Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Is Chen Ran under more pressure?

This is natural.

The junior sister of the national team miraculously counterattacked and won the singles gold medal in the Olympics, and all the pressure was on Chen Ran.

In particular, the girl said emotionally after the game: "These few days before the competition, she always watches the video of Chen Ran winning three consecutive Olympic championships."

My senior brother inspires me!
I hope that I can also be like my senior brother, win glory for my country in the Olympic Games and let the five-star red flag fly high.

Zheng Qinwen even revealed a little secret: two years ago, Chen Ran had held a small meeting. At that time, Swiatek was already the world's number one, and Chen Ran was full of praise for this woman.

She was very unconvinced at the time and felt that she was no worse than Watek.

Even though many people disagree, she still believes it.

It was with this confidence that she defeated Swiatek in the semi-finals and won the most crucial battle.

There is such a past event!
Following Zheng Qinwen's victory, these words were spread by countless media on the Internet.

It also gives this gold medal more legendary significance.

"Compared to Li Na's gold medal, what's the difference?"

"At that time, Li Na was one of the favorites to win the championship, while Zheng Qinwen was ranked outside the top four. No one could have imagined that before the game."

"Maybe even Chen Ran himself thinks Swiatek is the only candidate for the championship."

"Perhaps it wasn't Zheng Qinwen's strength that was stronger than Swiatek, but her belief in fighting for her country that allowed her to defeat Swiatek."

"Her journey to the Olympics is truly a dream."

When CCTV interviewed Chen Ran, he did not deny the incident.

Two years ago, he was indeed more optimistic about Swiatek.

At that time, none of the domestic female players could see each other's backs, and Swiatek was only one year older than Zheng Qinwen. The debut of the talented girl was amazing.

"Are you under a lot of pressure for the upcoming finals?"

"Maybe, but I'm used to playing under pressure. I've been playing for 20 years and I've seen a lot of things."

Chen Ran said calmly.

However, only he himself knew that the Olympic final would be his farewell battle. Even though he had a brilliant 20-year career, this was the first time in history.

In fact, he doesn't have much experience.

In other words, in this game, past experience is of no value.

For the organizing committee of the Paris Olympics, this matchup also brought in maximum traffic.

It is the retirement battle of the tennis goat, and his opponent is the new generation giant Alcaraz.

"How can I evaluate Carlos, a 21-year-old boy?"

"If tennis has become so elegant in Federer's hands, in Aka's hands, tennis has become an extreme sport."

Because Spain is always running all over the field, making all kinds of extreme saves and turning the impossible into possible, it really amazes the fans. The entertainment value of this player's playing is incredible.

This also made Aka's popularity soar rapidly after just a few years of his debut, almost catching up with the top stars.

Will the future belong to Akka and Sinna?
Maybe. So far, there seems to be no third party capable of competing with them.

"China has the largest number of tennis fans in the world, but after Chen Ran retires, will most of them become Acre fans?" On the eve of the final, the Spanish media began to engage in psychological warfare.

……

Time quickly came to the men's singles final.

For the first time in this Olympics, the Roland Garros stadium was packed.

There were still many vacancies in yesterday's women's singles final.

But today's final was so exciting that even the picky Parisian audience was looking forward to it.

Chen Ran’s farewell battle!
He is not only the number one in tennis, but also the king of Roland Garros.

To borrow the words of the King of Understanding, no one is more familiar with the Roland Garros Stadium than Chen Ran!
In the past twenty years, Chen Ran has won the French Open championship nine times.

Although among the four Grand Slams, only the French Open championship number is not in double digits, but don’t forget that if Chen Ran wins this Olympic gold medal on clay, the significance will exceed the ten French Open titles.

Two people were standing at both ends of the court warming up.

A-Ka stood there, jumping up and down, showing off his excellent jumping ability.

As a young man again, sweeping all the way, he felt that he had adjusted his physical fitness and condition to the peak.

And what about Chen Ran?

Two days ago, he and Djokovic had two tiebreaks, and at the age of 2, he still felt a little sore in his arms and thighs. Before the game, the odds given by the bookmakers showed that Chen Ran was underestimated, while Aka was increasingly favored.

"Zheng Qinwen won the championship. Even if Chen Ran didn't win, the Chinese tennis team has achieved its goal."

"Before that, Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu also won the silver medal in mixed doubles. They already have one gold and one silver, so the minimum is also two golds and one silver."

At the scene, the Spanish players were singing and dancing, very excited, as if the game was all under their control.

“A new era has arrived.”

"Chen Ran, retire with a defeat!"

After Chen Ran finished warming up, he walked to the sidelines, drank some water, and joked with the media next to him: "Except for China, does the whole world want me to lose?"

Reporters in the media area looked at each other in bewilderment.

They didn't know how to answer.

But this sentence will definitely spread all over the world in a very short time.

With the referee's whistle, the game officially started.

For this game, CCTV temporarily cut off the men's singles table tennis final and transferred the latter's live broadcast to CCTV5+.

Because the two games conflicted in time.

The national ball all made way for Chen Ran's farewell match.

What’s more, in yesterday’s women’s singles final, the fans made a joke in front of the whole world and are now being ridiculed and criticized by netizens on the Internet.

Today, Liangzi is keeping his head down and keeping a low profile.

On the Internet, many female fans were watching the game enthusiastically, but they found that the signal was cut off and the screen turned into a red clay tennis court.

Although CCTV has given an explanation, not everyone’s home TV station has CCTV5+.

But the fans still know the importance of things.

Chen Ran’s final was also his farewell match, and even the national ball had to give way.

If they want to continue watching the game, they can only do so online.

……

The game time was not too late, just after 8 o'clock in the evening, which was considered prime time.

Will this be the highest-rated event of this Olympics? There is basically no doubt about it.

The confrontation between two superstars with an age difference of almost 20 years is extremely rare in the entire history of sports.

At this time, the camera flashed, and many familiar figures appeared in the VIP seats: Liu Xiang, Lin Dan, Wang Liqin, Tian Liang and others.

They are all athletes from the same era as Chen Ran. They once won Olympic gold medals together on behalf of China and became famous throughout the country.

Now, they have retired for a long time, but Chen Ran is still standing on the court sweating profusely.

After this game, Chen Ran will become a retired athlete and one of them.

That generation of athletes created the pinnacle of Chinese sports, and now they will bid farewell to it completely.

The only one who is still persisting is Ding Junhui from the non-Olympic sport, snooker.

But snooker is different, you can play even into your 50s.

……

"Aka, he's in such good shape..." The CCTV host's tone was full of bitterness when he saw this scene.

I thought it was Chen Ran's perfect farewell battle, but I didn't expect this young man to grow at such an astonishing speed.

In the last round, Chen Ran failed to score any points despite several consecutive high-pressure balls.

The Spaniard showed outstanding athletic talent, running at full speed, saving the ball frantically, and then counterattacking from the baseline to break through Chen Ran's defense.

From the beginning of the first game, Chen Ran fell into a passive position.

Chen Ran put his hands on his hips, his expression extremely solemn at this moment.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the two sides have played ten sets so far and I haven’t been broken by my opponent yet.

"I have to make some plans!" he muttered to himself.

No one has more experience in this area than him.

...(End of chapter)