Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 560 Couple Runner-up Package (4K)

In the second week of the Grand Slam, Chen Ran continued his excellent form.

He continued to sweep his opponents 3-0 in various ways, and made it to the semi-finals step by step.

His girlfriend Ivanovic was also in very good shape. Although the process was bumpy and she was in danger of being eliminated at one point, she still overcame various difficulties and made it into the French Open semi-finals as she wished.

This also ties Ivanovic's best result in the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Since dating Chen Ran, this tennis goddess' performance has steadily improved.

Has there ever been a situation in history where a tennis couple reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament together?

Graf and Agassi are indeed a perfect couple in the tennis world, and have both reached world number one in their respective ATP and WTA rankings.

But when Graf and Agassi's relationship was exposed, the former had already entered the twilight of her career.

Therefore, the two of them have never reached the semi-finals of the four Grand Slam tournaments together.

Chen Ran and Ivanovich should be the first time in history.

In the semi-finals, Chen Ran faced Ljubicic, known as the "Croatian Iron Man".

The semi-final result is also the best result of this Croatian star in a Grand Slam tournament.

In this match, Chen Ran started off badly by losing the first set, but then he won three sets in a row and completed a reversal with a score of 3 to 1.

He reached the French Open final for the third time.

In fact, when Chen Ran was trailing 0-1, many French spectators at the scene were gloating.

They feel that Chen Ran is likely to continue his semi-final performance, just like the previous "Sunshine Double" and the back-to-back clay court Masters in Madrid and Rome.

If Chen Ran is eliminated in the French Open semi-finals again, it will mean that he has only reached the semi-finals in five consecutive top tournaments.

For most top players, this achievement is enough to be proud of for a long time.

But for a world number one like Chen Ran, he will be teased or even laughed at by most fans.

In the other semifinal, the new king of clay court Nadal eliminated Federer with the same score of 3-1 and secured another spot in the final.

However, because of the butterfly effect caused by Chen Ran, Federer won the French Open championship two years ago, which was several years earlier than in his previous life.

Today, Federer has three Grand Slam titles, the only thing missing is the Australian Open, which was replaced by the French Open in his previous life.

You have to know that in the past, before Djokovic's rise, the Australian Open almost became Federer's backyard.

But now, the Australian Open has become Chen Ran's backyard, and Federer is begging for a title but to no avail.

In the French Open final, Chen Ran and Nadal met again.

As for the women's tennis, Ivanovic also showed excellent competitive form. After losing the first set, she won two sets in a row and defeated Kuznetsova, one of the Russian Red Army.

What amazed many gossip media was that even the couple's advancement process to the final was so strikingly similar, both of them completed a reversal after losing the first set.

Could it be that after two people have slept together for so long, even their playing styles have become similar?

When the game was over, the Serbian beauty knelt on the ground excitedly and cried with joy, then rushed to the stands and hugged Chen Ran.

This is Ivanovic's first Grand Slam final.

The scene of the No. 1 male tennis player and the goddess of tennis hugging each other was also recorded by countless people around them who took out their mobile phones or cameras.

This romantic and warm picture will surely be hailed as an eternal classic in the history of professional tennis.

In another women's singles semi-final, Henin defeated Sharapova and secured another spot in the women's singles final.

The Sharapova-Ivanovic showdown that people had been looking forward to with great anticipation ultimately did not take place in the Grand Slam final.

Haining is really strong.

She is also determined to regain the French Open title that she lost last year.

Even Chen Ran had to admit that Henin's dominance on the clay court was terrifying, just like Nadal.

If Henin had not retired suddenly, Ivanovic in her previous life might not have had the chance to win the only Grand Slam title in her career - the 2008 French Open.

And Henin's strength is not only in the French Open. In the WTA 1000 clay court tournament, she also leads by a large number of championships.

Fortunately, she missed this year's Stuttgart Porsche Grand Prix, otherwise his girlfriend might not have been able to get that Porsche.

Chen Ran can only recall one female tennis player who was so dominant on clay courts.

It is not Serena Williams from the United States, but the younger Polish female player Swiatek, who was born in 2001.

This woman's dominance on clay courts is even stronger than Henin's. Before Chen Ran was reborn, she had won four Grand Slams, three of which were at the French Open. (She also won the French Open this year, three consecutive championships)
Even in the French Open final, she dominated the game and turned it into a crushing victory with no suspense at all.

As for Zheng Qinwen, who was highly expected by Chinese fans, he was defeated very easily every time he met Swiatek, without any room for resistance.

After 6 consecutive losses, she became one of Swiatek's high-end maids.

As for the second sister, Wang Xinyu, who is known as the Chinese Sharapova, was defeated 6-0 twice by Swiatek in the third round of the French Open. It was so brutal that it was unbearable to watch.

Therefore, even the most optimistic Chinese fans believe that as long as Swiatek's condition is at an average level, it would be extremely difficult and almost impossible for Zheng Qinwen to replicate Li Na's record of winning the French Open.

Swiatek is more impeccable than Henin. (Although she is known as a political woman and has called for a ban on Russian and Belarusian players, she is really strong, and her playing is much more entertaining than Serena Williams. In this era, the WTA is simply killing people.)
Closer to home.

The couple Chen Ran and Ivanovic made it to the French Open final together, which is enough to become a well-known story.

Both Chinese and world media gave it prominent coverage.

The popularity of this sports star couple is showing signs of surpassing that of Beckham and Victoria.

Except for CCTV media which was relatively reserved, other media and major portals began to use exaggerated headlines.

"In last year's final, Chen Ran and Zheng Jie made it to the final, and this year's final, Chen Ran and Ivanovic made it to the final!"

"Last year there were two Chinese players, this year there is a Chinese player and his girlfriend. It doesn't seem to make any difference. Just cheer for him!"

"In this year's French Open final, we cheer for the Chinese players and their wives."

Everyone was very enthusiastic, and the emotions that had been suppressed for more than four months were finally released.

After all, after the Australian Open, Chen Ran has not made it to the finals in any Masters tournament, making Chinese fans wait anxiously.

In this French Open final, the enthusiasm of Chinese fans was once again ignited.

Cheer for Chen Ran, and also cheer for Ivanovic.

Ivanovich is also a member of our family. Moreover, her appearance is so high, far better than Li Na and Zheng Jie, which makes the number of fans she has gained in China no less than that of the golden flower players.

Although there were some old-fashioned leaders in the Sports Bureau who disapproved of Chen Ran choosing a foreign girl as his girlfriend, they were even more dissatisfied because fans across the country were cheering for Ivanovic.

Even if this foreign horse wins the championship, can I achieve any political achievements?
However, under such public opinion, leaders did not dare to say that they did not support it and risked the world's condemnation.

Otherwise, he would definitely be criticized to death by Chen Ran and Ivanovic's fans.

So, when Director Sun of the Tennis Sports Management Center was asked by reporters whether he would support Ivanovic in the final, he played Tai Chi, which leaders are always good at: "I will watch Chen Ran's game, but as for the other final... the Sports Bureau just happened to have a preparatory meeting for the Yanjing Olympics."

"What I've been thinking about the most recently is how to get our Chinese tennis players to perform at their best in the Yanjing Olympics. I often suffer from insomnia because of this."

Look, the leaders have worked so hard. Do you reporters and fans have the nerve to continue to criticize them?

Director Sun is also worried.

Given Ivanovich's current popularity, what would happen if he met a Chinese female athlete at the Yanjing Olympics?
I dare not say that most people, but at least a considerable number of people will cheer for Ivanovich.

Especially since there are already a huge number of CP fans on the Internet, these fans are really scary.

By then it will be 2008. If these CP fans really cheer for Ivanovic, the most you can do is morally condemn them, but you can't really do anything to them.

What's more, the relationship between China and Serbia is pretty good.

My head hurts!

I really envy Xie Yalong next door. Although the men's football team is a little weak, he holds the power of life and death and has the final say. Who dares to object?

As for benefits, football definitely has more than tennis!
If Director Sun knew that Comrade Yalong next door would be imprisoned in a few years, he might not be so envious.

……

French Open final day.

Chen Ran opened the property panel and subdivided his skills, which is a recent feature of the system.

Slow hard court (Australian Open): 96
Fast Hard Court (US Open): 96
Indoor hard court (end of year): 95
Red clay: 93
Grass: 92
This is Chen Ran’s technical value on various types of tennis courts.

The reason why he was in mediocre form in the clay court season and always stopped in the semi-finals was not because Chen Ran did not try his best, nor was it because his excessive involvement with Ivanovic affected his form.

After all, after learning from the previous lesson with Sharapova, Chen Ran realized that he was not the kind of person like Ronaldo or Ronaldinho.

These two Brazilian guys indulged themselves with girls before the game, and they were in even better shape during the game.

Chen Ran has already tried it and found that he is not this type. (Many readers complained about it at the beginning. In fact, the protagonist just wanted to try it out. But why the Masters? Because it can't be a Grand Slam, the Masters is already the lower limit of the protagonist's participation in the competition.)
Therefore, Chen Ran would choose to restrain himself the night before the game in order to maintain his concentration and physical strength.

The reason why he was in such a slump in the previous Masters Tournaments was that Chen Ran consciously reduced himself to the competition and failed to adjust his physical condition and mental concentration to the best.

After all, Chen Ran is a flesh and blood person, and it is impossible for him to always be in the best physical condition.

So he also kept shifting his body up and down during the game.

By the time the French Open came, Chen Ran's body had officially entered the Grand Slam state.

If Chen Ran always goes to Wushan with his girlfriend before the competition, even if his performance is not affected, will Ivanovic also be affected?

After all, her performance had been steadily improving, and after the French Open, she made it to the French Open finals with her accumulated strength.

However, this French Open final was a huge adjustment for both Chen Ran and Ivanovic.

Nadal is like a Spanish bull with red eyes, accumulating countless anger.

He had been waiting for his first Grand Slam so long that the flowers were almost withering.

That desire has filled my whole body.

As for Henin, as the queen of clay court tennis, she came to the French Open final with a mentality of revenge and was full of murderous intent.

Compared with her, Ivanovich, who was only 19 years old, looked much more immature.

Even with the power of love, it may be impossible to change your fate.

The first match was the women's singles final, and Henin indeed demonstrated her overwhelming strength.

If Henin repeats the same mistake she made in last year's French Open final on the clay court, which is her best venue, she will not be qualified to become the number one active women's player in the world.

The match lasted one hour and five minutes, and Henin swept Ivanovic 6-3 and 6-2 to win the fourth Grand Slam title of her career.

The beautiful Serbian girl once again hid in Chen Ran's arms and cried.

The last time she cried was because she made it to the French Open final, and this time she cried because she was beaten by Henin.

Chen Ran could only comfort her softly: "Baby, keep working hard, one day you will be able to win a Grand Slam championship."

After the women's singles final ended, the final drama, the men's singles final, began.

Today, Chen Ran is actually on par with Nadal on clay courts.

But Nadal showed a stronger desire to survive and an immense thirst for the championship.

After all, as the new generation of tennis king who is highly expected, he still has a pitiful number of Grand Slams, 0.

In this final, Nadal was too devoted, too crazy, and almost entered a state of ecstasy.

He played one of the best clay court matches ever.

Chen Ran was also in good shape, and in the tit-for-tat confrontation, he also showed his pride as the defending champion.

If you want to win, give it your best shot!

In the end, the two sides fought for five sets.

7：5，4:6，6:4，5：7，8:10！

In the fifth set, both sides even entered an extremely brutal long-set decider, playing a full 18 games.

2 is better than 3!

In the end, Nadal defeated Chen Ran with a very slight advantage and won the first Grand Slam title in his career.

This time, Chen Ran and Ivanovich carried the dishes together.

……

PS: Sooner or later, the protagonist will have to serve a grand slam dish, so let’s do it with his girlfriend for the first time.

(End of this chapter)