Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 432: The Czar is Strong (a bit too late, this one is even later)
The men's singles showdown between Chen Ran and Safin is the final battle of the Olympic tennis competition.

For Safin, reaching the Olympic finals against all the best players is the best reward after his comeback.

"I'm very happy that I can reach the finals while representing my country."

"I don't know how other countries think about it, but in the minds of the Russian people, the value of Olympic gold medals is higher than that of Grand Slam champions."

"I'm not sure if I'll have another chance to win a Grand Slam title in my career, but this is the best chance to win that gold medal for Russia."

"I know Chen Ran also wants that gold medal."

"But one good thing is that I can afford to lose this game, but Chen Ran can't afford to lose."

Safin knew that this time he would play the villain and prevent Chen Ran from winning the Golden Slam.

"Chinese tennis is really on the rise!"

When Chen Ran and Safin started to warm up, many foreign reporters covering the scene expressed heartfelt sighs.

So far, China Tennis has won a gold medal in women's doubles, and although Zheng Jie of women's tennis continued her "Haining Maid" journey in the semifinals, she also won a valuable bronze medal.

Now, whether China Tennis can have a perfect ending depends on Chen Ran's performance.

Chen Ran was lucky and got the right to serve first.

While he was hitting the tennis ball, he also deliberately looked around the audience.

The seats were packed!

More than 1 spectators packed this men's tennis singles final to a packed house.

It is rare for these Greeks not to be late. It seems that they have been looking forward to this showdown for a long time.

"Actually, the Greeks can come to watch the game later. I'm used to playing games in empty stadiums."

"What's more, this is the final and it's a best-of-five-set match!"

In this era, the Olympic men's tennis singles finals were best-of-five sets, including the Yanjing Olympics four years later. It was not until the 2012 London Olympics that it was adjusted to a best-of-three sets system.

In the previous life of the Athens Olympics, the men's tennis singles final was played in five brutal sets.

Therefore, this game will not be resolved for a while.

In the first service game, Chen Ran focused on stability, unlike the previous Wimbledon finals where he launched an aggressive attack from the beginning.

After all, these are two completely different stadiums.

What's more, in the Olympic finals held every four years, it's impossible for Chen Ran not to be cautious.

I have to say that Safin was fully prepared for this game and had various countermeasures in place.

In the first game, Chen Ran led 40-15, but Safin chased three points in a row and reached the break point first.

Today, Safin showed unprecedented fighting spirit.

Fortunately, Chen Ran immediately regained his concentration and showed top control in his serve. He was impregnable and could barely hold on to the first serve.

This also gave the host responsible for receiving CCTV a big sigh of relief.

If Chen Ran is broken by Safin in his first serve in the Olympic finals, it will obviously be a very bad sign.

However, it can be seen from this brief contact that Safin is in very good condition today.

Then in Safin's first serving game, he actually scored 4 points in a row, giving Chen Ran a "love game"!
This makes countless Chinese audiences on tenterhooks.

Looking back on the entire Olympic journey, Chen Ran was rarely given a "love game" even when his opponent was serving in the game.

This is enough to show that the strength of his opponent in this game is completely different from before.

Chen Ran was playing tennis with a serious expression on his face.

He remembered that Safin was eliminated early in the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Cup in the North American season. Obviously, like Chen Ran, he was putting all his focus on this Olympics.

"Actually, Chen Ran doesn't have much advantage over Safin on hard courts. This is not a clay court after all!"

The host of C5 Sports said silently. However, many netizens complained about the "crow's mouth"!
Although everyone is looking forward to Chen Ran's appearance after "not shaving for a year", they still hope from the bottom of their hearts that Chen Ran can win the championship.

Soon after, the score of the third game between the two sides was 40 to 40 again, which was quite anxious!
Then, after the two sides experienced three draws, Chen Ran finally succeeded with a crisp serve to the net.

2 is better than 1!

Although Chen Ran was in the lead, he had an extremely difficult time in his serve game.

"I would venture to guess that compared with the previous women's singles final where Haining won the championship strongly, the outcome of this game will not be so quick."

The Greek host at the scene joked like this.

Of course he hopes this game lasts as long as possible.

The progress of the game seemed to be as expected by the on-site host.

Half an hour later, the two sides went back and forth, and the score was tied at 5 to 5.

But judging from the situation of the game, Chen Ran seems to be at a disadvantage.

In three of his five service games, Safin got break points, but Chen Ran didn't get a break point even once.

"The Russians appear to be back to their peak strength."

"No... To be precise, Safin seems to be stronger now than in his peak years. He has a more mature mentality and a more stable mood. He seems to have transformed."

Indeed, Safin played very well in this game, making Chen Ran very passive.

In Chen Ran's sixth service game, after a fierce battle between the two sides, the score was once again tied at 40-D.

Another break point!

Chen Ran was so impatient that he almost wanted to throw his racket.

"Is it because you are under too much pressure and carry the burden of wanting to win and being afraid of losing?"

But Chen Ran also knew that his condition today was not bad, but the opponent's performance was also quite good.

In his previous life, Chen Ran liked to watch Safin play very much. He was very appreciative. Both his forehand and backhand were full of power and versatility. He was worthy of being the top and most talented player of this era.

"I remember that in the second half of 2004, Safin won the China Open, the Paris Masters, and the Australian Open the following year. He won several gold-rich championships in one go."

Chen Ran realized that the 24-year-old Safin had truly reached the peak moment of his career.

Immediately afterwards, Safin once again showed his style as a top player. He took one step, swung the racket vigorously, and created opportunities for himself with a forehand return serve and skateboard hit.

This is not over yet!

Safin's next two-handed backhand split the angle without warning, found a shallow landing point in the diagonal service area, and won the winning point powerfully and domineeringly.

6 is better than 5!

After several break points, the Russian Tsar finally managed to cash in once.

At this moment, Safin, who had been calm since the beginning of the game, tore his jersey excitedly and shouted.

"If I remember correctly, this is the first time Chen Ran has been broken in this Olympics."

"I can only say that due to the schedule of this Olympics, many tennis masters are not in good condition. This also prevented Chen Ran from encountering real challenges in the previous rounds."

"So he was caught off guard by Safin's incredible performance."

In the end, Safin successfully held serve and won the first set 7-5.

The first set that Chen Ran lost occurred at the same time as the first serve that was broken.

boom!
Chen Ran could no longer bear it and dropped the racket heavily.

He suddenly remembered Safin's words before the game: Chen Ran couldn't afford to lose, but he could afford to lose.

……

(End of this chapter)