On the sidelines, after Aoi Kintaro defeated Echizen Ryoma to win the Singles No. 3 match, everyone on the Japan Team grew even more energized.
In truth, the Japan Team's momentum had already shifted after Chitose and Tachibana got them off to a winning start by taking the Doubles No. 2 match.
They'd practically been itching to sweep the America Team.
But before long, that hope was dashed.
The America Team's next players, Kiko Valentin and Dudu Obando, were formidable.
They defeated Ōmagari Ryūji and Sengoku Kiyosumi without much effort.
Even so, the match had looked fiercely contested.
Sengoku took the offensive in the first two games, but Dudu easily shut him down, while Kiko Valentin quickly gathered data on their opponents.
Ōmagari tried to fight back in the end, but he was ultimately outnumbered.
Kiko Valentin completely controlled the pace of the match, backed by Dudu's formidable skill and extraordinary physicality.
And with Valentin's versatile style of play, no matter how Ōmagari resisted, he simply couldn't keep up.
The score was tied.
In the next match, Singles No. 3, which would decide who claimed match point first, both teams sent out their youngest players.
They were young, but their skills were anything but weak.
They put on an exciting match for everyone watching.
Of course, compared with the Japan Team's delight at earning match point, the atmosphere on the America Team's side was rather subdued.
Still, they didn't blame Echizen Ryoma. They had all seen how he'd played on the court.
Ryoma's skill was plain to see. Even among their own team, only a few could confidently say they'd be sure to win against him.
Especially after seeing who was about to take the court, the America Team players' confidence soared.
They shook off the gloom of losing