Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 379: A comprehensive confrontation of will, body, and spirit (third update completed)

Chen Ran finally got his wish and reached the finals of the Rome Masters.

After playing five games here, he also discovered that the ball speed in Rome is slower than that in Madrid.

This is obviously very beneficial to Nadal.

In Monte Carlo, Nadal relied on this characteristic of clay to defeat Chen Ran.

Fortunately, the ball speed on the clay court in Rome is only a little slower than that of Madrid, but a little faster than that of Monte Carlo.

Chen Ran also knows that clay court competitions are extremely taxing on physical and mental energy.

Now, although he has an outstanding report card, the damage to his energy is not small, and he has almost reached the limit.

Chen Ran didn't know whether devoting all his strength to the Rome Masters would affect his preparations for the French Open, but now, he has reached the point where he has no hesitation.

It would definitely be a huge honor to win the "back-to-back" Clay Court Masters.

Therefore, the complexity of the tactical system of clay court games has risen to a higher level, so many hard court masters have become acclimatized after coming to clay courts.

"In the 2004 season, Chen Ran successfully defended the Miami Masters and Madrid Masters, but the Rome Masters was a championship he had never won."

"If he wants to get the unprecedented honor of Master Jin, Rome is the fortress he must conquer."

Because on clay courts, the rebound of tennis balls after landing is not very regular, and with the addition of strong topspin, the rebound direction of the ball becomes even more difficult to predict, which makes every shot of Chen Ran very special. Be careful.

"The game has begun, let's cheer for Chen Ran."

He played steadily, showed impregnable defense at the bottom line, and mobilized Nadal to keep running back and forth.

They defend well, are good at running, and like to hit the ball with strong topspin during the seesaw.

At this point, Chen Ran and Nadal appear to be different.

So on clay courts, not only are there more changes, but the techniques are more difficult.

Many talented cannon players like to resolve battles with rough and simple shots, but these are difficult to achieve on clay courts, which is why they don't like to play on clay courts.

Moreover, the two of them have reached the level of proficiency in the use of sliding steps.

In the first set, the two sides went back and forth, playing very anxiously, and the score was even at 5-5 in the blink of an eye.

Even from tactical layout to technical execution, technical changes in turn affect tactical choices.

Thus, under the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers, the competition between these two clay court geniuses went from Monte Carlo to Madrid and then to Rome.

"In addition, Chen Ran VS Nadal has almost become the pinnacle matchup in tennis today, at least on clay courts."

"I think this will allow him to devote himself more fully to this final without having to think about what will happen at the French Open later."

……

"With the Swiss Roger Federer stopping in the quarterfinals, Chen Ran has already secured the world's No. 1 spot in the clay court season in advance, regardless of his record at the French Open."

This final was different from the previous one in Madrid. Chen Ran did not show an aggressive offensive from the beginning.

The C5 host in charge of the commentary said this.

Obviously, he also knew that the ground speed in Rome was slower, so he changed his tactics.

But Nadal still has a unique advantage over Chen Ran.

Because he is a left-handed player, his topspin also has an even more incredible speed.

Once the pitch slows down, his topspin becomes even more of a headache.

boom!

As the ball hit the net, Chen Ran unfortunately missed the break point again.

He put his hands on his hips and gasped for air.

Working hard and running all over the place.

The result is that Bai Mao is alive!

That ball just now, no matter how Chen Ran hit the ball, the opponent could immediately run to the best position to catch the ball, and then return a topspin ball that made him uncomfortable. One after another, the two sides kept running back and forth on both ends of the baseline.

In the end, Chen Ran made an unforced error.

Nadal was on the edge of the cliff and successfully held serve.

The two sides enter the tiebreaker!

"Compared with Monte Carlo, has Raphael improved again?"

"At least I'm better at running!"

Chen Ran cursed helplessly in his heart.

This game was so exhausting that he felt more tired after just the first set than after playing the entire game.

Likewise, Nadal was exhausted.

Because here, hitting the ball hard often comes to nothing.

After the tie-break started, Chen Ran took the initiative to cut the ball to control the rhythm and look for opportunities.

"Chen Ran released the ball again!"

"He almost never misses any opportunity to make a small ball. Even if he makes several mistakes, he still enjoys it!"

The host at the scene made an excited voice.

This time, the two sides held on for more than 20 shots at the bottom line.

Chen Ran began to take the initiative to seek change.

However, when Nadal also rushed to the net, Chen Ran decisively exerted his strength and sealed the victory with a shot from the far corner.

During the tennis confrontation, Nadal couldn't wait until the tennis ball hit the ground if he wanted to intercept. This also ensured that Chen Ran's hitting was fast and accurate.

With this only mini-break, Chen Ran won the first set 7-5 in the tie-break.

After the start of the second set, Nadal began to use his strengths and avoid weaknesses.

His runs became more frequent and more grinding.

Chen Ran clearly felt that the Spaniard had overcome the physical bottleneck period and began to get better.

He knows very well that unless he gives up the clay court like Roddick, otherwise this kind of physically and mentally draining competition will be the norm in the future, and it will even be more tiring than now.

Because the "King of Clay" is best at this style of play.

Even when Chen Ran is serving in his own game, as long as he is not careful, after a few shots of stalemate, if he cannot continue to attack and suppress, he will easily fall into the opponent's rhythm, eventually leading to failure to maintain serve.

Total commitment, unprecedented concentration.

Amid the exclamations from the audience, Chen Ran turned the tide again and again and saved break points one after another.

The score was pushed into the tie-break with difficulty.

But in the end he fell short and lost to Nadal 6-8 in the second set tie-break.

1 to 1, the two sides entered the deciding set.

At this moment, Chen Ran only felt a faint soreness and numbness in his arms and thighs. As for Nadal beside him, he was still full of energy and lively.

The balance of this game seems to have begun to tilt towards the other side.

Chen Ran drank a lot of water, and after taking a break between sets, he walked into the arena with his tired body without hesitation.

The French Open and the world's No. 1 ranking were temporarily forgotten by Chen Ran.

He just wants to win this battle!

……

(End of this chapter)