Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 161 Reaching the Finals
CCTV C5 Sports' broadcast plan is constantly being adjusted to accommodate Chen Ran.

For example, in today's semifinals, CCTV originally planned to broadcast a live broadcast of an NBA game, but it was not a Rockets game.

However, Chen Ran unexpectedly broke into the semi-finals, causing CCTV to decisively change its live broadcast plan.

Which one is more or less popular between the two sides is very clear to CCTV.

"Good morning, viewers!"

"On this refreshing morning, we have a focus battle!"

"The semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters, Chen Ran versus Hewitt!"

"You have to remember that a month ago, Hewitt was the number one player in the world."

"Okay, the game has begun, let's cheer for Chen Ran together!"

The person in charge of explaining the game today is a female host named Tong Kexin who has just joined the job.

Later generations of tennis fans called her "Tong Aunt", and because whenever she explained the matches of Chinese players, the latter often lost, so she was called "the disaster star" by netizens.

As for business capabilities?Don't have too much hope.

However, CCTV is indeed CCTV, and this competition also invited Sun Jifang, the newly promoted director of the network management center.

In the center court of Indian Wells, Chen Ran silently clapped a few tennis balls.

"Who can run better, Hewitt or Nadal?" This thought came to his mind.

At this moment, not only reporters from China, but also reporters from Australia kept pressing the shutter on Chen Ran's figure.

Chen Ran, who created the miracle of the Australian Open, is about to face off against Hewitt, the number one star from Australia.

From the first ball, Chen Ran quickly entered the state.

He is like a microwave player, he does not need warm-up time at all and can get into the best condition anytime and anywhere.

Hewitt seemed to be adapting to the rhythm of the game, so he offered little resistance in Chen Ran's first serve.

As we all know, defensive bottom line players like Hewitt who are good at running are often slow to enter the game.

His body needs to slowly shed the sweat in the sun, and then gradually adapt to the rhythm of the game.

Using Chen Ran's first serve to complete his warm-up was obviously a very good choice.

boom!
When the serving role was changed, Chen Ran also discovered that this guy, who was only 1 meters tall, had really good serving skills and was very precise in controlling the landing point of the ball.

"I don't know how he lost the Australian Open. Maybe it was because of the pressure at home?"

Because in tennis matches, the impact of home and away games is relatively small, unlike football and basketball, where the impact is visible to the naked eye.

Hewitt serves straight!
Chen Ran is also very calm. Because he played against Hewitt for the first time, he is also adapting to the opponent's style of play.

Today's game is in the evening in the United States, and it is a night game.

When Chen Ran hit the ball, he also shot left and right, constantly changing his route, but Hewitt also showed extraordinary mobility as he entered the game.

Not only was the opponent really like a hare, he was running around the field as fast as lightning.

Chen Ran's two-handed backhand return ball went out of bounds, allowing Hewitt to safely save the first serve.

He lowered his head and muttered: This ball must have been played too hard.

Hewitt's way of playing is obviously very harmful to the body. No wonder he quickly declined after winning two Grand Slams and two year-end games at a young age.

By the way, last year's Indian Wells Masters champion was also Hewitt.

2002 was the highlight of his career, a Grand Slam, a year-end event, and a Masters.

But from 2003 until Hewitt retired in 2016, although he won many 250 races, he never won any significant championship again.

It took less than a year to go from being No. [-] in the world to being one of the first-class players.

Hewitt's fighting style is like the "magic method of dismantling demons" in martial arts novels.

Chen Ran was thinking about all this silently, while his eyes were staring at the yellow-green tennis ball in his hand.

He admitted that Hewitt was indeed extremely powerful in his prime, but there was nothing he could learn from.

In comparison, although Zhang Depei only had one Grand Slam trophy in his career, he maintained a world-class level during the long period from 1989 to 1999.

Although Zhang Depei won the French Open when he was 17 years old, his peak state was actually in the three years from 1994 to 1996. It was just that during his peak period, he met the stronger and better Sampras.

"So this is why Hewitt was upset at the Australian Open?"

"Even a 22-year-old body is beginning to be unable to withstand such a desperate playing style?"

Chen Ran gently threw the ball up and then swung the racket.

The moment he hit the tennis ball, he felt that he had done a good job.

Chen Ran chose to go online without thinking. Since he had the opportunity to win the tennis volley easily and happily, there was no need to get into a back-and-forth tug-of-war with the opponent on the baseline.

Hewitt rarely uses the strategy of serving and netting, but Chen Ran likes it so much that as long as the time is right, he will make a decisive move.

Chen Ran's playing style is obviously rich and varied, and he constantly hits the ball at large angles to mobilize Hewitt to keep running. Sometimes he will put a short ball with delicate touch to attract Hewitt to the net.

In the blink of an eye, the two sides were back and forth, and the score was tied at 4-4.

"This is so good!" Tong Kexin from C5 Sports was a little stunned when she watched it in the live broadcast room.

In the game just now, Chen Ran had a good chance to break serve, but was saved by Hewitt's almost wild serve, which also won warm applause from the audience.

From the fans' perspective, they always like players who play with passion.They just want to have fun, and they don't care whether this kind of entertainment is sustainable for the players.

"Fortunately, Chen Ran's expression is quite calm and he doesn't show any anxiety because he missed five break points just now." The host Tong Kexin said happily.

After a while, the eldest lady slammed the table excitedly and shouted: "Beautiful, good shot!"

Chen Ran's strong forehand strength showed a variety of hitting routes and precise placement control.

Especially when hitting the ball, he will use some fake moves to mislead the opponent's prediction of the ball path.

"Love game! Chen Ran didn't let Hewitt score a point for the first time in his serve game!" Tong Kexin explained excitedly, "5 to 4, Chen Ran leads again!"

"Chen Ran seems to have suddenly gained strength!" Sun Jifang on the side also said, "It seems that his competitive status has been raised to a new level in an instant."

Sun Jifang was also the main player in the "Women's Volleyball Team's Five Consecutive Championships". Naturally, she also knows that some top players will suddenly exert their strength at a certain moment and then determine the trend of the game.

"Director Sun, volleyball and tennis are both sports separated by a net. What do you think are the similarities?" Tong Kexin asked suddenly.

"Sports are all similar." Sun Jifang thought for a while and continued, "But as an individual sport, the tennis court is twice as big as the volleyball court for team sports."

"Such a big stadium, with one person standing on each side, is really a test of physical fitness."

The volleyball court is only half the size of a tennis court. It can accommodate 6 people on each side and can be adjusted for substitutions.

Comparatively speaking, the consumption of playing a game of tennis is much greater than that of playing a game of volleyball.

"This is why tennis is called the ultimate individual sport." Tong Kexin sighed.

The situation on the court has undergone some changes.

Perhaps it was Chen Ran's "love game" in the service game just now, which put huge psychological pressure on Hewitt, which also affected his state of service.

After the two had an extreme fight for more than 20 shots, Chen Ran suddenly started to get angry.

He faced Hewitt's forehand diagonal attack, and the opponent's landing point was very deep, basically just inside the baseline of the ball.

However, because the two of them played too many shots, although Hewitt's return shot still had excellent control of the landing point, the spin declined and he failed to create a sufficient angle.

This time, Chen Ran decisively seized the opportunity and moved in small steps.

In just one breath, he continued to move from his backhand to the left, and immediately switched to his forehand.

At the same time, Chen Ran's forehand was swung out at lightning speed like a whip.

The inertial force brought by the sideways steps is also superimposed, and the force is exerted instantly.

This was obviously something he had planned for a long time.

boom!
straight line!

Chen Ran tore out a straight line with a quick shot, and the heavy tennis ball rushed towards the triangle of the straight baseline.

Precisely press the dead corner!
Hewitt ran over quickly, increasing his speed to the extreme. Although the racket touched the tennis ball, it was still a step too late.

The return ball goes out of bounds!

Chen Ran completed the break!

6: 4!

Chen Ran won the first set!

"Dear viewers, what is very amazing is..."

"Just now was the first break point in the entire match, and also the first time there was a set point."

"Countless firsts, but Chen Ran caught it!"

"As expected of the king of tie-breaks, Chen Ran is so good at hitting key goals!"

Tong Kexin clenched her fists excitedly.

Sun Jinfang on the side also kept applauding.

China Tennis is so lucky to have Chen Ran!

She knows very well that Chen Ran's outstanding performance will benefit the entire Chinese tennis.

However, as a state cadre, she has to pay attention to her image and not celebrate too wantonly.

After the game entered the second set, Hewitt seemed to be experiencing the "Australian Open nightmare" not long ago again.

The shadow of the Australian Open defeat once again hangs over Hewitt's head.

His competitive form has obviously declined.

When Hewitt served first, Chen Ran broke serve twice.

But he was unable to put pressure on Chen Ran's serve, and the opponent easily held serve.

6: 3!

It only took Chen Ran 50 minutes to win the second set.

2-0, Chen Ran defeated Hewitt!

Masters finals, here I come!
……

(End of this chapter)