"What's wrong, Tezuka?!"
Shinogawa turned to face Tezuka, a slight smile playing on his lips, "You're slowing down. Are you perhaps holding back?"
Slowing down?
Not at all. Tezuka's speed hadn't changed throughout their rallies; if anything, it seemed to be subtly increasing. As for that last shot...
It was Shinogawa whose attack had sped up.
"That was a beautiful smash," Tezuka acknowledged, then turned and walked towards the baseline.
Wham!
Tezuka served.
Shinogawa's eyes sparkled as he chased down the ball, aiming and striking it into the right half of the court.
"If you want to use your Zone, feel free to try it more often," Shinogawa said with a slight smile. After a few consecutive rallies with Tezuka, he could distinctly feel the special spin on the ball getting stronger.
Tezuka was desperate to unleash his Tezuka Zone!
Once his Zone was active, Tezuka would reduce the energy spent running back and forth. It would also implicitly seal off dead spots, giving him more time to observe his opponent's mistakes.
"That's strange..."
Watching Tezuka run back and forth, Sanada frowned deeply. He had played against Tezuka before and knew the power of that technique, but from the start of this match, Tezuka hadn't used it even once. Was he going easy on Shinogawa?!
No!
If Sanada were to face Yukimura in a final, he definitely wouldn't hold back. Holding back in a match would be disrespectful to his friend.
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Thwack!
Tezuka hit a high-quality slice shot, pulling the ball diagonally. Shinogawa swiftly moved up, slightly lowering his racket, making it seem like he was going for another slice. Seeing this, Tezuka quickly charged forward, but just as the ball bounced up, Shinogawa flicked his racket, forcibly sending a high lob over Tezuka's head.
Tap... tap-tap...
Tezuka, mid-run, leaped into the air, surging forward to smash the ball down with full force.
Wham!
Shinogawa had anticipated the ball's landing spot, turning his back and spreading his arms, his racket catching the furiously slammed ball.
"That's it!" Shishido gripped the net in front of him, his eyes flashing. It was the same move Shinogawa had used in their previous match—the Bear's Return.
Thwack!
The ball scraped violently against the racket, carrying an astonishing spin. Then, it ricocheted backward, soaring over Tezuka's head and landing gently near the baseline.
"0-30!"
"What was that?!" Sanada had never seen such a terrifying technique before. Even his powerful smashes might not be able to break through that move. That technique seemed tailor-made for countering smashes. After performing a smash, a player's body usually couldn't react in time unless their jump for the smash was shallow and the spin applied was very strong, causing the ball to momentarily halt on the racket. Otherwise, returning it seemed almost impossible.
"And yet!" Sanada still couldn't understand why Tezuka hadn't used that move by this point. At 12 years old, both players' stamina would be somewhat limited. Even if the match went to a tie-breaker, the player with more stamina would dominate.
Next, both players engaged in an intense rally.
Wham!
"15-30!!"
...
Wham!
"30-40!!"
Wham!
"40-40!! Deuce!!"
...
The score kept climbing interchangeably. After reaching 40-40, neither player had managed to win two points consecutively to take the game.
(After 40-40, one side must win two consecutive points to win the game. The side that wins one point is called "Advantage," and if they score the second point, they win the game directly.)
Thwack!
Tezuka lowered his racket, hitting a high-quality slice. The moment Shinogawa saw the slice, he stopped his feet.
"What's wrong?" the crowd wondered.
The next second, the ball dropped just over the net, carrying a unique spin that caused it to slightly bounce backward.
"Game, Tezuka, 1-0!"
"A half-finished Zero-Shiki, huh?" Shinogawa mused, looking at the Zero-Shiki Drop Shot that still bounced. Given Tezuka's arm strength now, reaching this point was already astonishing; his body was still developing. But it wouldn't be long before this guy could hit the perfect Zero-Shiki Drop Shot.
How frightening. To be down two points and still come back to tie and win the game...
"Shinogawa!" Tezuka's eyes flashed with intense fighting spirit. "You've got more in you than this! Show me your true strength!"
The Battle Continues!
It was Shinogawa's turn to serve. He gently bounced the ball in his hand, tossed it up, bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, pushed off with his legs, and leaped halfway into the air. His racket swung forward swiftly, delivering a powerful smash to the airborne ball!
Bang!!
So fast! Tezuka quickly moved towards the ball's landing spot. The ball's bounce was incredible; it was a standard topspin serve.
Tezuka returned it. Shinogawa moved forward. The server, holding the right to serve, has greater control of the match and can initiate attacks more proactively.
Thwack!
Both players exchanged rallies, allowing Shinogawa to gain the net, enabling him to attack earlier. Suddenly, Shinogawa hit a backhand volley, a high-quality volley that zipped towards the sideline. Tezuka charged forward, lowering his body, but the ball still whizzed past him.
"15-0!"
What a beautiful volley! The spectators couldn't help but gasp in admiration. Shinogawa had rarely approached the net in his previous matches. Who would have thought his volleys were so outstanding?
A volley is different from a half-volley. A volley is essentially a net shot, the preferred method for net players, where the ball is returned before it bounces. A half-volley is essentially a drive, where the ball is returned the instant it bounces. It requires catching the right angle as the ball bounces to return it.
These two players have incredibly solid fundamentals.
Wham!
Shinogawa unleashed another topspin serve.
The two players on the court began a new round of fierce combat, fighting for every single point with all their might. The sound of rackets hitting balls was incessant, and the spectators outside fell silent, their gaze fixed on the tennis ball on the court. The bustling Lohsen Tennis Center suddenly became remarkably quiet.
Wham!
"15-15!"
On the court, Tezuka hit another beautiful slice, similar to his previous ones, but the bounce trajectory was decreasing.
Wham!
"30-15!"
However, on the next ball, Shinogawa responded with a slice of his own, firmly maintaining control of the score.
...
Wham!
"30-30!"
...
Wham!
"40-30!"
...
Wham!
The ball sailed over the net, quickly dropped, and bounced slightly to the left.
"Game! Shinogawa, 1-1!"
Shinogawa firmly took the second game.
Both these players had incredible ball control, along with an endless array of techniques. Both were extremely skilled at slices, hitting them with incredibly low bounce angles, but there was still a significant difference in the expressiveness of their slices.
"He still hasn't used that move?" Sanada stared intently at Tezuka on the court, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion.
"What's wrong, Sanada?" Yukimura asked his friend, a hint of confusion on his face. "Does he have some other move he hasn't used yet?"
"Yes," Sanada nodded heavily. Earlier that morning, when he played against Tezuka, he had also witnessed Tezuka's slice shot. However, compared to that Zone technique, that slice was nothing. Moreover, when Sanada broke through his limits and entered the State of Self-Actualization, he distinctly felt that Tezuka had already entered it as well.
Hearing this, Yukimura narrowed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought. The unique aura he had sensed earlier, the "Aura" (or "Presence") unique to Tezuka Kunimitsu, indeed had not yet been unleashed.