Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 156 Master Chen?
He won two games in a row, broke into the top 90 of the Masters, and earned as many as [-] ATP points.

Chen Ran has basically fulfilled most of the Chinese media's expectations for him.

Of course, the happiest person is CCTV. Starting from Chen Ran's top [-] match, they will start broadcasting the game.

For CCTV, which has always been rich in money, they will broadcast several Indian Wells Masters, depending on how far Chen Ran can go.

The competition in the Masters is very fierce, and CCTV is also prepared that "Chen Ran will be eliminated halfway and go home, and their broadcast fees will be wasted."

If there are no Chinese players on the ATP Tour like before, even if it is the final of the Masters, whether CCTV will broadcast it live will still depend on the schedule.

This is not like the World Table Tennis Championships. CCTV knew from the first broadcast of the game that the Chinese team would be in the finals.

Chen Ran's opponent in the next round is the No. 8 seed in this tournament, the French tennis star Grosjean.

In the previous Australian Open competition, Grosjean also broke into the quarterfinals.

Comparing the previous Australian Open, this Masters, almost every game was a fierce battle, and the time between each round was also very short, so Chen Ran did not dare to be careless at all.

Fortunately, starting from the third round, the players will have one game every two days, so they will have enough time to recover their physical fitness.

"One more win and we'll be in the quarterfinals!" Chen Ran turned on the computer in the hotel room and logged into the ATP official website.

At this stage, it is not easy for him to continue to improve his ATP ranking.

Even if Chen Ran got 90 ATP points, his real-time ranking was only improved by one place, from 36th to 35th.

As for the bonus, it is only over 5 US dollars, which is of no importance to Chen Ran, who currently has several advertising endorsements.

Masters level competition, at least the bonus of reaching the finals, can make Chen Ran a little excited.

Immediately, Chen Ran also browsed the webpage briefly.

Although the first two rounds of the Masters were not broadcast live on CCTV, there was still a lot of attention on the Internet because of the tennis craze he created.

Chen Ran passed the test all the way and defeated all the strong players, which also made everyone's enthusiasm very high.

In particular, Chen Ran and Yao Ming are currently the two kings of topics and advertising in the Chinese sports world. Their traffic and advertising fees far exceed those of first-line artists in the entertainment industry.

Netizens will also compare the two.

In particular, some tennis fans will argue with basketball fans, discussing whether tennis or basketball has greater influence on a global scale.

Of course, occasionally football fans will participate, proudly showing off the unparalleled influence of football.

But the problem is that among the current Chinese men's football players, even if there are a few playing in Europe, there is still no one who can attract the attention of the whole country like Chen Ran or Yao Ming.

At present, whether it is Chen Ran or Yao Ming, their income is almost beyond the reach of any national football player.

As for other sports, it seems that they are not even qualified to participate in the discussion.

At this time, some American reporters would take the initiative to ask Yao Ming some questions about Chen Ran when reporting on the NBA.

This is also a professional habit of American journalists. They always like to connect athletes from several sports that they are familiar with.

For example, later American reporters like to mention Djokovic when interviewing Denver Nuggets NBA star Jokic, and when interviewing Djokovic, they like to mention Jokic.

Yao Ming replied humbly: "He is already a Grand Slam semi-finalist, and I haven't played in the playoffs yet, so I need to keep working hard."

"Then will you go to Indian Wells to cheer for Chen Ran?" The American reporter was still reluctant.

"Oh... my competition schedule is also very tight, but if he can reach the finals, I am willing to cheer for him." Yao Ming's answer was very appropriate and watertight.

"Final?" The American reporter thought for a moment and then replied with certainty, "This possibility is almost non-existent."

"Why not? Everything is possible in sports competitions." Yao Ming said with certainty, seeming to have full confidence in Chen Ran.

In fact, what he really thought in his heart was that it seemed a bit unkind to directly say that he didn't have time to go, so he might as well be more tactful.

"Of course I know it's difficult to reach the finals!" Yao Ming added silently in his heart.

However, the words had already been spoken. Those Chinese reporters who followed Yao Ming for interviews in the NBA immediately forwarded the news and wrote a slightly exaggerated headline: Yao Ming promised that as long as Chen Ran breaks into the finals of the Indian Wells Masters , he will come to the scene to cheer Chen Ran.

The reporters also took a serious look at the schedule and found that there was indeed no NBA game on the day of the finals.

This also caused a small uproar on the Internet.

Imagine that even American reporters like to compare these two people with each other, let alone those Chinese reporters.

In their eyes, as long as Chen Ran and Yao Ming are linked together, it is enough to attract the attention of many Chinese people.

……

On the fourth day of the match, after the players got two valuable days of rest, the quarter-finals kicked off.

The first to appear in the game were Thai player Sri Chaphan and Swiss Federer.

Sri Chapan and Chen Ran are the only two Asians to break into the top [-] of the Indian Wells Masters, but now the title of Asia's number one brother has changed hands.

Even though Sri Chapan's ranking is still higher than that of Chen Ran, the results of the Grand Slam semi-finals are enough for the Chinese who have always guarded their shortcomings to call Chen Ran the No. 1 in Asia.

Of course, some media, under the deliberate guidance of IMG, gave Chen Ran the title of "Asia's King".

Srichaphan's best result at the Masters was the quarterfinals, achieved in Paris at the end of last year.

Sri Chapan was obviously dissatisfied with the change of ownership of Asia's No. 1 title.

At least his 15th world ranking is a full 20 places higher than Chen Ran.

So why did the title of "Asia's No. 1" change hands?
Sri Chapan is determined to steal the limelight from Chen Ran again in this Masters.He is eager to meet Chen Ran again in the quarter-finals and avenge the "shame of Auckland."

However, Federer, who was also a semi-finalist at the Australian Open with Chen Ran, quickly extinguished the heat in Sri Chapan's heart.

In one-on-one versus one-on-one reverse situations, Srichaphan was suppressed by Federer and had almost no room for resistance.

6:3, 6:4.

The two-set match lasted just over an hour, and Federer swept Sri Chapan 2-0, taking the lead in securing a spot in the quarterfinals.

When leaving the court, Federer used to look at where Chen Ran was sitting.

"My opponent in the next round will probably be him, right? Maybe the Frenchman Grosjean?"

Grosjean is also a top player in tennis, but Chen Ran is too young.

Although Federer really wanted to play against Chen Ran, it was obviously not easy for him to get past Grosjean.

Two 10 minutes later...

The duel between Chen Ran and Grosjean officially started.

There was a back and forth between the two.

In a strong duel, both sides refused to give an inch, but for the time being, no one was able to find a breakthrough in the game.

The men's professional tennis world is full of experts, and what Chen Ran faced at the last Australian Open was just the tip of the iceberg.

Just like Kafelnikov in the last round, although his competitive status has been in a slump for a whole year, he still put great pressure on Chen Ran in the game. Chen Ran won with difficulty through two tie-breaks. .

In today's duel, Chen Ran experienced what it means to be truly "hearty".

Both he and Grosjean pushed themselves to the extreme. Every shot was accompanied by a cry for power. The test of energy and physical strength had reached the limit.

However, both players gritted their teeth and concentrated on the game. The confrontation between the game and the layout was always in a stalemate, and no one was able to forcefully open the situation.

Forehand VS forehand, forehand VS backhand, backhand VS backhand!

Chen Ran and Grosjean constantly changed their rhythm and then exerted their strength, trying to find each other's flaws.

When the score of the first set reached 6-5, the time had lasted for nearly an hour.

"Too torturous!"

"In this game, both sides are chasing each other, and no one loses."

"Sure enough, the Masters is worthy of being a Masters. Every round is a fierce battle!"

In the C5 live broadcast room, host Zhang Sheng sighed sincerely.

In the past, C5 Sports usually only broadcast the four Grand Slams and rarely broadcast the Masters.

This time, because of Chen Ran, they presented the Masters Tournament in a relatively complete situation to the national audience through television.

In the Masters, which is a best-of-three-set match, the error tolerance is too low to tolerate any sloppiness.

This is not like a best-of-five-set Grand Slam, where you can adjust your game strategy appropriately and selectively give up a certain set.

In the Masters, the consequences of strategically giving up a set are simply unaffordable.

Every set, every game, every point, you have to give it your all.

"Chance!"

"Pretty!"

Chen Ran and Grosjean were in a stalemate for more than 20 shots, and the latter's chip shot was a little shallow.

This is a slight deviation in the feel after a long period of tug-of-war, and this tiny deviation can be fatal.

Chen Ran seized the opportunity and hit the ball diagonally, breaking the angle and scoring directly.

"Finally a successful break!"

Chen Ran also clenched his fists excitedly, looking up to the sky and roaring.

He won the first set 7-5.

After the start of the second set, Grosjean continued to launch fierce attacks without giving up at all.

His offensive attack once made it difficult for Chen Ran to resist, and he was almost broken several times.

In the world of tennis, a 1-0 lead is nothing. There are many examples of turning defeat into victory, so Chen Ran did not dare to be careless at all.

Fortunately, after Chen Ran withstood the opponent's overwhelming offensive, he took advantage of the fluctuation in the opponent's serving state and broke serve again.

6: 4!

Chen Ran won the second set again and entered the top 8.

In the next round, he will finally play against Federer.

However, after Chen Ran reached the quarterfinals of the Masters, imaginative netizens gave him a new nickname: Master Chen.

……

(End of this chapter)