"Smash!!"
Shishido froze for a moment.
But then he remembered that Kamikawa had just scored with a smash. Atobe was trying to return the favor in the same way, which was certainly in keeping with his personality.
"This match is pretty lively, too."
Mukahi's voice came from beside Shishido.
"How's the other match going?"
Shishido asked, "Does Jiro still have the advantage, or...?"
"Oshitari's way too crafty."
Mukahi waved a hand and said helplessly, "He knew from the start that Jiro was a serve-and-volley player, so he's not giving Jiro a chance to get to the net."
"And every now and then, he hits a lob over Jiro. That idiot keeps trying to smash it."
That was true.
For Jiro, a serve-and-volley player, his skill at the net and from the baseline were on completely different levels. But if Oshitari could toy with him like this, Jiro had only himself to blame for not being good enough.
When he tried a smash at the net, the Giant Bear Return shut him down.
If he didn't smash at the net, he had no way to handle those lobs.
And when he fell back to the baseline, his ball control was no match for Oshitari's.
"How's this match going?"
As far as Mukahi was concerned, Jiro had already lost.
This match, though, had caught his interest. Who was stronger, Atobe or Kamikawa? Once it was over, every member of the Hyotei tennis club would know.
Thwack!
Thwack!!
On the court,
both players kept picking up the pace.
Members of the tennis club crowded the sidelines. Even those who had already been eliminated from the intramural rankings were engrossed in the match. Gradually, some of them could no longer keep up with the play.
Such an intense match took a toll on the mind. Most club members didn't have particularly strong concentration, and only a handful could barely follow the rhythm of these two.
"That's intense, Akira!"
Mukahi swallowed. No matter when he watched them, these two seemed like monsters.
"Hmph."
Shishido gave a stubborn snort. "One day, I'll surpass those two."
"Yeah, right."
Mukahi rolled his eyes. "Try standing out in the rest of the intramural rankings and making the regular team first."
"With them around, we might actually make it to Nationals this year."
A glimmer lit Shishido's eyes. Nationals—that meant competing for one of the precious few spots among more than three thousand prestigious tennis schools, against powerhouses from Kanto, Kansai, and even Kyushu, all chasing that one championship title.
Shishido had dreamed of conquering the country even before joining the Hyotei tennis club.
But he had never imagined it might happen so soon!
Thwack!
"30–15!"
Thwack!!
"30–30!"
Thwack!!!
"40–30!"
Thwack!!
"Game, Atobe. 1–0!"
"Change ends!"
Relying on his serving advantage, Atobe fought back and was the first to take a game from Kamikawa.
They had spent the first game feeling each other out. Atobe relied on his keen insight to search for Kamikawa's weaknesses, while Kamikawa watched how quickly Atobe was improving.
"Still too slow."
After they switched servers, Kamikawa took a ball from the ball boy. His eyes flickered faintly. "Time to turn up the heat."
Thwack!!
With that thought, Kamikawa raised his hand and hit a textbook topspin serve.
Just as the name suggested, a topspin serve relied primarily on topspin, with sidespin as a secondary element. Its spin was greater than that of a slice serve. The harder the serve, the higher the ball's bounce and the more sharply it sprang upward, forcing the opponent out of position to return it.
Before the ball had bounced back to its peak, Atobe turned sideways and drove it across the court.
Kamikawa returned the shot.
Once again, the two traded shots from the baseline.
The server had more initiative, so Atobe was often forced to return defensively, sending the ball toward the center.
Kamikawa swept from side to side, keeping Atobe pinned to the baseline. Nearly every shot was aimed diagonally toward one of the corners.
They traded shots again and again, neither giving an inch.
Thwack!
Kamikawa suddenly lowered his racket face and hit a high-quality drop shot.
The ball skimmed lightly over the center of the net, changing course abruptly as it dropped.
Atobe rushed forward, then slowed to a stop less than two meters from the ball.
Skritch, skritch, skritch.
The ball landed, bounced faintly, and rolled toward Atobe.
Caught off guard by the net-cord drop shot, Atobe had been standing at the baseline. There was almost no way he could have rushed forward in time to return it.
"That guy..."
Atobe's gaze flickered.
He really was calm.
"15–0."
"What a sneaky net-cord shot."
Shishido couldn't help but marvel. Even under that kind of pressure, Kamikawa had managed to hit a precise drop shot that clipped the net.
Kamikawa's focus was incredible.
"That net-cord shot was definitely deliberate."
Mukahi took a deep breath and spoke in a shaky voice. "To hit it that precisely, his ball control really is off the charts."
Their talent was truly enviable.
The spectators on the sidelines couldn't help but look on with envy.
Only such talent could produce tennis like this in a situation like this: keen insight, solid fundamentals, astonishing ball control...
It was hard to believe the two of them were their juniors.
The new students watching from the sidelines needed no explanation. They were there to pick up balls, and although they had also taken part in the intramural rankings, they had dreamed of rising straight to the top.
But reality had given them a brutal wake-up call...
Without real skill, they could forget dreaming of making the Hyotei team!
Hyotei now prized ability above all. The reform had removed the restriction against first-years playing, not stripped second- and third-years of their right to compete.
Thwack!!
"15–15!"
On the court, Atobe relied on his keen insight to seize on a moment when Kamikawa made a mistake and scored with a fast attack.
Thwack!!
"30–15!"
Soon, Kamikawa used his serving advantage to pull ahead again.
The two traded points, and the score kept changing.
Thwack!
"30–30!"
Thwack!!
"40–30!"
Thwack!!!
"Game, Kamikawa. 1–1!"
Kamikawa held firm in the second game as well.
Both players held their own service games.
They continued to step up their attacks, each holding serve in turn.
Until the end of the fourth game.
Thwack!!
"Game, Kamikawa. 2–2!"
Mitsuya Genko, seated in the umpire's chair, couldn't help marveling at how strong they were.
Neither gave anything away. They kept scoring on their own service games and relentlessly troubled their opponent when returning serve.
If Mitsuya Genko hadn't seen their skill beforehand, he would probably have been stunned into silence.
They were incredible!
"Atobe."
Kamikawa held his racket in both hands and smiled faintly. "If this is all you've got, then this match might as well be over."
After four full games, Kamikawa had gotten a rough measure of Atobe's current ability.
Atobe had certainly worked hard to improve, but the progress wasn't significant enough.
The short time was one factor, but more than anything, Atobe wasn't under enough pressure. The pressure Tezuka had put on him alone wasn't enough to make him evolve quickly.
Atobe furrowed his brows, as if he had thought of something.
That guy still had another serve he hadn't used.
The one he'd used earlier at the Yamabuki tennis courts, when he'd played against that monster.
What had it been called? Dancing Golden Snake!
But it was Atobe's service game now. Judging by the look of him, that guy was definitely still holding something back.
Before you continue