Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 251 Journey to Wimbledon: Men’s Singles Quarterfinals and Mixed Doubles Champion (4K)

For the first time in his career, he performed "Let two chase three". You ask Chen Ran, how does it feel?
"It's so refreshing, so refreshing!" Chen Ran will answer you this way.

No wonder Djokovic often plays like this. Although he didn't mean it, the pleasure brought by this desperate reversal is indescribable.

Chen Ran even wanted to sing the song "Argentina, Don't Cry for Me" live.

Of course, this thought only flashed through his mind.

Chen Ran does not want to become Argentina's "national enemy".

When the two shook hands, Chen Ran smiled and said: "I have never been two sets behind in a Grand Slam match. This is the most difficult match."

Nalbandian seemed to have thought of something and asked: "Have you never lost in a Grand Slam match?"

"If withdrawing before the game due to injury does not count, then it should be like this." Chen Ran said very frankly, "But my mentality is good, and the first defeat will come sooner or later."

"Well...congratulations."

Nalbandian said rather helplessly: "I have to go back to heal my wounds because you let me go two to three."

For him, this blow is no less than Argentina's elimination in the group stage of last year's World Cup.

As usual, Chen Ran accepted a post-match interview with the Sky Sports host.

"Chen, entering the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and setting a new record for Asian tennis, what does this mean to you?"

"What it means to me..." Chen Ran lowered his head and pondered for a while before joking, "From now on, it will be free for me to watch Wimbledon live, and I can also have an independent box."

After reaching the top eight, it means that Chen Ran has become a member of the "Quality Eight Club" and can watch Wimbledon for free for the rest of his life.

Coupled with his previous achievements in the Australian Open and French Open, he has become a member of the "Eight Club" of three Grand Slam events.

However, this answer was somewhat unexpected by the host. He smiled awkwardly: "You are really humorous."

"Can I go back and rest? Playing five sets in two consecutive rounds is very tiring." Chen Ran said seriously.

He didn't like to continue talking nonsense with the host at all.

"Last question... What about the suggestion I just made? Are you willing to be your tennis coach for Murdoch's daughter? His and Ms. Wendi Deng's second daughter will be born in a few days."

This Sky Sports host is really good at keeping things together. He doesn't mind dragging out his boss and his wife in order to attract attention.

"First of all, as a professional player, I have a very busy schedule and there are very few breaks during the year."

"What about after you retire?"

"Retirement? That must be at least after the age of 35. It is too early to discuss this issue now." After Chen Ran dealt with the topic very perfunctorily, he left decisively with the host's expression of reluctance.

As he passed through the media aisle, he high-fived the reporters one by one.

It’s the top eight. For Chen Ran, who is participating in a grass-court competition for the first time, this result has exceeded his initial expectation of the top [-].

Becoming a member of Wimbledon’s “Eight Club” is an unexpected blessing.

However, playing five sets in two consecutive rounds made Chen Ran's body a little overwhelmed, and he needed to recover immediately.

The cruelty of the Grand Slam format is that even for athletes with top physical fitness, back-to-back five-set matches are an excruciating thing.

Players who eventually win the championship rarely play five sets before the final.

The difference in strength between top players is very small, and even a slight difference in physical fitness may have a crucial impact on the outcome of the game.

Imagine that even three sets on the ATP Tour have already caused many professional players to complain about losing in a row, let alone a five-set battle in a Grand Slam event.

For Chen Ran, his physical fitness has improved a lot compared to the Australian Open, but he is still very tired.

He had hydrotherapy and massage in the medical room and came to the press conference room after a full hour and a half.

"Has Roddick advanced?" Chen Ran asked a familiar Chinese reporter immediately after he sat down.

"Advanced, very straightforward 3-0!" Zhou Yuan from "Sports Weekly" said with a complex expression, "The whole game lasted less than an hour and 1 minutes."

"So fast!" Chen Ran shrugged, and his expression became unsightly.

Roddick is in great shape too.

If this were a clay court, he would naturally not regard Roddick as a competitor. He could easily capture him and play with him to applause.

If it were to be played on a slow hard court like the Australian Open, Chen Ran would still be certain to defeat Roddick.

If it were to be on a fast and hard court like the US Open, although Chen Ran was unsure, he was still confident of fighting Roddick.

But here is the Wimbledon grass court, and Chen Ran has experienced two consecutive rounds of five-set battles. Facing such a talented top player, the game will become difficult to play.

"The superstars from China and the United States meet in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. This must be God's arrangement!" A reporter from the United States was excited.

Roddick and Chen Ran have not met on tour since the third round of this year's Australian Open. This quarter-final at Wimbledon is the second time the two have met.

Chen Ran quickly regained his composure and said with a smile: "Okay, I'm also looking forward to meeting Andy for the second time. But having said that, Andy also deserves credit for me being able to achieve the honor of 'Sunshine Double Crown'."

After all, in the semi-finals of the Miami Masters, Roddick and Agassi, two Americans, fought for three rounds, and the fight was extremely fierce, which exhausted the old man Agassi and left Chen Ran to wait for work.

Chen Ran took the initiative to raise this, and some reporters present laughed.

Then, an entertainment reporter from China said in a very gossipy manner: "Chen Ran, your partner Sharapova stopped in the top [-]. What do you think?"

As expected of the paparazzi, he is here for news again.

"She was only 16 years old, and she broke into the top 16 at Wimbledon. It's an incredible achievement." Chen Ran could only praise her, "You know, when I was [-] years old, I was still playing in the ITF Hope Games."

In fact, I was just reborn when I was 16 years old.

"What about your mixed doubles?"

"We've reached the semi-finals and hope to go one step further."

Although the mixed doubles competition is not taken seriously and is like a giveaway, Chen Ran would be happy to see it happen if he could enter the finals or even win the championship.

"Between you..." the paparazzi continued to ask.

"I stress again, we are all minors, it is very disrespectful for you to speculate like this." Chen Ran angrily scolded this reporter in Chinese who did not know which entertainment magazine he came from, "Before you come to interview the tennis match, first understand the match. rule."

"There are so many mixed doubles partners, and everyone is just here to compete."

At this time, Chen Ran felt that the reporters from "The Sun" were much cuter than this guy.

They only wanted to use the girls on the third page of the newspaper to connect with Chen Ran, but they didn't expect to make an issue about Chen Ran and Sharapova.

The paparazzi was reprimanded by Chen Ran, and then he stopped talking angrily, muttering to himself: I am an entertainment reporter, and I am just here to fix things and learn some tennis knowledge.

Nowadays, although Chen Ran and Yao Ming are the two top players in Chinese sports, Yao Ming rarely attracts the attention of entertainment reporters. Maybe people think that with his height and having a regular girlfriend, it is difficult to cause scandals.

However, when Chen Ran competes, he is always followed by some entertainment reporters.Because these guys always feel that Chen Ran has great entertainment news value, just like David Beckham in the UK.

Another point is the difference in the nature of the competition.Yao Ming stayed in the United States for a season, while Chen Ran competed in various parts of the world, often returning to China in between. Reporters followed up and interviewed intermittently, so they did not need to stay abroad for a long time.

"Thankfully I didn't go to "Happy Camp", otherwise these paparazzi would have caused some trouble." Chen Ran thought, covering his forehead.

In the following time, Chen Ran also talked with some senior tennis reporters about his prospects for the next game.

Even he admitted that Roddick should be the biggest favorite at Wimbledon with his current hot state.

In the first four rounds, Roddick only lost one set, while Federer, another favorite, fell into a five-set battle in the fourth round.

As a result, the Wimbledon organizing committee has listed Roddick as the top favorite for this tournament.

Federer won Wimbledon in his previous life, but this does not mean that the trajectory of things will definitely follow the original historical trend.

Today, the entire men's professional tennis world has been turned upside down by Chen Ran.

The Australian Open and French Open champions are also completely different from those in previous lives. In addition, Chen Ran has also won three Masters championships. So who can guarantee that this time the Wimbledon champion will be Federer?

But no matter what, Chen Ran will go all out. Even if Roddick wants to break into the semi-finals, it will not be an easy task.

……

On the ninth match day of Wimbledon, the quarter-finals kicked off.

The showdown between two super geniuses, Chen Ran and Roddick, is the focus of this round.

Mars hits Earth!
Roddick, who had just won the Queen's Cup, showed extraordinary competitive form against Bisri in the first few rounds.

Almost no player can pose even the slightest threat to Roddick.

This duel was extremely intense from the beginning of the first set.

Roddick is not only a powerful cannon-type server, he also has excellent control of placement and spin.

Chen Ran also discovered that Roddick's strength has improved to a certain extent compared to the last time they played against each other this time.

But this is normal. The opponent is only 21 years old and is still in the stage of increasing the ball.

"Wonderful!"

"This was not only an extremely exciting offensive battle, but the players from both sides kept sending ACE balls to attack each other!"

In the first set, the two sides tied at 6-6 and entered a tie-break.

Chen Ran finally won the tiebreaker with 9:7.

In the second set, Chen Ran's physical fitness seemed to have reached a bottleneck, which caused a slight fluctuation in his state. Roddick seized the opportunity and won 7:5.

In the third set, Chen Ran tried to raise the score several times, but the effect seemed to be ineffective. Roddick, who became more and more courageous as he fought, broke Chen Ran's fifth serve and completed the lead at 6:4.

Chen Ran called a medical timeout during the break and took the opportunity to adjust his condition.

After entering the fourth set, Chen Ran, who had recovered somewhat, once again dragged Roddick into a tie-break and won the tie-break 7:5.

The two sides were tied again and had to enter the fifth set.

In the final set, Roddick showed a stronger belief in winning, while Chen Ran's competitive state declined very obviously because he played five sets in three consecutive rounds, whether it was running, or the speed and placement of the ball. .

The two sides played for twelve games, and in the end Roddick won the fifth set with difficulty 7:5.

7:6（9），5:7，4:6，7:6（7），5:7！

3: 2!

The two sides fought fiercely for nearly five hours.

Roddick defeated Chen Ran and entered the semi-finals.

"Andy, if I hadn't played five rounds in the first two rounds, the result of this game might be different." When the two shook hands, Chen Ran gasped from exhaustion.

Playing five sets in three consecutive rounds is rare even in the entire history of the four Grand Slams.

"Yes, I admit it. In the fifth set, I even felt that I was on the edge of being eliminated." Roddick said very frankly.

After advancing to the semi-finals, he was in a very good mood.

However, Roddick also admitted that this game was far more difficult and anxious than he imagined.

He was even a little depressed.

Because on the clay court, Chen Ran would be able to beat himself easily, but on the grass court, it would be so difficult for him to win against the opponent. It even benefited from the opponent's two consecutive rounds of five-set battles, which led to a physical crisis.

"I wish you can win the championship!" Chen Ran smiled and patted Roddick on the shoulder, in a good mood.

He played very well in this game, so he has no regrets.

The rivalry between the two will continue for a long time to come, not including clay courts of course.

"Thank you, but..." Roddick shrugged helplessly, "This match lasted five sets. If I fail to win the championship in the end, you will be the main culprit."

Chen Ran also laughed when he heard this: "I won't take the blame."

"Chen, will you come to the finals?"

"If I don't have other competitions, of course I will choose to return to China. But..." Chen Ran paused and said slowly, "I still have mixed doubles, so I will stay here for a few days."

"Okay, then I wish you the singles championship, and I wish you the mixed doubles championship."

Two days later in the semi-finals, Roddick continued his heroic form and eliminated Frenchman Grosjean 3-1, reaching the final of a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career.

The day after the semi-finals, the mixed doubles final began.

The combination of Chen Ran and Sharapova played against the combination of American Navratilova and Indian Paes.

Navratilova and Paes are players who have competed in mixed doubles competitions all year round.

Navratilova was born in 1956 and is even 47 years old, while the Indian Paes is also 30 years old.

Chen Ran and Sharapova completely crushed their opponents in terms of talent.

The young Sharapova easily suppressed Navratilova at the net, while Chen Ran's offensive power at the bottom line also gave Indian Pace a huge advantage.

They quickly swept their opponents 2-6 and won the mixed doubles championship at Wimbledon.

After winning the championship, Sharapova ran over excitedly, jumped up and down, and then hugged Chen Ran directly, pressing the opponent under her...

……

PS: The protagonist’s first trip to Wimbledon has come to an end.

(End of this chapter)