Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 372 The fateful showdown between Chen Ran and Nadal

Roddick continued his poor performance on clay courts.

As for Zeng Shaoxuan, his performance in the top 32 of the Masters and the Clay Masters is gratifying.

But in the context of Chen Ran and Zheng Jie, this result does seem mediocre.

After all, competitive sports are always in the midst of comparison, and the winner takes all.

"The top 32 results are far from enough, at least the top eight!" Zeng Shaoxuan also knew this, but he also knew that his good luck would end here, and he would probably stop in the third round.

His opponent in the third round was Argentinian Nalbandian, a clay court master, and it was obviously a disaster.

Latin American tennis players, even unknown players, can often beat the world's top players on clay courts, not to mention Nalbandian is a famous player who has been famous for many years.

As expected, there was no suspense in the game. Just like Zeng Shaodian swept Roddick, he was also swept by the Argentine star in two sets.

As for Chen Ran, since he did not participate in the Monte Carlo Masters in the same period last year, he does not have the pressure to maintain points, and he will make money no matter which round he plays.

He personally gave Chen Ran a spot in the top four.

Nadal's withdrawal from the Australian Open due to injury has always left Nadal worried and full of unwillingness.

He has eaten and slept on clay courts since he was a child, and he is as familiar with clay courts as if he were at home.

In addition, this person is also the 2004 French Open champion in his previous life.

He made great progress all the way and successfully entered the quarterfinals. His opponent in the quarterfinals was none other than the Spanish genius Nadal.

In his eyes, this is not only a game, but also the best opportunity to break through the inner demons.

Chen Ran also felt something unusual about the other party.

In my distant memory, it was last year’s Madrid Open.

In the 32th and 16th round, Nadal eliminated the Swiss brother Wawrinka and avenged his loss at the Australian Open. When the nd reached th, Nadal even eliminated the Argentinian in two straight sets. Clay-court legend Gaudio.

So Nadal adjusted himself to the best game condition.

On the clay court, the future "King of Clay" has begun to blossom with unparalleled talent and talent.

You must know that Gaudio's strength on clay courts is enough to rank among the top five in the world.

At this moment, he was like a fearless matador.

This duel has also become the focus of the quarter-finals.

Chen Ran gave Nadal a 6-0, which he couldn't stop thinking about.

The Spanish boy clenched his fists seriously.

"This guy must have been preparing for a long time."

"The withdrawal from the Australian Open must have been a big blow to him. He probably wants to get his money back with profits."

"People only look at Federer, Roddick, Safin and others, thinking that only they can challenge Chen Ran's world number one, but actually I can too!"

The eighteen-year-old Nadal showed his strong rise.

This time, Nadal, who has been reborn, once again challenged the world's number one tennis player.

"I can't be careless anymore."

Chen Ran also knew that Nadal had transformed in 2004.

The opponent is the same kind of precocious player like himself.

As for the other two members of the Big Three, they experienced a period of suffering after entering the adult arena.

But Nadal did not. Not long after his debut, he quickly reached the peak. He aspired to win the French Open just after he turned 19, and his compatriot Alcaraz also aspired to win the US Open and the world's No. 1 at the age of 19.

Spanish players seem to have precocious characteristics, and their peak period is particularly long-lasting. He had a vague feeling that this game would be unusual.

Sure enough, from the start of the game, Nadal's powerful topspin with his left hand made Chen Ran very uncomfortable.

He had also encountered this situation in the "simulation training ground", and he had never been able to find a way to deal with it.

It can be said that when Chen Ran faced the peak Nadal at the "simulation training ground", hard courts and grass courts could indeed compete, but it was indeed too difficult to compete on clay courts.

If quantified using data, Nadal's technical attributes on hard courts and grass are around 93, then his technical attributes on clay courts are as high as 98 or even 99.

After all, most of this guy's honors in his previous life came from clay courts.

From ATP250 to ATP1000, he has won all clay court championships.

With fourteen French Open crowns, including a brilliant record of nine crowns in ten years, Federer was firmly suppressed and almost prevented his opponent from completing the Grand Slam.

11 Monte Carlo Masters champions, 9 Rome Masters champions, and 4 Madrid Masters champions. This is his impressive record in the Clay Masters.

At this moment, Chen Ran is not a player who is superior to the top Federer and the top Djokovic. Especially on the clay court that the opponent is familiar with, the advantage is minimal.

"Actually, the reason why we won the game with such a big score last year was mainly because the other team was participating in a competition for the first time and was too nervous."

Chen Ran knew this very well.

He never thought the gap between the two was as obvious as that score showed.

Due to the rough surface of the clay, the ball will generate greater friction when it touches the ground, thereby slowing down the flight speed of the ball and increasing the spin of the ball.

The Spaniard's forehand and backhand topspin is particularly good. This advantage is infinitely magnified on clay courts, and Nadal is very well prepared for this game.

In the first set, Nadal won 6-4.

“He’s left-handed!”

"This is a natural advantage!"

The rotation speed of a left-handed topspin ball is stronger than that of a right-handed player like Chen Ran.

The opponent can use the super top spin ball to quickly accelerate and reach a very high bounce height after bouncing on the ground. The strong texture makes Chen Ran's return of the ball very difficult, and it is difficult to hit high-quality return shots.

Although Chen Ran had encountered this situation many times in the "simulation training ground".

But facing the "King of Clay" like Nadal, who has always been the leader in the history of tennis, how could Chen Ran come up with a solution so easily.

As a result, Chen Ran could only fall into an extreme tug-of-war with the opponent.

The two kept running and the whole place was flying.

They are both players with excellent physical fitness and top-notch willpower. The competition between the two sides is very exciting.

But on the clay court, Chen Ran's advantage in volleying at the net was weakened.

Similarly, his skill in releasing small balls is often saved by Nadal, who has amazing speed and reflexes.

In the second set, the two sides played very anxiously, from 1 to 1 to 6 to 6, and the two sides entered a tie-break.

"This... what a terrifying clay talent!"

I can’t imagine how far this guy will be on clay courts in a few months.

After Federer, it seems that someone can challenge his world number one.

As expected, no one among the three giants is idle.

……

(End of this chapter)