Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 603 The Next Goal - Annual Grand Slam
PS: Some readers have said that the book is too boring recently. I have also discovered this problem and I am really sorry. I plan to speed up the progress and skip unnecessary plots. This is because the book is not designed to end with the 2008 Olympics.

The protagonist will definitely play against the top tennis players of this period, such as Alcaraz, Sinner, Medvedev, and Zverev.

In this time and space, these players grew up watching the protagonist play.

I will finish the story after the protagonist has fought with the people of this generation, so that there will be no regrets.

……

In the 2007 season, Chen Ran's goal was simple, which was to chase the record of "Federer" in another parallel universe.

It was in this year that Federer achieved his third triple crown in one year, but still could not shake Nadal's dominance at the French Open.

At the same time, this was also his last time to win three championships in one year.

Since then, the Swiss have gradually fallen from the top.

"In fact, I am the same as Federer at that time. The most difficult to conquer is the French Open." Chen Ran thought to himself.

He is already 21 years old and his competitive state has gradually begun to reach its peak.

Today, my mentality, body, skills, and all aspects have become perfect and I have become more comprehensive.

Four titles in one year!
Chen Ran felt that it was time for him to try to compete for this honor.

“This year should be a good opportunity!”

He finally made up his mind to strive for the annual Grand Slam.

In the history of men's tennis, only Rod Laver from Australia has achieved this achievement, and the center court of the Australian Open is named after him.

However, Rod Laver achieved this achievement in the distant year of 1969, which is the ancient era of tennis.

In those days, tennis was not as professional as it is today, and even the ATP tour had not been officially established.

Therefore, the difficulty of achieving a full annual Grand Slam in this era is completely different.

As for the Annual Golden Slam, which is more difficult than the Era Grand Slam, Chen Ran never had high hopes for it, because there was really no need to overdraw his body to such an extreme.

Graf did achieve this feat, but women's tennis is far less intense than men's tennis, not to mention that men's Grand Slam tournaments are played in a best-of-five format.

"It's decided. All competition plans this year will be carried out according to the goal of the annual Grand Slam. By next year, I will be able to prepare for the Yanjing Olympics with a light load." Once Chen Ran made the decision, he immediately put it into action.

However, he did not tell anyone in the team, including his girlfriend, about this idea.

After the winter training, it will be the Australian season.

Chen Ran did not choose to directly attend the Australian Open as he did in previous years.

He first participated in an exhibition match in Macau, happily took away a sum of appearance fees, and then signed up for the Brisbane 250.

There is almost no appearance fee, it's just a warm-up for the Australian Open.

So, after winning two games, Chen Ran stopped in the quarterfinals.

He didn't care about the boos from the fans at the scene and just left with his tennis bag.

When the game feels right and the goal is achieved, just leave without hesitation.

In an overseas competition of this level, there is no point in persisting until the finals.

Anyway, Chen Ran is not the only one who does this.

However, many overseas media began to predict the future of Chen Ran, saying that his tour winning streak had come to an end and that his winter training this year was not very effective.

Could it be that this guy is just trying to figure out new positions with his girlfriend in Sanya?

After all, judging from social media, during the winter training period, Chen Ran took Ivanovic to the beaches in Sanya to play in the water, or to rent a yacht to go out to sea.

As for what they did after driving the yacht to the sea, it is unknown, but based on some of the plots in the movie, you can imagine what happened.

"Chen Ran is obviously not in good shape."

"He is clearly no longer the favourite to win the Australian Open."

But soon, these foreign media were slapped in the face.

After the Australian Open officially started, Chen Ran regained his brave and aggressive form as he did last year.

He was on a roll, sweeping his opponents 3-0 in every game.

In the final championship battle, Chen Ran did not give any chance to Nadal, who made it to the Australian Open final for the first time, and mercilessly defeated his opponent 3-0.

The Spaniard didn't even get a break point.

Chen Ran did just that and easily won his fourth consecutive Australian Open title.

This playground is his back garden.

The achievement of four consecutive championships has never been achieved even by a player as strong as Rod Laver, whose name was given to him.

At the same time, Chen Ran also brought his Grand Slam count to 11.

Getting closer!
He is getting closer and closer to Sampras' 14 Grand Slams.

Even the ATP joked on its official website: 14 Grand Slam titles, a record that once seemed out of reach, now seems to be within reach.

So let us guess whether Chen Ran can tie Sampras' record this year.

Oh, then I should complete the annual Grand Slam.

This really seems like a distant memory; the last time this happened was in 1969.

Let us wait and see.

……

"Annual Grand Slam? You must be joking!"

"Do you really think there is no one in men's professional tennis?"

When the ATP official website listed such a title, many people expressed dissatisfaction.

Since the Open Era, when tennis no longer distinguished between amateur and professional players, no one has ever completed the annual Grand Slam. After all, it is too difficult for a player to be proficient in all courts and not lose form in a year.

So far, Chen Ran has had two impressive records of winning three championships in one year. This is enough. What else does he want?
Stop him!
We must stop him!
The article on the ATP official website immediately put Chen Ran at the center of public opinion and made him the target of public criticism.

As for Chen Ran himself, he said very humbly that he did not think so far ahead, and his current primary goal was to win as many tour championships as possible and maintain his position as the world's number one.

"My condition at the Australian Open is indeed surprisingly good. Of course, I am also more adapted to the courts of the Australian Open. I hope this good condition can be maintained."

"You know, I'm under a lot of pressure to maintain my points."

……

However, contrary to expectations, Chen Ran's winning streak this time stopped at seven games.

That is, after he won seven consecutive games at the Australian Open, he was eliminated in the first round of the Dubai 500 tournament not long after.

The one who defeated Chen Ran was actually a player from France.

Heaven, earth!
Chen Ran's winning streak against French players stopped at 36 consecutive wins and was finally ended.

This French player is the first of the new generation - Gasquet, who is the same age as Chen Ran.

Ms. Alice, did you see that?
this is for you!

We in France finally have a male player who can beat Chen Ran.

After all, Chen Ran had once dated the goddess from their country and had beaten the male players from their country.

Although this is just an ATP500 tournament, many French media were also excited about it.

Chen Ran’s winning streak has always been like a cloud hanging over their heads.

This time, the clouds finally cleared and the moon appeared.

"French tennis has finally started to fight back against Chen Ran. This is our Normandy Landing."

"This time it was a win in the 500th tournament, and hopefully the next one will be a 1000th tournament, or even a Grand Slam."

……

After the Dubai 500, there is the "Sunshine Double" which is known as the "fifth Grand Slam".

Logically speaking, in a competition of this level, you have to give your all.

But Chen Ran still went his own way and chose to continue "downshifting" the race.

At the Indian Wells Masters, Chen Ran was eliminated in the round of 32; at the Miami Masters, although Chen Ran had a good draw arranged by IMG, he still only made it to the round of .

The situation is extremely bad.

It seems that his recent victory at the Australian Open was just a flash in the pan.

But everyone is smart and knows that Chen Ran’s previous strong performance in winning four consecutive Australian Open titles was neither a coincidence nor luck.

Then the problem comes...

Why he is in a slump on tour.

"Don't be fooled by him!"

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and other former Big Three all spoke up: "I think he really wants to achieve the annual Grand Slam, so he deliberately holds back during the tour."

Many people are increasingly beginning to believe this.

Nadal even recalled the situation last year, which was exactly the same.

Last year, Chen Ran announced her relationship after the Australian Open, and then her form went into a long slump. However, she rebounded strongly during the French Open.

Although Nadal defeated Chen Ran with difficulty after five brutal and fierce battles.

But after that, Chen Ran started a winning streak and won the championship in all the subsequent competitions he participated in.

At that time, it was unknown whether Chen Ran was really depressed or had other reservations because he had just announced his girlfriend.

However, this year, he repeated the same scene from last year, the difference being that he did not change his girlfriend.

"I think Chen Ran is accumulating strength for the French Open," Nadal said confidently. "Now he doesn't need to prove himself in the Masters, so he will be reserved in these events. Besides, his world No. 1 ranking is very stable, which gives him the qualifications to be willful."

Indeed, in theory, before the start of this year's US Open, it was unlikely that Chen Ran's world number one ranking would be overtaken by anyone else.

"Believe me, Chen Ran will also be reserved in the clay court season before the French Open." Nadal knows that his biggest rival at the French Open is still Chen Ran.

Because of various rumors from outside, even the bookmakers adjusted the odds of Chen Ran in several clay court masters before the French Open.

Whether it is Montreal, Madrid, or Rome, Chen Ran's championship odds have fallen out of the top eight.

This is completely different from the odds during the "Sunshine Double Match".

"This time, even the bookmakers have seen through my plan." Chen Ran sighed when he saw the odds.

In order to achieve the annual Grand Slam, Chen Ran is indeed preparing for the French Open.

In fact, his inspiration came from the new Spanish giant Alcaraz.

This guy was in terrible shape in a series of tours after the Australian Open, often being eliminated before the quarterfinals.

Many people even began to regard Aka as the second Hewitt, aging prematurely.

However, this guy performed well in the Grand Slam tournaments and won the French Open and Wimbledon in a row.

There is no such coincidence in the world. It is obvious that they chose to downgrade the race in order to be more reserved in the tour.

But it would be difficult for Chen Ran to get away with it by doing this.

Never mind, he decided to continue to downshift and save energy for the French Open.

The previous clay court masters were all just warm-ups.

……

(End of this chapter)