Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 151 The toughest lottery form ([-] updates completed, please subscribe)

When Chen Ran sent a "love game" in his own serve and his opponent's serve respectively, the American tennis amateurs were unable to fight back.

"God, why is this happening?"

The American boy spread his hands and looked at the sky with a puzzled face: "I have always been very confident in my serve. Did I think I could win the serve game?"

Perhaps the result was very different from what he had imagined, and this guy looked very frustrated.

Roddick was also young and energetic, and he looked gloating when he saw Chen Ran "torture" the queen who knew how to play ball.

"You brat, just because of your poor skills? You're still young if you want to be a professional!"

Roddick walked up to the American amateur tennis player and patted his shoulder: "Brother, keep working hard. The gap between you and professional players is already very close."

"Really?" After hearing this, the American boy immediately put away his disappointed expression.

"Of course." Roddick nodded with deep understanding. "In those few times just now, you were actually very close to the chance of winning. You were only one breath away."

He patted the opponent's shoulder again to show encouragement: "Keep training hard!"

The naive American boy left contentedly.

"Rodick, is this how you deceived Hilton?" Chen Ran was speechless to this guy and muttered in his heart.

"Hi, Chen..." Roddick came up and said hello to Chen Ran, "You did a great job. You know, the guy just now and his companions used to like to teach me how to play when watching games."

"Even when I was losing, he was shouting brain-destroying words at me in the hallway."

"Andy, could it be that they attacked you personally?" Chen Ran asked curiously.

"Is this true..." Roddick shook his head, "They are saying that the reason why I lost was because I didn't play according to his suggestions."

When Chen Ran heard this, he was actually amused.

Agassi in the distance was also attracted by what happened here, but he was older and obviously calmer than Roddick.

He already has a deep understanding of the virtues of American fans and is not surprised by them.

"Actually, there are fans like this all over our country. They always feel that they understand the game better than professional players. This is not just limited to tennis." Roddick felt helpless and couldn't help it.

There have been many anxious games in the past. I obviously had a chance to win, but I was yelled at by American fans and missed the chance to win.

"Well...actually we Chinese fans also have a fighting spirit." Chen Ran also joked.

In fact, fans in many parts of the world feel that they understand football very well, better than the players and coaches.

"Chen, if we meet in this Masters, I will definitely win!" Roddick said confidently.

"Oh, I see you are very confident." Chen Ran smiled, "It seems you must have been training very hard during this period."

"Of course, but that's not the key." Roddick shook his finger. "It's mainly because Hilton and I broke up."

Without this bitch holding me back, I will be invincible.

This result was within Chen Ran's expectation.

However, he still deliberately showed regret: "Unfortunately, I thought you would get married."

Roddick said disdainfully: "You Chinese people are really too traditional. Why get married? I can't even have time to enjoy myself!"

"Let's not talk about this anymore..." Chen Ran changed the subject, "Would you like to practice football together?"

"can!"

Roddick immediately agreed, "Humph, the last Australian Open was not my real strength..."

It seems that he has been brooding over his last defeat.

So, Chen Ran and Roddick started practicing.

This time, the two of them were at [-]% to [-]% strength for the battle, and at the same time they also quietly tested each other's strength.

Nowadays, Roddick has long put aside his contempt for Chen Ran, especially since Chen Ran defeated Agassi after beating him. Roddick regarded the opponent as his lifelong enemy.

But the training ground here is actually different from the Australian Open.

Because of the open terrain and desert environment of Indian Wells, especially the wind and sand brought by strong winds, it is often easy to interfere with the line of sight, making it impossible to hit the ball normally.

Therefore, in order to ensure the quality of training and avoid interference from wind and sand, the organizing committee here built a wall with green trees and flowers to surround the training ground.

Fans don't have to stick to the barbed wire fence, they can basically sit in the stands and watch the players train.

Today, before the advent of smartphones, everyone can only watch or shout, unlike later generations who hold a mobile phone and take pictures.

"Andy, your serve seems to be getting stronger and stronger!"

Chen Ran also found that Roddick's serving state was particularly good today, with ACEs coming one after another. He was worthy of being the world's number one cannon player.

What should I do if the score reaches a stalemate?Then just use the ACE ball to solve it.

One is not enough?Then come two in a row!

Even three in a row is not impossible.

In one of Roddick's service games, Chen Ran led 40-30 and had already touched the break point.

As a result, Roddick, with some help from God, actually hit three ACE balls in succession, directly completing the reversal of the game.

However, Chen Ran's progress still amazed Roddick.

"Chen, I think your return of serve seems to have improved." He said thoughtfully.

Although the feeling was not very obvious, he still vaguely felt that there were a few points that he thought he could serve directly, but Chen Ran incredibly saved them.

What surprised Roddick even more was that Chen Ran's baseline ball skills seemed to have been perfected again.

However, he is also comforting himself that this is a hard court, not clay, and baseline ball skills cannot play a decisive role.

Roddick naturally would not have guessed that in the past month, Chen Ran had been spending time on clay courts, and it would be difficult for him not to improve his baseline skills.

Because he is a player who doesn't like clay court very much, his results on clay court have always been mediocre and nothing eye-catching.

"God, why do I feel that your serve is more stable than at the previous Australian Open." Roddick looked amazed.

The last time they met at the Australian Open, Roddick broke Chen Ran several times.When he is in hot form and feels good, it is not very difficult to break Chen Ran's serve.

However, during this training, Roddick found this very difficult.

"Maybe it's because I have a lot of physical strength." Chen Ran said deliberately, "This is a training match after all, there is no pressure from the competition."

"Maybe." Roddick nodded with deep understanding. "Competition and training are two different things."

"But among all the unseeded players in this competition, I definitely don't want to meet you."

"Ha~ I hope we all have a good fortune." Chen Ran replied with a smile.

……

On the second day, all 56 places for the main draw were announced, and the lottery ceremony officially began.

In a Grand Slam tournament, any player who wants to win must play 7 games.

But the Indian Wells Masters is different. The top eight seeds enjoy a first-round bye.

Chen Ran's game will start on Monday, while the top eight seeds will wait for work and the game will not officially start until Wednesday.

However, non-bye players also have the advantage of being able to adapt to the course here early, especially the strong wind in Indian Wells, which requires a lot of adaptation.

Some top players will even adapt to the environment by playing doubles, playing a few casual rounds at first.

Chen Ran does not have a doubles ranking. If he wants to register, he can only participate by cooperating with other players who have a doubles ranking.

But after careful consideration, he gave up the idea.

First, people may not be willing to take him as a rookie in doubles.

Secondly, even though I am strong enough, my focus is still on singles. Even if I participate, I just go through the motions. Isn’t this cheating my partner?
But overall, the Indian Wells Masters is a nearly two-week event, with a schedule that starts the next day, almost the same as the Grand Slam, which also brings a very urgent mood to the players.

The No. 1 seed in this tournament is Ferrero. After winning the Australian Open, his world ranking successfully rose to No. [-].

The No. 2 seed is Hewitt. Although he failed in the Australian Open, his total points are still enough to keep him in second place.

The two men sit in the upper and lower half of the town respectively.

Federer is the No. 3 seed, while Agassi, who failed to reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, is the No. 4 seed.

There is a possibility that if Agassi wins the Australian Open championship, he may withdraw from the Indian Wells Masters this time.

Now, he came with obvious reluctance. This was the butterfly effect caused by Chen Ran.

Chen Ran was assigned to the lower half, in the same half as Federer and Hewitt.

As for Roddick, this guy wanted revenge. He hoped to meet Chen Ran in the semi-finals or quarter-finals instead of the first or second round, but he ended up in the top half.

However, Chen Ran's opponent in the first round made him frown slightly.

No. 10 seed, Argentinian Nalbandian!
This man was born in the same year as Roddick in 1982, and he can be regarded as a first-class player in the world.

To meet such a high-ranking seed in the first round!

Although this guy is from Argentina in Latin America, he is definitely a good player on hard courts.

What impressed Chen Ran the most was that Nalbandian won the year-end championship in the 2005 Magic City Masters Cup.

To be able to win the championship in the year-end finals with the participation of eight of the best players in the world is a strength that cannot be underestimated.

Chen Ran knew very well that if he was a little careless, he would most likely be lost in one round.

What about the second round?

He continued to observe the lot, then secretly shook his head.

Kafelnikov, the 19th seed.

This man was the best tennis player in Russia before Safin, and he was also a landmark figure. He had won two Grand Slam championships, but both were in the 90s.

In addition, Kafelnikov also won the men's singles championship at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Kafelnikov is now 29 years old and should be at the peak of his career. However, his competitive form has declined in the past two years, causing his ranking to drop to more than 20 places.

"A skinny camel is bigger than a horse!" Chen Ran muttered, "Such veteran players are so good at life that they can make a comeback in any game."

Kafelnikov is Chen Ran’s predicted opponent in the quarter-finals.

What about the quarter-finals?That's Federer.

As for the predicted opponent in the semi-finals, Hewitt.

After Hewitt failed to reach the top [-] at the Australian Open, he is expected to come into this Masters well prepared and full of strength.

After the lottery was officially completed, Chen Ran took the lottery form and returned to the hotel room without saying a word.

"Chen Ran encountered the toughest lottery in history!"

"Revenge from the Americans!"

After the Indian Wells Masters draw was officially announced, many Chinese sports media released reports immediately.

They are looking forward to this Masters, especially this Masters, which is also known as the "Fifth Grand Slam".

In history, no Chinese male player has ever participated in the main draw of the ATP 1000 Masters.

This time, Chen Ran made history again.

Just like the Australian Open a month ago, every step Chen Ran takes in this Indian Wells Masters will be a big step for Chinese tennis.

But the lottery arrangement arranged by the Americans is really unfriendly.

The first game was a fierce battle. If Chen Ran relaxed a little, he would most likely have to go home in the first round.

Is this revenge for Chen Ran's elimination of Roddick and Agassi in the Australian Open?

The American organizing committee seems to want to use this Masters to tell the world that this Chinese tennis supernova, who has high hopes, is just a flash in the pan.

……

(End of this chapter)