Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 194 Completed Nadal’s “first kill”

Adapting to red soil is by no means an easy thing.

This is the view of some senior insiders in China.

In their view, three seasons may not be enough.

It takes one season to adapt, two seasons to adjust, and three seasons to officially get started.

After all, the clay court season is still too short, and there is not much time to breathe. So how can it be completely transformed in just a few days?

Therefore, in order to maintain the hard-won popularity of tennis in China, some tennis reporters have been trying to cool down the tennis fans, hoping that they will lower their expectations for Chen Ran's first clay court season.

The tennis season is very long, with a grass court season and a North American hard court season in August and September.

As a result, domestic sports fans' attention to Chen Ran has indeed declined.

Everyone has gradually become mentally prepared. No matter what results Chen Ran achieves in the clay court season, everyone can accept it calmly.

Even C5 Sports has changed its broadcast plan. As long as Chen Ran does not enter the quarterfinals, there will be no live broadcast.

But what everyone doesn't know is that this situation was deliberately caused by Chen Ran.

First, I will let you greatly lower your expectations, and then I will surprise you with a surprise, giving you a good experience of what "a life of ups and downs" means.

However, Chen Ran's current coach Zhang Depei believes that Chen Ran is very competitive on clay courts, and his goal is temporarily set at the top 8.

To be honest, Zhang Depei doesn't know how good Chen Ran is on clay courts.

After all, this thing still needs to be tested in competitions, and with Zhang Depei's current strength, it is impossible to force Chen Ran to go all out in training.

"How good is my clay clay strength?" Only Chen Ran knows this.

In the "simulated training ground", he and five coaches each played a five-set match on the clay court.

目前的情况是0比3不敌纳达尔，1比3不敌德约和费德勒，2比3不敌张德培和阿尔卡拉斯。

This is his current record.

Although he did not win a game, and was even swept when facing the "King of Clay" Nadal, the scores in each set did not appear to be disparate. On the contrary, they were very close.

Therefore, Chen Ran firmly believes that his first clay court season will be exciting.

Of course, it would be even more perfect if you could get more potential points by the way.

"Nadal..."

Chen Ran glanced at Nadal, who was standing on the opposite side of the court and was making preparations. "You don't know how much you can gain by beating a 17-year-old, but it's better than nothing anyway."

"I still have to thank some of the organizing committees of the Madrid Masters for sending you to me."

At this time, Nadal did not know that he had become "prey" in Chen Ran's eyes. He was gearing up to attack the No. 6 seed.

As we all know, Nadal, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, has a set of cumbersome preparations before the start of the game.

Of course, the most impressive thing is that this guy will first touch his butt, commonly known as "butt button", and then put his finger in front of his nose to smell it.

Then, Nadal wiped his nose, wiped the hair on his left ear, wiped his nose again, then wiped the hair on his right ear, and finally wiped his face.

He completed a set of actions with a great sense of ritual.

Chen Ran didn't take it seriously when watching it on TV in his previous life, but after being there, he felt his balls ache.

"Boy, are you messing with people's mentality?"

Chen Ran patted the tennis ball gently and began to prepare to serve.

When he came to the clay court, he consciously increased the number of shots he took to make himself more prepared to serve.

"Nadal is not a left-hander, but he plays with his left hand. It is said that this was the suggestion of his uncle."

Nadal's left and right hands are very balanced. At first, he was playing with his right hand, but later he listened to his uncle Toni's words and switched to playing with his left hand.

Most tennis players play with their right hands and are used to playing against right-handed players. They often feel uncomfortable when encountering rare left-handed players. This is also Nadal's biggest advantage.

The match is scheduled to take place on the central court, the Magic Box, which is one of the most prestigious clay courts in Europe and can accommodate nearly 1 spectators.

The red soil here is a powder made from natural red clay. It has excellent water permeability, no dust and no dust.

A local talented rookie, the other a "Sunshine Double" winner, both are players born after 85. This is the biggest selling point of this game.

Especially for these Spaniards, they still hold the idea that "Nadal can continue to upset".

Because there are various signs that Nadal's opponent this time seems not very familiar with clay courts.

However, the development of facts is somewhat unexpected.

Chen Ran, who served first, gave Nadal a crisp "love game".

Oh my God!Is this really his first time playing on clay?
What kind of monster is this!

Whether it's the way, route, or placement of the shot, Chen Ran's choices are very clear. It seems that every shot has been calculated in his brain.

"Who told me this kid can't play clay?"

"It seems he said it himself!"

"This cunning liar!"

Chen Ran's performance on the clay court is not like a green novice, but more like a seasoned veteran.

Soon, he chased the score to 40-40 in Nadal's serve.At this moment, Nadal was confused, and all he could think about was that this was his opponent's first clay court match?

Because from the information feedback he received, Chen Ran had never played on clay, whether it was the ITF Hope Tour or the ATP Challenger Tour.

"Raphael, are you surprised?" Chen Ran smiled inwardly, "Actually, my experience in clay court games may have surpassed yours!"

Because since the end of the Australian Open, Chen Ran has been playing on "clay courts" and has competed with many top players, including Nadal, who has become the "King of Clay Court."

In addition, Chen Ran's own technical attributes have reached 87 points, so his learning speed is amazing.

Chen Ran and Nadal have similar heights, similar body shapes, and even their running abilities are very similar, so purely in terms of physical conditions, the two sides are evenly matched.

They are both 17 years old and still in the growth stage.

"The ball speed on the clay court has obviously slowed down, and Chen Ran also deliberately increased the top spin when hitting the ball!" Zhou Yuan from "Sports Weekly" is always paying attention to Chen Ran's movements.

From his perspective, he was actually not sure of Chen Ran's true clay clay strength.

But his intuition told Zhou Yuan that Chen Ran could create new glory in the clay court season.

On what basis?
It was Chen Ran's expression and demeanor when training on the clay court.

When most hard court players first come to clay courts, the expressions on their faces are distorted, tormented, and even painful. It feels like they are not here to play, but to suffer.

For example, this is the case for Sri Chapan, who is also an Asian player.

The looks and expressions of these people are almost telling the world: God, please end the clay court season as soon as possible and enter the grass court season as soon as possible. I can't stand it anymore!

But what about Chen Ran's expression?He was very happy and completely enjoying the clay court.

Endure the red soil, fall in love with the red soil, enjoy the red soil!
Chen Ran seemed to have skipped the first two steps and went directly to the third step.

What is this called?For clay court players, it’s a step to the top!

On the clay court, because the ball speed slows down, after the impact point is pressed deeper, the bounce height will also give the opponent more reaction time, which makes Chen Ran release the ball with ease.

You must know that Alcaraz, one of Chen Ran's coaches, used small balls one after another at the French Open, leaving Djokovic without any temper.

"Break!"

Chen Ran raised his hand and clenched his fist tightly towards the audience.

You don't have to expect Spanish fans to have high etiquette when watching games.

Latin people have always been known for their passion and enthusiasm, which is especially evident in competitive sports.

So from the beginning of the game, the Spanish audience had been booing Chen Ran.

But even so, Chen Ran still broke Nadal's serve in the first game.

Then in his next service game, it was another easy "love game".

In less than 20 minutes, Chen Ran took a 3-0 lead.

He glanced at the audience, and there was a guy who looked quite similar to Nadal's uncle.

This should be another uncle of Nadal. He is a football player Miguel Angel Nadal and a member of Barcelona's "Dream One" period.

But at this moment, both uncles looked extremely serious.

Chen Ran's strength on the clay court caught them by surprise.

In the fourth game, Nadal was still very passive.

With the help of his strength, Chen Ran can easily produce faster and heavier returns. At the same time, when faced with Nadal's iconic topspin, he can also return a topspin of the same quality tit for tat.

What makes Nadal even more troublesome is that Chen Ran's timing on the Internet is just right every time.

Although it is impossible to use net tactics as frequently on clay courts as on hard courts, this does not mean that you have to give up netting completely.

Chen Ran is like a veteran who has experienced many battles. He grasps the timing of volleys on the net very cleverly and can often succeed with one blow.

Plus, the nature of clay is spin.

Chen Ran can skillfully use spin and create different effects through the distribution of landing points. This is what Nadal will be best at in the future, and today's Chen Ran already possesses this ability.

Another break!
4 is better than 0!

Chen Ran's strength immediately silenced the Spanish fans who had been booing just now.

At this moment, even Nadal's uncle, who is as optimistic as Nadal, feels that his nephew has no chance.

Chen Ran also has the talent that the Spaniard has on clay courts.

"Raphael is still too young." Tony whispered to his brother.

"Yes, this Chinese is definitely a clay court master!" Nadal's other football uncle said, seeming to think of something, and then looked towards the audience, "Is it Zhang Depei's credit? Is he really the Midas touch?" ability?"

"That's the only explanation."

The 17-year-old Zhang Depei defeated Swedish star Edberg to win the French Open. He was present at the time.

In the end, in just over 50 minutes of competition, Chen Ran actually swept Nadal with two 2-6 scores and easily advanced to the next round.

However, what surprised Chen Ran was that Nadal, who was not yet 17 years old, cried sadly after the tragic defeat.

……

(End of this chapter)