Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 303: Unpopular and absent-minded masters

From Chen Ran's point of view, there has never been an idea that you cannot educate others because you are younger than others.

Not to mention that Roddick is only 22 years old, even if this kid is 32 years old, Chen Ran can still educate him very naturally from the perspective of a senior.

Do you know what your behavior is? This is suppressing industry prices, harming the interests of peers, and naked involution!

Just like in a company in the previous life, most of the employees were lying flat, but there was a guy who liked to work overtime very much, and volunteered to tell the boss: I don't need overtime pay.

The boss was naturally overjoyed, and then told the lying-down employees: You must learn from him.

In Chen Ran's view, Roddick's behavior is no different than that of an employee who takes the initiative to work overtime without asking for overtime pay, and will be spurned by other top-level players.

No matter how you are ranked second in the world, how can you lower your worth?

He must stop it!

"Andy, you have to understand...if you do this once, the tournament organizing committee will use you as an example when they invite other top players."

Chen Ran continued to exaggerate: "You see, Roddick only received 15 US dollars. What will everyone think?"

"Yes, what he said makes sense...how can he lower his worth?"

Roddick muttered in his heart and said thoughtfully: "Chen, tennis is an individual sport, and the only one we can rely on is ourselves. We don't know how many years we can maintain our peak condition. When it's time to make money, we have to make more money." Pay some money."

"When the competitive status declines in the future, I won't be able to get the appearance fee even if I want to."

He finally realized it.

"Actually, I think...in addition to the four Grand Slams, appearance fees are also required for the Masters." Chen Ran muttered in a low voice, but in Chinese.

"What are you talking about?" Roddick asked curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing, I have to train."

……

There are 56 main draw slots in the Paris Masters. The spots are scarce and the competition is accumulated.

But the French have once again shown their stingy nature. Not only does the French Open have the lowest prize money among the four Grand Slams, but the Paris Masters also has the lowest prize money among the nine Masters tournaments.

This also made many players lament.

It is obviously an ATP1000-level Masters tournament, but many players said that they would not make any money if they only played in the first round.

Even the championship bonus is only 51 euros, and this is before tax.

However, the players are weak after all. Even if they have all kinds of dissatisfaction, they still have to participate in the game obediently.

As the No. 1 seed, Chen Ran enjoyed a bye in the first round.

In the second round, Chen Ran met South African star Ferreira.

The title of world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam winner attracted many Parisian spectators.

I have to say that the competition in the Masters is more cruel than the Grand Slam. In the Grand Slam, you can at least paddle in the first few rounds, but in the Masters, it is likely to be a fierce battle from the first game.

This is Chen Ran's first indoor competition in his career. After all, it requires an adaptation process.

The score in the first set was very tense. Facing the 32-year-old veteran, Chen Ran did not show much advantage, and the two sides broke serve.

Until the tie-break of the first set, Chen Ran still won 8-6 through a difficult tie-break.

In the second set, Ferreira got better and better, which made Chen Ran, the new world No. 6 player, suffer a lot and regained the set 4-.

Just when Chinese fans and reporters were worried about Chen Ran, he had gradually adapted to the rhythm and environment of indoor competition in the third set and won the deciding set 6-3.

Chen Ran broke into the top 16 without any danger. In addition to Chen Ran, high-ranking seeds such as Roddick, Ferrero, Federer, and Agassi also advanced, but most of them also had a difficult time winning like Chen Ran.

Because it is an indoor competition, the schedule of the Paris Masters is very compact.

There are 54 main draw slots, a total of six rounds of competition, and the competition schedule is only seven days.

This means that the first five rounds are played on alternate days, with only two days between the final and semi-finals.

Agassi, who has always been unruly, couldn't help but start firing. One match a day, the ATP and the Paris organizing committee really treated us like robots.

What's more, he is already 33 years old and will be 34 in a few days. His body's recovery speed cannot be compared with those of young people.

However, the cannon is fired and the game is still on.

The next day, Chen Ran encountered another tough battle, facing the German star Schuttler, and once again played three full sets.

5:7，6:4，6:3！

He even completed the comeback with great difficulty after falling behind in the first set.

Reached the quarterfinals again.

However, like other Masters tournaments, the third round of the Paris Masters also began to suffer upsets.

Agassi and Roddick stopped there. Although the two Americans had lost the game, they were still swearing unconvinced.

Agassi simply did not find the best playing condition, which was completely different from his performance at the US Open, and Roddick may be too tired. He traveled from Shanghai to Tokyo, then rushed to Vienna non-stop, and then It's Paris.

Especially in the Tokyo 500, although Roddick finally won the championship, almost every five games were fierce battles, which also made him particularly exhausted.

If it is the first half of the year, the physical reserves of these top tennis players are at an optimal value, and they may be able to continue their good form for a while.

But now it's the end of the season, everyone is very tired, and they are gritting their teeth and persisting.

“There has never been a Masters tournament with such a tight schedule as the Paris Masters!”

Roddick complained slightly after being stopped in the third round: "Over the past year, I have played so many games, and the exhaustion has been very serious. One game a day, I have no time to recover. I understand why Chen Ran only Attended a race on home soil.”

"But even so, it was very difficult for him to win the first two rounds."

"Okay, now it's time for me to prepare for the year-end finals."

Agassi was even more straightforward in an interview with the media: "What should I say? I am only thinking about the year-end finals now! After all, the prize money in this event is still very considerable, and I may still have some motivation."

The annual year-end Masters Cup is the stage for top players to quickly gain money and points.

In this year's Houston year-end finals, each player can play at least three games, and the appearance fee for each game is US$15, which is almost equal to the championship bonus of the ATP500 tournament.

In addition, the winning prizes are also very generous. The reward for winning a game is 20 US dollars and 200 points. There are no points for losing.

The championship bonus is as high as 152 million US dollars, which is much higher than the four majors, and the points are also a full 1500 points.

Not only Agassi and Roddick, many top players are already in the Cao camp but at home.

After the quarterfinals began, No. 4 seed Ferrero and No. 3 seed Federer were also eliminated one after another. Then they immediately booked their tickets and flew to Houston without looking back.

Among the top five seeds, Chen Ran was the only one left.

……

PS: Today is the first day of New Year's Day. There are a lot of things going on. The first update is only 2K for the time being.

(End of this chapter)