Kanto Junior Tennis Tournament
Let's make this the best match ever!
Y-Yeah!
The second round of the Kanto Junior Tennis Tournament will now begin.
Three-set match. Ide to serve.
"Let's make this the best match ever," huh?
Yeah, let's. So we won't regret anything.
Because this might be the last time I put my all on the line
for a tennis match.
But I'm sure it's the same for Ide-kun.
I want to win a match like this!
Love-15.
With Ide-kun, victory goes to the swiftest!
I need to take the lead and try not to let him make this a close, exciting match!
For a topspin shot, that was fast!
Yes!
15-all.
Yeah! Nice serve!
Ide! Get your second point!
Wow, the cheering is insane.
Okay, Ide! Take the lead!
Hold on to it!
Okay...
Nice, Ide!
One more point!
Ide's incredible!
What the heck is this?
Yosshi! Take the lead!
A slice, just as my data said!
Take the initiative in my return game with a hard hit!
Yes! Right to his blind spot!
A high-risk shot down the line already!
But there's not much force behind it.
He's moving up!
Damn! I didn't expect this!
Will it make it?!
15-30.
So close...
He almost had it.
Th-That's the way, Ei-chan.
Whish, Then Fwoom
A shot down the line from that position was pushing it.
Just moving up is reckless with no more of an approach than that.
Getting flustered about it put me at risk, though.
Was it a surprise attack? Or does he have some other plan?
The second serve should be slower.
A hard flat shot?!
Shoot! Bad hit!
He was moving up again!
15-40.
No worries, Ide!
That serve pushed him back!
A flat shot for his second serve?
And a serve-and-volley on top of that...
It's his serve, so he should be trying to start strong.
What's he thinking?
I don't understand at all.
Just like when I played Nat-chan.
It looked like she was just attacking on instinct.
But as the match went on, the meaning of that became clearer.
If Ide-kun is an intuitive player like Nat-chan,
I shouldn't get caught up in data and logic as I play him.
It's probably wiser to simply focus on what I see.
I have break point, but to avoid taking too many risks,
I should watch him closely and figure out his inclinations for today.
Okay, come on!
30-40.
That's it! Nice serve, Ide!
One more point and you've got this, Ide!
Another service ace?
Wait...
Of the points he's won so far, he's had two service aces,
one reckless play at the net, and one rush to the net after serving.
He's won them all with his super confident attacks.
Looking at it that way,
it seems like he's just attacking with all the confidence he can muster.
Maybe he's just trying to score on every shot that comes his way,
with no consideration for any risks?
Again?
Out.
Game: Maruo. Score: 1-0.
All right! He already broke his serve!
Yeah!
Maruo Eiichiro Ide Yoshiaki
That break was huge,
but his mistake saved me.
Still, there's no way all of those forceful shots could make it in.
Is he playing more aggressively than usual?
I-Ide, you almost had it!
The match has only just begun!
Yeah. Oh, well.
Time.
Yosshi! Time for a break of your own!
You'll bounce back!
It's pretty hard to play when everyone's cheering for my opponent.
If he's only going for decisive shots,
I'll just have to use my best method to hold serve!
Here goes!
That return was weak!
I'll return it with a fast shot!
15-love.
Yes!
Hey, that Maruo guy's incredible.
Ide! Get the first point toward your break!
30-love.
That was fast.
His serves weren't this fast last year.
Is it because of the sudden switch from that spin serve?
He's really balanced.
I think Ei-chan's gotten a lot better.
Yes, in terms of skill, he could compete on a national level.
But this Ide kid is already ranked high at the national level.
40-love.
I should use several different serves,
so Ide-kun won't have a chance to get used to my style.
For now, a wide slice!
If he loses his balance, don't give him time to recover!
He's moving up?
Game: Maruo. 2-0.
Yes! I held serve!
I need to keep pushing as far as I can now,
so that I can deal with anything that comes up.
No worries, Ide! That's how return games go!
Switch gears and go for it!
Be ready for a flat shot like he used on his second serve.
There it is!
Love-15.
Was that for real?!
Wow... A return ace!
He hit him with that flat shot on his second serve.
And Maruo remembers every point,
so it's hard to make the same attack work on him twice.
It's one of those boring things that makes him so amazing.
I'm in real trouble if he got an ace off of that one.
He's totally different from when I saw him play Nabae.
What should I do?
Fifteen seconds.
Oops...
I'll think about it while I play.
I'll figure something out eventually.
A fast first serve!
If he wants to win the point on the next shot,
it'll be down the line!
What? Did he change styles?
Then I'll take advantage of my lead to attack!
From a shallow, angling slice,
break his balance with a deep-bouncing spin shot...
Love-30.
Yes!
He really is good.
He went "whish" with a slice, then "fwoom" with a spin shot?
Am I gonna have to change my timing for every shot he uses?
Is Ide-kun okay?
Is his opponent really good?
I don't know. He's unseeded, right?
He'll be fine.
Yosshi will do something about it.
No matter how far ahead I am, I can't relax for even a second!
If I lose here, it's all over!
Game: Maruo. 3-0.
Yes!
That's my second break in this set!
This might give me a big advantage in the first set.
He's writing something in a notebook.
Huh... That's interesting.
Since Ide-kun stopped using shots intended to win points,
our rallies have gotten longer.
And there have been fewer chances for me to hit aces.
Should I tighten up my shots and try to change the pace more often?
If I return his "whish" with "tat-ta,"
then his "fwoom" should get a "tatt-ta."
A "ta-ta" should be enough for a "wham"...
No, it'd take a "tata" to get to it in time.
Time.
But if he suddenly comes up, it should be "tat"...
Wh-What is he doing?
Fifteen seconds.
Ide-kun, I'm giving you a warning.
Huh?
If you exceed the allotted time again,
I'm giving you a time violation.
Please be careful.
Huh? Where was the call?
I gave the call.
Oh! I'm sorry!
I wasn't listening.
What's that? A "time"...
Time violation.
If you intentionally fail to take the court after the allotted time,
you lose one point for each violation from the second one onward.
Whoa, is that Ide guy gonna be okay?
I think Yosshi's finally getting into his game.
Yeah.
When he's focused, he stops hearing all the voices around him.
It always happens when he's playing a strong opponent.
So I guess his opponent today really is strong, even though he's unseeded.
Is he going to try something?
I should probably stay alert, just in case.
It's best to assume I haven't seen the entirety of Ide-kun's true ability yet.
If he's not going to force an attack, then I'll have to attack.
Changing the pace is working better than I expected.
I need to keep the initiative as long as I can!
Follow a slice serve that spins to the side
with a deep topspin shot!
This one gets "tatt-ta!"
And an arching topshin shot followed by a fast flat!
That'll throw anyone's pace off!
This one gets...
"Tat"!
H-He did it!
Out. 15-love.
Lost it again!
So close! It was almost in!
That was awesome, though, wasn't it?
Yeah. I'm impressed the ref caught it.
That was close...
He was struggling before. Is he narrowing down his aim?
No, don't overthink it.
Just bump up the risk factor on my serves
and hope for an ace.
Failing that, just make it good enough to keep my advantage!
30-love.
Ei-chan, nice serve!
Yosshi! Just one ball!
That was a great serve to a great spot,
and he was able to hit it back.
His responses are totally different from before, too.
I need two more points before he matches my timing completely.
I want to hold on to this game!
Shoot... I hit too hard.
I want to avoid losing speed on the second serve.
Hit it down the center and watch for his return!
That was strong... But he wasn't going for an ace.
Change the pace to a slice without much bounce!
And this one gets...
"Ta"!
There it is!
Yes!
Yeah!
30-15.
He's on now!
You're awesome, Ide!
The placement of my shot wasn't bad.
How was he able to adapt to my change of pace so quickly?
All I've seen Ide-kun do so far
is hold back on his aggressive one-hit scoring strategy a bit,
focus hard, and think about something.
His intuition is frighteningly sharp.
In just a few games, he's matched the timing of the
change-of-pace pattern we worked on for months.
He seems like the exact opposite of Maruo-kun.
That's true, in a way.
Maruo is the type to come up with a flawless answer
based on data gathered over time,
while Ide is the type to come up with random answers on the fly.
He was probably focusing so hard that he missed the ref's time call
because he had to process all the information on Maruo's change of pace
in a short amount of time.
He can do that?
As far as I can see, yes.
But what's frightening is that,
even though his method to arrive at the answer was so random,
he was right.
He's never lost at that pushing sumo game we play during breaks, right?
That's right.
Begin!
There! Ah... Whoa!
You dope. I knew you'd do that.
And I win!
Yosshi, you're good at this.
Well, I've never lost at this game.
Seriously?!
Even the most unnaturally strong guy in the class can't win.
Or even Sugiyama, the biggest guy in the school!
Are you kidding me?!
Even Kondo from the kendo club lost!
See? Aren't I awesome?
I guess you'd call it instantaneous situational reflexes?
He can guess what someone will do
based on their personality, expression, movements, and other info on them,
and instantly choose the best method to deal with them.
I guess I can handle his slice.
For the flat shot after his spin shot, I need to react a second faster.
Or maybe I shouldn't wait, but go for a rising shot?
It's tough when he keeps changing up the pace.
0-3... He's put a pretty big gap between us.
Wonder if I can bounce back from that now.
He adapted to my change of pace so quickly.
Is that even possible?
But he came back on the offensive after my spin shot
followed by a flat, and my deep slice.
How do I keep him from adapting any further?
I just have to stay on the offensive until I win!
I'll take more risks to compensate for Ide-kun's improved responses.
40-15.
That was fast!
His serves are still getting faster?
All right! But that was essentially my fastest serve.
It might be problematic that he can return it even when I hit it to a good spot.
But if I win this point, I'll hold serve.
I can reset everything!
After the flat shot, I'll use a slice...
And go wide!
He's adapting to my changing serves, too!
To win the point as quickly as possible,
I should use a stronger flat shot than the one he's used to.
Or make it look that way, and hit a drop!
He reacts so quickly!
But my timing and shot were perfect!
He got it!
I-Ide has touched the net.
Game: Maruo. Score: 4-0.
C-Come on, Ide!
What are you doing?!
What was that?
Nah, that's just like Ide! What a blast!
Your matches are so fun to watch!
Oh, man! He managed to reach it, but he was moving too fast!
Idiot!
He's a real showman, though. This really is fun to watch.
A-Are you okay?
Yeah... Thanks.
Man, you really are good! You're killing me!
But just so you know, I'm just getting started.
His reaction speed just now was not normal.
Did he read my mind?
I have the lead, but the match is just getting started.
You almost had it, Ide!
You've gotta hold on to this one!
Ide! You better bounce back!
It's only been two breaks!
Just hold this serve!
He sure puts on a heck of a show.
I've never seen anyone fall over the net before.
Yeah, me either.
Not many people do that.
Was that play what you'd call sharp intuition, too?
In the sense that he guessed what Maruo would do and reacted, perhaps.
Doesn't that make him a bad match-up for Ei-chan?
He's pretty dense.
That's possible.
But he can't say things like that,
if he wants to go pro.
He grasped the timing of my change of pace
and even got his racket on my perfect drop shot.
He keeps exceeding my expectations.
Even with a 4-0 lead, I have no room to relax.
I should go back to basics
and use what I learned in my match with Nat-chan
to deal with the intuitive Ide-kun.
Remember as much as I can of what Ide-kun has done up to now,
and once play starts, just watch, feel, and move!
15-love.
Ide, nice serve!
Did that fall finally wake you up?!
I reacted quickly, but his slice was too sharp.
He's taking his stance already.
In the last game, he spent ages preparing.
Don't pay attention!
Recall and visualize everything about Ide-kun's vague play style, point by point.
Fifteen seconds.
Once play begins, focus only on the Ide-kun in front of me.
If I can keep doing that the same way I did in my match with Nat-chan,
I should gradually start to understand Ide-kun's tennis.
He went for an ace again!
30-love.
All right, Yosshi! That's it!
My reaction was good that time, too.
Ide-kun's aim is just too tight.
The shots that just missed going in before
are going in now.
Don't panic. I'm always at a disadvantage in my return game.
I'm doing what I need to do.
Now he's moving up!
40-love.
Okay, get one more point and hold serve!
Game: Ide. Score: 4-1.
Maruo leads.
All right! Now he's gonna show his true strength!
Yes!
Show us a dramatic comeback!
Way to hold serve, Yosshi!
Now you're looking more like our Yosshi!
It's getting interesting now!
All right!
Next Time
Once play begins, focus only on the Ide-kun in front of me.
That return should've made it. That's weird.
I'll go with a flat serve.
Ide-kun isn't consistent, so there's no telling how he'll return it.
Is he starting to move faster?
That means I'll have to adjust my timing again.
If he goes "bam," I'll have to hit a "ta-tat" flat shot.
Next time on Baby Steps,
Dramatic By Nature
"Dramatic By Nature."
End