hospital bed with a look of regret on his face.

Although he felt that his body was very tired and he didn't even have the strength to raise his hands, he still wanted to meet the top four opponents for a while, even if he lost, it would be okay.

"So I want to withdraw from the competition?" Chen Ran had to come to such a conclusion.

In the 2023 French Open semi-finals, Alcaraz did not withdraw from the match even after cramping. He spent two sets with Djokovic using a stance style and lost the game.

But he had cramps during the game and gritted his teeth and persevered because of his professionalism. Djokovic gave him a game in these two sets to save some face for the opponent.

Also, in the 2013 Australian Open final, Li Na was leading a set but was overturned by her opponent due to a strain. However, during the game, she could only grit her teeth and persevere.

Chen Ran knew before the game that if he couldn't run frequently, he would have no chance of winning. Most of the time, he could only play in a stance style, so what was the point of such a game.

What reason is there for the audience to watch such a game and for the TV station to be willing to broadcast it live?

Even those gambling companies with great magical powers can get the inside information in advance and will not open the market for this kind of game.

Don’t be too well-informed!
"Tell those reporters not to wait any longer. I will not attend today's press conference." Chen Ran called in the Australian Open staff.

The staff first looked at the medical staff in confusion. Chen Ran did not want to attend the press conference and needed a certificate from the medical staff.

Any professional sports event attaches great importance to the relationship with the media.

Players are not injured and must attend the press conference.

"Yes, he has difficulty even walking now." The medical staff nodded and replied firmly, "My suggestion is that he should go to the hospital for an MRI now!"

Nuclear magnetic resonance uses the principle of magnetic levitation, has no radiation, and causes little damage to the body. It is the first choice for many athletes.

After receiving a positive reply, the staff member left the room and went to reply to the reporters.

Chen Ran also went directly to the best local hospital in Melbourne for a comprehensive examination under the arrangement of the organizing committee.

The Australian Open Organizing Committee will also make a final decision based on Chen Ran's inspection results as to whether the players can participate in the competition.

The two semi-finals are focus battles. The organizing committee does not want to withdraw from the competition unless it is absolutely necessary.

With the intervention of the Australian Open Organizing Committee, Chen Ran received the results of the MRI examination the next day.

There were several muscle injuries all over his body, and his physical condition was not ideal.

There are some mild muscle tears in Chen Ran's two thighs, which require at least 2-3 weeks of recovery before he can do some restorative exercises.

There are also some strains in the muscles of the right calf.

Of course, a strain is less severe than a tear, and the recovery time will be shorter.

But in any case, it is definitely impossible to resume before tomorrow's game.

At this time, Xue Peng from the IMG agency had also flown to Australia from China and accompanied the physical coach Sergey to the hospital in Melbourne.

"Chen Ran..."

Seeing that Chen Ran was in a low mood, Xue Peng could only comfort him: "You should know that although the hands are used to swing the racket to hit the ball in tennis, the feet are actually more important than the arms."

"Yeah, I know!"

"So if your arm is a little injured, you may be able to endure it and persevere, but if your foot is injured, it will be difficult to persevere!"

In fact, after the MRI report came out, Chen Ran had put down his uneasy mood and became more open-minded.

He has accepted this fact.

Anyway, I have defeated Agassi and shattered his dream of the last Grand Slam with my own hands. This is enough.

As for who wins the championship?He doesn't care!

"What a pity, my undefeated golden body is about to be broken!" Chen Ran sighed in his heart as he looked at the ceiling in the hospital room.

At this moment, some bandages have been wrapped around his legs. This is for braking and to protect the muscles from recovering as quickly as possible.

"Invincible golden body?" Sergey raised his eyebrows, then smiled, "If the organizing committee determines that your injury is indeed unable to participate, they will allow you to medically withdraw from the competition. Then..."

"You don't lose this match. In fact, you still retain your undefeated golden body!"

Yes, if according to the regulations, the player does withdraw from the game due to injury, there will be no "h2h" between the players of the injured side and the players of the promoted side, that is, the head-to-head record between the two sides.Chen Ran's undefeated golden body still exists.

"This is great!" Xue Peng clenched his fists excitedly.

In this way, when the brokerage company promotes Chen Ran in the future, it can still focus on the topic of "undefeated record."

It is better to withdraw due to medical treatment than to lose the game with an injury, not to mention that playing with an injury may aggravate the injury.

"That's good!"

Chen Ran also nodded with satisfaction, "It is difficult to remain undefeated in tour matches. After all, my state will have ups and downs. But in Grand Slam level matches, I can maintain this undefeated golden status as long as possible. Especially the Australian Open..."

He feels that it will be quite difficult to repeat the brilliant results of the Australian Open at this year's French Open on clay and Wimbledon on grass.

After all, so far, I have spent very little time practicing on clay or grass courts in the "simulation training ground", and I have never even practiced in the real world.

In fact, Chen Ran personally prefers the hard courts of the US Open, because the US Open is a fast and hard court, where it is easier for him to enjoy himself.

"After my body recovers, I must improve my physical fitness!" Chen Ran looked at Xue Peng and continued, "What about my coaching problem?"

"We have already contacted Zhang Depei, who has also shown strong interest." Xue Peng came to Australia not only to understand Chen Ran's injury, but also to report on the head coach's affairs. "Zhang Depei will retire next month, and then he will serve as your head coach.”

"It's so appropriate for you to choose Zhang Depei as your coach! Physical fitness is your shortcoming, but it is Zhang Depei's strongest point!"

After all, Zhang Depei's first championship was the French Open, and as the French Open is a clay court, you have to be more durable and able to run better than others in order to win.

After all, the virtual coach in the same system cannot guide Chen Ran in the real world, and the situation in the real world is also ever-changing, so he really needs an experienced coach to give him advice.

"Of course, he can also help you with other technical aspects!"

"Especially Zhang Depei has rich experience on clay court."

Agent Xue Peng is also constantly analyzing the benefits for Chen Ran.

"Yes, a tennis match cannot only have hard courts, but also red clay... As for grass, the proportion will be slightly less." Chen Ran nodded and replied.

In fact, he had a selfish motive for choosing Zhang Depei as his head coach.

According to the normal trajectory, Zhang Depei will be hired by Xiaoli with a lot of money to be a coach, which later contributed to the take-off of Xiaoli men's tennis, and Kei Nishikori is an outstanding representative among them.

In the original timeline, Kei Nishikori was the only Asian male tennis player to have reached the Grand Slam and Masters finals, and this record seemed difficult to break for a long time.

Even... Kei Nishikori has been selected for four year-end finals.

Only the eight best players in the world can participate in the year-end, and Kei Nishikori has participated four times, which also means that he is not the kind of short-lived player and has maintained a strong competitiveness for a period of time.

Zhang Depei is indeed Zhang Depei. Perhaps he is the only one who knows how to train an Asian player and stimulate all his potential.

But it can only be said that Kei Nishikori was untimely. He reached the Masters finals four times, but lost to the Big Three in all of them.

If it were another era, even if he could not win a Grand Slam championship, he would at least be able to guarantee a few Masters championships, which would also greatly enhance his status in the tennis world.

That guy has won a lot of 500 and 250 race championships, but this is never an honor to evaluate top players.

Therefore, another reason why Chen Ran chose Zhang Depei is that he hopes to interrupt the rise of tennis in his childhood and reduce his competitors.

However, according to Chen Ran's judgment, Kei Nishikori should still have the possibility of becoming a world-class player, but the sustainability may be reduced, and he may be the fate of mid-to-low-end footmen in the future.

……

Half a day later, Chen Ran officially announced through his agency that he would officially withdraw from the Australian Open semi-finals due to physical injuries.

The seventh-seeded Czech Novak received a big gift package and entered the final directly.

But this time, many Chinese reporters and fans were already mentally prepared, so after Chen Ran announced the news, they all accepted it calmly.

This trip to the Australian Open has been perfect, and the semi-final results have exceeded everyone's expectations.

In particular, Chen Ran defeated such popular opponents as Agassi and Roddick.

Therefore, even those Chen Hei people on the Internet who are always looking for opportunities can't find fault with Chen Ran's semi-final performance at the Australian Open.

"Performed well and beat Agassi. I won't blame you this time!"

"I suddenly felt like I was secretly expressing my emotions... I hope Chen Ran's injury will not have a big impact!"

Some netizens lamented: "Before, Yao Ming was selected as the All-Star starter, and now Chen Ran has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. China Sports has ushered in the era of superstars."

So what do previous Olympic champions count?Are they no match for Yao Ming and Chen Ran?
This is also the doubt of some netizens.

They found that they really didn't pay attention to those Olympic champions, and even if their news occasionally appeared, they had no interest in clicking on it.

Only during each Olympic Games will we pay a little more attention.

But athletes like Yao Ming and Chen Ran can arouse the interest of netizens as long as there is news about them.

Their traffic and topicality are not only far better than those Olympic champions who usually don't show off, but even the first-line stars in the entertainment industry are willing to be inferior.

"Maybe this is the charm of professional sports..."

The Olympics once every four years is too long, but there are four Grand Slams, nine Masters, and a series of tournaments in a year, just like the NBA and European Leagues have many games every week.

Frequent exposure makes these games seem to have become an indispensable part of sports fans' lives.

……

IMG clearly knows how to create news at the right time.

On the day of the Australian Open semi-finals, they announced that Chinese star Zhang Depei would officially become Chen Ran's head coach starting in February.

As soon as this news came out, at least all the netizens in China were attracted. Almost no one paid attention to the Australian Open semi-finals, which did not involve local players or superstars.

The combination of Zhang Depei and Chen Ran suddenly raised the expectations of Chinese fans for the future.

At this moment, no matter how much interference from the outside world, Chen Ran has already boarded a plane to leave Australia and return to China with his agent and fitness coach.

But before getting on the plane, Chen Ran specifically checked his world ranking.

The total ATP points are 1123, and the real-time ranking has reached 36th. The total bonus he received from this Australian Open is 39 Australian dollars!
This time in the Oceania season, Chen Ran has gained a lot!

……

(End of this chapter)