Drive A!
Akutsu!
A drive volley from point-blank range very powerful.
You shouldnt underrate tennis.
Its no use, kid!
Thats useless!
Dont make me laugh!
Thats useless!
Tennis is
the kind of sport that depends not only on technique,
but also on ones mental state.
Hey!
If youd stuck to karate,
you wouldnt have had to get beaten by a shrimp like me!
Give me a break!
Akutsus pride or Echizens courage
Whichever is stronger will determine who will win this match!
Finally, theyve reached the end of the match
You have match point, Echizen.
Its amazing.
You did a great job to force Akutsu into this situation.
Go for it, Echizen!
One more point will bring us the championship!
I didnt expect you to play this well.
I guess theres a difference in skill level between us.
Kid!
Ryoma
Come on!
Echizen! Beat him!
Horio, be quiet and watch.
Why? This is the most crucial moment!
Thats why
This is the first time Ive been able to watch such a great match as this.
I want to watch this intently until the last moment,
and remember everything.
Youre right. Lets remember this well.
I guess so
Echizen! Im begging you--!
Horio! Horio!
High up in the sky
The skylark is twittering Beautiful heaven
Akutsu
Itll be decided in a moment.
How will they play this?
Will Akutsus wild-animal instinct give him the advantage?
Or will the Samurai-in-training win?
Anyway, from now on there will be a fine line between winning and losing.
It wont be a matter of technique.
Akutsus concentration level is so high now, hell be able to overturn the match
if Echizen gets even a little careless.
Its Super Rising!
Okay, kid! Bring it on!
Yes. Keep hitting the ball to me.
I dont feel itkid!
Kid!
It looks good! You can do it, Echizen.
Question is how long will his concentration last?
What?
Inui is right.
His concentration wont last forever.
A very tense situation
is similar to a string stretched extremely tightly.
Theres no string in the world that wouldnt break at some point.
By the way, you still owe me big time.
This is for Kawamura!
This is for Arai who you beat up!
Im not finished yet.
I also got stones thrown at me!
Its the Drive A!
Ive already seen it and know how to return it!
He returned it!
And from close range!
Come on, kid!
Echizen!
Wha-?!
A drop volley?
Game and match to Echizen of Seigaku.
Echizen did it
How can he use that shot, in such a tough situation?
Oh no! Look!
Whats he doing?! Oh no!
Oh, no! Akutsus grabbing him!
Watch out, Echizen!
Ryoma!
I won
But you played fairly well.
He won That kid!
We won the Metropolitan Tournament!
You made it, Echizen!
You did it, kid!
Boy, youre amazing!
Awesome, Echizen!
Mrs. Ryuzaki, you did an excellent job.
Not me. Its because everyone played very well.
Well beat you next time.
This was a great experience for Yamabuki. Well
Mr. Banda
Yes?
We must enjoy playing tennis.
And todays matches really showed that.
You made it, Echizen.
Youre great, kid.
Inui juice is just the thing for the exhausted body.
No, thanks.
Hes really something.
I agree.
But Fudomine isnt satisfied with the results, right?
Connors and McEnroe, Gilbert and Lendl,
Navratilova and Graf, Sampras and Agassi,
and Davenport and Venus Williams
Tennis is interesting because of rivalries like these.
Here Wha--?
You gave me a soda the other day.
Ive been feeling bad because I didnt have anything for you, until now.
Sorry, this isnt very cold
Keep practicing hard.
I look forward to seeing you play again.
Okay! Thank you very much.
Akutsu!
Akutsu, it was a close match. Dont take it so hard!
Akutsu
I know youre frustrated, Akutsu.
It was your first loss.
But facing up to difficulty means you have potential.
Well, playing tennis isnt bad--
Its boring.
Im not interested in playing tennis in the future.
This match with that kid was enough for me.
Get out of my way!
I guess he got burned out
What? She isnt your girlfriend?
Really?
Yeah
Ive tried to tell you many times.
Well, who is she?
Yuki is Akutsus mother
What?! What?!
But youve been calling her by her first name!
Because she gets mad if I dont call her that.
How old is she, anyway?
Well, shes 33 years old.
Shes a fairly young mother
I see Its no wonder we misunderstood.
Yeah Uh-huh.
We will now announce the results
and the five schools that will advance to the Kanto Regional Matches.
Japan Intermediate School Tennis Tournament, Metropolitan Matches.
In mens team competition, the champion is Seishun Academy!
Next is the runner-up, Yamabuki Middle School.
Third place goes to Ginka Middle School.
Fourth place is Fudomine Middle School.
And the fifth-place team is
Hyotei Academy, which won the consolation match.
Hurray! They were last years champions, after all!
Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!
Its no surprise. Right, Kabaji?
Yeah!
No wonder he is a national-class player
Atobe is incredibly strong.
He even fought off Mizuki easily
Well, Im sure Hyotei will advance
And that guy Jiro, who beat Yuta in only 15 minutes.
We have to watch out for him.
Im sleepy
Oh? Wheres Tomoka?
Oh, she went to watch the awards ceremony.
Sakuno, youre not going?
I already saw Ryoma, and gave him my congratulations.
Whats the matter?
While I was watching Ryomas match, I felt that Ryoma was in another world
I told him Congratulations,
but Im not sure if my words reached him.
And with this, we end the awards ceremony.
Lets go, Sakuno.
What?
To cheer him on again!
I see people like that all the time, as a reporter.
And I have a feeling that our support makes a difference.
Our support?
Right. Every player is alone on the tennis court.
Theres no one there to help them.
But sometimes I can feel our cheers make Ryoma stronger
when hes struggling in his match.
I absolutely believe it! Wasnt that the case in todays match?
Go for it, Echizen!
Seigaku!
You need to be a true supporter to make Ryoma stronger, Sakuno!
Thank you very much.
Well, lets go!
Okay!
Ryoma won.
Well
Youd still say, He has a ways to go?
Whats your point, Mr. Inoue?
Nothing
Come on. Youve made me curious!
Watching todays matches,
I felt there was definitely a new wind blowing in the tennis world.
I had a feeling that there was no chance for a Japanese tennis player
to reach the world-class level.
And that there wouldnt be great players like you anymore.
There are no national borders in tennis.
Youre either strong or youre weak.
Nanjiro! Do you think Ryoma Echizen will play well at the world level?
Not yet Not at all
Not yet, not yet
Akutsu!
Youre going to quit the tennis team?
Why?
Youre tall, big, strong, and confident!
Theres no way I could become like you!
Why are you leaving?!
Please dont quit!
Taichi
If your goal is to be like me,
you wont have much of a future in tennis, because youre so small.
Hes someone for you to possibly model yourself after.
Looks like hes waiting for you.
Bye
Akutsu!
I-I want to be on the tennis court as a player!
No! I will!
EchizenIll become a player instead of being the manager.
And I want to have a match with you someday!
You still have a ways to go.
Excuse me!
The soft breeze and the light streaming through the trees welcomes me
So I lay myself down and look at the vast sky
Though it may be too late,
I now understand those words you gave me
The memories of you stay with me everywhere I go
I was pretending to be strong, but I was bluffing
I am actually weak inside
Each time the breeze comes it takes with it a memory
Fly fly away
I never cry
Your kind words that irrigate my dry soul
Are echoing so far away on the horizon
I never cry
Until the day I can reach you in the sunset-bathed sleepy town you live in
Ill still be walking on the way
Im coming to see you Walking on the dream.
Ill take you with mewalk on the life.
It was only the Metropolitan Tournament.
Dont get conceited, young boy, over there!
Dad
Huh?
Ill make you cry.
Here we go!
Hey! Heres Horio!
Now that we won the Metropolitan Tournament,
its about time we concentrate on the academic side.
Ill find romance and do my best in club activities.
But I tell ya, Echizen really loves to get into fights.
Hell get in big trouble
if he acts like hes all that just because he can speak English.
What?! Theres an intruder at the tennis club?
Next on The Prince of Tennis: Freestyle Fighting
Calm down, everyone! Calm down!