"Ryoma, if you want to beat me, you'll have to attack me head-on. You can't score against me by exploiting the difference in our reach."
When Horio spoke in such a relaxed tone, Ryoma looked only a little surprised. Then he straightened up and adjusted his cap.
Back at the baseline, Ryoma switched his racket to his left hand and hit a standard serve.
"Not bad power. For your non-dominant hand, that's pretty good."
Feeling the force behind Ryoma's shot, Horio was pleased with the improvement in his physical stats.
Even so, Ryoma's power was still nowhere near his own.
Horio returned the ball with ease. Ryoma read the return, aimed at Horio's feet, and swung hard.
He wanted to force Horio to hit a half volley. Having seen through Ryoma's intentions, Horio played along and hit a textbook half volley.
As expected, Ryoma disappeared from Horio's sight. Sliding across the court, he confidently prepared to hit his B-move Serve.
But the ball, which should have started to drop, showed no sign of falling. Instead, it flew straight toward the baseline behind Ryoma.
Thwack...
"Echizen's B-move Serve got countered! And it looked like it was easy, too."
Watching from the sidelines, Kawamura said in his usual simple way. Inui pushed up his glasses.
"To hit a fast, straight shot using a half-volley technique, he needs more than just good balance. His physical abilities must be far beyond those of an ordinary middle schooler."
The spectators were surprised, and Ryoma was even more so.
He'd clearly seen his opponent hit a half volley. Why had it turned into a straight shot?
"Ryoma, you've been improving ever since the preliminary rounds. That much is true.
"But when you're playing against an opponent, they're improving too. What will you do then?"
Seeing that