Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 666 Legend Step 4, Champion Player (K)

The much-anticipated men's singles tennis final has finally arrived.

At this moment, everyone in the Tennis Association, including athletes and coaches, came to the scene, as well as higher-level leaders.

Chen Ran and Nadal walked out of the player tunnel one after another, and applause and cheers filled the entire stadium.

However, people were surprised to find that Chen Ran's thigh was bandaged.

Are his injuries really that serious?

Including the CCTV hosts, commentators, and many fans at the scene, all showed signs of worry.

This was indeed somewhat beyond their expectations.

Many people know that the tennis schedule is the most compact and difficult in the Olympics.

In addition, because it is an outdoor sport, you have to compete under the scorching sun in Yanjing in August. You can imagine how difficult it is.

At this moment, Nadal also noticed the bandage on Chen Ran's thigh.

But his expression showed no joy at all, instead it became more serious.

In tennis matches, it is very common for players to play with bandages tied around their thighs or calves.

One reason is to control the injury, and another reason is that bandages can reduce the pain caused by the injured area.

Nadal didn't think that Chen Ran's performance would be affected by the bandage on his thigh.

On the contrary, this match will be even crazier because this guy is wearing bandages.

Nadal lowered his head slightly and his breathing became a little rapid.

It was not only because of the sultry weather in Yanjing, but also because of the psychological pressure that Chen Ran brought to him.

At the other end of the court, Chen Ran carefully observed the bandage he was wearing, making sure it was safe, and then jumped up and down on the spot, slowly feeling it.

Indeed, he did this to reduce the pain.

Although he could tolerate the pain in his thigh muscles, in order to focus more on the game, Chen Ran still chose to wrap it with a bandage.

In this final, facing a physical freak like Nadal, running all over the court was inevitable.

Chen Ran was also prepared for a tough battle.

But he didn't expect that his behavior would make everyone so worried.

Director Sun of the Tennis Sports Management Center is considered to be well-informed. When she was young, she participated in women's volleyball matches and never left the front line even with minor injuries. However, she was still worried about Chen Ran's action.

"He is different from the athletes of our generation."

Director Sun said with some concern, "Chen Ran rarely competes with injuries, which is also because his body is very good. But in such an important game, he is fighting with injuries and lacks similar experience. The result of this game is hard to predict."

Beside her, Deputy Director Cai touched his chin with a complicated expression.

Just yesterday, after Wang Liqin won the championship, Director Cai was very happy. After all, this was a young man he liked very much.

In addition, in badminton, women have won the first and second place in singles.

On the men's side, although there is no double insurance, Lin Dan is in excellent form and his strength is outstanding. It can even be said that his chances of winning the championship are about the same as those of the US men's basketball team.

The key lies in Chen Ran.

If Chen Ran wins again, the Chinese team will have swept the men's and women's singles gold medals in the three small balls of "table tennis, badminton and tennis".

This is absolutely unprecedented!
As the leader in charge of the "three small balls", he will surely surpass all his predecessors and go down in history.

Will anyone be able to replicate his success in office in the future?

Director Cai doesn't think so.

This year's Chinese delegation is definitely the strongest one ever, with so many historically talented athletes.

In the future... in the future, this scene may never happen again.

Not to mention that in an event like tennis, it is a very low probability event for China to have both Chen Ran and Li Na at the same time. It is a rare opportunity in any country in the world.

In addition, it is not easy for China to win both the men's and women's singles gold medals in badminton.

Because Chinese badminton can only be regarded as one of the strong countries, and it is not a superpower like table tennis with many strong countries. It is just luck that this generation of male and female players have the ability to win gold medals in the Olympics.

But it is impossible for badminton to have such a huge advantage in every Olympic Games like table tennis.

Therefore, the grand occasion of the "three small balls" at the Yanjing Olympics can never be replicated.

The most crucial point now is Chen Ran's finishing touch.

At this moment, the game has begun.

Chen Ran served first and easily saved his serve.

In this game, Nadal seemed to choose to test the waters instead of giving his full strength.

The Spaniard's face was a little gloomy, and he didn't seem too excited.

Didn’t he see the bandage on Chen Ran’s thigh?

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

In Nadal's team room, Uncle Toni rested his chin on one hand, lost in thought.

He was also hesitating whether his nephew should fight.

One thing is that the US Open is just around the corner, and another thing is that Chen Ran will be absent.

Uncle Tony's advice is to try your best in the first round.

Unfortunately, however, the Djokovic family, who had just won the bronze medal not long ago, were sitting not far from their private room.

After all, Djokovic, as a bronze medalist, will also stand on the podium at the award ceremony.

"That Serbian peasant!"

Uncle Tony cursed inwardly as he noticed Djokovic's father was making faces at him.

The other party naturally hopes that Chen Ran wins the championship, because he and Djokovic's father often have war of words.

Not only that, but Djokovic also doesn't want his honors to be left behind by Nadal.

Currently, both sides have one Grand Slam champion each and several Grand Slam runner-ups.

"Father, I don't think there will be much suspense in the final."

Djokovic suddenly said, "Rafael, he didn't have the same burning determination as Chen Ran. Chen Ran obviously played very crazy in this match, just like he was bloodthirsty."

In Djokovic's heart, he also longs to win an Olympic gold medal for Serbia.

This is what he has always dreamed of.

Of course, from Djokovic's perspective, Grand Slam tournaments are equally important, because in the tennis circle, these are the most important indicators and honors.

"Am I willing to burn everything for Serbia in the Olympics?"

For the 21-year-old Djokovic, he is also a little unsure.

But Djokovic thought about it from another angle. If he now had the same number of Grand Slam titles as Chen Ran, which was sixteen, he would also not hesitate to burn everything he had in the Olympic Games.

But this possibility is difficult to achieve.

He also has no idea how many Grand Slam titles he can win in his career.

However, Djokovic also admired Chen Ran. This guy, who was only one year older than him, really burned himself out in this game.

After all, this is the Olympics where we play at home, and this may be the only chance you get in your lifetime.

Djokovic's father also saw the clue and said, "As a Spanish player who is known for his fighting spirit, he doesn't even have the determination to fight Chen Ran with a bayonet!"

Just now, Chen Ran rushed over with almost his whole body and completed a difficult interception on the net.

But Nadal hesitated. He did not dare to make the same exaggerated move as Chen Ran.

Chen Ran also broke the serve in the first set with this wonderful shot.

The score is 5 to 3!

The first break of the first set came.

According to the rules, there is no break between even-numbered innings.

Chen Ran immediately stood up, rubbed his thigh, and prepared to continue serving. However, the referee's whistle sounded, indicating that the game was suspended.

It turned out that the back of Chen Ran's arm was scratched and bleeding, so the wound had to be treated.

The camera immediately captured the scene and zoomed in on Chen Ran's arm.

Call ~
The whole audience gasped.

There was actually a lot of blood flowing out, it seems that he fell quite hard just now.

Suddenly, the audience cheered and applauded for a long time.

They were also infected by Chen Ran's fighting spirit.

Even some female audience members at the scene had tears in their eyes and were about to cry.

"National football team players, did you see this?" The CCTV host couldn't help but ask, "Do you have even one tenth of Chen Ran's fighting spirit? You should know that his income is higher than that of your entire team!"

Whether an athlete has the fighting spirit to risk everything obviously has nothing to do with his income.

Nadal looked at Chen Ran's back. He did not show any joy because of Chen Ran's injury. Instead, he became even more nervous and uneasy.

Crazy, this is absolutely crazy.

Today's Chen Ran was really working too hard, it was so scary.

Whenever the two of them fought before, the opponent had never been like this today.

"Are you going to gamble your career for today's match?" Nadal couldn't help but think, "Why the hell am I going to compete with a madman who's already bloodthirsty?"

To be honest, Nadal was in good shape today.

His competitive form is even better than in the Grand Slam matches.

If his opponent today was Federer or Djokovic, he would most likely have won the game.

In fact, Nadal also wants to win the gold medal very much. After all, who knows what will happen in four years.

He wanted to try his best.

Likewise, Chen Ran's injuries and bandages did not confuse him.

Only some people who don't usually watch tennis matches will make a fuss about it. This is a very normal situation.

However, Chen Ran fought too crazily.

The two were in equal competitive form, but Chen Ran's momentum overwhelmed him.

It seems like this guy is not here to play basketball with me, but to fight with me.

Five minutes later, Chen Ran finished treating his wound and returned to the game.

Nadal had hoped that the five-minute buffer would allow Chen Ran's serve to cool down.

As a result, he was disappointed.

Chen Ran served three consecutive aces with impeccable speed and placement, and got three match points with 40 to 0.

On the fourth ball, Chen Ran made a mistake in his serve.

He didn't care and continued with the first serve pattern on his second serve.

"Mad man, he seems to have endless energy today."

Fortunately, Chen Ran made another mistake in his second serve.

After the double fault, the score became 40 to 15.

However, Chen Ran didn't seem to care about the double fault at all. He stuffed the remaining tennis ball directly into his pocket, then walked to the other side of the court without lowering his head and continued to prepare for the serve.

It seemed that in his opinion, the double fault that he should have reflected on just now was not worth mentioning at all.

You can't make three serve errors in a row.

Chen Ran served again with great force, and this time it finally went into the line.

Nadal's body just moved slightly, and he could only watch the tennis ball fly away.

The first set's score came true, 6 to 3!

……

“Is the championship secured?”

"We are worried about Chen Ran's injuries."

"He feels like he's being held on by one breath!"

"There are bandages on his thigh and arm. He is playing in the final with injuries!"

"I've never felt the momentum of Chen Ran in a Grand Slam match like today. He really tried his best."

"We have to win the second set. If we don't win this set, it will be difficult in the deciding set."

"If he can win this Olympic gold medal, and he doesn't win any Grand Slam titles in the future, I have no problem with that."

There are also many different opinions on the Internet.

At this moment, people are watching this game on TV and discussing this game on the Internet.

The second set of the game started soon.

Nadal was also hesitant.

He felt that Chen Ran was not a robot after all, and there would always be times when his momentum would decline.

He also wanted to fight hard, but he was a little hesitant.

Nadal looked up at his uncle. Uncle Toni pondered, made a gesture, and then shook his head.

"Even my uncle thinks there's no chance?" He sighed softly, "Today, I played at the best level of my career."

Because in the first set, not only Chen Ran performed above his level, but Nadal also performed above his level.

But even so, he was still suppressed by Chen Ran.

In the second set, Chen Ran's momentum did not seem to diminish at all.

He put all his strength into running, not letting go of any ball.

Every time Chen Ran struck out, it seemed as if he wanted to release all the strength of his body at once.

He was too absorbed, too selfless.

Nadal also gritted his teeth and persevered, although he felt that he was on the verge of collapse at any time.

When the score was tied at 3-3, Chen Ran directly tore off the bandage on his thigh and handed it to the caddy on the scene.

At this time, Chen Ran's eyes seemed redder than before.

At this point, he no longer cared about the pain.

It can even be said that the pain might irritate him.

Nadal's psychology was obviously shaken.

This time, he once again failed to hold his serve and was broken by Chen Ran.

At the same time, Chen Ran fell again, and this time his knee was bleeding.

After a simple treatment of the wound, Chen Ran continued the game.

After finally breaking the serve, he continued in his hot form and held on to the next few service games with great momentum.

With a beautiful serve, Nadal hit the ball into the stands like hitting a baseball, and Chen Ran finally won the game 6-4.

2 is better than 0!

He won the Olympic final in straight sets.

champion!

Defending the title successfully!

……

(End of this chapter)