Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 209 General's Demeanor
Both Nadal and Wawrinka made it to the second round. If Chen Ran, a leader among post-85s players, was eliminated in the first round, what a lively scene it would be, at least for many anti-fans and media There will be a collective climax.

Will Chen Ran feel pressure?A bit indeed.

In Grand Slam tournaments, there is never a shortage of cold.

Especially in the French Open, high-seeded players often encounter upset eliminations.

In fact, after experiencing the glory of the Australian Open, Croatian player Ancic was in mediocre form in the subsequent series of tours, and did not perform much at all. The gap between him and Chen Ran is even greater.

But some Chinese reporters are still very good at rhythm and gave Ancic the title of "born for the big scene."

"Am I really born for big scenes?" Even Ancic himself was confused and even believed it.

He looked at Chen Ran, who was preparing to warm up, and thought to himself: If you can defeat him, can you become famous in China like Wawrinka?

According to Ancic’s agent, after Wawrinka, a Swiss guy, ended Chen Ran’s 22-match tour winning streak, many sports brands from Putian, Fujian, China wanted to hire him to endorse them, and they didn’t even ask them to wear theirs. For sneakers, just use his image rights or stand on stage.

"If I can beat Chen Ran, will it also attract the attention of some Chinese businessmen?" Ancic thought.

You must know that it is too difficult to get commercial endorsements in Croatia, unless you have extraordinary achievements, and the population of Croatia is only 400 million. Even if you can get an endorsement contract, the money is pitiful.

Thinking of this, a raging fire burned in Ancic's heart.

"Beat Chen Ran, and then become famous in China!" This crazy idea popped up in his mind.

Wawrinka can do it, why can't I?

The French Open organizing committee arranged for the popular No. 4 seed to play at the Susan Langren Court, which can accommodate 1 people.

Although it is not yet fully occupied, there are still about [-], [-] people seated.

"My battle at Roland Garros begins now."

Chen Ran stood at one end of the court, feeling the sandy texture of the red soil with his feet, and then jumped up lightly.

He had noticed the look in Ancic's eyes, the urgent desire to win was undisguised.

interesting!

The look in the other person's eyes also ignited Chen Ran's fighting spirit.

After returning to Paris, although Chen Ran's various technical attributes have not been improved, his personal physical condition has been adjusted to the best, and his mentality has also been adjusted well and he is very calm.

He believes that even the greatest pressure can be overcome.

After the game started, Chen Ran had almost no warm-up and showed excellent form from the first ball.

He proved to the world that it was no coincidence that the two dark horses had completely different situations after the Australian Open.

"6:1", "6:1"!
In the first two games, Chen Ran was unstoppable and gave Ancic two fried dough sticks in succession, which together were equivalent to a pair of chopsticks.

too strong!
Chen Ran showed strong control from beginning to end during the game and completely controlled the rhythm of the game.

Born for the big scene?

No, you were able to eliminate Safin at the Australian Open last time. Although it was due to strength, it was also inseparable from luck and the opponent's poor physical condition.

Because Safin has been on and off after the Australian Open, and even withdrew from the French Open.

Of course, Chen Ran also admitted that Ancic is indeed capable and has outstanding physical talent. He should be able to become a top player in professional tennis in the future.

At this moment, many French Open spectators in the stands even yawned after seeing this almost one-sided game.

For Ancic, this game is too difficult.

Before the game, he was full of enthusiasm, but reality soon poured cold water on him.

"This is my second Grand Slam trip, and it's also your second Grand Slam trip, but why is the gap so big?" Ancic felt a little desperate.

During the break, Chen Ran looked calm and very calm, while Ancic looked gloomy and unhappy.

"Even if we lose, we can't lose too ugly." Ancic clenched his fists.

The game progressed very quickly, and facing the comprehensive technical Chen Ran, Ancic made a lot of mistakes, which caused the game to be unable to be coherent, and the somewhat fragmented game rhythm also prevented him from getting into the state.

Ancic, who is 1 meters tall, originally had a sharp serve like a cannon, but this was clay soil, so his serving advantage was weakened, and Chen Ran's return of serve was very good, making it very difficult for him to play.

After the start of the third set, Ancic seemed to have regained some form and showed his talent.

For the first time since the start of the match, he kept his serve in two consecutive games, and in a single set, the score finally broke one.

For example, in this ball, Chen Ran took the absolute initiative and forced Ancic to come to the net to volley. However, because he did not control the bat surface of the ball, the arc of the return ball was stretched, giving Chen Ran a A chance to hit the ball directly.

Chen Ran did not hesitate, he directly chose to break the net in a straight line, and completed the shot with great force.

boom!
The tennis ball instantly turned into a yellow-green light and rushed out like a cannonball.

At this time, Ancic flew into the air. Being tall and long-armed, he was forced to change his two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand, and then barely managed to intercept the shot.

Unable to exert force, he miraculously pushed the tennis ball back by just turning and pushing with his wrist.

The tennis ball flew back and forth in a miraculous curve, directly bypassing Chen Ran's racket head, and then hit the sideline accurately.

An incredible fairy ball.

Chen Ran felt that it was impossible for him to hit this kind of ball.

Because of this point, Ancic saved the break point and scored two more points, leveling the game again, 5-5!

The Croatians were so excited that they jumped and cheered, their sweaty faces shining with excitement, which ignited their high morale.

After experiencing a one-sided first two sets, Ancic finally regained his youthful vigor and dominance in the third set.

He was not willing to lose three sets in a row so simply. At least in the third set, Chen Ran should feel some challenges and troubles.

In this set, he finally showed his style and played his own tennis.

The whole place was thunderous, and the audience did not hesitate to applaud and cheer, giving encouragement to the 19-year-old youngster.

But somewhat surprisingly, Chen Ran also gave Ancic a thumbs up and applauded.

For a shot like this, he must admit that his opponent's flash of inspiration defied his expectations and deserved all the credit.

The audience also realized that Chen Ran was so different from the Chinese athletes they had previously remembered. He actually applauded the opponent during critical periods of the game, instead of frowning and looking bitter and resentful.

Chen Ran will appreciate the outstanding performance of the other party, even if it is a competitor.

In fact, this situation is relatively common among tennis players, but in the past, Chinese players who played with work indicators rarely saw this scene.

This time, even the host of C5 Sports, who was responsible for the broadcast and commentary, was stunned for a while, and then slowly said: "Chen Ran's mentality is very good. He doesn't seem to be frustrated because of losing this break opportunity. He behaves very relaxedly." .”

The game continued, with both sides holding their own serve, and the third set entered the tie-break stage.

This is an unexpected tie-break!

After all, the first two sets were one-sided situations, but this is tennis, and there will be completely different scenes in each set.

"Tie-break? There were some surprises in the third set when the battle was not resolved in regular play!"

"But this also has the advantage of allowing me to find more match form in the first set."

Chen Ran's mood seemed very relaxed, without any nervousness.

He didn't know how many times he had played tie-breaks.

Compared to Chen Ran's calmness, Ancic was much more excited.

To be able to drag this fourth seed into a tiebreaker is a success in itself.He also seemed to see a chance to defeat Chen Ran in the tie-break.

At this moment, Ancic feels that his competitive condition is excellent!

kick the ground!

Toss!

Swing!

Ancic's serving action seems simple and concise, but it can release powerful energy. The tennis ball turns into a streamline and rushes out with momentum.

In the outside corner, at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, Ancic tried his best to directly form an ACE ball.

At the beginning of the tie-break, Ancic led 1-0.

The entire audience burst into warm applause.

"come on!"

"At least I beat Chen Ran in this set!"

The French were shouting and booing.

They like to see high-seeded players challenged.

However, Chen Ran lowered his head and looked expressionless.

Whether it was the noisy French people or the now powerful Ancic, they were all ignored by him.

The "King of Tiebreaks" is not only on hard courts, but also on clay courts.

So far, Chen Ran has only won one tie-break against Agassi on hard courts, while he has never lost a tie-break on clay courts.

In the loss to Wawrinka that day, not a single set reached a tiebreaker.

Then, Chen Ran started to serve.

One shot, outer corner!

The serve with strong topspin directly made Ancic's return of serve very awkward.

Chen Ran pretended to hit the ball. After running a few steps, he quietly rubbed the ball and released a small ball, easily scoring a point.

For the second ball, Chen Ran hit the ball flat and hit the inside corner.

Ancic's judgment was disappointing and he returned the ball directly out of bounds. Chen Ran's serve went straight!

Ancic stamped his foot in annoyance.

He found with some despair that not only was it extremely difficult to break Chen Ran's serve, but it was also not easy to complete a mini-break against Chen Ran.

He can't expect every serve to result in an ACE.

Ancic continues to serve.

He glanced at Chen Ran's position and saw that the opponent had obviously consciously moved his receiving position back some distance.

This will obviously increase the difficulty of serving an ACE or a straight serve.

One shot wiped the net and went out of bounds!
Call ~
Ancic's breathing was a little rapid, and Chen Ran deliberately moved his position a few steps forward in order to put pressure on the opponent.

Because generally speaking, the threat of the second serve is much smaller than the first serve.

Chen Ran's actions were obviously noticed by Ancic.

He gritted his teeth and said silently in his mind: I have no choice but to fight.

Ancic knew that since this game, his second serve scoring rate was horribly low, which is why Chen Ran was able to hit break points again and again.

boom!
Chen Ran's body was about to start, but then he frowned slightly.

The ball rushed directly to his backhand like a cannonball.

Chen Ran returned the ball awkwardly, then returned the ball and hit the net to lose the point.

This is... serving the second serve in first serve mode!

Boy, you are very brave!

The entire audience watched this scene, and after exclamations of exclamation, they gave endless applause.

Everyone cheered for Ancic's courage and determination.

Chen Ran also laughed. At such a critical moment in the tie-break, the opponent actually made a mistake in the first serve, and the second serve was still in the first serve mode.

He applauded again.

Of course, this also shows from the side that Ancic actually lacks confidence in scoring on his second serve.

In the tie-break, every point is crucial.

Ancic's second serve was in the service area.

Although Chen Ran's return of serve was pretty good, Ancic scored another point after several consecutive attacks.

2: 1!

Ancic took the lead again in the tiebreaker!

"This guy is so excited!" CCTV host Zhang Sheng murmured, "This set was really good."

However, Chen Ran was still as solid as a rock in his serving points and easily scored two points, which also made the fans on the TV breathe a sigh of relief.

2: 3!

At this time, if you are careful, you will find that Chen Ran's expression is still very calm, while Ancic's face is stern, as if the tight string will break at any time.

Obviously, facing the dual pressure of Chen Ran's strength and spirit, Ancic held on with passion.

When the serve was exchanged again, Ancic once again made a service error.

Chen Ran continued to play psychological warfare and moved his position forward during the opponent's second serve.

If you have the ability, continue to serve in the first-serve mode.

Second serve, error!
2: 4!

Sure enough, Ancic knew that his scoring rate on the second serve was not high, but he still chose to take the risk of using the first serve mode for the second serve.

But Lady Luck will not always be on his side after all.

The second serve error also meant that Chen Ran finally completed his first mini-break in the tie-break.

Chen Ran's judgment was correct. This guy was holding on with just one breath. When he lost his first serving point under his own pressure, his momentum was completely exhausted.

Soon, Chen Ran raised his knife and scored 3 points in a row, finally winning the tiebreaker 7:2.

Although Chen Ran suffered a strong counterattack by Ancic in the third set, he still played steadily and won the set without any danger.

3 is better than 0!

Chen Ran made it to the second round as expected!
……

(End of this chapter)