Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 208 The French Open kicks off, the youthful storm of players born after 85! (4K)

Generally speaking, the strength, status, popularity, etc. are relatively balanced in the four divisions. There are strong confrontations and focus showdowns. This time the draw is relatively perfect, and everyone is very satisfied.

For the organizers, such a draw is helpful for television broadcasts and ticket sales, which means a lot of money.

This year’s Roland Garros is sure to be exciting.

Chen Ran was very calm when being interviewed by Chinese reporters: "The No. 4 seed doesn't mean anything. You should know that in the history of Grand Slam tournaments, it is very rare that the No. 4 seeds are all ranked before the tournament. Picture of reaching the semi-finals.”

“This also shows how competitive the Grand Slam tournaments are!”

"My mentality is very stable. I must first play the current game well. Only if I win can I be qualified to consider the next round."

Just a few days ago, the Magic, led by NBA star Tracy McGrady, led the Pistons 3-1 in the playoffs, but the opponent completed a shocking reversal.

This is mainly because when Tracy McGrady was leading 3-1, he uttered wild words to reporters: "You know, I'm already thinking about my opponents in the next round."

It was because of this sentence that angered the entire Pistons team.

Chen Ran took this as a warning and never provoked his opponent.

His principle is that he can provoke reporters, provoke the audience, and even occasionally complain about the entertainment industry to stir up some topics, but he will never provoke his opponents. At most, he will play some psychological warfare during the game.

He is such a pure person.

However, no matter how modest Chen Ran's words were, Chinese sports reporters couldn't help it.

One characteristic of this group of people is that they are not only ambitious, but they also like to brag and make exaggerated headlines.

After the French Open, many portal websites published many exaggerated posts in order to attract clicks.

"Stable! Chen Ran will go straight to the semi-finals of this French Open!"

"Excellent draw! Chen Ran and Ferrero will be in the finals!"

"The youngest Grand Slam champion in history is already waving to Chen Ran!"

"Agassi is old, Ferrero is defeated, Federer is unlikely to be a great player, and Hewitt is injured Zhongyong, so who else can compete with Chen Ran?"

Compared with CCTV's caution, major portal websites used exaggeration in order to attract attention.

"Editor, do you want face?"

"Chen Ran just played a game at the Rome Masters and went home. Who gave you the confidence?"

"This editor is a high-level black man, and the identification has been completed!"

"Editor SB, I will fuck your whole family!"

The huge number of Chen Ran fans were so angry that they started shouting curses.

There are also some "Chen Hei" who took the opportunity to cause trouble: "I admit that I used to be a fan of Chen Ran, but because the editor was so disgusting, I became a anti-fan."

Despite the criticism, the click-through rate of these posts continued to soar like a rocket.

Wouldn’t you just be scolded by netizens?What does it matter!
What's more, we still have Chen Ran to help us share the firepower, so what are we afraid of!
Editors from major portal websites laughed heartily while holding popcorn.

Therefore, under the guidance of these editors, the entire Chinese Internet seemed to have formed a consensus: with such a good draw, it would be a huge failure if Chen Ran failed to reach the semi-finals.

"Actually, Chen Ran is at risk of being upset in the first round. Ancic is not weak. He defeated No. 3 seed Safin at the Australian Open." Some sensible fans said.

"What? Eliminated in the first round? Does Chen Ran have the nerve to fly back to China? Then he has to swim back by himself!"

"This bastard upstairs, even if he was eliminated in the first round, he still came back in first class. I'm so pissed off, you poor guy!"

Therefore, from the first round of Chen Ran's French Open, he gained national attention.

This is also because there are too few sports competitions at present, especially since Yao Ming's Houston Rockets did not enter the playoffs, which has caused fans across the country to focus their attention on Chen Ran.

In comparison, the World Athletics Championships held at the same time were much less popular. This made Liu Xiang envious and secretly determined to give himself a reputation.

Under the guidance of CCTV, Chen Ran visited the Chinese track and field team in Paris, France.

But he quietly observed it and found that most of the people on the track and field team had no impression of him. He only knew Liu Xiang and Shi Dongpeng.

Chen Ran didn't know that in the original time and space, this World Athletics Championships created the worst record of the Chinese track and field team since the competition, only winning two bronze medals, one of which was Liu Xiang's 110-meter hurdles.

Leaving aside Liu Xiang for the time being, Shi Dongpeng is famous not only because he has always been the green leaf next to Liu Xiang’s flower, but also because Dongpeng University reporters asked Shi Dongpeng several “shocking” questions, thereby breaking the circle and making the majority of netizens sympathize with him. hair.

For example, "Are you confident that you will win the runner-up, because the championship already belongs to Liu Xiang?", "Do you think it is sad to be in the same era as Liu Xiang?" and so on, words that drive people crazy.

Chen Ran looked at the extremely excited reporter from Dongda University and instinctively wanted to avoid this woman. She was so damn capable.

But she is a decent CCTV reporter after all, so you have to cooperate with her.

"I am a vengeful person!"

When a reporter from Dongda University wanted to get close to Chen Ran, he directly mentioned the past events of the Magic City Challenge that year without any politeness, and said in a joking tone: "Reporter from Dongda University, during last year's Magic City Challenge, I still remember what you said about me. Isn’t it possible to win against Lee Hyung Taek?”

"Yes, yes, I thought you were a newcomer and had no chance to win against the opponent. But in the end, you not only won, but also won the championship. Surprise, big surprise." A Dongda reporter said excitedly.

Is there something wrong with this woman's IQ?Didn't you hear that I was mocking her for not being able to speak?
Chen Ran was speechless. For the first time, he had the feeling that "a summer insect cannot speak of ice".

Liu Xiang stepped forward and took the initiative to resolve the embarrassment.

"Are you under a lot of pressure? It feels like the whole country is paying attention to your French Open match."

The distance between the two competition venues is not far, but most of the Chinese media's attention has flocked to the French Open.

We have to admit that the appeal of ball games is unparalleled.

"Athletics is the mother of sports. If you can successfully enter the finals, I believe everyone will pay attention to China's track and field." Chen Ran also saw that Liu Xiang at this moment was eager to attract the attention of the outside world.

But you have to know that once you become famous, no matter where you go, there will be a group of people watching.

This is the first formal meeting between the two since their hasty farewell in the Magic City last year.

"When is the final of the 110-meter hurdles?" "June 6, almost a few days after the French Open final."

"Let me think about it..." Chen Ran rubbed his eyebrows, "If you can enter the finals and I am not eliminated too early, I will definitely come to cheer you on. But if I am eliminated early, I don't want to stay. Been in this sad place for too long.”

"I understand, of course I understand, we are all athletes." Liu Xiang laughed, "I hope I can successfully reach the finals by then, and you can also go far enough in the French Open."

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Chen Ran shook hands with the other track and field team athletes one by one.Hmm... It feels like a leader inspecting me, even though I am younger than them.

Similarly, Chen Ran could also feel the fiery eyes of the athletes on the track and field team when they looked at him.

As for whether they are envious of their status as a top professional tennis player or their super ability to attract money, it is unclear.

Perhaps they also envy their free status.

Is Chen Ran the only athlete currently who is not subject to any restrictions and can arrange his time freely?He thought of another person, the billiards prodigy-Ding Junhui.

Today, Ding Junhui can be said to have become somewhat famous. In last year's Busan Asian Games, he won a gold medal. This year, Ding Junhui officially went abroad to train and compete and became a professional player.

But the prize money for billiards competitions is too low. Today, Ding Junhui must continue to participate in various competitions abroad to win prize money in order to support his family.

In particular, the influence and commercial value of billiards are completely different from those of tennis, not to mention that billiards is still a non-Olympic event.

In a sense, he is also an athlete outside the system, but Chen Ran's sudden emergence has taken away a lot of the attention that the Chinese media should have given Ding Junhui.

Chen Ran retracted his thoughts, bumped fists with Liu Xiang, and joked: "I hope we can bring joy to Chinese sports fans in this hot June."

……

The next day, the French Open, the second tennis Grand Slam event of the year, finally kicked off under the spotlight.

Players born in the 70s can still radiate residual heat, players born in the 80s are at their peak, and players born in the 85s seem to be starting to seize power.

In the first round, Swiss super star Wawrinka, known as the second player born after 85 after Chen Ran, eliminated the famous German player in the tournament with 6:4, 3:6, 7:5, 7:6 with a total score of 3 to 1. Shuttler, caused a huge sensation.

Yes, it was the famous German player who was eliminated by Chen Ran in the first round of the Australian Open. He sadly lost to another player born after 85 in the first round of the French Open.

As a result, countless media began to focus on this talented new star, whose simple and unpretentious playing style, as well as his visual and violent SLR, made the audience enjoy it.

Another player born after 85 eliminated a famous tennis player who has been famous for many years in a Grand Slam best-of-five-set match.

This also means that it was no accident that Wawrinka was able to eliminate Chen Ran and reach the semi-finals of the Rome Masters.

For a while, Wawrinka's limelight even overshadowed his compatriot Federer.

The 18-year-old Federer is not as good as Wawrinka.

In addition, tennis has indeed become popular in China.

Fans are not only paying attention to Chen Ran's news, but also starting to pay close attention to other players, especially peers like Wawrinka who are the same as Chen Ran.

This is also thanks to the propaganda skills of the Chinese media, which often gives him the title "Enemy of Life", which unexpectedly gave Wawrinka a huge reputation in China.

They seem to be telling tennis players around the world with their actions that as long as you can beat Chen Ran, you can become famous in China.

Think about Yao Ming. He played in the NBA for just one season, and then the Chinese media, who were just watching the excitement and not taking it too seriously, found so many "lifelong enemies" for Yao Ming.

"It's time to admit that you have been a Wawrinka fan for ten years!"

"The pressure is on Chen Ran, finally a competitor of the same age has arrived!"

However, some fans of Chen Ran sneered at this: "Why don't you just reach the second round of a Grand Slam and the semi-finals of the Masters? What does this achievement mean in front of Chen Ran? Chen Ran is a semi-finalist in a Grand Slam, plus Three Masters titles.”

Some Chen Hei also took the opportunity to start sowing discord: "I like this Swiss guy. He is a loyal and honest person at first glance. He is much more pleasing to the eye than the arrogant Chen Ran. I am optimistic that this Swiss guy will overtake Chen Ran in the future!"

"Damn, that's such a retard! Without Chen Ran, how would there be the popularity of tennis today? Would you still care about newcomers from other countries?" Chen Ran's fans also kept yelling.

Because of Chen Ran, the emergence of new players born after 85, and the blessing of the French Open, the popularity of tennis in China reached its peak in June.

"I don't know which year Wawrinka started to rise in his previous life. After all, under the limelight of the Big Three and Murray, this guy who won three Grand Slams actually didn't receive much attention."

Chen Ran also looked at the result of the game with some surprise: "Is it because of my stimulation that these players born after 85 have grown up ahead of schedule?"

Thinking about the butterfly effect caused by yourself, it is indeed possible.

"Chen Ran, are you nervous?" Zhang Depei looked at Chen Ran, who was frowning, and couldn't help asking.

After all, his disciple is too young, even younger than when he participated in the French Open.

Even though Chen Ran holds three Masters championships, a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam after all, and the pressure and attention it brings are simply not comparable to the Masters.

It can be said that the Masters attracts the attention of some tennis fans around the world, while the Grand Slam attracts sports fans from all over the world and even celebrities from all walks of life. Their influence is completely different.

"A little bit, but more of it is excitement." Chen Ran said frankly. "This is my second Grand Slam trip, and I am also a high-seeded player. This is pressure, and it is also motivation."

"I'm going to prove that I deserve the No. 4 seed."

While Chen Ran was warming up, he was also paying attention to the progress of the game.

The feeling of participating in a Grand Slam is always different. It is a thrilling feeling. Is it like a football player participating in the Champions League or World Cup?

The first round of the French Open continues...

It seems that God also wants this French Open to be a sign of a new era.

After the Swiss rising star Wawrinka eliminated the German star Schutteler, another younger player born in 85, Nadal, actually eliminated another qualifier after a five-set battle and advanced to the Grand Slam No. [-] ranking. Second round.

Nadal, who was only 17 years old, ran all over the court. His legs seemed to be like a perpetual motion machine that never tired, and even once caused his opponent to cramp.

Is the youth storm for players born after 85 coming?

Two people had already made it to the second round, and the pressure suddenly came to Chen Ran.

……

(End of this chapter)