The Baptism of a Provisional Pro
Toss the ball, place it at the bottom, jump, raise the racket.
Bang!
With a crisp, clean motion, the racket struck the tennis ball again, producing a loud bang.
However, compared to the first ball's probing, this ball was clearly more powerful than a level above.
The moment the explosion rang out, the tennis ball, like a cannonball, exploded in the air, creating a ring of air shockwaves, before appearing in Muneyoshi's half of the court.
Due to the immense force, the tennis ball was spun out of the net in a distinct cone shape.
With a thud, the tennis ball landed on the outside corner of the receiving end, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Feeling the powerful wind pressure and air currents from the tennis ball, Muneyoshi's gaze flickered.
This shot was on a completely different level compared to the first one, and it taught him the techniques and skills that professional players should possess in major competitions.
If you find that your opponent is not as weak as you imagined, then mobilizing them fully and wearing them down is also a good strategy.
This method is very basic and simple.
However, it is precisely this simple foundation that makes it the most efficient and useful way to play in professional competitions.
The basics mean adaptability, which means they can be applied to more people and allow more people to be tempered.
Of course, this kind of mobilization can be applied not only to opponents but also to oneself.
Only by fully engaging yourself can you find your opponent's weaknesses.
Once you find a weakness, you must continuously deplete your opponent's stamina to weaken their ability to resist.
This is why true professional players rarely use overly aggressive moves in matches; they always rely on overwhelming opponents with superior, decisive methods.
The most obvious example is Jürgen Barisavic Polk.
He is a true professional player and the strongest opponent the Japan Team needs to face if they want to reach the top.
In the original work, his matches against Byōdōin were almost always complete annihilation; it wasn't until Byōdōin's eventual rebirth that he truly triumphed.
And if one wins by an extremely slim and minuscule chance, then there is no way to overcome them.
Moreover, there is another aspect: truly world-class competitions are basically best-of-three sets.
Therefore, winning the game using this classic, unconventional method is the best option.
Of course, this refers to other people; Muneyoshi naturally has his own rhythm and style of play.
He prefers breaking free from all constraints to blindly imitating others.
Muneyoshi exhaled a breath of stale air, and a dark field around him expanded continuously. In a blur, his figure rapidly rushed towards the landing point of the tennis ball.
Sizzle!
With his right hand extended forward in a loose fist, a piercing crackling sound of electricity filled the air.
A golden light appeared directly on the field, its powerful aura and deadly sense of danger filling Rod Laver, who was about to lift his foot and start moving, with full vigilance.
Golden light tore through the sky, lightning raged, and the tennis ball hit the ground.
The powerful impact left a deep mark on the court before the tennis ball flew towards the baseline.
On the sidelines, England's head coach's eyes lit up, then he chuckled softly, a look of anticipation on his face.
He never expected that the Japan Team, having lost Byōdōin, would actually gain another member, Saeki Muneyoshi, who was remarkably similar to Byōdōin.
He even knows how to Shining Shot, Byōdōin's specialty.
"Unexpectedly, the joke from before has now come true. It seems that Rod Laver is really going to meet a rather tough opponent in this match before becoming a professional player."
However, he wasn't too worried about Rod Laver; the path of a professional player is never smooth.
You'll encounter all sorts of opponents; you can't become a true professional player by simply avoiding them.
Rod Laver stared at the Shining Shot, which was brimming with destructive power.
He made no attempt to dodge or hesitate; he stepped to the side, grabbed the racket with both hands, and swung it backhand.
The powerful tearing force kept shaking his racket, and his arched arm muscles twisted, firmly pressing down on the racket.
Then he leaned his body forward.
Bang!
"Saeki Muneyoshi! I acknowledge your skill, but being a professional tennis player isn't as simple as you think. Let me give you a real tennis baptism!"
As Rod Laver swung his racket, the tennis ball was squeezed by a tremendous force, but the golden light from Muneyoshi's Shining Shot did not disappear.
But after he returned the ball, a dark red glow seemed to appear faintly on it.
The dark red light was hidden beneath the golden light, and it would have been almost impossible to detect if Muneyoshi hadn't had such keen senses.
The golden light in Saeki Muneyoshi's eyes flickered and then gradually dimmed, revealing a dark light. The black glow around the field transformed into ferocious ghosts that tore at the tennis ball.
Bang!
Hiss~
The ghost had just enveloped the tennis ball when a restrained, dark red light shattered it...
"Ha, there was indeed a hidden secret!"
He snorted coldly. He might have fallen for such a trick in the past, but now he had various ways to deal with it.
Although they didn't know what the other party was hiding, judging from the feedback of these ghosts, the thing on the tennis ball was unusually sharp.
But now that he had a solution, Muneyoshi looked at the figure opposite him, his words still echoing in his ears, and couldn't help but sneer:
"Rhodes Laver, you want to give me a baptism? Hah, that's not enough. Let me give you, this 'quasi-pro,' a baptism instead!"
Muneyoshi exhaled and focused his mind. As he spoke, he pushed off with the sole of his left foot to the left front, propelling his entire body forward rapidly.
The surrounding dim light rose and fell like waves, following Muneyoshi's movements.
Muneyoshi held the racket in his left hand, his right hand tightly gripping and pressing down on his left wrist, and swung it forcefully.
A scene resembling a raging storm enveloped the entire stadium.
Dark Wave!
Bang!
The tennis ball flew back in an instant.
On the other side of the court, Rod Laver suddenly felt a powerful mental force pressing down on him, causing him to stiffen and slow down.
He looked up in the direction the tennis ball had come from, and then his gaze suddenly narrowed.
The black waves rose higher and higher, and then crashed down in the next second.
"Excellent skills, superb speed and strength, and exceptional mental power, but unfortunately... that's not enough to give me a baptism."
Rod Laver let out a low growl, and a violent aura rose from his body.
Faced with such a combination of mental strength, Power and Technique, he also felt the urge to have a contest.
He took a quick step forward, using the momentum to slash his racket into the darkness enveloped by the shockwave, directly striking the tennis ball in mid-air with his racket.
"England's Eternal Light!"
Rod Laver's aura completely enveloped the racket in his hand.
At that moment, he was like a warrior wielding a giant sword, cleaving through the air surrounding the tennis ball and stirring up the dust on both sides of the court.
"The England's Light? Such a familiar tactic. I once said it was a fading light, and I won't change my mind now, even when facing you."
Saeki Muneyoshi chuckled softly, a hint of realization and nostalgia in his eyes.
But in an instant, all those emotions vanished, and he fearlessly charged forward, racket in hand.
"Chaotic Flower Burial!"
Darkness Light coalesced, and Muneyoshi suddenly swung his arm, striking at the light that seemed to burn everything in flames.
Sizzle!
Suddenly, a mustard-yellow tennis ball appeared in the net, twisting wildly and tearing at the strings.
The tennis ball spun wildly and irregularly, the sharp energy rising from its surface cutting through the net strings, causing Muneyoshi's wrist to tremble uncontrollably.
The intense collision between the racket and the tennis ball created a gust of wind that whipped up a cloud of dust right at Muneyoshi's feet.
Amidst the smoke and dust, two distinctly different lights stood out.
A sudden appearance of fine lines interwoven with black and gold swept away the arrogance in front of Muneyoshi.
Bang!
"Game! Japan Team's Saeki Muneyoshi scores, score 1-0."
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