The Prince of Tennis: From Data-Driven Tennis to the Pinnacle of His Career

"Bang!"

Keigo Atobe serves again, his wrist rapidly rotating to apply even stronger backspin to the ball.

"Bang!"

Kagura Ijin quickly ran to the ball's landing point, lowering his center of gravity to almost touching the ground.

His eyes were fixed on the incoming ball, and he swung his racket quickly the instant the ball bounced.

This time, his return shot gave Atobe no chance to smash; the tennis ball, with strong spin, landed precisely on the baseline.

Although the speed was a bit slower than the previous flat shot, the tricky landing point made Atobe frown.

"Are you familiar with it yet?"

Atobe Keigo's heart sank.

Kagura Ikjin not only cracked his serve, but even blocked his Waltz of Destruction.

The rest of the match turned into a long, drawn-out battle.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

The two sides engaged in a fierce rally at the baseline, with the tennis ball leaving trails of yellow afterimages in the air.

"0-15!"

After several rounds, Kagura Ijin scored directly with a sharp baseline cross-court shot.

"0-30!"

……

"15-30!"

……

"15-40!"

……

"30-40!"

……

"Game, Atobe Keigo, 1-2!"

Although he successfully broke Atobe's serve, Kagura Yijin's brows furrowed tightly.

This game has taken too long. If it continues like this, even if it doesn't go to a tiebreaker, Atobe Keigo will exhaust his stamina.

"boom!"

When it was Kagura Ijin's turn to serve, he maintained his high-intensity serving rhythm.

"15-0!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"boom!"

Kagura Ijin jumped to serve again, but Atobe Keigo, already on guard, sprinted toward the ball's landing point.

"Go back here, you bastard!"

Keigo Atobe gripped his racket with both hands, let out a loud shout, and forcefully returned the powerful serve.

"40-15!"

"Hahahaha! Kagura, you really think I can't handle your serve?"

After successfully scoring, Atobe Keigo burst into laughter, his confidence growing even stronger.

Kagura Ichijin can break his serve, and he can also adapt to Kagura Ichijin's serve.

As long as Kagura Yiren cannot score quickly, the game will be dragged into a protracted battle, which is what he excels at, and the scales of victory will surely tip in his favor.

"They actually caught it..."

Kagura Ichijin's expression grew increasingly serious.

He didn't expect that Keigo Atobe could return a serve that was over 200 km/h.

Although he is currently leading in the score, the situation is not in his favor.

Atobe Keigo's prowess in prolonged battles stems not only from his astonishing eyesight but, more importantly, from his mastery of the IAP breathing technique.

This unique breathing technique allows Keigo Atobe to quickly recover his stamina during intense matches by regulating his breathing, which is also the secret to his success in prolonged battles.

"Kagura, why aren't you serving?"

Seeing that Kagura Ichijin hadn't made a move yet, Atobe Keigo raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm thinking about whether to use a different serve."

Kagura Ichijin gently twisted his wrist, looking intently at Atobe Keigo.

He hadn't used a faster flat serve in a formal match for a long time, and he never expected to be forced to this point by Atobe Keigo today.

"What do you mean by that?"

Atobe Keigo was taken aback.

Since Kagura Ijin has a stronger serve, why doesn't he use it? Is he just bluffing?

You'll find out soon enough.

Kagura Ijin took a deep breath, tossed the ball high into the air, then bent his knees, gathering all his strength in his right arm, and then swung the racket fiercely!

"Bang!"

With a deafening bang, the tennis ball vanished from everyone's sight in an instant.

"Game, Atobe Keigo, 1-3!"

"How...how is this possible?"

Atobe Keigo stared in astonishment at the tennis ball deeply embedded in the barbed wire behind him.

This serve speed definitely exceeds 210km/h! It even has a chance to break the national tournament serve record.

"Atobe-kun, you're the first person I've ever used my full strength against. From now on, I won't hold back."

Kagura Ichijin said something indifferently, then walked to the receiving area and adopted a tight defensive stance.

The only way to quickly defeat Atobe Keigo is to hit the ball into the blind spots marked by the system, places where Atobe Keigo simply cannot return the shot.

"Yeah?"

A hint of hesitation flashed across Atobe Keigo's face. He didn't know if Kagura Ichijin was telling the truth or if he was playing mind games.

"Bang!"

Atobe serves again, still with strong backspin.

"Bang!"

Kagura Ichijin caught the ball steadily, and with a slight twist of his wrist, he hit the ball towards a blind spot marked by the system.

"0-15!"

"what?"

Atobe Keigo was stunned as he watched the tennis ball rolling in the bottom left corner.

How could he have been scored on so easily?

Although Kagura Ichijin's return speed was very fast, he could see it all thanks to his excellent dynamic vision.

But just as he was about to retaliate, his body seemed to freeze for a moment, and he could only watch helplessly as the ball flew by.

This feeling is so strange.

What did you just do?

Atobe Keigo looked at Kagura Ichijin with a serious expression.

He knew that the feeling he had just experienced was not an illusion.

"I didn't do anything special, just a normal return shot."

Kagura Ichijin remained calm.

In fact, Atobe Keigo, with his keen eyesight, is also adept at finding blind spots; it's just that he hasn't fully developed his potential in this area yet.

"Fine, don't tell me then. I'll find out soon enough anyway."

Atobe Keigo snorted coldly, his confidence undiminished.

He returned to the service court, applied strong backspin to the ball again, and then hit it quickly.

"0-30!"

……

"0-40!"

……

"Game, Atobe Keigo, 1-4!"

……

"Bang!"

When it was Kagura Ijin's turn to serve, he maintained his terrifying serving speed.

"15-0!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"Out!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Out!"

……

"Game, Atobe Keigo, 1-5!"

Despite making two mistakes, Kagura Ijin still managed to win the game thanks to his powerful serve.

"It was indeed difficult to answer, but you won't need to use it many more times, will you?"

Looking at Kagura Ichijin, who was constantly moving his wrists, Atobe Keigo thought to himself.

The stronger the serve, the greater the burden on the body, and the higher the error rate will be.

This may be why Kagura Ijin has never used a flat serve before.

Similarly, his wrists ached from trying to apply more backspin to the ball.

But he believed that as long as he could execute the serve he envisioned, Kagura Ichijin would never be able to break his serve again.