Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 99 Let this little flame burn brightly (3000 words)
PS: Dear readers, continue with 5000 words today.I will update 4000 words tomorrow, and then put it on the shelves in the early morning of the 1st!I hope you all will support me!

……

The Chinese people of this era are innocent and have simple ideas.

Even though Zhang Depei is an American and cannot speak a few words of Chinese, many Chinese people still regard him as one of their own and will cheer him on in front of the TV.

Zhang Depei has reached four Grand Slam finals and won only one championship, and is only one breath away from being number one in the world.

Every time I think about this, many Chinese tennis fans will feel regretful.

Of course, Zhang Depei is a Chinese American after all, not a Chinese national. The impact brought by being 100% Chinese like Chen Ran is completely different.

This time, Chinese fans really have the feeling that our own players are finally shining on the tour stage.

"Is it too late for us to go to New Zealand?"

The staff of CCTV C5 Sports regretted yesterday's decision.

You could obviously witness a historical moment, but you had to miss it.

What's more, first going to New Zealand and then to Australia, isn't this kind of business trip just like a vacation, relaxed and enjoyable?

How silly!
"Go, make arrangements to go to New Zealand immediately!"

Han Wen, the person in charge of C5 Sports, slapped his thigh and finally made up his mind: "Chen Ran defeated Safin 2-0 and didn't even complete three sets. What does this mean?"

Tennis commentator Zhang Sheng's eyes lit up: "Chen Ran's physical exertion is not great and will not affect the next game. The semi-finals will most likely not be his end."

"Yes, that's what it means. I have a hunch that Chen Ran will continue to make history in this tournament!" the person in charge of C5 Sports said excitedly.

"But the Australian Open is about to start..." Zhang Sheng frowned, showing a trace of confusion, "Leader, are you sure Chen Ran will not be affected by this factor?"

Han Wen, however, kept it secret and smiled: "Chen Ran is just a newcomer to the tour, not an experienced player. The opportunity to create history is right in front of him, and he should know it."

"Although the four Grand Slams represent the highest glory of tennis, the Grand Slam competition is full of variables."

Zhang Sheng was stunned and couldn't help but nodded: "A best-of-five-set match is not friendly to newcomers. Although the tour is indeed not as good as the Grand Slam, once you reach the finals of the tour, it is an honor. For a Grand Slam, you have to reach at least the top 8 for it to be meaningful.”

"Yes, I think Chen Ran himself is not sure how far he can go in the Australian Open..." Han Wen looked like he had everything under control. "It's better to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and create great results in the tour."

"Yes, as long as you reach the finals of a tennis match, you will get a trophy."

Zhang Sheng's eyes lit up and he immediately agreed.

That night's C5 Sports News specially made a special feature for Chen Ran, covering the game between him and Safin at length.

They also invited some tennis professionals in the industry to conduct a detailed and thorough analysis, such as the significance of winning this game and the height that Chen Ran can reach in the future.

Will he be the next Zhang Depei?
This is the question in many people's minds.

After all, at the turn of the century, Zhang Depei still had a huge reputation in China.Unlike more than twenty years later, this name has become somewhat unfamiliar to many Chinese people.

……

After Chen Ran returned to the hotel, he happily took a hot bath, then walked leisurely to a desktop computer in his slippers and a cup of tea.

In 2003, not only in China, but also in developed countries abroad, such big-ass computers still occupied the mainstream position.

The guest rooms arranged by the organizing committee for the players are equipped with computers and Internet, but in the eyes of a reborn person like Chen Ran, the Internet speed is as slow as a tortoise crawling.

The hotel put a lot of movies on the computer hard drive.

There are Hollywood blockbusters, American dramas, British dramas, and of course some "tacit" films.

Chen Ran simply ignored these.

Huh?
Chen Ran was a little surprised to find that QQ was installed on this computer.

Yes, there are many Chinese studying in New Zealand, and there are more than [-] Chinese living in New Zealand for a long time.

In fact, compared with Australia, New Zealand is more like an isolated island.

With small temperature differences throughout the four seasons and abundant rainfall, it is a livable place for many wealthy people, and many wealthy people have immigrated here.

When Chen Ran was in China, he spent money to apply for a five-digit QQ number, but there were only a few people in his friend list, such as Zhou Jing, Hu Jie and Sun Kai.

At this time, you need to pay to apply for a QQ account, which causes the number of new QQ users to begin to decrease.

In fact, in 2000 and 2001, Tencent launched a policy that allowed you to apply for QQ for free, which led to an explosive increase in QQ users, and for a time, supply exceeded demand.

Therefore, in 2002, Tencent resumed its paid application policy, which lasted until June 2003, when it returned to the free road.

So Chen Ran logged in to his QQ account in a foreign country.

His QQ name combines the lonely characteristics of tennis, so he named it "Playing Alone".

To describe it in later Internet terms, it sounds a bit "powerful".

Chen Ran hung up on QQ and browsed some domestic portals aimlessly.

Mainly out of curiosity, he wanted to see how the domestic portals described him.

There is no doubt that the most popular portal website today is definitely Sina.

Chen Ran drank tea and browsed the sports section of Sina.com. The cool evening breeze of New Zealand summer blew through the window and felt very comfortable on his body.

The news of his victory over Safin, as expected, made the front page of Sina Sports.The comments from netizens are also very exciting. I have to say that in this age without censorship, you can speak freely and freely, which is fun.

Some people cheered for Chen Ran's outstanding performance, but of course there were also those who spoke against it and poured cold water on him.

The Internet is a magical world with all kinds of people here that you don't usually see.

"Safin must have let his guard down. He is fully focused on preparing for the Australian Open."

"Yes, yes, the Australian Open is coming soon. Who among the top players cares about a mere 250 match?"

"That's right, if Chen Ran can beat Safin in a Grand Slam, I will live broadcast Chi Xiang."

Chen Ran's fans seized the opportunity and counterattacked decisively.

"You're just bragging! Ever since I went online, I've seen a lot of people say they want to eat Xiang's food, but no one has come true!"

"That's right, feel free to brag."

Not wanting to admit defeat, the previous netizen changed his rhetoric.

"Then I'm going to run naked, and I'm serious about it this time!"

"Are you a man or a woman? Women can do it, but men might as well wear women's clothes!"

"Women's clothing is women's clothing! As long as Chen Ran can beat Safin in a Grand Slam match, I will wear women's clothing to the shopping street and put up a post to prove it!"

Soon, a group of netizens flocked to the site, expressing their desire to leave evidence.

"They're all a bunch of fun people."

Chen Ran shook his head and continued browsing other posts.

Perhaps the editor intended to attract attention, so he compared Chen Ran and Yao Ming, feeling that both of them are rising superstars in the Chinese sports world.

This operation made Yao Ming's fans a little dissatisfied.

"A mere top four player in the 250 race wants to compete with Yao Ming, so he is overestimating his abilities!"

"Not to mention the semi-finals of the tour, even the tour champion is not qualified. Unless you can win a Grand Slam, you are qualified to be compared with our little giants."

Some tennis fans are dissatisfied.

"What, only after winning a Grand Slam can I be compared with Yao Ming? Does even Yao Ming dare to say that?"

"That's right, Yao Ming is just a rookie. Not to mention he hasn't won an NBA championship, and he hasn't even played in a playoff game!"

Fans on both sides were quarreling in the comment area. Apparently, the Sina editor's goal has been achieved.

"Let's make a noise, it will be more lively."

"This Internet is where netizens use to troll each other."

"At least that's how tennis got popular."

It would be sad if no one left a message in the comment area after the game to argue, and everyone acted indifferent.

I must give thumbs up to the sincere and straightforward netizens of this era!
“I loved the turn of the century era and enjoyed it!”

This is the most authentic voice in Chen Ran's heart.

Chen Ran in his previous life was obviously confused at this age.

This time, as a reborn person, he returned to this era and was able to observe everything around him in more detail from a God's perspective.

Because once you miss many things, you will never come back, such as this innocent Internet age.

No one can realize it when they are in it, but Chen Ran has experienced it all again and can deeply understand it.

Chen Ran watched the enthusiastic comments from netizens for a while, and then continued to browse other posts on Sina Sports.

In the sports section of this era, football content accounts for the vast majority. Even the A-A section has more content than the NBA. After all, Yao Ming, as a rookie, has only played for half a season.

However, because of Chen Ran's relationship, tennis has gained a little popularity, and it has even jumped out of comprehensive sports and formed a separate channel.

Although the number of posts is not as high as that of basketball, it is not much different.

The sports section of the Sina website has formed such a clear-cut arrangement: football is much larger than basketball, basketball is slightly larger than tennis, and then there are other comprehensive sports.

Comprehensive sports include table tennis, badminton, and women's volleyball.

As for the poor men's volleyball team, it can only be in a corner where no one cares.

Obviously portals are a reality, and they cannot try their best to spread the rain and dew like C5 Sports Channel.

When they classify sports, they will filter based on the number of clicks and comments from netizens to make the best choice.

Chen Ran even felt that if he announced his retirement from playing tennis, it is very likely that these portals would immediately cancel the independent tennis channel and reclassify it to comprehensive sports.

Today's tennis balls are like a small fire, and Chen Ran is responsible for adding wood, hoping to make it burn brightly.

This feeling made Chen Ran very excited, as if he had a sense of mission on his shoulders.

……

(End of this chapter)