Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 717: The Final Performance of the Year-End Finals
The entire 2023 season is a competition between Chen Ran and Djokovic.

One is 37 years old and the other is 36 years old. The confrontation between the two old guys lasted almost throughout the whole year, while those born in the 90s and 00s could only become runners-up.

As for Nadal, this guy is obviously no longer competitive, but he refuses to announce his retirement. He only says that he will continue to recover from his injury and will be out for the 2023 season.

The biggest reason is definitely the relationship with the sponsors.

Once he retires, he will lose a lot of money.

The Spaniards could only watch the competition between Chen Ran and Djokovic on TV, and then curse in their hearts: These people born in the 90s and 00s are really useless.

From the Australian Open to the French Open, from the French Open to Wimbledon, then from Wimbledon to the US Open, and finally to the year-end finals in Turin, Italy.

Chen Ran and Djokovic have met in the finals three times, namely at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open.

In terms of performance, Chen Ran had two wins and one loss, only losing the Australian Open final, and won the French Open and US Open championships respectively.

The only exception was the Wimbledon final, where the talented teenager Alcaraz rose strongly and eliminated Djokovic in the semi-finals, but unfortunately lost to Chen Ran in the final after a fierce five-set battle.

"Tennis needs new blood!"

"Chen Ran, do you want to ruin tennis?"

"Perhaps the whole world, except China, hopes that Alcaraz can win Wimbledon."

Ever since the Spaniard defeated Djokovic with his superb performance, the whole world has been hoping that he can continue his miracle journey.

It seems that the entire tennis world is looking forward to a new king ascending the throne.

"Indeed, I also think that tennis needs new blood. Carlos represents the future of tennis."

"He is very talented and I am optimistic about his future."

"But I think the throne cannot be given up, and he needs to compete for it himself."

"I will do my best to defend my throne, it's that simple."

Chen Ran said this after the game, "Of course, I still want to say something to Carlos. Your performance was outstanding. There are not many people in this world who can force me into a five-set battle at Wimbledon, so the future is yours."

Even though the British royal family was extremely reluctant, they once again had to bite the bullet and present the championship trophy to Chen Ran.

"I hope this is the last time we give this guy an award!" They could only pray in their hearts.

How many times has this happened?

11 times!

This person's dominance on the grass is so terrifying, unprecedented!

After Chen Ran took the championship trophy, he looked at Alcaraz meaningfully.

For next year, I really should make some strategies.

In fact, he himself has already felt that his body is gradually aging, even though because of the golden finger, the process is very slow.

But sooner or later, these post-00s guys will defeat me.

It is already commendable that the 90s generation can survive and suppress the post-00s generation for a period of time.

"The growth rate of this little guy is really amazing. It will be difficult to suppress him next year." Chen Ran also muttered to himself.

However, the young Alcaraz, like his predecessor Nadal, is seriously unbalanced in his academic performance.

He does have amazing talent on grass, but on hard courts, especially on the US Open where the ball speed is faster, his fluctuations are too great.

For example, in the subsequent US Open, Alcaraz, who was hailed as the third favorite to win the championship, only reached the quarterfinals.

This guy was directly beaten to a pulp by President Mei.

But Mei was beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Djokovic was beaten by Chen Ran again in the final.

When the 2023 season came to an end, two old guys born after 85 and over 35 years old won all four Grand Slams.

Chen Ran got 3 and Djokovic got 1.

What amazed the world even more was that Chen Ran still achieved the miracle of winning three championships in one year twice after he turned 35.

The numerous records he created are almost impossible to break by many later players.

However, at the Turin year-end finals, known as the "Swordsmanship Contest on Mount Huashan", Chen Ran encountered severe challenges and almost missed the final championship battle.

After a year of growth, Italian Sinner has shown a more stable state than Alcaraz.

Especially on indoor hard courts, Aka is as weak as Nadal, who has never won the Paris Masters and the year-end finals.

The Spanish genius was beaten up by Chen Ran and was eliminated in the group stage, but Sinner dragged Chen Ran into a tough battle in the final.

Generally speaking, based on past experience, if Sinner plays against other top players in a tense situation and the match drags on to the deciding set, his physical problems will become very serious.

The Italian has talent and comprehensive skills, but he is too thin, like a bamboo pole, giving people the impression that he is sickly and may fall down at any time.

But surprisingly, Sinner's physical fitness was surprisingly good in this year-end finals.

After the third set between him and Chen Ran, he was still moving at full speed, seemingly never tired. This match was too brutal.

The difference between a three-set match and a five-set match is that in a five-set match, players will allocate their energy properly and switch between upshifting and downshifting.

In a three-set match, especially a match like the year-end finals with a prize of up to $35 at stake, the players will always be in a state of upgrading, which consumes a lot of physical energy.

"Could it be that you, kid, also got knocked out?" This was Chen Ran's first thought, "No wonder we were able to beat Djokovic in the semifinals."

Indeed, from Agassi to Nadal, and then to Sinner, everyone has already known it tacitly, especially now that the ATP chairman is still Italian.

On the other hand, ATP is also eager for new superstars to emerge.

Compared with the era of the Big Four, one Alcaraz is clearly not enough.

What's more, this guy is too unstable. He is the type who can win against anyone and lose against anyone.

In comparison, Sinner has been incredibly stable since the second half of the year, making it to at least the semi-finals in almost every tournament. He even won the Paris Masters not long ago.

In the deciding set, Chen Ran had a hard time.

This may be the toughest final he has faced this season.

The two of them fought back and forth, almost to the point of chaos.

On several occasions, Chen Ran held his knees with his hands and gasped for breath.

After the two sides fought to the seventh game, the whole stadium was filled with cheers and countless fans danced excitedly.

After all, it is in Turin, Sinner's home ground.

Now, it is as noisy as a vegetable market, with the sound of bronze drums blaring.

"Beat him!"

"Take him off his throne!"

"Sina, Chen Ran is tired!"

"You are young, he is 37 years old after all!"

As long as Sinner defeats Chen Ran, his world ranking will rise to second, and given his condition and age, he is likely to surpass Chen Ran next year.

However, the progress of the final set tiebreak was greatly beyond the expectations of Italian fans.

Before the start of the tiebreak, Chen Ran first changed a pair of sneakers, then a pair of rackets, and then threw himself into the game with full spirit.

In the tie-break, Chen Ran changed his tactics.

He used his excellent control of the landing point and excellent ball quality to play a defensive counterattack.

Chen Ran's ball landed at a very deep point. Not only did it spin very fast, but it was also very heavy.

This put Sinner in a very passive position.

He had already adapted to the rhythm of the confrontation with Chen Ran, but the other party ended up playing this trick.

Chen Ran's ball was very difficult to handle, and every shot made him struggle internally.

I don’t know whether to take the initiative to attack or to engage in a tug of war with the opponent.

There were several times when Sinner took risks and ended up missing all of them.

The first reason was that the quality of Chen Ran's return was too high, and the second reason was that Chen Ran suddenly changed his tactics, which made Sinner a little uncomfortable.

Through various changes, Chen Ran took the initiative in the tie-break.

In the tie-break, the score was 6 to 5 and Chen Ran already had the match point!

The right to serve is also in Chen Ran's hands.

"This is my last year-end finals, and I will definitely not come again next year."

“So I hope to say goodbye as a champion!”

He took a deep breath, then slowly tossed the ball up and swung the racket hard.

The tennis ball almost hit the opposite T-line, but because the speed was so fast, the line judge couldn't see it clearly.

For this kind of ambiguous ball, they will most likely favor Sinner.

The referee at the baseline decisively shouted "OUT", and Chen Ran immediately requested an "Hawkeye Challenge".

According to the "Hawkeye System", the tennis ball hit the edge of the T-line, and the overlapping part of the ball mark and the white line was less than 1CM.

ACE ball works!
With this "Goodbye ACE" shot, Chen Ran won his tenth championship in the year-end finals.

……

(End of this chapter)