I think I'll be in the 3rd singles match I think I'll be in the 3rd singles match
So you're shooting for that singles spot, huh?
I'm not a doubles player.
But Ryuzaki is the one to decide, right?
And she never tells us until just before the match!
Shall we settle it between us?
Good idea! Let's do it!
See ya!
Good night!
At last! The district prelims start in two days...
To advance to the Metropolitan matches,
you have to take either first or second place, right?
First or second?
Don't worry. Our regulars can easily win this.
Besides, Seigaku is the #1 seed.
That's right!
Three singles and two doubles matches
I wonder which Ryoma will be entered in?
Echizen's not a bit cooperative!
I can't imagine him playing doubles.
No way!
Hey! You better not say anything against Ryoma!
Osakada!
You scared me! Don't come barging in here!
Oh, yeah? It's your fault for leaving the door open.
Tomoka!
Well, where's Ryoma?
He left a minute ago.
Huh? He left? What about practice?
We played off for our rankings,
so we didn't have practice. We just prepped the courts.
What?! No way!
How boring!
Here I was going to cheer for Ryoma!
Tomorrow will do.
Tomorrow's no good!
The district team matches start the day after!
I'll cheer for him tomorrow, differently.
How will it be different?
RYOMA! DISTRICT PRELIMS IN 2 DAYS! GO FOR IT!
See?
And tomorrow?
RYOMA GOOD LUCK, RYOMA! TOMORROW IS THE DAY!
You see?!
I'm so disappointed.
I worked hard, so hard on these last night!
Cheer up, Tomoka!
I'll buy you a drink.
No good. That won't cheer me up
Well...
Oh dear...
And then...
After I said that, it spread like wildfire!
Now a bunch of girls want to join Ryoma's fan club!
As president of the fan club,
I'm happy to welcome anyone who wants to join.
And I'm going to sign up every girl in 7th grade!
Huh?
Isn't that Ryoma?
Huh? No way! Are you serious?!
Hey!
Uh, Momo Senpai...
Yo, Echizen!
Momoshiro Senpai is here, too.
What're you doing here?
What do you think I'd be doing in a burger shop?
Oh right!
Are you guys on the Seigaku tennis team?
Y-Yeah...
I understand the players have been decided for the district matches
the day after tomorrow.
Are you both regulars?
Hey! Hey! What's with her?
She's not even in the fan club,
and she's acting so chummy with Ryoma!
I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!
Just calm down, Tomoka!
Since you're not denying it, I must be right!
Seigaku's top singles would be team captain, Tezuka,
and your #2 singles would be Fuji.
You know a lot!
Well, the Seigaku regulars are ultra-famous.
But who's going to play the third singles?
Miss? May I help you?
Oh!
Anyway, good luck to you!
I'd like to order to go,
medium French fries and a medium Coke
Can I take your order?
A cheeseburger and a large Coke. A cheeseburger and a large Coke.
Huh?
Two cheeseburgers and a Coke.
I'll have three cheeseburgers.
Add a large order of fries.
Chicken nuggets and a shake!
Make those double cheeseburgers!
I'm starved after tennis!
Huh?!
Double everything I ordered.
I practiced much more than him.
What's with those two?
I dunno
Look at them eat!
Uh-huh...
They're similar in that they both hate to lose.
I think you're right.
Now then... The spoiler or the favorite?
Hello, Ms. Ryuzaki.
Hi, Inoue
I was passing through, and I thought I'd drop this off. A snack.
Thank you, Inoue!
I'll make tea. Have a seat.
Please don't bother!
You're not with that young lady today?
You mean Saori Shiba?
You made a nice couple.
C'mon! Spare me that!
Is that the lineup for the district matches?
Looks like you're having a hard time with it.
How unlike you.
I've got so many wild horses!
Thank you.
If you've decided on the #1 and #2 spots,
that leaves Kaido or Momoshiro for #3 singles.
It's the first match of the year,
and I want to feel them out.
Actually, I've got one more I'm watching
You mean Ryoma?
You could let Tezuka or Fuji sit these out
I thought of that, too.
Why don't you talk it over with Nanjiro?
He could give you some good ideas!
Asking that good-for-nothing would make it more confusing.
Oh Wow, it's late! I'll come again!
Thanks! Nice seeing you!
Wasn't much help as usual
Little ol' Sumire Ryuzaki may be getting senile.
I ate too much
That's because you refused to give in.
Speak for yourself!
Ugh, I feel awful
Listen, Echizen.
What is it?
As that girl said earlier, the #1 and #2 singles spots
are going to go to team captain Tezuka and Fuji,
and the #1 doubles will probably be Eiji and Oishi.
They're the Golden Duo who went to the Nationals last year.
That leaves Taka, Mamushi, you and me...the four of us.
We need one in singles, two in doubles and one standby.
So then
I think I'll play the 3rd singles match. I think I'll play the 3rd singles match.
So you're shooting for that singles spot, huh?
I'm not a doubles player.
But Ryuzaki is the one to decide, right?
And she never tells us until just before the match!
I can't wait until tomorrow.
Same here.
Shall we settle it between us?
Good idea! Let's do it!
You're sure quick to pick a fight!
Speak for yourself.
Okay! Let's look for a court with lights.
Over there! We're in luck!
Looks like street tennis.
The lights look adequate.
No complaints, whoever wins.
Glad to hear you say that.
Say, is there a court fee here?
No, it's free.
Hi!
Huh? It's that girl
Huh?
Haven't seen you guys before. First time here?
Yeah
Cripes, more people!
And only one court.
You guys know the rules here?
No
Somehow I don't like these guys
I guess I'll just have to teach em to you.
It's like a round robin.
We play one game and whoever loses goes out.
Sounds like fun! Echizen, I'll go first!
No, I'm first.
And also, we only play doubles here.
Are we really going to play?
We've gotta. I've already changed my clothes.
The Momoshiro-Echizen team will serve. Begin play!
What was that phone call about?
It was that old hag who never stops talking.
When I asked what she wanted, she started lecturing me.
Don't be so rude. She was your teacher, after all.
That was a long time ago.
Goodness!
Hey! Oww!!!
See what you get?
Owwww! That hurt!
Come to think of it,
the hag seemed to want to ask me something
Oh, never mind.
Well? Shall we go for it?
It's a middle school, and an elementary school kid!
Pretty gutsy!
Easy win!
They're talking about us.
Who's an elementary school kid?!
The challengers serve.
They're both high school guys, but hang in there, bro.
Echizen, no need to hold back. Let's show em a thing or two.
Gotcha.
At least his form is decent.
This is gonna be a kid's serve
Hey, did you see that?
What a serve!
So...
Hmm...
Fifteen Love!
Thirty Love!
Boy, that's some serve!
Pretty interesting tennis, for a place like this.
Game to the Momoshiro- Echizen team!
They won on his serve alone!
So, who's next?
We're up.
Game to the Momoshiro- Echizen team!
This time they won it on service returns!
Amazing!
What do you think?
Way stronger than I thought,
but for doubles, they have a lot of weaknesses.
Who's next?! Nobody wants to play?
Hey, we'll take you on.
They're the two strongest guys around here!
It's those two guys.
Here are the balls.
The Fukawa-Izumi team to serve. Begin play!
I'd bet money on this.
They're new to doubles,
so just keep hitting between them.
Okay.
Right up the middle
Fifteen Love!
I could have had that!
Listen, the one with the forehand takes it!
Thirty - Love!
Follow me!
Momo Senpai, if you're up at the net, put it away!
What a strange pair.
They're so strong, yet they're not in sync.
Fukawa!
Okay!
Echizen, that's yours!
Forty - Love!
Listen, the back court player picks up the balls the forecourt can't!
Senpai, in doubles, is this the line?
Yeah. So?
It's hard to play.
I've never played doubles before
What?! No way?!
Do I look like the type to play pairs with anyone?
They're dragging each other down.
Echizen, we can't let them beat us
Gotcha.
Game and Set! Game to the Fukawa-Izumi team.
That's it? We didn't even get to play!
Neither one of us was playing tennis here.
Right! This is definitely not for you.
You have no sense of teamwork.
I don't wanna hear that from YOU!
Geez, If it'd been singles, we'd have won!
Hey, you two!
You going home now?
We lost, so we've got no choice.
That's so true. You were no match for those guys.
I heard you were on the Seigaku A team,
so I was really looking forward to watching you.
She's absolutely right.
That was the pits! Let's go, Echizen
Fukawa! Izumi! You guys are great!!
Beating those two strong players!
No wonder you're on the Gyokurin Middle School team!
Gyokurin?
They might be our first opponents
in the district matches
Don't compare us to those two!
They're both good players
but they're babies in doubles' play.
No comparison!
Let's go!
No matter how often we played em, we'd win.
You got that right!
Listen, Echizenforget what I said about that #3 singles spot.
I've changed my mind, too.
Real men play doubles! Real men play doubles!
Geez! I should never have asked him.
Oh well It'll all work out!!
Welcome!
Doubles for Beginners
That's 860 yen.
Doubles for Beginners. He must be a newbie! How cute!
He'll hear you!
Thank you!
I'm Izumi from Gyokurin Middle School.
And I'm Fukawa, also from Gyokurin.
Hey, Fukawa!
Those two we played in doubles the other night were so funny
They're both really good players,
but they just couldn't play together.
Hey, look Izumi!
Our opponents are those same two!
No kidding?
And they're from Seigaku!
Sorry, kids! This match is ours!
Next on The Prince of Tennis: The Perfect Match
Are they talking about us?
You bet!