Soon, after the players and coaches had taken their seats, the referee announced the start of the first match.
"Coming up is the semifinal of this Melbourne U-17 World Cup, Germany Team versus Japan Team!"
"First is the third singles match (S3), with Germany Team's Tezuka Kunimitsu (third-year middle school student) facing Japan Team's Akutsu Jin (third-year middle school student)!"
"Will both players please take the court!"
"Woohoo!"
"It's finally starting!"
"Are both players middle schoolers? Germany and Japan Team sure are in sync!"
"Hey, it's more than just being in sync. I heard these two opponents have history. They used to be teammates on the same team!"
"Really?"
"That's not all. I heard Germany's Tezuka Kunimitsu was even Akutsu Jin's captain!"
"Yikes, does that mean Germany's guaranteed to win this match?"
"That's hard to say! Akutsu Jin hasn't played a single match before this one, which means he must be Japan Team's secret weapon!"
"Germany's in trouble!"
Before Akutsu Jin and Tezuka Kunimitsu had even entered the court, they had already stirred up discussion and cheers among the spectators.
"Kunimitsu, it's your turn. From the information we have, the other player should be your teammate, right?"
Polk glanced at Tezuka, who sat quietly beside him, and spoke calmly.
"Yes!"
Tezuka stood up with his racket in hand. Only now had he learned that he would be playing third singles for Germany Team.
"Then let's make a deal, Kunimitsu. You want to become a professional player, don't you? Beat him, and I'll recommend you to Simon Pharmaceuticals!"
Polk had always been pleased with Tezuka's performance, and he had already been considering recommending him as a professional player.
At those words, Tezuka felt his heart stir. Why had he traveled all the way to Germany? Wasn't it to pursue a