Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 726: Doping Storm

However, when Chen Ran finished his training, he received a rather unexpected news from a Chinese reporter.

His Polish opponent, Hurkacz, withdrew.

This guy didn't even come to France, he announced his withdrawal directly in his hometown of Poland.

"So I changed my opponent?" Chen Ran was a little confused and surprised.

The reporter replied with certainty: "Yes, I guess Hurkacz didn't even plan to participate in the Olympics, but he didn't withdraw before the Olympic draw was released."

“I really don’t understand this person’s confusing actions.”

Maybe all Polish people are just weird.

But in fact, the Polish people have very strong national sentiments. If Hurkacz does this, he will probably be scolded to death by Polish fans.

But from another perspective, the Olympic Games are indeed not very attractive to those quasi-first-class professional tennis players.

There are no points or prize money, and the competition schedule is very tight. A result in the quarterfinals or round of 16 will not help their careers much.

But some top players will be very positive. If they can reach the semi-finals or even the finals, they will leave their names in the history of their country.

Chen Ran has participated in four Olympic Games and understands the cause and effect relationship.

After he came to his senses, he didn't think Hurkacz's withdrawal was unexpected.

That guy's serve is indeed one of the best in the world, but this serve advantage may be infinitely reduced on a clay court.

Therefore, withdrawing from the competition is an inevitable choice.

Besides, the so-called injuries are just excuses.

Every athlete has injuries of varying degrees. If it is a Grand Slam competition, as long as your injury is not serious, you will generally insist on playing. But in the quadrennial Olympics, he used the injury as an excuse to withdraw from the competition. This is too fake.

"Do you think he will appear in the US Open?" asked the CCTV reporter.

"This is a high probability event. The opponent just doesn't want to play in the Olympics." Chen Ran said disapprovingly, "He is not used to clay, is afraid of losing, and has not reported enough. That's all."

However, Chen Ran still thought it was too simple.

Soon, another sports reporter came over and said, "Something strange is happening in Poland again."

"Didn't Hurkacz withdraw from the competition?"

"No, this time it's about Swiatek!"

Swiatek?

This Polish girl can be considered as Chen Ran's little fan.

This year, she achieved a great achievement, winning the French Open three times in a row.

When Chen Ran and she, the men's and women's singles champions, took a photo together, the little fan girl was very shy but also smiled brightly.

Swiatek even said: She grew up watching Chen Ran play, and she never expected to take a photo with him as a French Open champion. It was a dream come true.

Chen Ran had a good impression of Swiatek. This Polish girl was quite polite, unlike some Poles who were disgusting.

"Swiatek also withdrew from the competition? This shouldn't happen!"

Swiatek is the queen of clay, and this Olympics will be held on clay courts. She has already considered this medal a sure thing, and she has expressed more than once that she hopes to win a gold medal for Poland.

It may even be the only gold medal Poland can expect in the Olympics.

As a female athlete, her reputation in Poland today even exceeds that of football superstar Lewandowski.

How could she withdraw from the competition?

"She didn't withdraw, but she was tortured badly by Hurkacz!"

"What the hell?"

The tennis reporter began to explain to Chen Ran slowly: "Swiatek originally formed a mixed doubles with Hurkacz, and her goal was to win two gold medals. After all, her advantage in clay court competitions is too obvious, so she thinks she has enough energy and physical fitness to win another mixed doubles gold medal."

According to the data provided by the bookmakers, the odds for the women's tennis singles championship for Swiatek are almost the same as those for the US men's basketball team and the Chinese table tennis team's team competition.

That is 100 yuan, and if you win you can earn about eight or nine yuan.

Even the powerful gambling companies felt that there was no suspense about this gold medal.

After all, it is a clay court competition, and the results of the French Open in the past few years can be used as a reference.

The biggest opponent may be Gauff from the United States. Although the latter is the US Open champion last year, she has always been Swiatek's loyal maid on the clay court.

As for world No. 2 Sabalenka, although Belarus is banned, she can participate in her personal capacity, but she obviously values ​​the tour more and has already gone to North America.

In fact, Chen Ran couldn't think of anyone else who could pose a threat to Swiatek.

Zheng Qinwen? Her best French Open result was the top 16. How can she challenge the clay court queen who has won four French Open titles and three consecutive titles?
Chen Ran didn't think highly of her.

"Since Hurkacz has withdrawn, Swiatek can find other Polish players as substitutes. In fact, mixed doubles are just temporary partners, and the added ability in singles is not much." After leaving the training ground, Chen Ran chatted with the tennis reporter as they walked.

"But the rule is that the withdrawn player must come to Paris in person to sign in first, so that a replacement can be arranged."

"That's right, that guy hasn't even come to Paris." Chen Ran suddenly realized.

He and Zheng Qinwen signed in Paris, and then chose to withdraw from the mixed doubles, with Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu replacing them in the mixed doubles.

"Swiatek called Hurkacz personally, but he refused to answer the phone," the tennis reporter continued. "It is said that Swiatek was so angry that she cried!"

Chen Ran recalled the past: "During the Confederations Cup, weren't they a good teammate? How could they not give me any face at all?"

Recalling that when he participated in Wimbledon two years ago, Hurkacz was still yelling at Chen Ran to publicly express his support for Ukraine, he felt that this person was a little bit abnormal.

But it is really outrageous that he refused to answer the phone when he was fighting side by side with a member of the national team.

Besides, Swiatek's reputation in Poland is at its peak. Do you still want to stay in Poland like this? Do you want to obtain Ukrainian citizenship?

"So Poland doesn't even have a spot in the mixed doubles this time?"

"Yes, this is like giving it up to me. Hurkacz is really a talent!"

Chen Ran smiled and just watched it for fun.

……

That night, another explosive news came out.

Italian tennis star Sinner, currently ranked second in the world and the second seed of this Olympics, announced his withdrawal from the Paris Olympics, and his reason was even more ridiculous: tonsillitis.

What the hell is this?

The Italian media and fans began to criticize.

"If this was a Grand Slam or the year-end finals, I don't believe you would withdraw for this reason."

"From last year to this year, you kept saying you were looking forward to representing Italy at the Olympics and this is it."

"He deliberately set up a patriotic persona to attract more sponsors. His true colors were revealed after the contract was signed!"

Chen Ran was also a little confused.

Hurkacz did have some injuries, although they were not serious.

But Sinner, who was still in high spirits at Wimbledon not long ago, suddenly announced his withdrawal.

With his strength, it is very likely that he will win a medal, and he is not just a bystander like Hurkacz.

With Sinner's withdrawal, Djokovic moved from No. 3 seed to No. 2 seed, while Alcaraz moved from No. 4 seed to No. 3 seed, and May became the No. 4 seed.

President Mei is still very patriotic. Although Russia was banned, he still signed up for the competition in his personal capacity.

Chen Ran frowned, as if he had thought of something, and there was a rumor circulating within ATP.

He found his agent and asked, "The drug testing in the Olympics is the most stringent. Is this the main reason why many players withdrew from the competition inexplicably?"

The agent was slightly stunned, then realized, "Yes, drug testing in the Olympics is completely different from that in professional tennis, and your samples will be kept for many years. If drug testing technology is updated several years later, the old samples will be taken out for re-examination."

This could explain why some samples did not detect problems in the first few years after the Olympics, but were detected to have problems many years later.

Because the detection technology has been upgraded, it can detect the high-tech stimulants used in the past.

"So... those guys withdrew from the competition on the eve of the Olympics because they had something to hide." Chen Ran suddenly realized.

People don't come to Paris because they feel very guilty.

The decision to withdraw from the competition after the draw was announced was a well-thought-out one, and it seemed as if I was reluctant to do so.

……

(End of this chapter)