Clash, Add More Pressure on Atobe!

"Smash!!"

Shishido was slightly stunned.

But when he thought about how Kamikawa had just scored with a smash, Atobe wanted to return the favor in the same way. This was indeed in line with Atobe's personality.

"It's quite lively over here too."

Mukahi's voice reached Shishido's ears.

"How's the match over there?"

Shishido asked, "Does Jirou still have the advantage...?"

"Oshitari is too cunning."

Mukahi waved his hand and said helplessly, "He knew from the start that Jirou was a serve-and-volley player, so he didn't give Jirou any opportunities to come to the net."

"And from time to time, he'd hit a lob shot to Jirou, who would foolishly smash it."

Indeed.

For Jirou, a serve-and-volley player, his skill level at the net and the baseline were completely different. However, to be toyed with like this by Oshitari, he could only blame himself for not being good enough.

A smash at the net was countered by the Giant Bear Return.

If he didn't smash at the net, he had no answer for the lob shots.

When he returned to the baseline, his control accuracy wasn't as good as Oshitari's.

"How's the match over here?"

In Mukahi's opinion, Jirou was bound to lose.

On the other hand, this match here had piqued his interest. After it ended, all the members of the Hyotei tennis club would know who was stronger, Atobe or Kamikawa.

Bang!

Bang!!

On the court.

The pace of both players continued to quicken.

The sidelines were filled with members of the tennis club. Those who had already been eliminated from the internal ranking matches also threw themselves into observing the competition. Gradually, some people's minds couldn't keep up with the match.

The high-intensity duel consumed mental energy. Most club members didn't have strong mental fortitude, and only a very few could barely keep up with the rhythm of these two players.

"So fierce, Ryo!"

Mukahi swallowed, no matter when he watched, he felt these two were truly monstrous.

"Hmph~"

Shishido snorted, stubbornly saying, "One day, I will surpass those two."

"Get real."

Mukahi rolled his eyes, "You should focus on standing out in the subsequent internal ranking matches and become a regular player first."

"With them, we might truly have a chance to reach the nationals this year."

Shishido's eyes lit up slightly. The nationals – among the over three thousand renowned tennis schools, vying for those few coveted spots. It gathered powerhouse schools from Kanto, Kansai, and even Kyushu, all chasing that single championship title.

Although Shishido had dreamed of dominating the nationals even before joining the Hyotei tennis club, he had never imagined that day would come so soon!

Bang!

"30-15!"

Bang!!

"30-30!"

Bang!!!

"40-30"

Bang!!

"Game, Atobe, 1-0!"

"Change ends!"

Relying on his serving advantage, Atobe fought his way back, taking the first point from Kamikawa.

Both sides were probing in the first round. Atobe, with his keen observation skills, looked for Kamikawa's blind spots, while Kamikawa observed Atobe's growth rate.

"Still too slow."

They exchanged service rights. Kamikawa took the tennis ball from the ball boy, his eyes flickering slightly. "Time to add some fuel to this guy."

BOOM!!

With that thought, Kamikawa raised his hand and delivered a standard topspin serve.

A topspin serve, as the name suggests, is a serve that primarily utilizes topspin with sidespin as a secondary element. The amount of spin is greater than a slice serve. The more power behind the serve, the more the ball will rebound upwards at an angle, and the higher it will bounce, forcing the opponent to move out of position to receive it.

Before the tennis ball reached its peak bounce, Atobe sidestepped and swung.

Kamikawa returned the shot.

The two sides exchanged shots again from the baseline.

The side with the service right had more initiative, so Atobe was often on the defensive, returning the ball towards the center of the court.

Kamikawa, meanwhile, drew his bow left and right, keeping Atobe firmly pinned to the baseline, aiming for the diagonal corners on either the left or right side with almost every shot.

The continuous rallies saw neither side giving way.

SMACK!

Kamikawa suddenly lowered his racket face and hit a high-quality drop shot.

The tennis ball lightly grazed the net, forcefully changing its trajectory as it dropped downwards.

Atobe moved forward quickly, stopping slowly less than two meters from the tennis ball.

Swish swish swish.

The tennis ball landed, bounced lightly, and rolled towards Atobe.

Caught off guard by the net-skimming drop shot, Atobe, who was positioned at the baseline, found it almost impossible to rush forward and return the shot immediately.

"This guy..."

Atobe's gaze flickered slightly.

This guy is really calm.

"15-0."

"A surprise net cord drop shot."

Shishido couldn't help but exclaim, marveling at the ability to hit such a precise net cord drop shot under such high pressure.

Kamikawa's focus was truly astonishing.

"That net cord shot was absolutely intentional."

Mukahi took a deep breath, his voice trembling as he said, "To be able to hit a net cord shot that precisely... that guy's control is unbelievably monstrous."

The talent of these two is truly enviable.

The spectators outside the court couldn't help but show envy in their eyes.

Only with such talent could they play tennis like this in such a situation – sharp insight, solid fundamentals, terrifying control...

It was hard to believe these two were their juniors.

And the first-year students watching from the sidelines were even more so, only capable of picking up balls. They had also participated in the school ranking matches, fantasizing about reaching the top in one leap.

But reality had given them a harsh awakening...

Without absolute strength, don't even dream of joining the Hyotei school team!

Hyotei now valued strength above all else. The change was the removal of the restriction that first-years couldn't play, not the stripping away of the rights of second and third-years who couldn't compete.

BOOM!!

"15-15!"

On the court, Atobe relied on his keen insight and seized an opportunity when Kamikawa made an error, scoring with a quick attack.

BOOM!!

"30-15!"

Soon after, Kamikawa, relying on his service advantage, pulled ahead again.

The two sides traded shots back and forth, and the scores continued to change.

BOOM!

"30-30!"

BOOM!!

"40-30!"

BOOM!!!

"Game, Kamikawa, 1-1!"

The second game, Kamikawa also firmly controlled it.

Both sides held their own service games.

And both sides continued to escalate their attacks, holding their own service games back and forth.

Until the end of the fourth game.

BANG!!

"Game, Kamikawa, 2-2!"

Mitsuya Genko, sitting in the referee's chair, couldn't help but sigh at the strength of these two players.

They were almost flawless, constantly scoring points when they held their service game, and constantly creating trouble for their opponent when it was their opponent's service game.

If he hadn't seen the strength of these two beforehand, Mitsuya Genko would have likely been scared stiff on the spot.

So strong!

"Classmate Atobe."

Kamikawa held his racket with both hands and smiled slightly, "If this is all the strength you have, then this match should end."

Through four full games, Kamikawa had also roughly figured out Atobe's current strength.

He had indeed put in a lot of effort to improve, but unfortunately, the improvement wasn't obvious enough.

The short time was one factor, but more importantly, the pressure on Atobe wasn't strong enough; the pressure from Tezuka alone was not enough to make him evolve quickly.

Atobe's brow furrowed, as if he had thought of something.

That guy still had one serve he hadn't used.

The serve he had used before when playing against that monster on the Yamabuki tennis court.

It seemed to be called Dancing Golden Snake!

But now it was his service game, and judging by the look on that guy's face, he was definitely hiding something else.