Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 177: Break at the start?A strong comeback!

The fourth quarter-finals officially began.

For Chen Ran, Kurten, who has curly hair, belongs to that kind of ancient star, the king of clay of the previous generation.

Three French Open titles are definitely a heavy honor.

Such senior figures should still be given the necessary respect.

"Hello!" Chen Ran said very politely as the two shook hands, "Mr. Kurten, I grew up watching you play."

"..." Kurten was a little caught off guard by Chen Ran's "rainbow fart" and said very honestly, "I am very partial to science. Maybe only my performance on clay courts can qualify me to be a role model for young people."

"I like clay courts the most, I enjoy the feeling of being covered in clay." Chen Ran continued, "So for me, you are a good role model."

"Besides, the Grand Slam I want to win most is the French Open!"

Kuerten was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said: "Yes, after winning the French Open, you can watch the national flag rise. This feeling is unique."

Many South American players have strong national sentiments, which is especially obvious in football.

The performance of these guys in the national team and the club are two completely different people. To be precise, the club just works, but in the national team they really work hard and give everything without any regrets.

Even the club champion pays the salaries of the national team staff out of his own pocket.

After the referee tossed a coin, Chen Ran won the right to serve.

Facing the three-time Grand Slam winner, going all out is Chen Ran's greatest respect for him.

From the first ball, he showed excellent game condition and tried to win the game in one go.

However, as a senior, Kuerten was not willing to surrender. He also showed his rich tour experience and started an extreme tug of war with Chen Ran.

As a clay court master, Kuerten has also studied Chen Ran's playing style, and the opponent's surfing ability is particularly outstanding.

In particular, Chen Ran's excellent prediction and keen reaction ability make Chen Ran's success rate of volleys in front of the net astonishing.

Kuerten wanted to suppress Chen Ran at the baseline as much as possible, and mainly used topspin when hitting the ball, and constantly attacked Chen Ran's backhand.

Several of his shots almost fell quickly when the tennis ball was about to go out of bounds, fell vertically, and then hit the baseline.

"It's another line-breaking ball, it's really amazing!" Chen Ran cursed secretly in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, he didn't have any time to make any subtle judgments.

Chen Ran just subconsciously raised the racket, even the swing space was squeezed to the extreme.

In a hurry, he jumped backwards and hit a rebound ball with his forehand.

However, due to insufficient friction on the ball, the racket surface was not pressed down. The tennis ball hit by Chen Ran directly transformed into a cannon that shot into the sky and flew towards the audience stands.

"30:40!"

In Chen Ran's first service game, he scored two points in a row.

Just when the audience thought that Chen Ran would easily and simply keep serve, Kuerten unexpectedly scored three points in a row to reach the break point.

"What's the situation?"

"Chen Ran's first serve was actually scored three points by the opponent."

"He currently has to face the situation of having to keep his hair!"

C5 sports host Tong Kexin was chattering, already a little incoherent.

Since 2002, she has been responsible for commentating tennis matches, but what followed was the annihilation of China Tennis in the Busan Asian Games.

Therefore, netizens gave this eldest sister the title of "disaster commentator", complaining that she could only defeat Chinese players.

Is it possible that even someone of Chen Ran's level will be defeated now?
Chen Ran remained silent and walked to the other side of the court with the same expressionless expression, preparing for the next serve.

Kuerten was in very good shape in this game, like a dead tree blooming with spring, at least in the first game.

The other party has obviously made up his mind to keep fighting with him.

Chen Ran raised his chin slightly and observed Kurten's position.

The whole person was half-bent, staring at Chen Ran very intently. It seemed that this guy was indeed in good condition today.

In the second round of the Australian Open and the first round of the Indian Wells Masters, just when people thought that the former Grand Slam winner would continue to sink, Kuerten rebounded in the Miami Masters and broke into the quarterfinals.

Area [-], outer corner!

Chen Ran continued to serve, this time choosing to suppress the opponent's forehand.

This time, in order to create an angle, he slightly decreased the speed of his first shot, but it still reached 198 kilometers.

Will it be an ace or a straight serve?

With a kick and a split, Kurten's body of over 1 meters rushed out, and he made a very awkward cut with his hands, forcing him to challenge the high ball.

The yellow-green tennis ball flew high into the air, and was very floating.

Chen Ran seemed to want to hit a high-pressure ball, but then he frowned and found it difficult to catch the ball's landing point.

He looked at the tennis ball falling from the sky, and his body was constantly adjusting his steps, trying to find the most suitable place to hit the ball.

Chen Ran made a backward high-pressure smash and intercepted the tennis ball before it passed over his head.

boom!
This smash went out of bounds!
What followed was exclamations from the audience.

"incredible!"

"Chen Ran was actually broken by his opponent in his first serve game!" Tong Kexin covered her mouth and said, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Oh my God, am I dreaming?" TV The fans watching the game in front of the machine were so angry that they immediately turned off the sound.

"Aunt Tong, shut up!"

"What a stupid cctv, why do you let this disaster star host such an important game!"

"Aunt Tong's calamity attribute is so powerful. Not only other tennis players in our country have been infected with bad luck, but also Chen Ran's level cannot be spared?"

Not only the C5 host and the audience in front of the TV couldn't believe the scene in front of them, but the audience at the scene was also unexpected by what happened.

From the initial shock to bursts of boos, they expressed their dissatisfaction.

Many Chinese journalists held their heads in their hands and opened their mouths in surprise.

Some people even think that Chen Ran is suspected of cheating. Does he also want to fly to Europe early to prepare for the clay court season?

"We were broken in the first game." Chen Ran patted his forehead and muttered to himself silently.

This should be the first time Chen Ran's serve has been broken by his opponent since participating in the Miami Masters.

He was also a little unexpected about this. He didn't expect that he couldn't hold the first serve, which he was sure of.

Seriously!
Don’t think that you are guaranteed to make it to the semi-finals, or even the finals!
There is no weak person who can stand on the tour, especially the Masters!
Even if the opponent is not at his peak, you must still face it at your best!

Chen Ran habitually tapped his heels a few times with the racket, preparing to receive Kurten's serve.

It is said that this guy's serve is famous for its violence. Although it is far from his peak now, there is no room for Chen Ran to be careless.

Therefore, Chen Ran also continued to make impact in Kurten's serve game, trying to break serve.

0:15、15:15、30:15、30:30、40:30、40：40、40：AD。

Chen Ran, like Kuerten in the first game, had a chance to break serve, but unfortunately he failed to grasp it.

Kuerten leads 2-0.

In Chen Ran's second serve, he was highly focused from the beginning, leaving no chance for Kuerten, and finally scored the first point of the game.

2:1
3:1
3:2
4:2
4:3
5:3
5:4
In the blink of an eye, the game reached the tenth inning.

Although Chen Ran launched fierce offensives again and again, Kurten, a tour veteran, relied on his rich experience and perseverance to block the opponent's counterattack.

In the tenth game at this moment, Kuerten leads 40:15.

In his serving game, he already had two game points.

The most dangerous time in a tennis match is when you are leading!
Chen Ran took a deep breath and thought of this sentence.

If he loses this set and wants to enter the semi-finals and has to win two more sets, it may be a tough battle.

Chen Ran also vaguely felt that Kuerten was gritting his teeth and holding on. He put huge pressure on the opponent with every ball.

In the next minute, the two sides went back and forth. After a stalemate of eight or nine shots, Chen Ran found an opportunity and took the lead in taking the shot from the backhand position.

Slash, flat strike!
Kuerten ran over and slid the ball back.

Chen Ran continued to attack and hit the ball in another direction.

Kuerten once again completed the save, flicked his wrist outward, and once again threw the ball high, crossing a parabola.

But this time, Chen Ran's prediction of the landing point was completely correct, and he scored a point with an overhead high-pressure ball.

30: 40!

On the next ball, the two sides continued to engage in extreme tug-of-war!

Forehand VS forehand, backhand VS backhand!

Chen Ran, who felt increasingly hot, finally scored a crucial point with a straight-line dead-end SLR that left his opponent "unprepared".

40: 40!

"Almost forgot!"

Kuerten was a little annoyed. He was also a single-reverse player himself, but he had forgotten that Chen Ran could switch between double-reverse and single-reverse situations.

But the difference between Chen Ran's SLR is that it is used for sneak attacks, just like the later young player Kei Nishikori.

Kei Nishikori, who often hits the ball with a two-handed backhand, can often catch his opponent off guard with a sudden single-handed shot.

This tactic is very suitable for Asian players, because their physical flexibility is a huge advantage.

After all, Kuerten is no longer as brave as he once was. Under Chen Ran's tidal offensive, his competitive state finally fluctuated.

Of the two key goals, one was directly returned as an ACE by Chen Ran's forehand, and the other was directly caused by his own double serve error.

Desperate break!

Chen Ran finally tied the score, and the hole dug at the start of the game was finally filled.

Then, Kuerten's momentum seemed to be exhausted, and he lost two consecutive games, and was finally reversed by Chen Ran 7:5.

When the second set started, Kuerten seemed to have given up his struggle. Maybe it was because the first set was too intense and his injury broke out, so he was beaten 6-0 by Chen Ran.

Chen Ran finally got his wish and advanced to the semi-finals.

……

(End of this chapter)