Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 654 The Biggest Rival is the Weather

"Shocking! The world's number one player actually said that his hard court skills are not outstanding enough!"

"Chen Ran actually thought that winning a medal in the Olympics held in his home country would be enough to fulfill the requirement."

"Even if the Olympic venue is neither clay nor grass, you can't be so negative. With your strength and status, you will be a sinner for eternity if you don't win an Olympic gold medal!"

"I'm a fishmonger in the market. I don't know what Grand Slams are. Anyway, I only recognize the Olympics! I heard that you just won the Wimbledon Championship? Wenzhou Tennis Open, this championship is useless!"

"That is, you earn so much money every year, tens of millions of dollars a year, if you don't win the championship, are you worthy of us?"

"Why can't we learn table tennis? They have already claimed to win all the gold medals!"

In 2008, as the Internet began to become popular, its audience was no longer limited to young people, and its downward trend was very obvious.

Many uncles and aunts only know that Chen Ran is a tennis player and that he has made a lot of money, which is more than they may never earn in their entire lifetime.

You have made so much money, but you are not aiming for an Olympic gold medal.

In their eyes, tennis is no different from weightlifting, shooting and other sports.

The unprecedented attention from men, women, young and old, of different ages and groups, and this suffocating atmosphere also made Chen Ran feel it.

No wonder Liu Xiang was under such tremendous pressure in his previous life. Even though his health was obviously failing, he did not dare to withdraw from the competition early.

However, Chen Ran still went his own way and insisted that his only goal was a medal.

……

At this time, the official media released a group photo of Chen Ran, Lin Dan and Wang Liqin, and it began to appear in major media and on the Internet.

The words imply that the three of them will win the men's singles championship in all three small-ball events.

This added fuel to the already tense and intense atmosphere of the Olympic Games.

Chen Ran shouted "The goal is a medal", but the official did not agree with this approach, implying that you have to set your goals higher and should win the championship.

This is another level of pressure.

Of course, CCTV, which is known for being a good guy, came out to relieve the pressure, saying that with the competition approaching, the players should not be put under too much pressure.

In short, one plays the good guy and the other plays the bad guy.

"This year's Olympic tennis competition is the first ever to have a points system, with the ATP and WTA awarding the Olympic champion 800 points."

“Although this number of points is not as high as that of the Masters, it is very attractive to top tennis players.”

“You can participate in the quadrennial sports event and get points at the same time. This is the best of both worlds.”

"That's why so many top athletes withdrew from the last Athens Olympics, but this year's Beijing Olympics, top athletes from all countries participated as long as they were not injured."

"With all the top 10 players in the world participating, and the hard courts being filled with top players, this tournament is full of suspense."

A reporter from Sports Weekly wrote this in his article.

They were also on Chen Ran's side and spoke for him.

"Don't forget, Chen Ran hasn't played a hard court match since the Australian Open. This is a huge hidden danger."

When this was said, everyone except those who usually don't pay much attention to tennis suddenly realized it.

Yes, Chen Ran hasn’t played a game on a hard court since losing in the Australian Open final in January.

This is definitely a huge hidden danger!
In an instant, everyone became nervous about Chen Ran's prospects in this Olympics.

"What, there are so many tennis courts? Shouldn't they all be hard courts?"

"Hey, are grass courts, clay courts, and hard courts different?"

Some people are slow to realize that there are huge differences between different tennis courts.

Even some of the masters in the Sports Bureau have just been shocked to find out that being good on clay and grass doesn't mean you're good on hard courts.

They thought that all three types of courts were used for playing tennis, and there was no difference. "They are all completely different courts, requiring completely different playing styles. You may win the championship on one type of court, and you may be eliminated in the first round on another type of court. This is tennis."

For many people, there was only one thought in their minds: more strange knowledge had been added.

Although tennis is much more popular in China today than it was four or five years ago, it is still a long process after all.

Even with a world number one player like Chen Ran, tennis has just begun to become popular in China. Its foundation is not strong. Among the "three major balls" and "three small balls", it is even the weakest.

The main problem is the difficulty in getting started. It is difficult to play by yourself. If you want to get started, you must find a coach to guide you and other restrictions.

But because Chen Ran is so popular, many new fans have specially gone out of their way to popularize some tennis knowledge.

Chen Ran also understood that, now that he had won 16 Grand Slam titles, it was basically difficult to attract fresh blood just by relying on Grand Slam competitions.

He has also promoted tennis to the extreme on his own.

If we want to break through this limit and attract more fresh blood, we can only rely on this Olympics.

We can't be as low as the table tennis guy next door, who shamelessly sets up a fan club when no one wants to buy the tickets even if they are given away for free, and that guy is so ruthless when it comes to taking advantage of the fan club.

To watch a commercial table tennis match, there are VIP tickets priced at thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars, and you even have to open a blind box.

It seems like Liangzi is going to run away after this deal.

Don’t join fan clubs. You must never join fan clubs.

Then Chen Ran can only rely on his grades.

……

As the Yanjing Olympics draws closer, more and more people are flocking to Yanjing.

Athletes came from all over the world, and spectators came from all over the country, making the event very lively.

Chen Ran didn't go to Shanghai anymore and stayed in Yanjing.

He has to adapt to the weather and environment here, as well as the venue.

Although the tournament schedule has not yet been released, it is certain that the timing of tennis matches is not friendly.

Some games are held in the middle of the day, while others are scheduled late at night.

Of course, as the host, Chen Ran will definitely be more friendly in arranging the game time.

But no matter how friendly they are, at least they can't avoid playing in the afternoon.

You can imagine how hot it is in Yanjing in the afternoon in August.

Why can't Olympic tennis matches be held indoors?
It's such a torture!
During this period of training, Chen Ran has been training outdoors and has to wear a hat.

He had to admit that he had never competed in such hot weather.

Over the past four or five years, Chen Ran has basically been on vacation, enjoying the air-conditioning and a comfortable life.

"So the biggest opponent is still this scorching weather! There have been too few competitions in this temperature before!"

Chen Ran finally realized this.

Just like in 2021, Djokovic, who was at the peak of his career, eventually lost to the scorching weather in Tokyo.

Matches were often scheduled in the middle of the day, and he was eventually defeated in the semifinals by Zverev, who won the men's singles gold medal.

Even the high temperature of the Olympics affected his condition at the US Open, causing his annual Grand Slam to be broken.

From now until the Olympic Games, it is the hottest time of the year, which is almost crazy hot.

……

(End of this chapter)