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

The third day of the Kanto Tournament saw the start of the semi-finals.

The Yamabuki team returned to Kanagawa Prefectural Miike Park, and when they saw that their opponent on the schedule was Rokkaku Junior High School, they were not surprised.

An upset like Aihara's first place is a low-probability event. At this stage, it still comes down to hard skills.

"Kagura, how strong is Rokkaku Junior High? How many national-level players do they have?"

Sengoku Kiyosumi's face was full of worry.

He is now in the same situation as Kentaro Minami and Masami Higashikata, becoming a "soft target" in the eyes of his opponents, with everyone wanting to take points from him.

"It should be similar to Hyotei, but we'll only know for sure how many national-level players they have after we play against them."

Kagura Ikjin looked solemn.

Yesterday, Liujiao Middle School swept their opponents to advance, proving their strength should not be underestimated.

Besides Rikkai University, Rokkaku Junior High School is currently the team with the highest chance of winning the championship.

Because of yesterday's tough battle, coupled with Rikkai's easy victory over Hyotei, Yamabuki is generally considered to be a disappointment by outsiders, who think that Yamabuki is just so-so.

"Similar to Hyotei? Looks like it's going to be another tough battle."

Sengoku Kiyosumi's face darkened even more.

Currently, the only players who can consistently score points in Yamabuki are Kagura Ichijin, Tani Yoshiki Shin, and Ishimaru Kanto; the rest can only rely on luck.

This feeling of walking on thin ice is truly unsettling.

Moreover, it's uncertain how long this situation will last. If Kagura Ichijin, Tani Yoshiki Shin, and Ishimaru Kanto were to lose one day, then Yamabuki would basically have no chance of winning.

"Just do your best. It's not easy to get a spot in the national competition."

Kagura Ichijin patted Sengoku Kiyosumi on the shoulder, his gaze fixed firmly on the distance.

Today's match is crucial for Yamabuki's chances of advancing further, and it's also a hurdle they must overcome.

After an unknown amount of time, the broadcast sounded, announcing the start of the third round of the Kanto Tournament.

Yamabuki Junior High School has met its rival, Rokkaku Junior High School.

Banta Mikiya handed the starting lineup to the referee and then returned to the coaching bench.

Detailed list of participants.

Doubles Team 2: Kentaro Minami and Masami Higashikata.

Doubles Team 1: Guji Muxin and Ishimaru Kanto.

The third singles player is Jin Akutsu.

The second singles match is against Kagura Ichijin.

The first singles match was against Sengoku Kiyosumi.

"The first match begins. Please bring on the Yamabuki Doubles Team 2 and the Rokkaku Doubles Team 2."

"Dongfang, let's go."

Kentaro Minami picked up his racket, his gaze resolute, and walked straight toward the referee.

"Um."

Dongfang Yamei nodded and followed suit.

However, when the two men saw their opponent, their expressions immediately darkened.

Rokkaku Middle School actually sent out a pair of third-year students, which was clearly an attempt to bypass the doubles pair of Tani Yoshiki Shin and Ishimaru Kanto and find a breakthrough point from them.

"A single game to decide the winner, Takeda/Sakamoto serve."

"Not bad, you guessed right! Looks like we're really lucky, don't you think, Sakamoto?"

Rokkaku Takeda looked at Minami Kentaro and Higashikata Masami in front of him, a relaxed smile on his face.

Being able to avoid the national-level doubles pair from Yamabuki is definitely good news for Rokkaku, as it guarantees at least one win.

At this Kanto Tournament, there are two nationally renowned doubles pairs: one from Rikkai University and the other from Yamabuki University.

These two doubles pairs haven't lost a single game yet, completely dominating other doubles pairs.

Although they are quite strong, they still lack confidence when facing these two doubles pairs, so avoiding them now would be the best option.

"Actually, it doesn't matter if we run into them, Kuroba and Itsuki can take them down just the same."

Sakamoto remained expressionless and spoke in a flat tone.

He actually wanted to play against the doubles pair of Tani Yoshiki and Ishimaru Kanto to see just how big the gap was.

But for the sake of the team's victory, he had no choice but to accept "Dad's" arrangement.

"Kuroba and Itsuki, who are first-year students, have too little experience. If they make a mistake, the pressure on the others will be too great."

Takeda shook his head.

Although Harukaze Kuroba and Nozomi Itsuki have great potential, they are still young. If they don't perform well, Rokkaku Middle School will have no way out.

Against Yamabuki, who excels in doubles, it's better to play it safe.

"That's true, let's begin."

Sakamoto walked to the service court, tossed the ball high into the air, and then swung his racket quickly!

"15-0!"

"..."

Kentaro Minami looked at the tennis ball still rolling behind him and sighed helplessly.

These upperclassmen are really ruthless when it comes to the freshmen. The speed of that serve just now was definitely over 190km/h!

"Bang!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Takeda/Sakamoto, 1-0!"

"Dongfang, I..."

Kentaro Minami felt somewhat ashamed, as no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to return Sakamoto's serve.

"It's okay, I would have done the same."

Dongfang Yamei patted Minami Kentaro on the back to comfort him.

In a competition at the level of the Kanto Tournament, besides national-level players, the most difficult opponents are these experienced third-year students.

They still have a long way to go in terms of both strength and experience, which cannot be overcome in a short period of time.

"Sigh! I'd better try to win at least one game; I don't want to keep losing."

Kentaro Minami gave a subtle hand signal to Masami Higashikata, then walked to the service area, tossed the ball high into the air, and swung his racket quickly.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"0-15!"

……

"0-30!"

……

"15-30!"

……

"15-40!"

……

"30-40!"

……

"Game, Takeda/Sakamoto, 2-0!"

"Ugh!"

Kagura Ichijin, watching from the sidelines, sighed deeply.

In fact, he and Banta Miki had considered adjusting the doubles order, but ultimately found it to be of little use.

The overall level of doubles in the Kanto Tournament is very high. No matter how Kentaro Minami and Masami Higashikata are switched, it will be difficult for them to avoid strong opponents.

After silently reciting the system's name, Kagura Ikjin began to check the five dimensions of Takeda and Sakamoto.

Takeda (Third year of junior high school)

Speed: 3

Power: 2.5

Stamina: 2.5

Spirit: 2

Technology: 3.5

Total: 13.5

Sakamoto (Third year of junior high school)

Speed: 2.5

Power: 3

Stamina: 2.5

Spirit: 2.5

Technology: 3

Total: 13.5

Faced with a double gap in five dimensions and experience, although Kentaro Minami and Masami Higashikata tried their best to fight back, the effect was minimal, and the score was mercilessly widened.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"15-0!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Takeda/Sakamoto, 3-0!"

……

"Game, Takeda/Sakamoto, 4-0!"

……

"Game, Takeda/Sakamoto, 5-0!"

……

"Game, Takeda/Sakamoto, 6-0!"

……

"Match 1 ends, 6-0, Takeda/Sakamoto win!"

With the referee's whistle, Kentaro Minami and Masami Higashikata walked off the field with their heads down, their backs looking particularly forlorn.