Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 261 The appetites of fans and reporters have been captured
  As expected, Roddick, a big-mouthed man, began to boast unabashedly when being interviewed by the American media.

"The showdown between Chen Ran and I is like the 'Yao Shark Showdown' in the NBA!"

"No, Yao Ming doesn't have an NBA championship, but Chen Ran and I both have Grand Slam championships, so the level of the showdown between us will be even higher!"

If Yao Ming heard this, he would probably feel like he was shot even while lying down.

"It's like in the NFL... Well, it seems that the world outside the United States doesn't understand our NFL and American football. So let me use English football as an example."

"The showdown between Chen Ran and me is like Brazil versus Argentina and Barcelona versus Real Madrid in the football world."

"You know what I mean."

Facing the high-spirited Roddick, a group of reporters nodded in understanding.

But one thing is for sure, they have news to write about.

In 2003, in the first three Grand Slam tournaments, all newcomers aspired to win the final championship.

Is this the first year of change in men's professional tennis?
  In the draw ceremony of the Toronto Masters, No. 1 seed Chen Ran and No. 2 seed Federer were divided into the upper and lower halves.

It seems that the organizing committee heard Roddick's call and wanted to promote this matchup like Mars hitting the earth, so they placed the third seed Roddick in the top half. If the two of them go smoothly, they will meet in the semifinals. .

Fourth seed Ferrero is in the same half zone as Federer.

The competition in men's professional tennis is fierce. Before the French Open, Australian Open champion Ferrero was still ranked number one in the world. However, in just two months, he had fallen to fourth place.

Of course, because of the long gap between the Australian Open and the French Open, Ferrero has been ranked No. 20 in the world for 8 weeks, but now Chen Ran has only [-] weeks.

As for the tennis king Agassi, whom Chen Ran longs for, he is also in the same half zone as him this time. But if they want to meet, they probably have to stick to the quarterfinals.

He also looked at the competition list and found that each of the 54 lottery slots was filled with top-ranked players.

Nadal and Wawrinka, two people born after 85, did not sign up for this event because they had already participated in the 250 event in Atlanta before and chose to take a truce this time.

At this time, Chen Ran could also feel a strange atmosphere coming from the other players, who seemed to be gritting their teeth and trying to prove something.

First, the American media was hyping up the "battle of old enemies" between Chen Ran and Roddick, and then the Chinese media, which always likes to join in the fun, also followed suit.

You gave up and I came on. The Chinese and American media came off at the same time, praising the other players as if they were nothing.

It seems that in their mouths, it is a sure thing that Chen Ran and Roddick will meet in the Toronto Masters semi-finals.

There are also some sensible reporters and fans who will call for calm and not attract hatred.

However, most people simply won’t listen. If you don’t write some provocative headlines these days, who will read it?
  As the No. 32 seed, Chen Ran enjoyed a bye in the first round and entered the top [-] directly.

Of course, the top 8 seeds all enjoy this treatment.

One day later, the first round of competition ended, and a total of 24 players advanced to compete with the top 8 seeds in the second round.

No. 3 seed Roddick made his debut under the spotlight. He simply eliminated the second player in Asia, Thailand's Sri Chapan, with 2 6-3.

Obviously, the month-long recuperation after Wimbledon has made this guy full of hunger for the game again.

Due to the sparse draws and cruel format of the Masters, it is easy for many unseeded players to encounter high-seeded players in the first one or two rounds.

For example, Top 20 Sri Chapan met No. 3 seed Roddick in the second round.

Chen Ran’s opponent in the second round was Russian star Kafelnikov.

This guy is also an accomplished player, having won two Grand Slams and an Olympic singles gold medal.

In terms of honor, Kafelnikov firmly suppressed Chen Ran.

But the problem is that this old guy has been in rapid decline since 2002 and has never made it to the top 16 of a Grand Slam tournament again.

Foreign media even repeatedly broke the news that the former Grand Slam and Olympic double champion was suspected of match-fixing.

Of course, the Russian firmly denied this.

He didn’t know whether Kafelnikov had engaged in match-fixing, but Chen Ran knew that this guy would fade out of professional tennis starting next year and participate in golf competitions.

But later this guy discovered that he was not a golfer, so he came back to play tennis. As a result, he could only hang out in low-level leagues.

The Toronto Rogers Cup Masters also has a history of more than a hundred years. It is very prestigious and has high prize money. It is considered one of the top tennis events in the world.

But the appetites of the Chinese media and fans seemed to be spoiled by Chen Ran.

In the second round of the competition, Chen Ran found that only a dozen media companies came, so he asked them puzzledly: "Are you the only ones reporting on my competition?"

Someone said very bluntly: "Everyone thinks that your game will not really start until the top 8. There is nothing interesting in the first few rounds."

"..." Chen Ran was suddenly speechless.

This is the top Masters tournament. You must know that at this time last year, competitions of this level like the Masters were out of reach for all Chinese tennis players.

It's better now, I couldn't watch the previous rounds.

But what's even more strange is that the old player in front of him has a slightly red face, as if he has been drinking.

Chen Ran is well aware that many Russians are drunkards. Of course, there are also many drunkards in China, but this guy still drinks before the game, and Chen Ran is very impressed by this.

No wonder Kafelnikov's competitive status has declined so quickly in the past two years, and he will be playing golf next year. It seems that alcohol is probably to blame.

Some players may be able to exercise some restraint in the early stages of their careers before they achieve glory, but then start to indulge after they become famous.

Seeing Kafelnikov looking a little drunk, Chen Ran frowned.

In fact, when his opponent passed the first round, he felt that his task had been completed. In the second round, facing the world's number one Chen Ran, Kafelnikov felt that he had no chance of winning and immediately started to mess up.

Anyway, my ranking is guaranteed to advance to the next Cincinnati Masters and US Open, so why bother to go head-to-head with the world's No. [-] player?

The fans at the scene were not happy. Although I bought a ticket to see Chen Ran, at least your opponent should be more powerful.

What does it mean to come to a game looking drunk? What a negative game!

Everyone’s stereotype of Russians has deepened again!
  As a result, boos filled the stadium!

Kafelnikov originally wanted to resist before surrendering, but when he heard the boos and curses in the audience, he lost his temper.

He didn't even pretend anymore and just stood there hitting the ball without even wanting to move at all.

How long was this game going on?
  It started in half an hour and was over quickly.

Chen Ran actually won the game with an unprecedented 6-0 in two sets.

He even felt that the game was over before he even finished warming up or breaking a sweat.

Lao Maozi's face is worthy of being passed down from his ancestors, and he is not ordinary thick-skinned.

After Kafelnikov shook hands with Chen Ran and the referee on duty, he carried a tennis bag, ignored the boos of the locals, walked to the locker room with his head held high, and even waved at the audience slightly provocatively. He waved his hands as if to say: "What can you do to me?"

Then he walked into the players tunnel without looking back.

Chen Ran looked at this scene and shook his head helplessly.

At least in my first game, I didn't face any challenges or suffer any physical loss.

The victory of the first Toronto Masters for Chinese tennis came so easily.

This may be the easiest top [-] ever.

The schedule for the Toronto Masters is very tight.

The day after the second round, Chen Ran had to prepare for the third round immediately.

Still an old rival, the Englishman Henman.

At Wimbledon, Chen Ran struggled to defeat Henman in five sets.

But now that he was fighting again in another place, Henman was far from the competitive state he was in at Wimbledon. Likewise, Chen Ran showed no mercy and unceremoniously took away the game 6-3, 6-4. Easily broke into the top 8.

At the same time, the top four seeds in the tournament all successfully advanced to the quarterfinals. This year's Rogers Cup can be said to be smooth sailing, a delight for the fans.

In the quarterfinals, the first focus battle finally begins.

Chen Ran's opponent is another old acquaintance, his opponent in the fourth round at Wimbledon, the famous player Nalbandian from Argentina.

This guy was in great shape after Wimbledon. He first won the Atlanta ATP 250 Championship, and then participated in the Toronto Masters non-stop.

In the third round, Nalbandian eliminated the tennis king Agassi, which was considered a minor upset.

This made Chen Ran very regretful. He was still counting on getting some potential from Agassi, but he was unable to do so.

However, the meeting between Chen Ran and Nalbandian again, reenacting the Wimbledon battle in July, is logically a big selling point.

But when Chen Ran walked to the stadium, he found that the number of Chinese media that came to the scene still did not exceed 20, and a few reporters yawned repeatedly, which made him deeply doubt whether these guys had studied foreign languages ​​last night?
  "Why are there so few media today?" Chen Ran asked curiously as he passed by.

"Originally, the showdown between you and Agassi was interesting. But now..." the reporter yawned again, "Nalbandian... has never entered a Masters final. Naturally, everyone is not very interested in this guy."

"Hey, everyone's attention is now on the semifinals."

Not long ago, Roddick, who sat in the upper half of the field with Chen Ran, had already locked in a spot in the semi-finals.

……

(End of this chapter)