"First match!"
"Please, both doubles teams, on court!"
The umpire, seated high on his chair, called out loudly.
At this moment, both doubles pairs were already standing on the court.
Upon seeing the two teams, Bantada seemed a little surprised.
"For the first match, they're sending out Oshitari and Mukahi, that doubles pair?"
Bantada had studied Hyotei's matches from the sectional qualifiers all the way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament during the break. If there was any pair that had the potential to form a capable doubles team in the future, it was Oshitari and Mukahi.
"Minami, Higashikata! Do what you believe is right."
Bantada smiled as he looked at the two young doubles players in front of him.
Like Oshitari and Mukahi, they were both first-year freshmen. Bantada wasn't as rigid as other teams; in his eyes, as long as someone was strong and talented enough, they deserved to be a regular on the tennis team.
"Mikiya Bantada, let me see the doubles pair you've trained." Sakaki Tarou sat with his legs crossed, arms folded across his chest, leaning back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Yamabuki's doubles team.
"Fuji... Fuji, both sides are sending out first-years, aren't they?"
Among the crowd, during a break in the losers' bracket revival matches, Kikumaru and others had come to the venue for the Metropolitan Tournament finals.
They also saw the two doubles pairs taking the court.
"Yamabuki also has some good first-year rookies," Oishi said, surprised.
Inui pushed up his glasses, a notebook in his left hand and a pen in his right, flipping through his data.
"Inui, do you have any relevant data?" Kikumaru instinctively turned to Inui, asking.
"Minami Kentarou, Masami Higashikata, Yamabuki Middle School first-years. They serve as Yamabuki's Double Two. Their coordination is astonishingly good, often using secret signals to catch opponents off guard."
"They possess Kanto-level doubles skill..."
Inui glanced at the two players on the court, recording other details as well. Gathering enough information would be helpful for Seigaku's advancement into the Kanto Tournament.
Originally, Inui had only been collecting data on Seigaku's upperclassmen, but gradually, he found those upperclassmen to be somewhat lacking in strength. So, he turned his attention to gathering data on other schools. And now, information on all the schools participating in the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament was recorded in his notebook.
It could be said that Inui played a crucial role in Seigaku's progression into the losers' bracket revival matches.
---
"One game set!"
"Hyotei, Oshitari and Mukahi to serve first!"
"Don't let your guard down, Yuushi!" Mukahi turned back to Oshitari, who held the serve.
"You don't need to worry about that, Gakuto!" Oshitari took a deep breath, tossed the ball, bent his knees, and swung his racket in one smooth motion.
**Boom!**
A brilliant flat serve, precisely hitting the edge of the service line.
This serve was incredibly fast and highly accurate, but the biggest difference between doubles and singles is the reduced defensive area. Masami Higashikata, standing at the baseline, moved the moment he saw the serve.
**Whack!**
Without hesitation, he decisively swung his racket.
Before Minami could even rejoice, Mukahi, standing at the net, dove forward and hit a beautiful volley in mid-air. The glowing yellow tennis ball zipped past Minami, landing steadily in the left corner.
"Oh no!"
"15-0!"
Seeing this, the faces of the two Yamabuki players fell. Their chemistry might not be as good as Oshitari and Mukahi's, but overall, Oshitari and Mukahi's skill was far superior to theirs.
"Let's press on, Gakuto!" Oshitari calmly glanced at the two Yamabuki doubles players, his expression still serene.
"You don't need to tell me, Yuushi!" Mukahi responded flatly, then shifted his gaze to Minami.
Minami Kentarou, using such an average player as the front-court man, there must be a reason for it. And what Mukahi could do was break through Minami Kentarou's defense to create scoring opportunities.
**Boom!**
**Boom!**
Next, Minami and Higashikata also displayed incredibly high chemistry. The doubles talent they showed was noticeably better than Oshitari and Mukahi's pair.
Even so, Oshitari still managed to find good attacking opportunities, and Mukahi quickly attacked at the net. Relying on his Trick Play, he scored quickly at the net. These two had a very clear division of labor: balls near the net were almost entirely handled by Mukahi, while balls closer to the baseline became Oshitari's prey.
**Boom!**
"1-0!"
---
**Boom!**
"2-0!"
Minami and Higashikata, being a newly formed doubles team, still managed to snatch a small point from Oshitari and Mukahi, relying on their unique code tactics.
The score stretched to 4-1.
It was a shame they were facing Hyotei's old fox, Oshitari quickly realized something was off. And during the break, Coach Sakaki also pointed out the opponents' code tactics.
After strategizing how to counter, Minami and Higashikata soon couldn't withstand Oshitari and Mukahi's fierce attacks. If you like using code words, then I'll attack at the fastest speed.
With a swift and decisive offensive, they disrupted your code deployment.
In just five minutes, Minami and Higashikata no longer had suitable tactical deployments, and ultimately lost this match.
**Boom!**
Mukahi's clean net volley struck hard into the dead corner of the service line.
The tennis ball just whizzed past Minami and Higashikata. No matter how desperately they chased it, they couldn't return it.
"Game over!"
"Hyotei Gakuen, Oshitari and Mukahi win!"
"Score: 6-1!"
As the umpire's words fell, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from outside the court.
"Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!"
With the first point secured, Hyotei's morale was soaring.
"It's your turn next, Shishido, Gen Kouen-senpai." Tezuka looked at Shishido and Gen Kouen, who were returning from their warm-up. Double One wasn't that important; when he, Atobe, and Coach Sakaki discussed it, he willingly made Double One a sacrifice position.
Coach Sakaki even suggested having Gen Kouen and Kawamura play as Double One. Those two were Hyotei's doubles pair that made it to the Nationals last year, playing as Double Two. After over a year of training, their skill was also at a top-tier doubles level.
However, Atobe rejected it.
In Atobe's view, Shishido needed to grow. Regardless of the outcome of this doubles match, Shishido would grow.
As for Tezuka, he maintained a neutral opinion.
The final decision then rested on Kamikawa.
To be honest, Kamikawa, who was too lazy to take on the roles of captain or vice-captain, was always called upon whenever match orders were decided or training plans were made.
Kamikawa protested this, but his protests were mercilessly denied by the 'evil forces' led by Coach Sakaki. Protests are protests... but when it's time to call you, you still come obediently.
"My thoughts are the same as Atobe's. Shishido needs to grow. Gen Kouen-senpai is an excellent baseline defender and can provide Shishido with many attacking opportunities."
"And what Shishido needs to do is break through! Break through! And break through again!"
"He needs to hit the perfect half-volley, the half-volley with the most suitable angle. Perhaps under the pressure of a National-level doubles match, he can gain some enlightenment."
Playing against strong opponents is, in itself, a way to improve.
Shishido lost to Kamikawa in the Jr. Tournament, lost to Atobe during Hyotei's selection, and with the pressure from Sanada, Yukimura, and others, he seemed to have experienced many setbacks.
But those setbacks weren't enough for him; he needed a true defeat.
A defeat that could fully awaken him!
"Good!" Coach Sakaki said calmly. "If he causes the team to lose in the Metropolitan Tournament finals due to his individual performance, Shishido will be demoted to the second team."
None of the others, including Kamikawa, spoke up to object!