"15-0," Draco calmly announced the score.
However, the audience remained deathly silent.
Tom, Mary, Susan, Becky, and even Kate and Barty, all gaped, their eyes wide with astonishment.
"What did I just see?" Tom muttered to himself.
"Did the ball curve?" Mary rubbed her eyes.
"My God! How did he do that?!"
Becky covered her mouth and gasped softly.
Not only them, Hermione was also stunned. She knew Draco could play tennis, but she didn't know he could hit a shot like that!
This is simply beyond the reach of ordinary amateur players! The ball's spin, speed, and landing point control, and that final, bizarre, physics-defying lateral bounce...
This is almost like... magic?!
But Hermione was certain Draco hadn't used magic!
Compared to shock, Hermione was filled with resentment. "You, Malfoy! You're so amazing! Just now, watching me flutter around like a clumsy penguin, being 'gently' toyed with by Jack..."
Exhausted and out of breath, and still lost so badly!
After half a day of hands-on, one-on-one instruction, this is the level you've achieved... You clearly never intended to teach me how to play seriously!
He just wanted to take advantage!
She gritted her teeth inwardly, thinking, "Fine, Draco, you just wait! After this fight, I'll settle the score with you!"
Being a seasoned player, Jack's shock and embarrassment lasted only a few seconds. He quickly calmed down, picked up the ball, walked back to the baseline, his eyes already filled with vigilance.
No longer daring to underestimate Draco, Jack stared intently at him, trying to discern something from his actions.
However, it was all for naught.
The second serve was again a fast, high-spin, and tricky topspin serve, this time aimed at Jack's T-point.
That is, the middle of the service area, near the center line.
Although Jack was fully focused, his anticipation and reaction were disrupted again by the serve with its unpredictable trajectory, causing him to stagger and miss his target repeatedly.
30-0.
40-0.
"Game, Draco. 1-0."
In the first game, Draco won the match completely with just four serves, without losing a single point. Jack couldn't even return the serve effectively over the net, let alone score a point!
The whole process was so fast that it was impossible to react.
It looks like a complete one-sided crushing defeat!
Jack, standing still, had cold sweat beading on his forehead. Besides being exhausted, he was also nervous. He felt like a primary school student facing a professional player, utterly powerless.
The sidelines remained quiet, everyone stunned by the stark difference in skill and Draco's incredible serve.
After swallowing hard, Tom looked at Jack sympathetically. " Jack, are you still going to let him serve first?"
These words made Jack's face burn, but his competitive spirit also rose within him. "Again! This round... you serve again!" He wanted to see just how unorthodox this guy's serve was; he refused to believe he couldn't return a single one!
Upon hearing this, Draco nodded slightly.
Meanwhile, Hermione, watching this scene from the sidelines, added another mark to Draco's mental notebook. Not only did he hide his secrets and show off, but he also ruthlessly crushed his opponent. It was simply outrageous!
But at the same time, watching Draco's effortless movements on the field, her heart skipped a beat.
"Damn it..." Jack cursed under his breath, his eyes fixed on Draco had already begun to gently dribble the ball.
This time he wouldn't be careless or underestimate his opponent. He kept replaying those strange serves in his mind, his body tense.
Sensing the intense, wary gaze of his opponent, Draco's expression remained unchanged. He tossed the ball again and swung his racket.
With the same lightning-fast movements and the same crisp explosion, the yellow ball flew out as a blur.
Jack's pupils contracted; this time, he saw it clearly!
The ball was heading towards the outside sideline of his backhand side. Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he immediately took a large step to the left.
At the same time, the body's center of gravity shifts in that direction, and the racket is already in position, ready to receive the ball that will curve.
However, the ball is not so easy to see. Although the serving motion is the same, the subtle changes in the wrist and the difference in the point of contact give it different spin intensity and offset angle.
The tennis ball did indeed veer sharply to the right upon landing, but the angle of the turn was smaller than Jack had anticipated, and the angle was also more inward!
It didn't go straight for his body as Jack had expected, but instead bounced towards the open space on his right side!
"Oh no!" Jack's heart sank.
Having already taken the step to the left and shifted his weight to that side, it was virtually impossible to forcefully change direction to catch the ball that was veering to the right.
So he could only awkwardly take a step, barely managing to twist his body to the right while stretching out his arm to reach the ball that had slipped away.
But in the end, the movement was completely Transfiguration, the wrist was stiff, and the racket barely grazed the edge of the ball.
With a soft "plop," the tennis ball flew weakly and limply high into the air, tracing an absurd parabola, and then... flew directly out of bounds, landing far outside the court.
"0-15." Draco begins preparing for the second ball.
"I refuse to believe it!" Jack shook his slightly numb arm in frustration. He had tried to twist his body to reach the ball, but not only did he miss, the ball's spin made his arm uncomfortable. However, his impatience and unwillingness to admit defeat grew stronger.
But what followed was just a repetition, a repetition, and another repetition.
The only difference is the way they failed!
"0-30."
"0-40."
The score climbed relentlessly, Jack failed to score a single point, losing every single one in a dismal fashion, his struggles proving futile.
The audience's mindset has also changed somewhat.
"At least I can touch the ball..." Tom muttered, "But this serve return is so passive, we're being completely toyed with."
"Yeah, Draco's serve is so unpredictable, all sorts of spin, you can't even guess it." Mary shook her head. " Jack tried his best, but the gap was just too big."
"This level... it's not even in the same league," Susan exclaimed. "Is Draco a professional player?"
He said this while looking at Hermione.
"Uh..." Hermione's face showed a hint of awkwardness. She had no idea Draco was so good at tennis.
In the end, she could only manage a vague smile and say:
"Back in school, he participated in tennis activities, yes, just regular inter-school competitions and the like."
"He can do that just by playing occasionally?" Susan exclaimed in surprise. "His talent is incredible! I've never seen a tennis ball curve like that before!"