Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 185 Chen Ran Effect
When Chen Ran walked off the podium with the championship trophy in hand, he was immediately surrounded by Chinese reporters who were swarming.

At such an important moment, these guys wanted to take a photo that would go down in history.

Too many reporters wanted to ask Chen Ran how he felt about winning the championship.

"Really, my original goal was to get 720 points in these two Masters tournaments. I would be satisfied if the total points could be equal to the Australian Open."

"I really didn't expect to get 2000 points. I'm also surprised!"

"It seems that my improvement in strength has exceeded my own expectations!"

"Thank you to coach Zhang Depei, he is responsible for all this!"

Chen Ran pretended at first, and then decisively brought out his coach Zhang Depei to explain why he made rapid progress after the Australian Open.

"Yes, Chen Ran has now hired a famous coach with a high salary. It is reasonable for him to improve so quickly." After hearing this, both Chinese reporters and foreign reporters suddenly realized, "Even his weakest physical link has improved significantly. promote."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Depei is not only a great player, but also a good coach. The cooperation with Chen Ran is really a strong alliance.

"Well, that's true!" Chen Ran nodded with satisfaction and murmured to himself, "Having a former well-known player as his head coach can reduce a lot of troubles and can also perfectly explain his soaring progress."

This is also the main reason why he hired Zhang Depei as head coach, a moving human shield.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Ran took the trophy and took photos with celebrities from all walks of life, including the Chinese superstar Leslie Cheung from Hong Kong.

Today is April 4, and he is still in Miami.

As for whether he will participate in the tennis exhibition match held in Hong Kong next time, Chen Ran cannot guarantee it and can only depend on the schedule.

Frankly speaking, he just wants to stay away from the city and crowds and go to a quiet place to live without worries for a while.

After Chen Ran finished the usual press conference after winning the championship, he immediately returned to the hotel.

By this time, it was already past midnight and it was already very late.

Chen Ran simply washed up, then fell directly on the bed and fell asleep.

"I can finally return to my country..." At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind.

Early the next morning, Chen Ran, who was eager to return home, took his team and boarded a plane back to Yanjing, China.

This time, he wanted to give himself a short vacation.

Yao Ming should be envious of me, right?He has a long season and has to travel around with the Rockets, unlike me who can arrange his time independently.

Of course, people are guaranteed a basic salary, unlike Chen Ran who has to earn bonuses everywhere.

Hey, Yao Ming's annual salary seems to be about 400 million US dollars before tax. The bonus I earn should be more than him, right?

Chen Ran immediately checked his accumulated prize money this year. It was US$5 from the Auckland Tour, US$35 from the Australian Open semi-finals, and US$110 million from the Sunshine Double Championship.

His bonus totaled $150 million before taxes, and the 2003 season only lasted three months.

At the same time, it was exactly one o'clock in the afternoon in China, which was separated from the American continent by the Pacific Ocean.

In April, the golden sunshine shines down, bringing warmth to the earth, and all things are ushering in recovery.

"Epic 'Sunshine Double Crown'! Chinese tennis has ushered in spring!"

The front-page headline of "Sports Weekly" reported on the competition and specially published a huge photo of Chen Ran.

In the photo, Chen Ran is wearing a five-star red flag and holding the trophy high. On his delicate and resolute face, he has a bright smile, full of youthful vigor and vitality.

This photo was not only cited by Sports Weekly, but also became the first choice of major news media.

Sunshine double crown, this is definitely one of the greatest victories in the history of Chinese sports!

The Chinese men's tennis, which has always been weak, has far surpassed football and basketball in the first three months of 2003, as well as table tennis and badminton.

In these three months, tennis once became the most discussed sport among Chinese people.

Chen Ran also surpassed Yao Ming and became the most popular athlete in China.

There is also CCTV, which tracks and reports the latest ATP rankings as soon as possible.

Chen Ran won two consecutive championships in the "Sunshine Double Tournament" and scored a total of 2000 points. His total points reached 3123 points!
His ranking suddenly soared to the top ten, and he was also ranked ninth!
CCTV even exclaimed: In just three months, Chen Ran has pushed Asian tennis to a level that is enough to make late comers stand in admiration.

Chen Ran only played three tournaments and one Grand Slam to push his ranking into the top 10 in the world. This rate of improvement is really amazing.

The clay court season is about to start. In the three months of April, May and June, it is conceivable that the top ten in tennis will definitely change.

Some tennis masters will have their points deducted, and some tennis masters will have their points added. The competition in the rankings will become increasingly fierce.

But Chen Ran, who has no risk of point deductions for the time being, even if he plays casually during the clay court season and scores hundreds or thousands of points, he is very likely to be ranked in the top 5, or even the top 3.

At this moment, countless Chinese media have begun to look forward to the "clay court season."

At the same time, many media invented a new term "Chen Ran Effect"!
This is just like the "Yao Ming Effect" caused by Yao Ming's outstanding performance after entering the NBA as the "number one pick".

It's just that the "Chen Ran Effect", with the top-level glory bonus, has become more intense and surging. "Dad, Mom, I want to learn tennis!"

"I want to be the next Chen Ran!"

“When I grow up I’m going to play in the Grand Slams and the Tour!”

The "Chen Ran effect" seems to have more affinity than the "Yao Ming effect", because children from ordinary families may also know that they cannot become the next Yao Ming, and becoming the next Chen Ran seems to be somewhat theoretical. possible.

What's more, the huge influence and radiation of WTA women's tennis also makes this sport more acceptable to girls.

Girls can also dream of becoming the next "Hantuchova", "Dementieva", and the now popular star "Sharapova".

It can be said that through the "Chen Ran Effect", tennis has quietly become popular among Chinese boys and girls.

……

When Chen Ran dragged his suitcase into the lobby of the international airport, the staff who had been ready immediately escorted him and squeezed out of a narrow passage to get on the special car.

During this period, the place was crowded with people.

It was obviously only the beginning of April, but among the crowd, the air felt so hot that it was almost hot.

Along the way, fans and reporters were all shouting Chen Ran's name, and some were holding signs reading "Asian King," "Master Chen," and "Prince of Tennis."

In this era, "Prince of Tennis" was already being serialized and quite famous.

It's just that it's "fantasy tennis" and not the same thing as "real tennis" at all.

If you put Chen Ran in "Prince of Tennis", even a primary school student might not be able to beat him.

Along the way, there were many people and it was extremely crowded.

Although Chen Ran was always in a hurry, he still acted very friendly and waved to everyone from time to time.

As for taking photos and signing autographs, the airport staff had already greeted them in advance, so let’s forget about it this time.

Otherwise, it would cause congestion at the airport and affect other passengers, which would be bad.

Fortunately, in this era, because smartphones are not widely available, the fans chasing them at least did not run away while holding up their mobile phones.

Otherwise, even if this journey is not long, many people will probably fall.

"If there was Weibo in this era, would I be the first in the hot search list?" Sitting on the shuttle bus, Chen Ran looked at the surging crowd outside the window and couldn't help but think in his heart.

Maybe you can also meet a certain singer named Wang who wants to announce a big event, and you can just beat him.

At this moment, Chen Ran suddenly missed the era when social media was extremely developed.

"Chen Ran, what are your plans next?" his agent Xue Peng asked.

Chen Ran looked at the scenery outside the car window and asked slowly: "What arrangements does the company have?"

"We are full of invitations to various activities, which can almost fill your schedule. Of course, according to past practice, we will decline most invitations."

"Yes, I need to rest, enough rest to stay in good shape for the coming clay court season!"

Although that is said, Chen Ran has not signed up for any clay court events so far, including the Monte Carlo Masters following the Barcelona 500.

"Are you sure you don't want to participate in the Monte Carlo Masters?" Xue Peng asked again.

After all, this is also a prestigious tennis event held in France, and was once known as the weathervane of the French Open.

But in later generations, the Monte Carlo Masters was the only non-mandatory event among the nine Masters tournaments, which greatly reduced its gold content and star power.

"The time is too tight, and there are too many games." Chen Ran thought for a while and continued, "After all, I have to focus on preparing for the French Open. Even the Clay Masters is a warm-up for the French Open in my opinion."

After winning the "Sunshine Double Crown", Chen Ran's desire for the Masters Championship began to decline.

Of course he wants the glory of "Master Jin", but he is not in a hurry at all.

Chen Ran first needs to make new breakthroughs in the Grand Slam tournaments, so the French Open in June will be the top priority, and all preparation plans will be formulated around the French Open.

In the "Sunshine Double", Chen Ran can do his best and put aside all worries to compete, because the French Open and the "Sunshine Double" are separated by more than 2 months.

But those clay court Masters tournaments were too close to the French Open. My goal was not to win the championship, but to warm up for the French Open.

For example, the Russian tennis player Dmitry Medmedev, who later had the same name as the Russian president, won the Rome Masters championship, and then was eliminated in the first round of the French Open, which was a bit of a loss.

"Sign up for Madrid first, and we'll discuss the rest later!" Chen Ran made a decision after thinking about it.

The Madrid Masters is in early May, which is still some time away.

……

(End of this chapter)