To the left!
Ace me? Dont make me laugh!
No! He hit it in the opposite direction from what Echizen was expecting again!
Dad!
I want to be a stronger player!
He changed directions mid-step
Hes really challenging Akutsu
Oh, boy
That 7th grader kid
Forty - Thirty.
Yay! Echizen!
He clearly took the point this time.
Amazing!
Come on, Ryoma!
Both players are very spirited
Its getting interesting.
Well, they still have a ways to go.
Its still only a kids tennis game.
It doesnt seem so.
Im amazed by Echizen.
He jumped to the left first,
but is it possible to move in the other direction without taking steps?
What do you think, Tezuka?
Its because he uses only one leg for his split step.
Right. The normal two-legged split step wouldve been a beat late.
And the possibility to get to the ball is very low.
Well, that is the original way to use the split step, with one leg.
I see.
That guy pulled out
Echizens latent talent.
Hes an outstanding kid as always.
That Echizen
Youll use me as a springboard?
Give me a break!
Kid!
He tried to hit a return ace again!
I told you, its pointless to try.
Oh, no! Hes going to get it!
What?
Deuce.
He took the point!
Great. His shot passed right by him!
Well, well
He did it!
Hey, Sakuno. Ive never seen you so excited.
Huh? R-Really?
Hes moving more sharply
Dont get carried away.
Its the other direction, kid!
Advantage, Echizen of Seigaku.
He returned it by putting all his weight on one leg this time!
Hes good, that kid.
That 7th-grader definitely looks different in his movements
from the beginning of the match.
Its scary. Hes still in the process of developing.
Echizen isstrong.
Right Hes outstanding.
Well, thats the first time Ive heard Viper praise someone else.
Shut up.
Damn you!
What?!
Game to Seigaku. Echizen leads three games to one.
There it is! Its the Drive B.
All right!
He made it!
Ryoma!
Good, he caught up.
Its getting more interesting.
Banji
I appreciate that you had Akutsu play this match.
What do you mean?
Thanks to him, Samurai, Jr. has become Samurai.
Ryoma is now a true Samurai!
Yes, Echizen is strong.
Honestly, I didnt expect him to be this strong
I mean, to get this strong.
But Akutsu will not let it end like this.
Theres a reason why he cant lose.
A reason he cant lose?
Yes
Game to Seigaku. Echizen leads three games to two.
Youre playing well.
Thanks.
But you still have to watch out.
I know Banda. Im sure hes planning something.
I had a bad experience with him once
SEIGAKU 1 1 0 0 6 1 KUWANOMI 6 6 6 6 0 4
That man Huh?
It still makes me angry.
Ryomasquash them.
You do hold a grudge, dont you?
Ryomas potential becomes more clear as the match goes on.
At this rate, theres a possibility
Good grief You dont understand.
What?
It starts from this moment.
Banda will show us why hes feared as a coach.
Its from here on that my kid will be tested
on whether or not hes a strong player.
Im getting hungry.
Oh, hey? Youre not going to watch?
No, Im not. Its only a kids tennis match.
Well, Ryoma What are you gonna do?
Hey, Akutsu. Thats quite unbecoming of you.
Who are talking to, old man?
Ill bash your head in!
Well, you still have energy.
Stop bothering me.
Im telling you that Im not going to play tennis.
My, you have strong shoulders!
Dont touch me--
Its soft and flexible.
Theres no waste. Your muscles are excellent.
Akutsu
This is an old mans rambling,
so its okay if you pay no attention to me as usual.
That boys tennis skills are improving as the match goes on.
Hes adjusting to your pace well.
Lets say
therere many players on the national level who wont leave you bored.
Therere plenty of them.
Old man, whats your point?
Well Its more fun to be burning with passion
than it is to be bored.
Dont you think so?
You
Stop ordering me around!
I dont mean to order you around at all, however
you seem to hate it, but playing tennis isnt so bad.
It would be a good idea for you to listen
to an old mans ramblings sometimes.
At least you can kill some time
What do you think about joining the tennis team?
Akutsu How about changing speeds?
Therere other ways to play tennis than being aggressive all the time.
Who are you ordering around?
Who am I?
Im Jin Akutsu.
Nobody can beat me
Ive beaten whoevers confronted me.
Up until now and will from now on too!
Ms. Ryuzaki
Theres nothing shameful about losing
if a player practiced very hard.
But for someone who mocks the sport and hardly ever practices
to lose a match
thats very embarrassing.
Thats the reason, why he cannot lose.
I know he couldnt stand such a thing.
You still have a ways to go.
Give me a break! Damn kid!
Look at him.
Echizen is not reacting well to it
Wh-Whats that?
Ryoma
I told you, kid!
Ill squash you!
Game to Yamabuki. Akutsu leads four games to three.
Oh, hes behind again!
Come on! Ryoma! Go for it!
Hes starting to change the speed of the ball.
No way. His tennis style is always just aggressive
Its humiliating for you to take someones advice.
Lets see your determination to win for the first time.
Into my mouth!
Echizen, aim for the world!
Get stronger, Ryoma.
Akutsu has finally awakened. Nobody can stop him now.
Who knows? That shorty may very well stop him.
Youve got to be kidding.
Nobody knows what will happen.
And thats the wonderful thing about tennis.
Echizen had adapted to his fast balls until now.
So its tough for him to react to a change of speed.
Its amazing that hes able to change his rhythm at this point.
Thats not all.
That the coach knows how to handle him makes a big difference.
Nanjiro was right
He steers a player by giving bits of advice,
and changes the course of the game.
Hes not your average coach
To be sure.
The old man was right
Just by varying the tempo of my shots,
my drives are becoming more effective!
What do you think, Echizen? Can you compete with Akutsu now?
He hasntgiven up yet.
Yes, come on, kid!
Theyre both sticking to their guns.
Right
How will this match end up?
Its going to go right down to the wire.
Nobody can stop them
Thats useless!
He was finally adapting to Akutsus movements, but
Akutsu is getting stronger thanks to that coachs advice.
Normally, the tension would cause a player to get weaker.
But Echizen has stayed firm, mentally.
Right, hes playing valiantly.
Echizen knows instinctively that tensing up
is the worst thing he can do on the court.
Tennis is
the kind of sport that depends not only on technique,
but also heavily on ones mental state.
Hey! If you had stuck to karate,
you wouldnt have had to get beaten by a shrimp like me!
Dont make me laugh!
Akutsus pride or Echizens courage
Whichever is stronger will determine who will win this match!
PRO TENNIS MAGAZINE
The Legendary Man Who Shook the Tennis World Nanjiro Echizen
The world
H-He made it
Ryoma finally gets
to match point.
My knees are getting weak.
Perhaps this is what tennis is.
What? Huh?
It doesnt matter who wins
I have a feeling that the ultimate moment is about to happen.
The ultimate moment?
Right. The moment when two people let their spirits collide.
Thats what I think.
Spirits
The penetrating skies melt the eyes
And confidence begins to build and overflows
Time draws near
With bated breath
Feel (the moment) and greet the new world.
I SAY YOU STAY Just as you are
Embrace even loneliness
KEEP YOUR STYLE KEEP YOUR MIND BREAK IT OUT
I STAY WITH YOU Lets spread our wings and go anywhere
Until we grasp tomorrow
Each and every EMOTION
Hi. Im Ryoma.
I see you're not too bad.
But I believe you still owe me for Kachiro, for Kawamura
Oh yeah, and for Arai too.
Well, the game has reached its climax, so Im gonna finish it already
and win the Metropolitan Tournament.
Next on The Prince of Tennis: The Decisive Moment
Oh wait, you owe me one for myself too.