Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 289 Chen Ran must keep working hard, you are not an Olympic champion yet! (4K)

Among the four Grand Slams, the French Open's championship bonus is the lowest, with only a measly US$100 million, while the US Open's championship bonus is the highest, with a full US$125 million.

By coincidence, Chen Ran won the championships of both events this season.

However, the ESPN host was shocked for a while by Chen Ran's uprightness.

In my impression, Chinese athletes are very ashamed to talk about money in public. They always talk about "bringing honor to the country". It's good that this guy doesn't hide it at all.

"Yes, our U.S. Open has always had the highest prize money since the Open era!" The host also showed a proud look, "But Chen Ran... are you sure that is allowed to say this in China?"

"Do you have any misunderstandings about my country?" Chen Ran blinked his eyes honestly, "I don't come out to play to make money, so why should I?"

"Oh... absolutely not!" the ESPN host immediately denied. He did not want to get involved in some inexplicable right and wrong. "You are very honest. This is very common in our country."

Talking openly about money is common among American athletes.

For example, when a team core like O'Neal has not finalized a new contract, he will yell at the boss who comes to watch the game during training: "Money, money, give me a lot of money." !”

So the ESPN host quickly adapted and continued to ask: "So besides this, is there anything else about the US Open that impressed you?"

Chen Ran pondered for a while, and at the same time gently rubbed his forehead: "Whether it is in Australia, the UK or France, tennis is one of the more popular sports, but in the United States, the popularity of tennis seems to be different. A few people have to stand in the back row.”

"But even so, the US Open can still have such a huge influence. I have to marvel at the extremely developed sports culture in this country."

"There are so many big stars coming to the finals, some from Hollywood, some from the NBA, some from the NFL, some from MLB. I seem to have seen a few boxing champions."

"I think among the four Grand Slam tournaments, the US Open is the one that best combines sports and entertainment."

The ESPN host was in a daze for a moment. He didn't expect this Chinese guy to be so eloquent.

"such a pity……"

"What's a pity?"

"It's a pity that even if Andy and I played such a wonderful match at the U.S. Open, which has the highest ratings, it shouldn't be ranked in the overall U.S. sports ratings, right? If China's part is not included..." Chen Ran said with great regret.

Hearing what he said, even Roddick looked helpless.

If you only calculate the ratings for a single game, it may not be as good as some NCAA football, basketball or baseball games.

"There is nothing we can do about it." The host shrugged and said helplessly, "There are too many sports events in the United States. Even football, which is very popular in various countries around the world, is not very popular here."

"In any case, tennis is also a relatively high-ranking sport in the United States, and among individual small ball sports, its prize money is on the same level as golf, far ahead of other sports."

"Hi, Andy!" Chen Ran suddenly shouted towards Roddick who was in a daze, "I hope that the competition between us in the future will make tennis more popular in the United States and have more commercial value. Do you have this confidence? ?"

"Uh... Of course I have the confidence!" Roddick clenched his fists and gritted his teeth after recovering. "My goal is to enter the top ten of the Forbes American Athletes List! In addition, I will definitely win the US Open!"

Since the release of the Forbes American Athletes List, only Sampras has entered the top ten once, and Agassi has never been close.

Roddick, who is very popular and in hot form, will also regard this as an honor.

It seems that starting from 2004, Forbes will also launch lists in China, right?

However, unlike the United States, Forbes launched a celebrity list in China, which directly covers the entire sports and entertainment circles.

I remember that in the first China Forbes celebrity list, Yao Ming ranked first, and he ranked first for several years.

So what about this time? Will I be the first?

nonsense! If I don’t rank first, who dares to rank first?

"Very good!" Chen Ran decisively gave the American young man a thumbs up, very satisfied with Roddick's answer.

You boy is very ambitious!

How much money you can gain in the United States in the future depends on your performance.

The stronger you are, the more rice you can gain from the US empire.

In fact, Roddick's image is not bad. He was once hailed as the "male version of Kavat" by the American media. However, the shelf life was too short. After a few years, he not only gained weight but also became bald.

After the interview, with colorful flowers bursting out, Chen Ran raised the trophy that symbolized the championship, while Roddick, who had a look of reluctance at the end, held a plate.

Chen Ran, draped in the national flag, walked around the stadium holding the championship trophy, and took photos with everyone at the gathering place of Chinese fans.

Of course, at such a special moment, not only the Chinese fans, but also the neutral fans also shouted.

Chen Ran conquered them with his wonderful performance.

The charm of competitive sports completely ignited Flushing Park at midnight on such a beautiful night.

The tide rises and rises, the mountains roar and the tsunami roars.

At this moment, Chen Ran even felt that he was the center of the world.

"This year, Sampras retired, Chang Depei retired, and Agassi failed to win any Grand Slam!"

"The time for a change of government has finally arrived!"

"The new generation of players is growing rapidly!"

"Although this season is not over yet, when the US Open ends, the season has indeed come to an end. After all, the US Open has always been known as the climax of the season."

In fact, before the restructuring in 2009, the importance of the year-end finals was not that great. The only commendable thing was that the prize money was very high.

But imagine, to win the year-end finals you have to play at least five games, and the opponents are all the top eight players in the world. There are only 7 days, and you often have to play back-to-back games, which is a strain on the players' physical fitness. An extremely harsh test.

When Chen Ran walked to the stands holding the championship trophy, Zhang Depei also hugged Chen Ran excitedly.

"Chen, you finally did it!"

"Second Grand Slam!"

"What I have been working hard on for more than ten years has not been able to be completed, and you did it in the first year!"

The regrets in his career were finally fulfilled in his coaching career.

From No. 1 in the world to second Grand Slam!

Next year, I will try to get the third seat.

By the way, there is also the Athens Olympics.

Perhaps for the Chinese people, the Olympic championship is as important as the Grand Slam, or even a few points more important. After all, tennis players have their own opinions, and the China Sports Bureau also has its own opinions. In addition, there are a large number of Chinese media and fans who will also express their own opinions.

"But..." Zhang Depei patted Chen Ran's shoulder seriously, "Chen... there is still a bit of suspense about being number one at the end of the year. I hope you will become the youngest number one at the end of the year."

"Number one at the end of the year..."

Chen Ran murmured to himself: "If I still don't get first place at the end of the year under this situation, everyone will definitely make fun of me."

This kind of teasing is not to ridicule your lack of strength, but to feel that the duck you got has flown away, and you will be complained by the group of spectators.

For example, the national football team led the opponent 1-0 for 90 minutes in a match. However, in stoppage time, the opponent scored two goals in a "black three minutes" to complete the reversal.

Chen Ran is now leading Roddick by more than 1500 points, and the points for winning five games in the year-end finals are 1500 points.

what does that mean? Unless Chen Ran pulls his hips in the Paris Masters and the year-end finals, and Roddick performs super bravely, there is a chance he can surpass Chen Ran in points.

Under such favorable circumstances, if Chen Ran is overtaken by Roddick, it will be the same as the national football team that was "blacked out for three minutes".

Therefore, in order to be "number one at the end of the year" and not to be ridiculed as "the next national football team", Chen Ran needs to make persistent efforts to win this "number one at the end of the year".

"Don't worry, I won't take the end of the year lightly. As I said, playing football is about money, and the bonus at the end of the year is very considerable." Chen Ran said seriously.

"Haha..." Zhang Depei knew that Chen Ran was joking, but every time he saw the other person saying "I want to make money" in a serious manner, he found it very interesting.

Are you still short of money?

The income from advertising fees and various activities earned in one season has almost caught up with his total career bonus.

Zhang Depei's total career bonus is 1900 million US dollars, and this is before tax. Including the bonus he distributed to his team members, the bonus he received may be less than 40%.

The 2003 U.S. Open Tennis Open has officially come to an end.

This season, Chen Ran's records in the four Grand Slams are semi-finals, championship, top 8 and championship.

Such a shining achievement is enough to be recorded in the history of professional tennis forever!

……

"Is the battle over 'goat' no longer suspenseful?"

In this eye-catching age, whether it is for websites, TV media, or news newspapers, they all need eye-catching topics.

When Chen Ran won two Grand Slams, many media had already begun to hype him as the well-deserved "goat" in today's Chinese sports world!

"Unless Yao Ming can win the NBA championship in the future!"

"Do you think the national football team can reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in the future? Or maybe we will have a core player from a European giant and lead the team to win the Champions League."

"Can China have a 100-meter or 200-meter world champion in the future?"

"At least Chen Ran is indeed a goat now!"

Even "Sports Weekly" gave an even more exaggerated definition: the goat of Chinese sports? No, it should be the goat in Asian sports!

So far, no Asian athlete has achieved what Chen Ran achieved when he was seventeen!

Of course, this is obviously the Chinese media building momentum for Chen Ran. Other Asian countries actually agree with it in their hearts and will not show it verbally. Everyone wants to save face.

For example, next door, South Korea, they still insist that reaching the "World Cup semi-finals" is the greatest achievement in Asian sports.

In just a few days, Chen Ran's name was like a tropical storm that swept across the entire land of China. The popularity was even higher than when he won the French Open for the first time.

After all, the first Grand Slam brought everyone a sense of surprise and freshness, while the second Grand Slam was like the enthronement of a throne.

Countless businesses began to call Chen Ran's agency, and many offered high-dollar sponsorship contracts for more than three years.

For Chen Ran, he is not busy making decisions, but needs to slowly consider and choose the best.

But at this moment, the entire Chinese Internet was in a commotion about the topic surrounding Chen Ran.

Most netizens agree that Chen Ran is the "goat" of Chinese sports.

Especially in 2003, because of Chen Ran's sudden emergence, many sports fans across the country learned a lot about tennis.

Most people also understand that in the world of professional tennis, the importance of the four Grand Slam championships is higher than that of the Olympic Games, representing the highest glory of tennis.

Therefore, most fans did not deny Chen Ran's honors because "Chen Ran has not yet become an Olympic champion."

But maybe on the day of the US Open final, some words from the C5 Sports host stimulated some people.

For example, he mentioned the "small and difficult girls" in China's Olympic strategy, and used the advantages of the national system to specialize in these projects, use money to defeat those who have no money, and use professionals to defeat amateurs, so as to achieve overtaking in corners.

However, many sports have no influence or splash around the world. They only shine once every four years through the Olympic Games, but disappear from the public eye immediately after the Olympics.

"Such a project is isolated from the world, closed, and unable to interact with the masses. It is just a pure championship machine!"

"We need athletes like Chen Ran more to promote a sport with excellent results and bring tennis into thousands of households."

"Compared to European and American countries, our Chinese community still needs to continue to popularize tennis."

"Similarly, although some sports are popular, their influence around the world is too low. It is difficult to truly represent Chinese sports!"

In this era, C5 Sports still dares to speak out. With Chen Ran winning two Grand Slams, he expressed these words.

However, this also caused dissatisfaction among some people in the industry.

"Chen Ran is not the Olympic champion yet!"

"The French Open and the US Open are just open tournaments. They are neither the World Championships nor the Olympics, so Chen Ran must prove his ability in next year's Olympics."

"Otherwise, people in the sports world will have doubts about him and will not be convinced."

"Goat? I think this word is not suitable for Chen Ran at the moment, unless he can win the Olympic gold medal."

When the "goat" controversy was raging and almost subsided, a well-known badminton coach surnamed Li jumped out and spoke sternly to the media.

As a result, China's Internet was once again in a state of excitement.

At this moment, Chen Ran was sitting on the plane flying from New York to Yanjing, knowing nothing about what happened.

……

(End of this chapter)