Singles 1 Showdown

"Hey, both sides look pretty strong!"

Muneyoshi certainly saw the fighting spirit in Tezuka's eyes; not only Tezuka, but he had also been looking forward to it for a long time.

However, Muneyoshi is no longer the same person who was self-centered in his first year.

The Kanto Tournament is a team sport; one person's strength alone is not enough to win.

Therefore, the specific arrangements will depend on Coach Hanamura Aoi's instructions.

She had clashed with Rikkai Dai several times in Kanagawa, and knew their tactics better than Muneyoshi.

Moreover, given Fudomine's current strength, no matter how they change, it will be a tough battle.

Thinking of this, Muneyoshi's gaze fell on Tachibana Kippei beside him.

Actually, compared to his doubles partnership with Kiesslinger, Kippei Tachibana was the most inconsistent player.

Nowadays, Rikkai Dai almost always has a clear-cut singles player.

Sanada Genichirou in singles.

Singles match against Mori Juzaburo.

Singles 1 against Yukimura Seiichi.

Regardless of the circumstances, these three major obstacles must be overcome.

Among the three, Sanada Genichirou is the weakest. Given Tachibana Kippei's current strength, even he can't predict the outcome of a fight against him.

It's roughly a 50/50 number.

In fact, Muneyoshi had suggested to Hanamura Aoi that Keith play singles, making the match like Fudomine playing against other ordinary schools, and choosing to trust Lin Xiu.

Alternatively, Tachibana Kippei could team up with Lin Xiu for doubles.

However, after discussing them with Hanamura Aoi, both plans were temporarily shelved.

After Seigaku's demonstration, other schools also understood the best way to deal with Fudomine.

They were forced to use the combination of Keith and Lin Xiu in their match against Yamabuki.

Compared to Seigaku, Rikkai Dai is not only equally strong in singles, but also has a very strong doubles lineup.

Compared to Seigaku, which only has one decent doubles team, Rikkai Dai Yanagi Renji, mainly plays doubles.

Therefore, both of their doubles pairs were very good.

The first-year students at Fudomine simply couldn't handle it. As for Lin Xiu leading the team alone, he might have a chance if he encountered the combination of Marui Bunta and Jack Sanohara.

However, if he were to encounter Niou Masaharu and Yanagi Renji, he simply wouldn't be able to handle them alone.

As for pairing up Tachibana Kippei and Lin Xiu, it was indeed a good idea. Hanamura Aoi hesitated for a long time because of this, and also talked to Tachibana Kippei about it.

At the same time, Tachibana Kippei and Lin Xiu tried to coordinate during training, but they are not planning to use it for the time being.

Tachibana Kippei is indeed a doubles player by training and possesses excellent doubles skills.

However, he and Lin Xiu have conflicting positions; they are both net players.

Lin Xiu needs to play at the net to unleash his full potential, and Tachibana Kippei prefers playing at the net.

This isn't a big deal in singles, but in doubles...

This idea should be brought up after targeted training, or used as a surprise tactic.

However, in this semi-final, facing Rikkai Dai's strong and increasingly perfect doubles combination, Fudomine is not yet willing to gamble on such a surprising move in doubles.

Therefore, we can only hope for Tachibana Kippei's singles match!

It feels bad to entrust your Fate to your teammates, but that's what teamwork is all about.

This is also an area where the team needs to continuously refine and improve.

Moreover, he could only trust his teammates, trust Tachibana Kippei, trust Keith and Lin Xiu.

As Muneyoshi pondered, a glint of something unsettling flashed in his eyes.

But a sudden burst of enthusiastic cheering pulled him back to reality.

"Hyotei Academy will win, and Seigaku will definitely lose!"

"Hyotei Academy will win, and Seigaku will definitely lose!"

Hyotei Academy!

Hyotei Academy will win!

Go Seigaku!

The disproportionate cheers from both sides filled the air, and the heated atmosphere immediately drew Muneyoshi's attention to the court.

"Wow! Even Seigaku's Golden Pair is going to lose!"

"It seems that Metropolitan Tournament, it's not just Fudomine's holding their breath; Hyotei Academy has also developed a perfectly coordinated doubles team..."

A doubles match is currently underway on the court.

In the doubles match 2, Hyotei Academy's Oshitari Yushi and Mukahi Gakuto faced Fuji once again.

However, this time, Fuji's Fuji is not Kawamura Takashi, but Inui Sadaharu.

When facing Oshitari Yushi again, Fuji triggered his passive ability to never lose to the same person twice.

Furthermore, he has already surpassed the National Level of Fuji, and his strength has improved significantly.

Oshitari was clearly outmatched, managing only to pull back two games before Seigaku took the lead 6-2.

Seigaku swept away the gloom of their consecutive defeats to the Hyotei Academy last year.

The Golden Pair that followed should have had an easier time.

However, the pairing of Shishido Ryo and Ohtori Choutarou appeared earlier than expected and they worked out very well together.

At this point, the series had gone to a tiebreaker with Seigaku.

"Oh no."

Looking at Kikumaru, who was already showing signs of exhaustion on the court, Kane's fingers trembled slightly as he gently pushed up his glasses.

Although Kikumaru's weaknesses were discovered last year, Kikumaru has been quietly improving on his own, constantly strengthening his physical abilities.

Nowadays, even in most matches, going to a tiebreaker is generally not a problem.

However, under Shishido Ryo's deliberate care, Kikumaru expended more energy than usual.

He glanced worriedly at Tezuka beside him, then couldn't help but look at Coach Sakaki on the Hyotei Academy coaching bench.

This coach always causes them trouble. Just by having Shishido Ryo change the rhythm of his attacks on Kikumaru, he dragged the Golden Pair into this situation.

"We really can't afford to be careless even a little bit..."

"As expected, every weakness in the Kanto Tournament will be magnified."

Ryūzaki Sumire, sitting on the coach's bench, also looked somewhat tense. As it was the Kanto Tournament, which she hadn't participated in for a long time, her preparation was clearly lacking.

However, she had already obtained the match schedule for the two sides' starting lineups, and thinking about the current strength of her team members, her tense heart relaxed again.

"Tiebreak! Hyotei Academy serves."

As soon as the referee's voice faded, both sides quickly set up their doubles formations.

But...

"This is... Australia's doubles formation!"

Oishi looked at the Hyotei Academy with some surprise as the two stood in a vertical line. He hadn't expected Hyotei Academy to hide this move until the decisive Game 7.

He and Kikumaru had also practiced this move, but they had only been training for a short time and didn't yet have the confidence to use it.

Is this why you're so confident?

Oishi's heart sank; Hyotei Academy's decision to reveal their trump card only at the last moment had taken him somewhat by surprise.

"Hehe..."

Ryo Shishido glanced lightly at Oishi, who was the first to receive the hairpin, Shishido Ryo smiled gently.

Their uneasy and nervous expression was exactly what they expected. Compared to the nimble and versatile Kikumaru, Oishi was more composed, but also more prone to timidity.

Their tactic this time was to win hearts and minds.

In addition...

"Chotaro, you can try using that..."

Ohtori Choutarou at the service line, his Shishido Ryo a meaningful meaning.

Chotaro understood instantly. Although his control wasn't very stable yet, he could give it a try.

"One ball, one soul!"

Bang!

"ACE, Hyotei Academy scores, score 12-10."

"Game 1, Hyotei Academy wins the doubles match, score 7-6."

"The overall score is 1-1. Next up is the singles third match: Akutsu Jin Seigaku. Akutagawa Jirou of the Hyotei Academy!"

There's nothing to say about the singles match. Even before his breakthrough, Akutagawa Jirou was no match for Akutsu, let alone now.

Although Akutagawa Jirou's strength is considered to be among the top three in the Hyotei Academy, he is countered by Akutsu Ten, who has the same attribute, as a fellow net attacker.

In the subsequent singles match, Seigaku sent out Kawamura Takashi, while Hyotei Academy sent out Kabaji Munehiro.

"The guys from Seigaku actually learned my Wave Shot? When did that happen?"

The only highlight of the match was probably Kawamura Takashi's Wave Shot, which made the game seem like a replay of the match between Fudomine and Hyotei Academy.

"Ishida, the Wave Shot isn't a particularly difficult technique. As long as you have enough aptitude, you can learn it by imitating the power generation technique."

Seeing the two players resume their Hadouken Wave Shot, Muneyoshi smiled and explained to Ishida, who had just raised a question:

"And those two guys on the court are both quite strong, but Kawamura probably hasn't learned that for very long. If they keep playing like this, he probably won't be able to keep it up..."

As Muneyoshi predicted, before he had even finished speaking, Tezuka from Seigaku's side signaled to the referee that they were forfeiting.

Compared to Kabaji Munehiro, who had already imitated the Wave Shot once, Kawamura, who hit it so fiercely on his first try, must have a lower tolerance for the attack.

Tezuka realized this and immediately gave up on the match.

This is also a way to protect Kawamura.

With the overall score tied at 2-2, the final decision of the match rested with the Singles 1.

That is, a showdown between the two ministers.

Tezuka Kunimitsu VS Atobe Keigo.

Seeing this match taking place a year earlier than they remembered, everyone in the audience, including Muneyoshi, showed great interest.

At that moment, several other figures dressed in yellow uniforms appeared opposite Yanagi Renji and Niou Masaharu.

Yukimura Seiichi, Genichiro, Mori Juzaburo...

Even the first-year student, Rikkai Dai Tennis Club were present.

The arrival of the enemy also ignited the fighting spirit of the Fudomine members.

After Seigaku and Hyotei Academy, it's their turn!

P. S.: "Everyone probably thinks I'll just fill in the gaps, but I won't. I won't rewrite matches that I've already described; I'll just gloss over them. Please vote with your monthly tickets!"

I'll only briefly mention the match between Seigaku and Hyotei Academy, though I'll describe Tezuka and Atobe a little more, since I haven't written about them before. After that, it'll be Rikkai Dai and Fudomine. Only three chapters today.