Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 490 Are Chinese people suitable for playing clay? (4K)

Compared with the match against Tsonga, Chen Ran had no idea of ​​controlling the ball when playing against Monfils.

Therefore, the scores in the three sets were very different, leaving no hope for the other side.

However, this guy has inherited the arrogant character of black players, coupled with his youthful and energetic relationship. When shaking hands after the game, he said reluctantly: "I believe I will be able to beat you in the future."

After hearing this, Chen Ran was noncommittal, just shrugged indifferently and did not dwell on the issue.

In men's professional tennis, Monfils, as a black star, is indeed a relatively rare sight.

But his real fame is not because of his skin color, but because of his "glorious" role as Djokovic's first manservant.

Monfils, who was born in 86 with Nadal, has a very long career.

While the former began to fade away from the court, Monfils was still active in professional tennis.

However, this long career also created this guy's unprecedented nineteen-game losing streak against Djokovic.

Judging from the head-to-head record between top players, this should be a record that is almost difficult to break.

At this moment, Monfils still doesn’t know how “miserable” his future will be.

Although he lost, he was still full of confidence and longing for his future.

"Would it be interesting if I set the record for the longest losing streak?"

Chen Ran thought so in his heart.

He eliminated two French players in a row and was still a young talent with high hopes. This made him a thorn in the side of French fans and reporters.

After three rounds, the top 16 were decided, and the French Open also entered its second week.

None of the host players were spared and all went home.

Even if French tennis finds Uncle Black to rely on, it will still have to wait for a while before it can usher in a golden era.

……

On his rest days, in addition to doing some recovery training, Chen Ran also attended some officially arranged activities.

Once the Grand Slam tournament enters its second week, most players go home, leaving only sixteen players to stay.

Whether these sixteen people are lucky or rely on strength, at this moment, you will be focused on by the media.

As for China, this time surprisingly three people persisted until the second week of the French Open.

In addition to Chen Ran, there are also Zheng Jie and Li Na.

Especially Li Na, this is the first time she has entered the second week of a Grand Slam.

After local players were eliminated one after another, the French Open organizing committee was obviously very happy to see this scene.

This can greatly improve the French Open's ratings in China.

Two years ago, Chen Ran's French Open final had a viewership of 2 million, almost setting an insurmountable viewing record for a Grand Slam event.

"In our previous stereotype, Asian players have always been bad at clay courts."

"But Chinese players seem to be an exception!"

Chen Ran's best result is the championship, and Zheng Jie's best result is the semi-finals.

Now, another one named Li Na has broken into the second week of a Grand Slam.

All three entered the second week of the Grand Slam at the same time.

And don’t forget Zhang Depei, who aspired to win the French Open at the age of 17!
This also made the Chinese media start to exclaim, are we suitable for playing clay?
Therefore, both "Sports Weekly" and CCTV began to appeal to China's young players: Have you seen it? It is easy for us Chinese to achieve results on clay. Should you understand the focus of future training?

Wait, should the Yanjing Olympics be held on clay courts instead?
Therefore, taking advantage of the gap between games, a vigorous discussion began in China.

After Chen Ran learned about the domestic news, he also smiled bitterly.

However, the idea that "Chinese people are good at playing clay" seems to make some sense.

In previous lives, whether it was men's tennis or women's tennis, the best results of Chinese players were on clay courts.

Not only Li Na has won the French Open, but Zhang Zhizhen has won the top 32 of the French Open, the top 8 of the Madrid Masters and the top 500 of the Hamburg 4.

Chinese star Zhang Depei’s only Grand Slam was also at the French Open.

This result is indeed far ahead of other types of courses.

"This idea is very novel, but there seems to be some truth to it."

When Chen Ran was also asked this question by CCTV, he did not avoid it, but chose to answer directly.

“Tennis is very competitive, especially on the hard courts!”

"There are so many masters in the world, but there are only about a hundred people, both men and women, who can make money."

"Over the past year, there have been too few grass-court games, and although there are not as many clay-court games as there are on hard courts, there are still a lot of them."

"Many Chinese players are not good at strength and speed, and this characteristic is actually very suitable for clay courts."

"Running, tactics, and baseline confrontation are all needed on clay courts, and these are things we can improve through training."

"Whether it's me, Mr. Zhang Depei, or Zheng Jie, we have proven our competitiveness on clay courts."

"If our young players really love clay courts, they can indeed consider making clay courts a focus during training."

What Chen Ran said was true.

Regardless of his current performance, he is almost alone in men's professional tennis.

But what happens after him?
For the time being, I can’t see any second men’s tennis player from China who has a chance to break into the top 150 in the world.

What does it mean to not be in the top 150?
You can't become a true professional and make money from this sport.

Therefore, Chen Ran also held the idea of ​​​​responsibility for others and reminded China's domestic men's tennis players that since they have been unable to achieve breakthroughs on hard courts, why not change the track and focus on clay courts?

Maybe there will be another village where the willows are hidden and the flowers are bright, maybe?
……

Immediately, what Chen Ran said was immediately transmitted back to China, and then the discussion across the country about "hard court" and "clay court" reached a new height.

Many players who have been unable to break through on hard courts have also begun to publicly express that they have indeed begun to seriously consider moving their training centers to clay courts.

There are also some players who feel that their abilities are similar on hard courts and clay courts. Considering the fierce competition on hard courts, they also decisively decided to start specializing in clay courts.

Fortunately, Chen Ran's first Grand Slam was the French Open.

This has also led to the construction of many clay tennis courts in China.

This is the beauty of tennis.

When one of the doors is closing on you and you are feeling desperate, you suddenly realize that the other window is not closed.

The diversity of tennis also allows many different types of players to have something to eat.

At this moment, when China is vigorously discussing which court is more suitable for Chinese people, the second week of the French Open has begun.

Chen Ran, who aims to become the new generation of "King of Clay", continues to maintain his excellent competitive form.

In the 16th to 8th round, the opponent was an old acquaintance of mine, the famous Spanish player Ferrero.

Ferrero is only one year older than Federer and is only 25 years old now.

But his form has declined in the past year. Although he has a Grand Slam championship, he has now become the second Spanish brother.

Although clay is the court Ferrero is best at, he was unable to cause any trouble when facing Chen Ran, who was at his peak. Chen Ran faced almost no resistance and easily took away the game with a disparity of 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, successfully locking in one of the top eight spots.

When shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries after the game, even Ferrero himself admitted that he was no longer on the same level as Chen Ran.

At this year's French Open, only Nadal can pose a threat to him.

But he obviously also knows about a hot topic these days: Are Chinese people particularly good at playing clay?
So, the Spanish star started talking.

"no doubt!"

"The two youngest champions in the history of the French Open are both Chinese!"

Like most Westerners, especially non-American Westerners, they instinctively regard Zhang Depei as a Chinese.

Since Zheng Jie played right behind Chen Ran, Zhang Depei stood off the court.

"I am an American, not a Chinese!" After hearing this, Zhang Depei looked a little ugly and cursed in his heart, "My English is much better than Chinese."

But as a Spanish man, Ferredo didn't care what Zhang Depei was thinking. Instead, he slapped Chen Ran's rainbow fart wildly.

"From Zhang Depei to Chen Ran, and your female players are also good. I think for a long time in the future, China will compete with Spain to be the number one 'clay court tennis power'."

The thoughtful Chen Ran had actually noticed Zhang Depei's somewhat ugly expression.

But he didn't point it out, but replied: "This is great. For a long time in the past, Spanish players have monopolized the glory of clay courts. If there is such competition, tennis will benefit from it."

"By the way, should I talk to the ATP about adding a few more clay court events in China?"

But he knew very well that this was actually difficult.

To be precise, China has enough hardware and software to hold clay court events. The only problem is the climate.

Because the weather in China is relatively sultry in May and June, and the temperature is higher than in most parts of Europe, the difficulty of games here for players is also higher than in Europe.

Therefore, it is not easy for China to hold clay court competitions.

Of course, clay court play is not exclusive to Europe.

Whether in South America or North America, there are many clay court events throughout the year.

Therefore, it is not impossible to set up clay court events in China in the future.

After Chen Ran, Zheng Jie also appeared.

Her opponent is French star Mauresmo, a very masculine player, even her voice sounds like a man.

But it seems that there is God's will in the dark.

At this year's French Open, Chinese players defeated French players.

Zheng Jie performed brilliantly and eliminated Mauresmo in straight sets with the same 6-4 score. Like Chen Ran, she locked in one of the top eight spots.

This made the Chinese fans extremely excited.

At last year's French Open, Zheng Jie reached the semi-finals, while Chen Ran, the defending champion, was absent due to injury.

This is the first time in history that two Chinese players have reached the quarterfinals in the same Grand Slam tournament, although they are of different genders.

"Will there be any surprises?"

The CCTV host said expectantly.

After Zheng Jie, Li Na will also make her debut on Court No. 2.

But unlike Zheng Jie, Li Na has not yet embarked on a solo career, she is still a player within the system.

Her current results are not enough to support her solo career, not to mention that most sponsors are now focusing on Chen Ran and Zheng Jie.

Her boyfriend Jiang Shan is basically in a semi-retired state. In short, he will follow his girlfriend wherever she goes, and he is a support player in the team.

Because in this time and space, Chen Ran took away most of the attention, and the remaining attention was also taken up by Zheng Jie, leaving much less attention for Li Na.

Zheng Jie has a French Open semi-final, a Masters runner-up, and an Olympic bronze medal, completely crushing Li Na in terms of honors.

In addition, the latter retired in anger due to poor performance after the Busan Asian Games three years ago. In fact, many fans and media have some prejudice against her.

In her previous life, Li Na broke these prejudices by relying on her extraordinary achievements.

But now, with two big mountains in front of her, it was even more difficult.

At this moment, Chen Ran, who was sitting in the audience, was looking at this scene thoughtfully.

If there is anyone in this world who knows all this clearly, it is only Chen Ran.

"Michael..."

"This all has something to do with you!"

Chen Ran's eyes glanced meaningfully at Zhang Depei, his former rival.

Although this guy, like most Chinese Americans, has always proven that he is a genuine American, which certainly makes Chen Ran a little unhappy, he is indeed a responsible and excellent coach.

Chinese people in this era have a high opinion of Chinese Americans and always feel that they are compatriots.

This is not like the Internet in later generations, where negative impressions are the majority, and netizens are constantly using all kinds of vitriolic words.

Chen Ran knew this very well, and he also knew that Zhang Depei only believed that his bloodline came from China, and the rest didn't matter.

No matter how enthusiastic the Chinese people were towards him, nothing would change.

So when Chen Ran felt that Zhang Depei couldn't help him continue to improve, he decisively chose to part ways and also gave Zheng Jie an assist.

He didn't care whether Zhang Depei recognized his Chinese identity.

Give you money, give you endorsement fees, and your duty is to help China Tennis improve.

But this assist did change a lot, and the butterfly effect became more intense.

In the original time and space, Zheng Jie's early results were already ahead of Li Na's.

In this time and space, Zheng Jie's advantage is even greater because of Zhang Depei's relationship.

Especially today, Zheng Jie still enjoys resources that Li Na cannot match.

"I'm sorry, Sister Na."

"It may be difficult for you to regain the glory of your previous life."

"But I still hope you can seize this opportunity and break into the quarterfinals."

Chen Ran had no choice but to pray like this.

Now that it has happened, it cannot be changed.

In the fourth round, Li Na's opponent was Petrova from Russia.

The two fought inextricably.

In the end, after a three-set battle, Li Na won with difficulty and reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

So far, a total of three Chinese players have entered the top 8 of this French Open.

Chinese people seem to be really suitable for playing clay court games!
……

(End of this chapter)