Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 655: Ridiculous reasons for withdrawal, Chen Ran's ridicule (4K)

“Got to overcome racing in the heat!”

“The simulated training ground can only simulate the pitch, not the weather.”

"The difficulty of this Olympics is greater than I imagined!"

Chen Ran realized that he could only rely on himself this time, and even cheating was useless.

If it weren't for the Olympics, I wouldn't come to compete in the dog days of summer!
In the past five years, from the end of Wimbledon to the start of the Toronto Masters, Chen Ran has been on vacation.

What's more, the temperature in Toronto in August is never hot, usually around 8 degrees.

The temperature in Yanjing today is often 35 degrees, and the time for tennis matches is not friendly, as it is impossible for all of them to be held at night.

Besides, it will be very hot and stuffy at night.

Chen Ran has been feeling hot and uncomfortable during this period of training, but fortunately, he is in good health and has not suffered from heatstroke.

After all, as both are outdoor sports, tennis is different from football. You cannot paddle or take a walk. You have to run on the court all the time, and the intensity of exercise is even higher.

Of course, Chen Ran would not be so stupid as to reveal to others that he was not good at competing in high temperatures and even felt a little disgusted.

He always told everyone that he enjoyed competing in Yanjing and liked the climate there.

In the past, when I participated in the China Open, it was basically in late September, when Yanjing was in the middle of autumn with clear and crisp weather. The climate conditions are completely different from today's.

"Can I use my influence to arrange the semi-finals and finals of the men's singles tennis tournament in the prime time in the evening?"

Chen Ran remembered very clearly that all the time arranged by the organizing committee was in the afternoon when the sun was shining brightly.

After all, the level of men's tennis in China at that time was terrible. Even with the participation of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, the organizing committee had no expectations for the ratings of the men's tennis matches.

But this time it is different. With someone like Chen Ran to guarantee the ratings, the organizing committee should be able to adjust the competition time to the prime time in the evening.

This requires the coordination between Chen Ran's team and the organizing committee.

“It’s difficult to adjust to the previous matches, but we must try to have the semi-finals and finals in the evening, it would be best if that were the case.”

Chen Ran conveyed his opinions to the team and the Chinese Tennis Association, and the follow-up work was their responsibility.

Of course, the prerequisite is that he must make it to the deep rounds instead of being eliminated early.

To be honest, tennis matches in the quadrennial Olympics are really full of randomness.

First, the gap between top players is not as obvious as in table tennis.

Second, the competition schedule is too tight, which is not conducive to preparation and recovery for the competition.

So although Federer really wanted to win the gold medal, he has never been able to do so.

As for Djokovic, as the pride of Serbia, he must participate in both doubles and singles.

Fortunately, there is no mixed doubles in the Olympic tennis competition of this era, otherwise his girlfriend Ivanovic will have to form a mixed doubles competition with Djokovic, which is something Chen Ran does not want to see.

How could my girlfriend play mixed doubles with other people? Even if it was the Olympics where she was competing for her country, it was not allowed.

Even if the President of Serbia comes forward, I won’t give him face!

……

For the remaining days, Chen Ran stayed in Yanjing to prepare for the competition, and his girlfriend Ivanovich also accompanied him in training in Yanjing to prepare for the Olympics together.

Not long ago, Ivanovic just completed her defense of the French Open title. She is finally no longer the lucky one in the "one Grand Slam Club", but has two Grand Slam titles.

Although these two championships are French Open, Nizi is still very excited.

The two French Open titles also further enhanced Ivanovic's reputation in China.

But this time, Chen Ran brought his girlfriend to train in Yanjing, and the leaders still had some objections.

"Don't you know that your girlfriend will be the biggest competitor of our Chinese women's tennis golden flower?"

But they could only mutter to themselves and dared not reveal anything to Chen Ran.

The leaders of the Sports Bureau didn't dare to say this to Chen Ran, for fear of making him unhappy, but they didn't dare to tell the matter to higher-ups, lest those big leaders think, "How can you not even handle such a small matter? Do you need me to step in?"

As for the fans on the Internet, they still took a relatively tolerant attitude towards this matter.

Lang Ping is leading the beautiful country's women's volleyball team, so what's wrong with Chen Ran bringing his girlfriend along?
Isn't it normal for people to train with their girlfriends?

What's more, Ivanovic has always been very popular in China, and she is currently the world number one in the WTA.

"This time, she shouldn't withdraw from the competition due to injury, right?" Chen Ran looked at his girlfriend and couldn't help but have this thought in his mind.

In her previous life, Ivanovic also participated in the Yanjing Olympics as the world's number one and was also known as the "Tennis Goddess".

When she appeared at Yanjing International Airport, almost the entire airport was in an uproar, and hundreds of media outlets that had been waiting there rushed in.

But just a few days later, Ivanovic chose to withdraw from the Yanjing Olympics due to a finger injury.

In fact, she could have insisted on competing with the injury, but she was worried that it would affect the US Open in two weeks.

In the minds of many athletes, the US Open is still higher than the Olympics.

Coincidentally, after arriving in Yanjing, Sharapova also announced her withdrawal from the Olympics due to a shoulder injury.

The withdrawal of two tennis beauties made the women's tennis competition at the Yanjing Olympics lose a lot of its luster.

Of course, the difference is that Sharapova immediately withdrew from the subsequent US Open.

"Will Maria withdraw this time?" Chen Ran was a little uncertain.

Because of him, the progress of both ATP and WTA has already undergone tremendous changes.

……

In the remaining days, many tennis players began to announce their withdrawal from the Yanjing Olympics.

There are male players and female players.

Of course, many Chinese netizens who did not know the situation began to curse on the Internet, thinking that the other party did not like to come to China to compete and did it on purpose.

In fact, if we make a horizontal comparison, the number of tennis players who withdrew from this Olympics is far less than that of the previous Athens Olympics.

The particularity of professional tennis makes everyone have their own little thoughts.

This is different from other sports. For professional tennis players, the Olympics is not the stage they dream of.

Although this was the first time in history that ATP and WTA gave points to Olympic tennis matches, they still did not make any concessions in the scheduling of the competition.

The Olympic tennis schedule and the North American season are very close together.

There are only three days between the Olympic tennis final and the Toronto Masters.

Is this something that can be arranged by a human?

Of course, the ATP is responsible for the tour and the ITF is responsible for the Olympics. Both are independent organizations and neither will give in to the other.

Generally speaking, if a tennis player reaches the semifinals of the Olympics, he or she will definitely withdraw from the Toronto Masters because his or her body cannot bear it. This is the case in every Olympic Games. The Toronto Masters is the first victim, and the Cincinnati Masters may not be spared.

As for the top players, even if they reach the deep rounds of the Olympics, they are unwilling to affect their form at the US Open.

A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam after all, and it is the most important in the minds of players.

During the Olympic Games, ATP and WTA will continue to do their own thing, and the Atlanta 250 and Washington 500 will still be held simultaneously.

Many quasi-first-rate and second-rate players, knowing that they cannot make it to the deep rounds in the Olympic Games, simply choose to participate in the Atlanta and Washington tours, where the most realistic way is to gain points and prize money.

So this time, even though there are points in the Olympics, many professional players in the tennis circle, especially those who are not the top ones, are still somewhat resistant, especially those from European countries.

Of course, there is a saying that the excitement testing during the Olympics will be stricter than during the Grand Slams and tours. Some players withdrew from the Olympics due to injuries, but in fact they were afraid of being tested for something.

For example, this time, Chen Ran also paid attention to the news on the Internet. Indeed, several Western European players withdrew from the Yanjing Olympics. The reasons were varied, such as sore throat, sprained foot, and some even said "The air in Yanjing is bad and they are afraid it will affect their health" and other exaggerated reasons.

Especially the guy who said the air is bad. He always comes here to attend the China Open every year. Now that you say the air is bad, why don’t you go to the sky?

Chen Ran knew this very well.

Then Chen Ran looked at the comments. Chinese netizens were even more excited and said all kinds of nasty words.

In short, if you don’t come to participate in the Olympics, it must be a conspiracy of imperialism!
Boycott, we must boycott!

"Chen Ran, what do you think of athletes from some countries withdrawing from the Yanjing Olympics?"

When Chen Ran appeared, the reporters immediately swarmed over him.

After all, tennis is now a relatively popular sport in China, and it attracts a lot of attention.

In the past, when Chinese tennis was weak, netizens would have just cursed and let it go, but the situation is different now. They want to hear the opinions of the "world's number one player."

"Ha ha……"

Chen Ran smiled intriguingly and said slowly, "The guy who said that the air in Yanjing is not good, I guess..."

He looked around and saw that he was surrounded by a dense crowd of reporters. There were hundreds of media outlets, both Chinese and foreign.

Although the leaders of the Sports Bureau have been warning athletes participating in the Olympics to be careful in their words and actions, to focus all their attention on preparing for the Olympics, to avoid creating trouble, and even more so to avoid causing "surprise among friendly countries."

Even if those foreign athletes do something out of line, let netizens and reporters deal with it. What does it have to do with our Sports Bureau and athletes? We just need to focus on preparing for the competition.

However, Chen Ran didn't buy it.

You can’t control me, and I am an irreplaceable star sent from heaven.

Except for participating in national team competitions, Chen Ran usually trains and competes at his own expense. He can even get sponsorship for the national tennis team.

Your Sports Bureau is nothing unless a higher-level leader says so.

"I guess... that guy will definitely come to the China Open in September, I'm sure of that."

"What's the matter with the bad air in Yanjing? That's complete bullshit. If you have the guts, don't come to participate in the China Open in the future!"

The China Open is an ATP 500 tournament. Although it has limited appeal to top players like Chen Ran or Federer, it is very attractive to ordinary first-class players.

Whether it's points or bonuses.

What's more, starting from next year, the China Open will be upgraded to a 1000 tournament.

Those top players will grit their teeth and play despite their injuries, even if they have minor injuries that do not affect the game.

The prize money and points of the 1000 tournament are too important for top players.

"Just wait and see, that guy will definitely come to the China Open in September."

"So you should just treat what he said today as fart!"

Many reporters were also very excited when they saw Chen Ran say this, with gleams in their eyes.

As expected of Chen Ran, he can still say such bold words when the Olympics are approaching.

You know, when other Chinese athletes are interviewed, it feels like they are reciting a script, which is quite boring.

Chen Ran continued: "That guy seems to be Polish, right?"

"Don't you know he's Polish?"

"I only know this person, but he is not a top 20 player. Why should I know his nationality?"

"He's from Poland, what's the problem?"

"No problem, I can only say that his behavior is very Polish, so despicable!" Chen Ran said shockingly, "No wonder... uh, you know what I mean... I can understand that in history, they are always... you know."

“Also, we all know that testing will be stricter during the Olympics!”

"..."The eyes of those reporters were full of "You are so brave" and "You really dare to say that".

As a Pole, I have nothing to worry about.

In the eyes of ATP and WTA, you Eastern European bastards are hated.

There is no market, and there are too many things to do.

Both ATP and WTA regard the Chinese market as a top priority. You, a Polish slut, don't want to participate in the Olympics so you say your injury has healed and that the air is bad.

Isn't this a brain disease?
However, if the other party is Polish, it may not be a problem of brain, but simply that he is such a mean person.

Chen Ran was not polite and directly made a bet that the other party would definitely participate in the China Open in a month.

If you have the guts, don’t even come to participate in the China Open.

Chen Ran guessed that the other party did not dare to come to the Olympics. In addition to not having confidence in his own ability and wanting to go to North America to score points and win prize money, another reason was that the doping control in the Olympics was more stringent.

After all, a Polish athlete cannot obtain immunity like an American athlete.

So he didn't dare to come.

But if you don’t dare to come, then don’t come. Why are you talking so much nonsense, saying there is an “air problem”?

I am the best in the world, and in competitive sports, the strong are respected, so Chen Ran didn't give this Pole any face at all.

As if he were very awesome.

Chen Ran almost lifted up the Pole's underwear.

Soon, the Polish player burst into tears at the press conference of the North American competition, saying that the "world's number one player" bullied him.

"The pressure of public opinion is driving me crazy!" the Pole cried.

Then, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to protest to Chen Ran: Our players want Yu Yu, did you know?

……

(End of this chapter)