Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 294 Encourage the younger generations, the Masters Tournament comes to China

Of course, not every tour stop has to be fought to the end.

In some events, even the Masters, Chen Ran can treat it as a warm-up before a Grand Slam.

The top priority is still the four Grand Slams, and then the year-end finals. This is the battlefield that determines the true status of a professional tennis player.

In addition, the Magic City Helix Race was discontinued after it started in 2005 and was replaced by the year-end finals, which means that Chen Ran can control the number of entries in a year to 13 races.

At that time, he can also consider whether to go to the big dogs in West Asia to make quick money.

In February every year, there is also an ATP 2 tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Of course, in the end, whether Chen Ran goes or not depends on the sincerity of the headscarfs.

In the end, with a group of reporters and fans chasing after him, Chen Ran got on the special car that came to pick him up, waved to everyone and left.

Soon, the group of them rushed directly to the Qizhong Tennis Center in the suburbs of Songjiang to conduct basic physical training without touching the ground.

one Year……

But Chen Ran felt like he was in another world.

The scene of participating in the ATP Challenger Tour here last year is still vivid in my mind.

It has only been a year, but so many things have happened, and he has jumped from an unknown newcomer to the tennis world to a two-time Grand Slam winner.

Looking up, the large posters from last year's year-end finals were still sparsely erected in the square.

"So many media want to interview you?"

Chen Ran looked at the dense list of names on the paper and couldn't help but feel a headache.

Although the Magic City Heineken Open is only a 250-level tournament, because it is Chen Ran’s first appearance on the local tour, the enthusiasm and attention of the national audience is obviously no less than that of a Grand Slam event.

Even during the short time that Chen Ran was doing physical training at the Qizhong Tennis Center, there was still a steady stream of staff coming up to ask for autographs and photos with him.

"Yes, because of your relationship, many more reporters came to this year's Heineken Open than in previous years." Agent Xue Peng said truthfully.

"But it's impossible for me to accept interviews from every media. Please help me choose the three most suitable ones." Chen Ran handed the list to the other party and continued with physical training.

After resting for a long time, my physical condition has indeed declined.

First there were three hours of basic physical training, and then he just swam for another thirty minutes. He felt exhausted and needed to slowly find some condition for his body.

After a year, Chen Ran finally had a deep understanding of the taste of professional tennis...

When he returned to the hotel room, he didn't have time to look at the interior decoration and had already fallen asleep.

Early the next morning, Chen Ran got up and looked at his system panel.

All the potential value obtained at the US Open was used on technical attributes.

Today's technical attributes are still 90, and the limit value has reached 92, which means that Chen Ran still has 2 potential points to be tapped.

“Isn’t it time to touch a tennis racket?”

Calculating carefully, Chen Ran hasn't touched a tennis racket for almost two weeks.

After having breakfast, Chen Ran came to the ordinary court early, and heard a roar from his throat while hitting the ball in the distance.

Zhu Benqiang and Zeng Shaoxuan from the Chinese Tennis National Team are already practicing on the court.

Judging from their sweaty appearance, it seemed that they had been here for a while.

They got up so early?

Chen Ran was a little surprised.

It seems that the opportunity to directly participate in the main event of the tour excites these two guys, even if it is only a 250 event.

"How long have you two been in the Demon City?" Chen Ran walked over and asked.

"We came a week ago, where are you?" Zeng Shaoxuan asked while wiping his sweat with a towel.

It's really early enough.

Chen Ran muttered to himself and replied: "I just arrived yesterday. Come, let's practice playing together."

Since they had met them all and they were all players from his own country, he had to practice together symbolically even if it was because of his face.

An hour later...

Chen Ran played a set with each of them, with the scores being 6:1 and 6:2.

The huge gap like a chasm made Zhu Benqiang and Zeng Shaoxuan feel desperate. Is this the strength of a Grand Slam winner?

The two of them warmed up and were in excellent condition. Chen Ran only did a simple warm-up, but without any batting training, he went straight onto the court with his racket.

Even in this case, they still couldn't find any chance to win and lost the game with such a huge and disparate score.

"Are all the opponents on the tour this good?" Zeng Shaoxuan said in disbelief, "I know you are definitely not in your best condition now, and it can't be compared with the US Open."

"Roughly the same……"

Chen Ran nodded and said very honestly: "I haven't touched a racket for a long time, and I started practicing immediately without preparation. My performance just now is probably around the top 100 level."

He also deliberately exaggerated.

In fact, in professional tennis, it is common for players around the top 100 to defeat players around the top 50.

Many times, ranking is not everything.

"The strength of the TOP100..."  Zhu Benqiang and Zeng Shaoxuan looked at each other and realized that if they could reach the tiebreaker with Chen Ran just now, they should be able to compete on the tour stage.

Although the gap seems huge, through hard training accumulated over a long period of time, there is still a chance to catch up.

After all, they are both still young, one is 24 years old and the other is 22 years old, although they are much older than Chen Ran.

"Come on!"

Chen Ran patted them on the shoulders and said very sincerely: "I believe that the future of Chinese tennis is bright, and your future also has unlimited possibilities!"

Not long ago, when he told his agency and Nike that he wanted to open an online game agency, the sincerity he expressed was deliberately fake.

But today, Chen Ran's sincerity was very natural, without any element of fraud.

He really thinks about the future of Chinese tennis and even devotes himself to it.

Zhu Benqiang of the original time and space should be regarded as a famous player in the domestic men's tennis, and he has occupied the number one seat in the men's singles for a long time.

As for the younger Zeng Shaoxuan, that's even more incredible. The first Chinese men's singles win in the ATP Masters was achieved by this person. Of course, he fought locally and entered the main draw with a wild card.

But the Magic City Masters will not be held until 2009, when they will be around 30 years old.

Chen Ran didn't have any big demands, he just hoped that because of his butterfly effect, they could reach heights they had never reached in their previous lives.

"I can reveal some news to you. Although it is not confirmed yet, it is almost certain!"

Chen Ran smiled slightly and decided to stimulate them again.

"What's the news?" Zhu Benqiang and Zeng Shaoxuan opened their eyes curiously, with expectant looks on their faces.

"There has been no Masters in the Chinese season, which is a pity." Chen Ran said eloquently, "If nothing else happens, there will be news soon in the next few days. We in China will also hold the ATP Masters!"

“And it’s the Super Masters with 64 draws!”

"You should know what this means?"

Zeng Shaoxuan said excitedly: "Wild cards, we will have wild cards! I didn't expect that we would also participate in the Masters one day!"

In the ATP Masters 1000, let alone the top 100 players, even the top 80 players will most likely not be able to qualify directly for the main draw, but will have to start from the qualifying rounds.

If the Masters is really held in China, it means that those at the bottom of the world rankings can directly enter the main draw with wild cards.

Zhu Benqiang and Zeng Shaoxuan were overjoyed.

What is a surprise? This fucking thing is called a surprise!

They originally thought that being able to participate in the ATP250 tournament was a great gift, and they were all excited about it, but they did not expect that there would be an even bigger surprise waiting for them.

"Then may I ask...in what year will the specific date start, if the Masters Tournament is to be held in China?"

"I can't reveal too much about the specific time at the moment, but it won't be too far away from now."

After thinking for a while, Chen Ran said meaningfully.

He also knows that it will be difficult for them to participate in the four majors.

First you have to rank in the top 200, and then you have to pass a brutal three rounds of qualifying to qualify for a spot in the main draw.

Relatively speaking, the Masters Tournament held in China is the highest level competition they can currently participate in.

"Brother Zhu, did you hear that we still have a chance to participate in the Masters! This is too unbelievable!"

"Haha, great! Shao Xuan, I thought that being able to participate in the 500 event at the China Open next year would be my limit, but I didn't expect that I would be able to participate in the Masters!"

Zhu Benqiang excitedly picked up the racket again and shouted: "Let's go, let's play another 300 rounds."

"Let's go! I feel like my whole body is full of energy now!" Zeng Shaoxuan was also jumping up and down excitedly.

I hope you will work harder.

In this time and space, the Chinese tennis environment is much better than in previous lives.

Chen Ran looked at their backs.

……

Two days later, the Chinese Tennis Association and the ATP jointly announced a major news. The ATP Masters 1000 will officially join the Chinese season in 2005.

Due to too many clay-court Masters events, the German Hamburg Masters was directly downgraded from ATP1000 to ATP500, and the timeline was a full four years ahead of the original time and space.

However, from 2005 to 2008, due to the year-end finals being held in Magic City, the ATP Masters 1000 will be hosted by the Shenzhen Division.

Starting from 2009, the year-end finals will go to London, England, and Shanghai will continue to host the ATP1000 tournament instead of Shenzhen.

Similarly, in order to compensate Shenzhen, Shenzhen will have a new ATP2009 tournament starting from 500.

In this way, excluding the year-end finals, the entire Chinese season will have one ATP1000 Masters, two ATP500 tournaments, two ATP250 tournaments, and several ATP challenges.

Even if there is no Grand Slam to conclude, the Chinese season is still worthy of its name and can attract more attention from top players, and Chinese players can also benefit from this.

Once the news was announced, many Chinese sports media also reported it on the front page.

The spring of Chinese tennis has arrived!

……

(End of this chapter)