Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 212 Butterfly Effect, the favorite to win the championship

PS: I’m a little busy today and my eyes are sleepy. I only have 6K left.

……

After the game, Nadal took off his iconic hair tie with a faint smile on his face.

It seemed that he was in a good mood, which was completely different from the way he cried bitterly after the Madrid Masters and when Chen Ran finished the match.

Obviously, Nadal is quite satisfied with his performance today.

Although he lost the game, his confidence increased greatly.

In just one month, when he fought against Chen Ran again, he was no longer as passive as the last time.

The two shook hands in front of the net.

"Chen, I believe I can create more trouble for you the next time we meet." Nadal said confidently.

"Hmm... I believe it." Chen Ran smiled lightly, "You are making rapid progress. Maybe you will be the winner next time."

"Don't flatter me." After hearing this, Nadal smiled bitterly.

The French Open No. 4 seed, winner of the "Sunshine Double" and Madrid Masters champion praised himself so much, which caught him off guard.

But I have not achieved even a single achievement in the professional tennis world, and I really deserve it.

Although it is reasonable to say that he has won the first Grand Slam victory in his career at such a young age, which is something to be proud of, but when he thinks of Chen Ran at the same age, a sense of urgency fills Nadal's heart.

Where are we now?Thinking about Chen Ran's achievements, he should work harder.

After Chen Ran shook hands with the referee, he walked around the court very excitedly.

Because this is the center court of Roland Garros, the most famous tennis court in the world and the stage of his dreams.

Both games were a clean 3-0, and the No. 4 seed proved that he is also very competitive on clay courts.

"I deserve to be on such a big stage!"

In front of Chen Ran, the tide surged, and nearly 1 spectators burst into applause, applauding Chen Ran's wonderful performance.

He finished showering in the locker room, packed his luggage, and returned to the hotel where he was staying. It was just past eleven at night.

This game went very quickly, so it ended very early.

……

The time difference between Paris and Yanjing is 7 hours, and it is almost early morning in China.

The office workers have already gone out and are getting ready to start a busy day.

As one of the top players in China in this era, the news that Chen Ran advanced to the third round of the French Open was also broadcast on the morning news of major TV stations.

Major sports newspapers also published Chen Ran's game photos on their front pages.

"This game has special meaning."

"This is the first time for our Chinese players to play at the world-famous Center Court of Roland Garros."

"What makes us even more happy is that Chen Ran won the game with a beautiful 3-0."

"The Chinese players' first performance at the Roland Garros Center Court was so perfect."

At the same time, huge posters of Chen Ran were hung up in Nike stores across China, attracting countless eyeballs.

In fact, it is risky for Nike to do this, because the poster must be produced in advance, which is full of unpredictability. If Chen Ran is eliminated early, all Nike's work will be in vain.

However, careful basketball reporters discovered that all the original Yao Ming posters in these stores were missing, and they could not even be found in the corners.

What's happening here?
Soon, there was news from Nike's internal staff that the contract renewal negotiations between Nike and Yao Ming had reached a deadlock.

On the other side, another sports brand giant Reebok extended an olive branch and gave Yao Ming a super lucrative contract that was almost irresistible, worth US$5000 million over seven years.

In this time and space, the butterfly effect caused by Chen Ran has been happening.

For example, Dong Binghui successfully signed Chen Ran with his eye. With this value-for-money advance investment, he jumped from Vice President of China District to President of China District.

She did not give Yao Ming an insulting contract like Nike in her previous life, but only slightly lower than Chen Ran.

Today, due to Chen Ran's dazzling performance bonus, his endorsement fee with Nike has risen to 300 million U.S. dollars a year, and Dong Bing's contract extension for Yao Ming is 250 million U.S. dollars.

Yao Ming himself and his team could not find any reason to be angry about this offer, but said they would seriously consider it.

Of course, they are actually waiting for a price and looking around for potential higher bidders.

Domestic sports brands in this era definitely cannot be counted on. Even Li Ning, the first brother, cannot give a large endorsement contract.

So Yao Ming's team can only look for big international brands.

When negotiating a contract renewal with Nike, the other party insisted that Yao Ming's contract renewal amount could not be higher than that of Chen Ran.

"So who is the number one Nike player now?" This is the question raised by Yao Ming's team.

"Whoever has good grades will be the first brother!" This is the reply given by Nike. Although he did not mention his name, the meaning is simple and clear. "As long as you dare to take risks, we can set up a dedicated line for Yao Ming, just like Chen Ran." Nike emphasized this point again.

Nike has launched a special signature tennis shoe for Chen Ran, and the sales are encouraging, and Chen Ran can get 1.5% dividend rights from it.

You must know that the famous "God of Basketball" Michael Jordan can get 3% dividends from Nike's product line.

In 2003, this amount was more than 3000 million US dollars, and in 2023, this amount has increased to 2.5 million US dollars.

But Yao Ming's team backed down because they knew very well that centers don't sell shoes.

Especially the practicality of basketball shoes is completely inferior to that of tennis shoes.

Tennis shoes are fashionable, beautiful, comfortable to wear, light enough, and have good breathability.
Because there are often sudden stops in tennis, ordinary shoes will be damaged quickly, but tennis shoes have very good shock absorption and anti-slip, and are impact resistant and stable.

It’s hard to play tennis in basketball shoes, but you can play basketball in tennis shoes.

Many amateurs may prefer to choose a pair of tennis shoes if they do not play competitive professional basketball and just have fun.

Therefore, there is a trap in Nike's condition, and Yao Ming's team did not adopt it.

So, Reebok saw an opportunity and jumped in.

Since it is poaching and robbing people, it must be given a big contract. Obviously Reebok is well aware of this truth.

But as a result, Nike is also very embarrassed.

They can choose to match, but if they do so, Chen Ran's endorsement fee will be exceeded by Yao Ming, and Chen Ran's team will inevitably be dissatisfied.

With Chen Ran's shining achievements now, Nike must maintain Chen Ran's status as the number one brother, which will only increase Chen Ran's endorsement fees.

But the cost of doing so is too high.

Again, the center doesn't sell shoes.

After Nike acquired Chen Ran, its need for Yao Ming was no longer urgent. Even Nike headquarters would agree with this idea.

"A delaying tactic!" This was Dong Bing's method. She was going to stabilize the opponent first.

Because in this time and space, the contract renewal negotiations between Nike and Yao Ming's team did not break down as they did in the previous life and ended on bad terms.

Everyone got back to talking, and although each was his own master, it was still conducted in a friendly atmosphere between the two parties.

At the same time, Nike is also paying close attention to the French Open.

In addition, another athlete they signed, Liu Xiang, will soon face the big test of the World Track and Field Championships.

"Maybe this time the two will blossom?" Dong Bing thought so, so she did not reject Yao Ming's team immediately, but said that whether they would match would need to be decided after discussion by the board of directors.

At this moment, Dong Bing made a decision.

She picked up the phone and dialed her assistant's number: "Book me a plane ticket to Paris, France, immediately!"

As a professional elite, her sixth sense told her that something big would happen in Paris this time.

……

6：4、6：4、6：2！

This time, despite the boos from the audience, Chen Ran still managed to win in straight sets, knocking out France's darling Grosjean, and easily advanced to the top [-].

France has never been a first-tier country in the tennis world, and Grosjean, who has maintained a TOP5 ranking for a long time, has been a representative figure of French tennis in recent years.

Since 2003, the 25-year-old Grosjean has declined in form. This is mainly due to the fact that hard courts are not what he is best at.

Therefore, he is used to falling in the ranking during the hard court season, and working hard to increase his points during the clay court season, and his ranking returns to the top of the world.

But this time, Grosjean met Chen Ran who was prepared.

Even though he was playing at home, even though there were 1 spectators cheering him on, even at Roland Garros, the stadium he was most familiar with, he was still suppressed by Chen Ran for the entire game and had no chance of winning.

In the second set, Grosjean broke serve once. Just when he thought victory was in sight, Chen Ran immediately broke back in the next game.

In the third set, Chen Ran, who was getting better and better, was like a god. He actually broke the French star's serve twice. One of the break games was even an incredible "love game", which made the French audience who like noisy It was as quiet as a chicken for a moment.

"I think Chen Ran has every chance of entering the finals, or even going one step further!" Grosjean was completely convinced by Chen Ran. He said this in an interview with local reporters, and also showed his grace.

"Although I broke serve once, I knew I had no chance, even to win the set!"

Therefore, shortly after Grosjean's interview ended, the French Open organizing committee made an unprecedented adjustment to the ranking of the favorites to win the championship.

When the top four seeds were not eliminated, Chen Ran rose to second place in the championship rankings, surpassing Agassi and Federer, and second only to No. [-] seed Ferredo.

The second favorite to win the championship?

At this moment, both foreign media and Chinese media were in a sensation, focusing their attention on Chen Ran.

"Is this the second most popular one?" At the same time, Dong Bing, who had just walked out of Paris Airport, also accidentally saw the news.

……

(End of this chapter)