Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 89 The start of the Oceania season

Top players can choose to play games, but as a newcomer who has just entered the professional arena, Chen Ran must go all out in every stop and every game.

So, he started discussing the game plan with his physical coach Sergey on the plane.

Sergey believes that there are too many variables in the Australian Open. With Chen Ran’s ability, it is not a big problem to win three consecutive rounds of qualifying and enter the main draw, but it is very likely that he will meet a high-ranking seed player in the first round of the main draw.

Therefore, Chen Ran cannot hold anything back during the Auckland Tour and must go all out.

Now Chen Ran's total ATP points is 153 points, even though he is ranked 312th.

The competition in the ATP Tour is cruel. For example, in a 250 tournament like the Auckland Tour, even if you make it to the top 8, you will only get 45 points.

To break into the top 8, you need to win two rounds of main matches, and there is a high probability that you will meet some world-class or near-class players.

In the ATP 125K Challenge that Chen Ran participated in before, the points required to reach the semi-finals were 40 points, but the difficulty between the two was completely different.

No wonder many tennis players have been participating in the ATP Challenger Tour to earn bonuses and points.

For example, Taiwanese player Lu Yanxun, who played against Chen Ran before, once broke into the top 8 of a Grand Slam in his previous life, but he has been hanging out in the ATP Challenger League for a long time instead of tour-level competitions. This is obviously due to economic and points considerations. Considered from a dual perspective.

But Chen Ran’s goal is to stay on the tour level platform for a long time and compete with the world’s top players. He doesn’t want to go back to play in low-level challenge tournaments.

"So at least the top eight, or even the top four!"

"Then at the Australian Open, we will at least enter the second round, or even the third round."

Chen Ran silently evaluated himself in his heart.

The top four players in the ATP250 tournament have 90 points, and the top 32 players in the third round of the Grand Slam also have 90 points.

In this way, Chen Ran can almost get a huge score of 180 in the Oceania season, and the ATP real-time ranking can reach around 150.

If you want to rely on rankings instead of wild cards to enter the tour, the top 150 is the threshold.

"By the way, there is also Sri Chapan..." Sergey thought of this person. "After Zhang Depei, he is the most outstanding Asian player. He is in hot form this year and is very likely to break into the top ten in the world."

"Chen, if you want to be the best player in Asia, you have to climb this mountain."

Lao Maozi kept talking.

"Perhaps there will be a chance to play against him in this Oaks Tour." Chen Ran joked with a smile.

After hearing this, Sergey took another look at the draw and said, "You and Sri Chapan are in the upper and lower halves respectively. You have to wait until the finals to meet."

……

The plane landed slowly at the international airport in Auckland, New Zealand, and the journey was smooth.

In just over 12 hours, Chen Ran completed the huge leap from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

The clothes on his body were also changed from long sleeves to short sleeves. As soon as he got off the plane, he felt the sultry air hitting his face, telling Chen Ran that it was summer here.

The airport is full of people.

Wherever Chen Ran could see, the entire arrival hall was packed with crowded and majestic figures. This scene was exactly the same as what he saw at the Shanghai Airport.

Carrying a travel bag, Chen Ran walked forward with fitness coach Sergey, quickly passed through the crowd, walked out of the airport, and got into a taxi.

Looking out the window, Auckland's blue sky and white clouds spread out before my eyes. The city is so clean that there is no trace of pollution. It is clear and bright, and my whole field of vision and mind feel relaxed.

"This is my first time competing abroad."

"Of course I will go to more countries and more cities in the future."

"This is the life of a professional tennis player, constantly moving around the world."

Soon, the dark green lotus-shaped court of the ASB Tennis Center slowly appeared in Chen Ran's sight, and continued to grow larger.This stadium, built in the 80s, is where the annual ASB Classic Women's Tennis Championships and the Auckland Men's Tennis Open are held.

Chen Ran knows that his Oceania season will start here.

The hotel arranged by the organizing committee is near the stadium. Chen Ran does not need to pay for his own single room, but he must pay for his physical coach.

The Professional Tennis Federation stipulates that local organizers are only responsible for the accommodation of players participating in the main match. As for the expenses of team members, the players need to pay for it themselves.

Adults value privacy, and so does Chen Ran, and so does Sergey, a Russian.

Chen Ran would rather spend more money than squeeze into a room with a big Russian man.

Therefore, people often describe professional tennis as a waste of money, with huge expenses. If you are not among the top 100 in the world, you will not make much money.

For example, this Auckland Open is a stop on the ATP World Tour and can be considered a high-level event.

But if you stop in the first round of the main draw, you can only get 10 ATP points and 1500 US dollars.

Local players are okay and may make a slight profit, but those players who fly across the country basically lose money to participate in the competition.

So at least reaching the second round, players might be able to make some money.

After Chen Ran completed his check-in, he couldn't wait to go to the training ground with a tennis bag on his back to prepare for some basic training.

The weather is sunny and the sky is blue. It is indeed a day suitable for outdoor sports.

Along the neat green trees, passing the center court, you can see the training fields lined up along both sides of the road.

The training ground here should have been renovated and looks relatively clean, giving it a brand new feel.

Chen Ran also found that many players were practicing here, including male and female players.

boom!
Snapped!
The crisp sound of hitting the ball stirred in the fresh and cool air, instantly arousing his emotions.

Those who can come here to practice are all real professional players.

Chen Ran looked around and saw no one he knew, and he didn't know who to look for for a while.

It seems that I had thought too simply before, thinking that after arriving at the training ground, I could find any players I wanted to train with.

Outside the training ground, there were some reporters taking photos, trying to record this moment.

Sure enough, the level is different from before, it is worthy of the ATP Tour level.

Just when Chen Ran was at a loss, his physical coach came in handy.

Sergey seemed to have met an acquaintance. He jogged over and chatted with the person for a short while, and the latter nodded immediately.

Chen Ran observed this man. He was about the same height as himself and looked like a tough guy.

The sixth sense told Chen Ran that this person was also a fool.

"Chen!" Sergey waved to Chen Ran, "His name is Youzhny. He is a player I coached before. You can practice with him."

Youzhini seemed to have some impression, but he couldn't remember the details.

Presumably, he might have been a slightly famous tennis player in his previous life, but he was not among the top.

Chen Ran nodded and walked over with the racket.

The Oceania season officially starts today.

……

PS: After reading the feedback from readers, the protagonist will not do that kind of behavior of taking money and running away in the future!
(End of this chapter)