Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 495 The real king of clay! (4K)

At the Center Court of Roland Garros, a Chinese song was rarely played today. It was "Run", a collaboration between Chen Ran and Wang Fei two years ago.

The organizing committee of the French Open obviously also knew the reason. It was very generous to Chen Ran and played this song on the eve of the men's singles final.

This song is originally about sports and fits the current environment very well.

Tennis, especially on clay courts, requires players to be constantly running.

Many Chinese fans at the scene began to jump up and down excitedly after hearing this familiar song, and even swayed with their whole bodies.

In the huge stands, brilliant five-star red flags were flying everywhere.

Zheng Jie unexpectedly defeated Haining to win the French Open women's singles championship, which has excited Chinese sports fans.

The most difficult step has been overcome.

Isn’t it reasonable for Chen Ran to continue to aspire to win the French Open after Zheng Jie?
So, now everyone is waiting for Chen Ran to bring a successful conclusion to this year's French Open.

Having said that, it seems that it has never happened in the past history that players from one country have won the men's and women's singles championships in the same Grand Slam event at the same time.

At least that's the case in the Open era.

Tennis is not like table tennis. It is very difficult for you to be a dominant player.

However, based on current trends, at least on clay courts, the Chinese seem to be developing tennis towards the trend of table tennis.

Amid the cheers of the audience, Chen Ran and Nadal appeared on the stage one after another.

However, compared to Chen Ran, who had a calm face, the Spanish genius's expression was much more serious.

Because of his impressive record on clay courts, Nadal is known as Spain's new king of clay courts.

But there is an embarrassing fact that the new king of clay has not yet won the French Open championship, so the name of the "King of Clay" seems to be somewhat untrue.

Today is his best chance!

Even Nadal himself admitted that it seems difficult for him to beat Chen Ran on other courts, and he doesn't even have much advantage against Federer.

At the French Open, Roland Garros is the court where he has the best chance of winning a Grand Slam.

If he can't even win the French Open, what will he do to compete with Chen Ran in the long days to come?

So he must win!
Under the attention of sports fans around the world, this peak clay-court showdown finally began.

Is this the highest level French Open final ever?
Before the game, many media raised such a hypothesis.

As the game began, both sides fought hard with their bayonets red, gradually proving that the previous assumptions were worthy of their name.

At the same time, many Chinese spectators who were watching Nadal play for the first time were also eye-opened by the Spanish boy's series of "confused" operations.

"Damn it, this Spanish guy is here to mess with people's mentality."

In the entire men's professional tennis world, Nadal is a typical representative of personal obsessive-compulsive disorder, with his own set of obsessive-compulsive disorder routines that must be followed.

For example, the mineral water bottle must have its label facing the court on the side you are playing next; for example, you must never step on any boundary line when entering and leaving the court; for example, every time you change a new ball, you must change the racket in the next game.

As for initiating routines, they can drive opponents crazy to the extreme.

A series of trivial little movements must be completed before he can serve, especially the butt-grabbing step, which has become his classic trademark.

As a result, many Chinese fans who didn't like Nadal gave him a very indecent nickname: The King of Butt Dunks!
In this time and space, because Nadal is a strong competitor of Chen Ran, the nickname "King of Buttocks" is expected to come out a few years earlier.

Both sides now know the basics.

“Raphael’s serve is not terrible!”

Chen Ran could handle it at his own expense, but he knew that the opponent's advantage lay in the second shot after the serve.

Nadal's movements are fast, agile and explosive.

Chen Ransheng's skills are comprehensive, including footwork, movement, backhand, forehand, bottom line, and almost impeccable at the net.

In particular, his excellent two-handed backhand skills are not afraid of the powerful forehand of Nadal, who is left-handed.

The two sides fought very hard.

In the first set, Chen Ran broke serve first, and then when he led 5-4 and entered his own service-winning game, he was broken back by Nadal in a thrilling manner, and he was brought back to the same starting line.

Spanish players have always been famous in the tennis world for their strong resilience, and Nadal is the leader among them.

Chen Ran unfortunately missed the winning serve, but just when the audience thought that the first set would enter a tie-break, Chen Ran made an unexpected attack and completely broke serve.

With this ball, Chen Ran showed unparalleled adaptability and excellent control of the landing.

I saw him using an obvious forward pressing action and then the tennis ball had already returned to where it came from, hitting Nadal's feet so hard that the opponent didn't even have time to adjust his small steps.

At the critical moment, Chen Ran, who broke serve for the second time, won the first set 7-5.

The momentum is like a rainbow!

However, after the start of the second set, the situation changed suddenly.

After a slight adjustment, Nadal devoted himself fully to the game, like a crazed Spanish bull, as if he had been beaten to death.

If you are not crazy, you are not a devil!
Nadal, who was crazy and devoted and tried his best, kept putting huge pressure on Chen Ran with one topspin shot after another of amazing quality.

"Super topspin" is also known as "na-style topspin". Not only does the rotation speed be much higher than that of ordinary players, but the power and momentum are also very heavy.

And because the Spaniard is left-handed, when playing against right-handed players, he uses his forehand to suppress his opponent's already relatively weak backhand, which gives him an obvious advantage.

The reason why Chen Ran was able to form an equal confrontation was because his two-handed backhand technique at this moment was almost close to that of Djokovic at his peak.

But in the second set, Nadal went a little crazy.

Even if Chen Ran occasionally hits a high-quality fairy ball, Nadal can save it and put tremendous pressure on Chen Ran with strong topspin.

It was also 7-5, and this time the winner was Nadal.

Spain's face was red, and the iconic hair tie had been thrown somewhere by him. His rectangular head was floating in the wind, looking even crazier.

This kid is completely crazy.

He wants to win this French Open so much.

During the rest period, Chen Ran's face was as dark as water.

At this moment, Nadal is no longer much different from the king of clay he met in the "simulation training ground".

More importantly, Nadal in the "simulated training ground" is a virtual character, and his competitive state has always been maintained at a relatively stable level, with little ups and downs, and he also does not have a chicken blood.

A skilled tennis player, even an ordinary professional athlete, can perform superbly, let alone a giant player like him.

Chen Ran felt that it was time for him to make a change. It would be difficult to break the balance with the simple basic shots as planned before.

After the third set started, Chen Ran slightly adjusted some tactics.

He would sometimes hit the ball with a forehand.

At this moment, Chen Ran did not rush to grab the rising point, but used his forehand to create a super topspin. This was to remove Nadal's spin and change the rhythm of the shot.

In tennis, a change of pace is a countermeasure you often take after falling into a passive situation.

The right rhythm can also disrupt the opponent's fiery state, thus reflecting the players' superb golf intelligence. Chen Ran's plan was feasible, but Nadal was not fully prepared for Chen Ran's on-the-spot tactical adjustments.

In a hurry, Chen Ran decisively seized a few returns with average quality and slightly insufficient topspin.

Amidst the exclamations of the entire audience, Chen Ran's figure was seen moving as fast as lightning.

Then he braked and turned sideways, Chen Ran swung his racket, and the tennis ball flashed past the opponent's eyes like a cannonball.

Immediately afterwards, applause broke out.

Chen Ran once again took advantage of the strong confrontation.

At this moment, the third set was locked at 7-5 again.

The first three sets between the two sides were all 7-5, lasting 12 rounds.

And because of the characteristics of the clay court, the tug-of-war between the two was very lengthy, making the game last more than three hours.

This French Open final is worthy of being the most powerful clay court showdown in history and can be called an epic.

Compared with the previous women's singles final, it was even more different.

It was simply too exciting, too thrilling, and too thrilling.

"We know that Chen Ran can win the championship if he wins one more set."

"But it's too early to celebrate now. The two sides played very fiercely, and the fourth set is still full of suspense."

The CCTV host swallowed, and his palms were covered in sweat.

In this final, these two 19-year-old guys had no reservations. They really fought hard.

This level of selfless devotion, exerting all one's strength, looking focused and solemn, is completely different from the previous Masters finals.

If in the final of the Masters, the two of them only used 100 points of power, this time they used 120 points of power.

Such dedication gave the audience a breathtaking and exciting showdown.

In the fourth set, the Spaniard once again showed his tenacity and unwillingness to admit defeat.

This guy really fights!
Even if he was too tired to stand still after the game, it did not prevent Nadal from attacking regardless of the consequences at this moment.

Chen Ran was broken at the beginning this time, and then broke back once, bringing both sides back to the same starting line.

However, to the surprise of the audience, the tenacious Nadal broke serve again and once again took the advantage.

what does this mean?
In Chen Ran's past Grand Slam tournaments, he has never been broken twice by the opponent in the same set.

Today, this record is completed by Nadal.

Of course, there is a first time for everything, and Chen Ran was already prepared.

Soon, he gritted his teeth and immediately completed a second counterattack, which also made the audience exclaim.

The serve was broken twice and saved twice!
Nadal's willpower is so tenacious, and Chen Ran's willpower is not weak at all.

Facing the beaten Spaniards, he also tried to break through his limits again and again.

After the two sides broke each other twice, the fourth set was tied at 6-6, and the game entered a tie-break.

"A tiebreak is better than a long game!"

Chen Ran muttered secretly.

In terms of physical fitness, although I am not bad now, I may still be weaker than Nadal in front of me.

If there is a long game on a clay court like the French Open, the balance of victory may tilt in favor of the Spaniard.

After a short rest, Chen Ran and Nadal ushered in the first tiebreaker in the French Open final.

To be honest, Nadal was a little disappointed.

He was the first to break serve twice, but Chen Ran broke back again.

If he had just been more careful, the result of the fourth set might have been different, and now he had dragged the game into a long-set decider.

Not only Chen Ran, but also Nadal himself knew that once he entered a long-set final, he might be able to gain some "weak" advantage.

rub!
Take the shot! Get the ball out!
Chen Ran swung the racket violently.

incredible!

He actually sent the ACE ball directly in the tiebreaker.

Chen Ran was ready to devote all his remaining physical energy to the tie-break of this set.
There will be no fifth set, no long-set tiebreaker.

This game took more than 4 hours, from early evening to late at night, which was enough.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Ran showed his extraordinary ability to predict.

He accurately predicted Nadal's hitting route, then rushed into the court early and completed the mini-break with an effortless volley.

This was the first time in the fourth set that Chen Ran became the first to break serve, even if it was a break of serve.

This advantage must be maintained!

Chen Ran kept repeating and emphasizing in his heart.

抢七比分：2:0，2:1……4:1，4:3……6:3，6:5！

Chen Ran did not find a second mini-break opportunity, but he also did not allow Nadal to complete any mini-break.

At this moment, he holds two service points.

But if Chen Ran wants to win, he must win the first service point. If he loses the first service point and keeps the second service point, he will be passive.

Because after exchanging service points, Nadal can also get two opportunities, and may even complete the lead in the score.

Da da da!
Chen Ran kicked the ground violently, turned around and swung the racket, and the tennis ball flew out with strong topspin.

Then, Nadal made a high-quality return, directly suppressing Chen Ran's backhand position.

The two sides went back and forth, falling into a multi-shot see-saw at the bottom line, and the crisp sound resounded in the sky above Roland Garros.

At this moment, Chen Ran even felt a slight numbness in his arms.

boom!
One of Nadal's shots missed the net, and then Chen Ran followed his heart, as if he had predicted something.

An incredible scene happened.

The audience thought it was Nadal's lucky shot, but the amazing thing was that Chen Ran not only saved the ball, but also returned a scratch ball because he lacked the strength to return the ball in a hurry.

Hey~
Winning point!
Chen Ran successfully cashed in on the match point.

He is the new King of Clay!

However, after more than four hours of fighting, at this moment both players seemed to have exhausted all their strength, holding their knees with their hands and gasping for air.

……

(End of this chapter)