Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 637 The Beginning of the Rift with Nike

Chapter 637 The Beginning of the Rift with Nike (4K)

"Chen Ran..."

“He does look a bit like a coach!”

"No... this is totally the style of a famous general!"

After seeing this scene, the CCTV host paused, then spoke slowly.

Indeed, as Chen Ran sat in the box, his every word and action already showed the demeanor of a strict teacher.

However, Chen Ran's PUA ability was beyond their imagination.

"You are already 25 years old, which is not young for a female professional tennis player."

"You are now at your peak, but who knows how many years your peak will last?"

"In the history of the WTA, there have been too many talented players who have come and gone like shooting stars. Do you think your talent is better than Hingis'?"

After hearing this, Li Na continued to keep her head down and remained silent.

Because she also heard the hidden meaning in Chen Ran's words.

The talented young girl Hingis has been declining rapidly at this age.

So she doesn't know at what age she will decline.

25 is the best age, but from another perspective, it has reached the peak and it is difficult to improve further.

"Sister Na..." Chen Ran used a respectful title, "The Grand Slam is too far away. Sometimes you need some luck, just like Sister Zheng. She has some luck."

"The China Open is a crown tournament, second only to the Grand Slam in importance, and far more important than the Premier Five Tour. You should understand this."

"This is the most important match in your current career, the pinnacle of your life. Are you sure you can make it to the finals of the Crown Tournament in the future?"

"Especially since this final is held in Yanjing."

Chen Ran was silent for a moment, then added: "Let me say it again, compared to your opponent, your biggest advantage is your backhand."

After being scolded by Chen Ran, Li Na's emotions visibly calmed down.

"It's 1-1 now, which is no different from 0-0. It really is a fresh start."

Li Na, carrying her racket, walked towards the court again.

Chen Ran leaned calmly on the sofa, looking at everything on the court with a calm expression.

He looked up from time to time and looked at the big screen above his head.

I am indeed the focus and the top star.

When I was lecturing Li Na just now, the camera on the big screen was always locked on me.

"call……"

Chen Ran also felt a little pressure.

Fortunately, it was at the level of the WTA 1000 tournament. If it had been a Grand Slam tournament, he would not have had the energy to temporarily act as a guest coach.

In the third set, when Li Na controlled her emotions, the game became exciting again.

On several occasions, Dementieva got break points, but Li Na still managed to hold her serve with great difficulty.

From beginning to end, she controlled her emotions and did not suffer a crushing defeat like in the second set.

Especially under Chen Ran's guidance, he strengthened his backhand attack, using backhand against backhand, and suppressed his opponent with fierce offensive.

In this set, the two sides fought to a tiebreak. In the end, Li Na used a fierce backhand direct hit to get a valuable mini break and finally won the victory 7-5.

At this moment, the 1 spectators in the audience burst into thunderous cheers.

After a thrilling three-set battle that lasted for 3 hours, the fans could finally celebrate.

This is the first time that Chinese male and female players have won the singles championship since Yanjing began hosting the China Open.

This achievement deserves special mention.

With this championship, Li Na's world ranking directly entered the top 4, surpassing Zheng Jie's highest ranking of fifth.

Although she has not won a Grand Slam yet, her outstanding performance on the tour is enough to make her ranking soar directly.

Li Na was not the only one who was excited. Anta, which had previously invested in large-scale marketing, was also grinning from ear to ear.

This is definitely a super investment!

Today, tennis has an unparalleled influence in China.

Women's tennis is the top 1 among women's sports.

The WTA is also very happy to see such a grand event.

When Zheng Jie's condition gradually declined, another female tennis star emerged.

They hope that Li Na can sweep away those Eastern European scions and defend the value of women's tennis as the number one sport for women.

Of course, Sharapova and Ivanovic are exceptions.

These two tennis goddesses have transcended the limitations of Eastern Europe and are famous all over the world.

Not long ago, former Grand Slam winner and Russian tennis star Felnikov shouted: It is seriously unfair for men and women to receive equal pay in Grand Slam matches, because we play against five sets to three, while women play against three sets to two.

However, Sharapova, also a Russian, immediately refuted: "I am very sure that there are many more people watching me play than watching you play, and the same is true for sponsors."

Sharapova's cleverness was that she simply changed the track.

I won't argue with you about the game time, but will refute you from the perspective of ratings and sponsors.

I can earn a lot of money, so naturally I earn no less than you.

Soon, Serena Williams, who has always been at odds with Sharapova, also jumped out to refute Felnikov's point of view.

how to say?

The two female beastmen, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, are not popular or noticed by fans outside the United States.

Especially fans in China, both men and women, have little interest in these two people.

But fortunately, these two people are of noble nationality.

The most watched match in the history of the U.S. Open in the United States was the 2001 U.S. Open women's singles final, which was a contest between the sisters.

Even the ratings for the men's singles final were slightly lower.

Americans are very supportive of this pair of sisters and have given them sky-high endorsement fees.

Ratings and sponsors keep coming.

Although their markets outside the United States are mediocre, the domestic market alone is enough to make them happy.

So, under the continuous counterattacks from Sharapova and Serena, Felnikov immediately shut up.

They can get better ratings, make more money, and attract more sponsors than you, so why do you care whether they play three or five sets?

Making money is the way to go.

So Chen Ran was very smart and never touched upon the topic of equal pay for men and women in Grand Slams.

Especially with the rise of Chinese women's tennis, the huge Chinese market is embracing the WTA.

The potential of this market is much greater than that of the US market.

After all, in the American market, mature and complete professional sports leagues have almost taken most of the market share.

But China's market space is too huge and has not been fully tapped.

In the domestic sports market, there are only two professional leagues: the Chinese Super League and the CBA.

If the national team's performance cannot be transformed, these two leagues will not be able to capture much market share, and even their reputation will remain negative.

This is also the reason why the Chinese market makes ATP and WTA jealous. When Li Na raised the glittering silver China Open championship trophy, Chen Ran also stood up and applauded her.

What an achievement!

She failed to win the crown championship in her previous life, so this time she finally fulfilled her wish.

……

"Amazing coach, directing amazing games!"

"A strict teacher produces a good student! Chen Ran's angry rebuke of Li Na was the biggest factor in her winning the championship!"

"As a successful player and coach, Chen Ran's legend will surely go down in the history of tennis."

After the final, Chen Ran received no less media coverage than the champion Li Na.

Especially during the break of the game, the scene where Li Na scolded her husband and then was scolded by Chen Ran became a classic video widely discussed by netizens and circulated on the Internet.

Chen Ran was also helpless.

I accidentally became a participant in this classic video.

In the previous life, the scene of Jiang Shan running into the stadium and being scolded by Li Na was also recorded in full by CCTV. This time, Chen Ran was inexplicably involved and became the one who scolded Li Na.

Especially when Li Na won the championship in the competition, this scolding scene was given special meaning.

"It's a pity that Chen Ran can't be a coach, otherwise he could train more talents for our Chinese tennis team."

Many tennis fans said this with some regret.

Because Chen Ran has said more than once that he is not suitable to be a coach, even after he retires in the future.

He felt that he was not a patient person and could not calm down and coach those young people.

Of course, this is just the official statement.

The main reason is that Chen Ran has already made a lot of money, and he doesn't care about the little things that come with being a coach.

"Anta stole the limelight in this China Open." Chen Ran muttered to himself.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Chen Ran felt that his sixth sense was very accurate.

After the China Open, he went to Shenzhen with his girlfriend Ivanovic.

The ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments will be held there at the same time, but the WTA 1000 tournament is actually a Super Five Tournament with 900 points, which is one level lower than the Crown Tournament.

However, Chen Ran had promised before that if his girlfriend met a Chinese female tennis player in a high-level tour, he would choose to avoid it.

This is the best opportunity to avoid outside rumors.

"My dear, I agree with your point of view. The player named Li Na in your country is indeed much stronger than the previous Zheng Jie." Ivanovic, who watched the China Open final, also exclaimed.

She said with great envy: "I must admit that your female compatriot is better than me in both forehand and backhand. This is a talent, which is difficult to make up through training."

Because at their level, they have basically realized their talents to the limit.

As for how strong they are, it all depends on their own talent.

Their only hope is to maintain a healthy body.

Only by keeping your body away from injuries can you stay competitive in the professional arena.

Even Chen Ran himself admitted that even with the assistance of the system, his current state was already his limit.

He has played so many high-level games, fought so hard time after time, that his potential has already been fulfilled.

"Yes, you can only continue to improve your skills, but of course the space is not big."

Chen Ran nodded frankly, "But you have to understand that even if the technical level improves a little bit, it may not be visible at ordinary times, but this gap may be reflected in the tiebreaker."

At this stage, every little improvement in technology is difficult to show in regular games, and may only play a role in the crucial tie-break.

But it's just a possibility.

"You've got a grand slam, honey."

Chen Ran said, "So even if there are important competitions in the future, if you are injured or uncomfortable, there is no need to persist."

Ivanovich asked curiously, "What about you? Is it the same for you?"

"Of course, I already have 14 Grand Slams. So I don't feel that much pressure, and I won't persist even in important competitions." Chen Ran said frankly.

The only exception may be the Yanjing Olympics.

He still really wants to win the Double Circle Gold Slam, or to be more precise, the Double Circle Super Gold Slam.

"The Yanjing Olympics is very important to you, right?" Ivanovich asked with a blink.

"Yes, it's very important." Chen Ran smiled slightly, "This will make me a household name."

"What do you mean? Aren't you a household name now?"

Chen Ran smiled and said, "Let me give you an example... When I was in China, I met an auntie who was doing square dance downstairs from my home. She asked me what I did for a living."

"I said I was a tennis player. He asked me what I had achieved, and I said I had won a Grand Slam title."

“But the other party was confused and didn’t know what a Grand Slam champion meant.”

"I think for someone who doesn't follow sports on a regular basis, they don't really know what a Grand Slam title means."

"So I suddenly had an idea and said I was an Olympic tennis champion, and the other party was immediately in awe."

"I think this is the meaning of my winning the Olympic gold medal, to let more people know me."

"After all, in our country, the Olympics is the only thing that everyone knows about, young and old!"

Ivanovich nodded in realization, then smiled and said, "It seems that this is also the case in our country."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ran suddenly remembered Djokovic in his previous life, who was so determined to win a gold medal for Serbia that he was willing to participate in five Olympic Games.

At this time, Chen Ran's cell phone rang. It was his agent calling.

His heart moved and he answered the phone.

Three minutes later, he put away his phone, his face looking a little gloomy.

"what happened to you?"

"Oh, it's nothing. There are some problems with the sponsor."

Chen Ran replied expressionlessly.

This time at the China Open, Anta stole the show.

But Nike, which has always been petty, was dissatisfied.

They think Chen Ran should not help Li Na in this way, as it will make Anta bigger.

"How can that benefit you?"

"With Li Na's rise, aren't you worried that she will take away your market share?"

Nike, on its part, did not forget to sow discord.