Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 645 Super Annual Grand Slam (4K)

"Very well, you have irritated me!"

Chen Ran could feel his physical fatigue and his hunger for honor decreasing.

However, when he completed the annual Grand Slam, his opponent invented a new achievement for himself: the Super Annual Grand Slam.

This is an unprecedented honor.

Because even the tennis queen Steffi Graf has never achieved the honor of a super annual Grand Slam.

Graf completed the annual Golden Slam in 1988, but she did not win the WTA Finals that year.

Chen Ran did not aspire to win the annual Golden Slam, because chasing such a record is meaningless, and the intensity of the men's competition is incomparable to that of the women's competition. The competition is on two completely different levels.

Since I don't expect the annual Golden Slam, I'll just get the annual Super Grand Slam.

After all, for the sport of tennis, although the glory of an Olympic gold medal is far-reaching and very special, its value is not as high as the year-end finals.

"I've got the Super Annual Grand Slam."

After having a goal, at least Chen Ran felt that some energy was surging in his body.

An honor that even Graf had never achieved, ignited his fighting spirit.

If the outside world knew Chen Ran’s current mental state, they would rather not hype the topic of “Super Annual Grand Slam”.

However, the year-end finals is not only a test of players' skills, but also a huge test of their physical fitness.

He just played a three-set battle with Federer, which took more than three hours.

Then, in less than 24 hours, he will face Djokovic in the year-end final.

Indeed, such frequent and intense competitions have put extreme strain on the body.

Even though Chen Ran didn't participate in some competitions this year and basically picked and chose which ones he played, he often played until the deep rounds in any competitions he participated in.

Especially in the second half of the year, starting from the French Open, Chen Ran reached the finals in all the competitions he participated in and won the championship.

Therefore, the outside world was not very optimistic about Chen Ran in this back-to-back game, and he knew it very well.

……

“I hope my son can win this year-end championship!”

Djokovic's father began playing psychological warfare as the tournament approached: "Chen Ran has already won 14 Grand Slam titles, and he has two year-end titles. I believe he won't be so stingy."

"Listen, I respect him as the best player in history! But even the best player can fail sometimes. He has already lost to my son once. How far can the second time be?"

"What, you said their fighting styles are somewhat similar?"

"Indeed, Novak has fought him too many times before and never won a single match, but he has the tenacity of a warrior and constantly improves his skills against Chen Ran. He never compromises and never gives up."

"Roger? He's sick, which is a pity. I wish him a speedy recovery. But I think it will be difficult for him to pose a threat to my son in the future, and it is only a matter of time before he surpasses his three Grand Slams."

When Nadal left China with his uncle, Djokovic's father, who stayed behind, became the only off-court topic for reporters.

Everyone is building up the atmosphere for the year-end finals.

What no one knew was that on the day of the final, apart from doing some stretching in the hotel gym, Chen Ran stayed in his hotel room, repeatedly watching the records of his past matches with Djokovic.

It's not just this year-end finals, but also the previous encounters in the Grand Slams.

Chen Ran attached unprecedented importance to this game.

"No matter what, this record must be kept for at least this year. As for next year, I won't be obsessed with it anymore."

Chen Ran has maintained the record of "winning every tournament he participates in in China" from 2003 to 2007, for a full five years.

He also knew that this record would never remain unbroken, and sooner or later, this record would come to an end.

But being able to persist for five complete years is already very commendable.

Chen Ran hopes for a perfect ending.

"In this match, we should try to make it a quick victory and not get into a war of attrition with Novak."

Chen Ran watched the video and quietly formulated a battle plan.

The so-called quick victory does not mean sweeping the opponent with absolute advantage, but finding ways to reduce the multiple shots in each round and strive to end the battle within a few shots.

It is not difficult to do this on an indoor fast hard court.

As a professional tennis player, you compete all year round, and it is impossible for you to keep your body in the best condition all the time.

Chen Ran is no exception.

His physical fitness is already at the top level among ATP players, but he still enters a fatigue period at the end of the year.

Machines will malfunction if used too much, let alone humans.

"It's time to change the tactics a little bit." Chen Ran muttered to himself.

……

Who will take home the $300 million year-end championship check?

This was a hotly discussed topic in the media before the game.

The year-end finals continue to break prize money records year after year.

The champion will receive $300 million, while the runner-up will receive about $180 million.

This also makes other sports envious.

Today, athletes from Shanghai, including Liu Xiang and Wang Liqin, also came to the Qi-Zhong Tennis Center to watch this year's year-end finals.

In competitive sports competitions, the amount of prize money is always the most eye-catching.

However, for Chen Ran, what he cares more about is the achievement of "Super Annual Grand Slam".

Having won all the annual Grand Slams, there is no reason to miss the year-end championship.

When he stepped into the stadium carrying a luggage bag, his face was serious, completely different from his previous calm and composed look.

This also caused great concern to the audience at the scene and in front of the TV.

"It seems that Chen Ran also knows that today's game will not be easy."

"His face looks like he didn't get enough rest."

"Overall, Chen Ran participated in three year-end finals held in Shanghai, and this year's condition was the worst."

"The annual Grand Slam consumed too much of his energy. In addition, his opponents were also growing in the process of studying Chen Ran."

Many netizens expressed their opinions.

Of course, there are also some black fans who start to stir up trouble. After all, they have been holding it in for too long.

"I think this is a feedback from evil. Who asked him to make a tennis movie? And the content of this script is even more exaggerated than Jordan's "Sky Slam"."

"Now you're getting your comeuppance, haha! Tennis is a sport where upsets are common. As long as you have the slightest fluctuation, you may be defeated by your competitors."

"I am optimistic that Djokovic will defeat Chen Ran and become the new king!"

At this time, the camera also captured Djokovic's team members in the stands and found that Djokovic's father was radiant and seemed full of confidence.

He clenched his fists from time to time, looking like he had everything under control.

It seems that when he saw Chen Ran's expression, he also felt that he had a sure win in today's game.

"If Roger hadn't suddenly fallen ill, causing his condition to decline during the crucial tiebreak, it might not be Chen Ran standing in front of my son today." He thought to himself.

On the court, Chen Ran remained silent and did warm-up exercises quietly.

Even when he was serving, he kept shaking his head from time to time, seeming dissatisfied with his condition.

This scene was seen not only by the opponent but also by the entire audience.

"It seems that it is too difficult to achieve a Grand Slam in a Super Year. Even Graf has failed to do it." The host in charge of the live commentary could only console himself with this. Soon after, the game began.

Chen Ran has been in a serious state since his appearance until now.

This also made Djokovic a little confused. Is the opponent's condition really so bad?
Is he playing against all odds because he is playing at home and for the Chinese fans?
But no matter what, Djokovic was a little excited. Could it be that his first heavyweight championship would come so easily?

However, five minutes later, Djokovic was confused.

Chen Ran’s serving condition was so good that he easily gave himself a “love game” in the first serving game.

Even in the four points, there were 3 aces and 1 direct serve.

Chen Ran's serve today had a very tricky angle, and the ball speed and spin were also excellent.

Such an excellent serve!!!
Was that just a smokescreen, deliberately designed to confuse me?

This is actually what Djokovic is best at.

He is very good at playing psychological warfare with his opponents during the game and confusing them.

In fact, when it comes to the ability to make things happen, Djokovic has always been first-class.

This time we have met our match.

Djokovic immediately perked up.

"Bang" sound!
This is a wonderful ace return!

Chen Ran immediately used a backhand straight line to break Djokovic's serve.

Another "bang".

Chen Ran's forehand swung out like a whip and scored another point.

!!!

Djokovic stood there in a daze.

He finally understood Chen Ran's tactical intentions.

As soon as I serve the second time, this guy will definitely attack, almost trying to end the fight with one shot.

Chen Ran's control over landing points is already excellent, and he can hit whatever he points at. In addition, the ball used in this year-end finals is very light and the speed of the court is very high, which is even more powerful for Chen Ran.

The success rate of this kind of attack is actually not high, but it may be an exception for Chen Ran.

In addition, this guy also dares to take risks and constantly uses attacks to put pressure on Djokovic's serve.

After all, for the serving party, after serving, the body needs to adjust and the feet need to return to position, which takes time, so the receiving party is very afraid of attacking.

This is also the reason why the scoring rate of the second serve is much lower than that of the first serve.

Chen Ran took advantage of the venue and the lightness of the ball, and started attacking when Djokovic made a mistake in his first serve and made his second serve.

Even if you cannot form an ACE on the serve or score directly, you can still gain the advantage within one shot.

More importantly, Chen Ran had a very high success rate in his second serve attack against Djokovic today, which suddenly increased the pressure on his opponent's serve.

A failed first serve may mean losing points or even falling into a passive position.

Djokovic's serving level also began to fluctuate.

He was a little confused by Chen Ran's tactics.

He even made a double fault on Chen Ran's break point.

Even he himself was helpless.

Djokovic has made double faults, but they are rare. This happened several times in the year-end finals.

But when the mental concentration is highly focused, double faults rarely occur.

Confused!

It was broken just like that!
Huge pressure swept towards Djokovic.

After all, the opponent is Chen Ran, the world's number one player. Even if he has defeated him once, he dare not be careless at all.

Once we fell behind, the game became difficult.

Today's Djokovic's technical strength may be close to the peak of the future, but his ability to withstand pressure is still far from enough, especially when facing various emergencies, he will feel a little overwhelmed.

He made double faults and allowed his opponent to break his serve.

Djokovic could never have imagined this scenario.

This is such a blow!

Since Chen Ran served first in this set, he easily held his serve after breaking the opponent's serve.

He took the first set 6-3.

The plan was successfully implemented!

He is just one step away from a super annual Grand Slam.

In the second set, Djokovic seemed to have not recovered from his confusion.

He had made double faults before, but he had never allowed his opponent to convert a break point because of a double fault.

Especially the pressure on his serve was too great. Chen Ran was too good at gambling today. He would attack as soon as he got the second serve.

Even when this guy has one shot, he will try to attack.

The success rate of a first serve attack is very low, but Chen Ran doesn't care about the success rate at all. The worst that can happen is losing points.

"Damn it, why did the other party use this tactic today!"

Djokovic was a little crazy.

The defense and baseline confrontation that he was good at were of almost no use.

Chen Ran wanted to end the battle with him quickly by using the fastest offensive means.

At this moment, Djokovic's ability to adjust on the spot is not that good.

Once I made a mistake in the first serve, I even felt my arms shaking when I served the second serve.

Chen Ran's second serve success rate was so high that it made him tremble.

!!!

This time, the whole audience exclaimed and cheered.

Once again, Djokovic double-faulted on his own break point.

This time, he served the ball 5 times.

The first serve went out of bounds, and the second serve hit the net three times. Chen Ran's position was getting closer and closer, and his entire body was almost standing on the court.

Under such pressure, Djokovic once again made a double fault.

Damn, how could this happen?

Why did I make the same mistake in the second set as in the first?
The second double fault was accompanied by a break point. Djokovic was completely absent-minded and couldn't even muster the energy to put pressure on Chen Ran's serve.

Soon, Chen Ran won the second set 6-4.

Super annual Grand Slam completed!
The entire game took only 1 hour and 12 minutes, which is a world of difference compared to the semi-finals and group matches which took up to three hours.

No one expected that Chen Ran would win the game so efficiently in the year-end finals.

……

(End of this chapter)