Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 381 Double star withdraws from French Open

Even when the Big Three dominated the tennis world, it was not easy to win a Masters championship.

But Chen Ran won his eighth Masters championship just halfway through his second season.

Even back-to-back Clay Court Masters tournaments!

In less than a month, he first conquered Madrid and then Rome, showing his dominance on clay courts.

At the same time, Chen Ran's two consecutive clay court Masters championships also allowed Chen Ran to have no worries about his world No. 1 ranking before Wimbledon.

This allowed him to fly directly to the All England Club at Wimbledon without having to participate in the previous grass court tournament in order to maintain his ranking.

Amid the applause and cheers of the audience, Chen Ran took over the championship trophy from the organizing committee in Rome.

Fortunately, he didn't defeat an Italian player this time, so he didn't have to face the boos.

"Chen Ran, congratulations on winning the first Rome championship in your career!"

"This is also the first Asian player to win this event!"

Chen Ran feels that his physical condition is very bad, and the French Open is imminent, so how should he deal with it?

When Chen Ran was walking in the tunnel, he felt not only a tearing sensation in his leg muscles, but also a faint burning pain in the soles of his feet.

Could it be that this fierce battle has even worn out the skin on the soles of the feet?

When the joy of winning the championship faded away, Chen Ran needed to have a good chat with the team about what to do next.

But when everything came to an end, Nadal was also worried about whether this game would affect his French Open journey.

I don’t know what Nadal’s physical condition is now? Shouldn't he still be alive and kicking?

Chen Ran glanced down at the trophy in his hand and thought to himself: The price is a bit high to win this championship this time.

In this era, the Masters champion's prize money is only a little over 50 euros, and that's before tax.

Damn!

Unlike in later generations, the prize money for the Masters champion basically starts at one million euros.

He was only a little bit lucky away from the championship.

However, there is also a problem.

“Plus, it was the best clay-court matchup I’ve ever witnessed in my life!”

In this final, he worked really hard and tried his best.

Of course, for today's Chen Ran, glory is obviously more important than money.

On the other side, after Chen Ran finished his winning speech, he returned to the locker room carrying the trophy.

Especially in Rome, after three tie-breaks, he was really just a hair away from winning.

"Viewers, we also give applause to another player, Rafael Nadal!"

Nadal smiled shyly.

In this final, not only Chen Ran expended a lot of energy, but so did Nadal.

When he was just playing, he put everything behind him.

After losing to Chen Ran in back-to-back Clay Court Masters finals, Nadal was indeed in a bad mood.

Having another heavyweight champion can also increase one's exposure and commercial value.

At this time, Chen Ran's team members came over.

This group of people were originally in high spirits, but when they saw Chen Ran's serious face, they seemed to realize something.

"Let's go back to the locker room first. I need to check my body."

Chen Ran handed the championship trophy to his assistant and left without looking back.

But when he walked, his legs were still limping, and he seemed to be in great pain.

……

Early the next morning, when many sports fans were still immersed in yesterday's peak clay-court showdown, Chen Ran held a press conference and announced a decision that surprised the world. He is preparing to withdraw from this year's French Open due to injury.

As the top seed and defending champion, he was absent from this year's French Open, which shocked the entire professional tennis world.

But when they thought about the tough match between Chen Ran and Nadal in the final, everyone suddenly felt at ease.

Even the two energetic young men were crippled by this brutal final.

"Chen Ran, can't you persist?"

"Are your injuries that serious?"

Many Chinese reporters asked questions one after another.

If Chen Ran misses this French Open, the expectations of Chinese sports fans for this Grand Slam will be greatly reduced.

What's more, the French Open is played very late, so there won't be many viewers willing to stay up late to watch.

The only hope may be the female Zheng Jie.

Men's Zeng Shaoxuan also signed up for the French Open.

But he first had to pass three qualifying rounds, and if he could win one in the main round and enter the second round, it would be considered a great success, and he was completely incomparable to Chen Ran.

"I had a complete physical examination of myself."

"The injuries on the body are not serious, but they cannot be ignored casually."

"Grand Slam matches are not only best-of-five sets, but also a very long journey. If you want to make it to the final, you must play seven games."

"I am the defending champion and ranked No. 1 in the world. I will definitely aim to win the championship."

"But I think it will be difficult to last seven games with my current physical condition."

An American reporter raised objections: "Because you think you can't make it to the finals, so you choose to withdraw from this French Open? Maybe you can play and observe at the same time, and then withdraw when your body can't hold it anymore?"

Are you teaching me to do things?

You Americans should be more concerned about how far Roddick can go in the French Open!

It will be interesting if the top American male player is stopped in the first round.

Chen Ran was complaining in his heart, but the expression on his face was still calm and calm.

"I don't know how many rounds I can last, and the injury may get worse at any time. I don't want to be injured in the game just for the bonus, and I don't want to retire halfway through the game. I can't help those who paid for the tickets." fan."

He paused and continued: "I know that my physical condition is very bad. For me, even if I can barely hold on for three or four rounds, it doesn't make much sense. Instead of that, I might as well take a good rest. After the French Open, there will be Wimbledon.”

"I should think about things from a long-term perspective."

At the same time, Chen Ran secretly muttered: Fortunately, he has already won the French Open.

There was less entanglement in retiring this time.

……

Soon, Nadal also learned the news that Chen Ran had withdrawn from the French Open.

He patted his thigh, feeling that his body was still surrounded by fatigue, his training state was very bad, and his muscles even occasionally felt sore and torn.

In fact, like Chen Ran, he also suffered some injuries in that final.

Chen Ran is right when he says that for players of their level, it is meaningless to persist for one or two rounds, or even three or four rounds.

At least the top four results are considered successful.

But you know that you can't last seven rounds, so why bother to compete?

If you make it to the top 8 or even the top 4, why not give your opponent a big exit gift package?

So Nadal also decided to withdraw from this French Open.

……

(End of this chapter)