Chapter 31: Ishikawa vs. Shishido

  Half an hour ter.

  The pyers had finished their warm-ups, and the matches were beginning one after another.

  "The next match in Group D is about to begin."

  "First-year Ishikawa Shin versus third-year Shishido Ryou."

  "Both pyers, please get ready."

  As the announcement echoed through the venue, spectators quickly made their way toward the Group D court. After all, this was expected to be the most exciting match of the day.

  Soon, Ishikawa and Shishido appeared on opposite sides of the court.

  They exchanged gnces, gave each other a nod, and walked to the net for a brief handshake.

  "You're strong," Shishido said bluntly. "But as your senior, I have no intention of losing!"

  "You’re being too serious, senpai," Ishikawa replied with a smile, shaking his head at Shishido's intense expression. "It’s just a match. Rex and enjoy it. Still, I’m looking forward to experiencing your quick attack style."

  "Uh..."

  Their exchange left the nearby spectators stunned.

  If you didn’t know who they were, you might’ve thought their roles were reversed—like Ishikawa was the seasoned third-year and Shishido the rookie first-year.

  "Shishido’s actually nervous?" someone muttered outside the court.

  Hiyoshi looked shocked.

  Beside him, Oshitari shook his head. "That’s the best attitude to have going into a match. One reason Hiyoshi lost to Ishikawa yesterday was because he underestimated him."

  "Exactly," Chotarou added with a nod. "I’ve been keeping track. Every opponent who’s faced Ishikawa so far has underestimated him. But once the match starts and Ishikawa goes full throttle, they’re completely overwhelmed."

  Hearing that, Oshitari sighed. "Yeah, tennis is as much a mental game as it is physical. Still, it’s rare to see Shishido this serious."

  In truth, ever since Ishikawa beat Hiyoshi 6-0 yesterday, all the regurs—except Atobe—had started treating him as someone on their level.

  So Shishido taking him seriously wasn’t strange at all.

  "By the way," Hiyoshi asked, watching the coin toss at center court, "Who do you think has the advantage in this match?"

  "Hmm..." Oshitari thought for a moment. "I’d say it’s 60–40."

  "Huh?" Chotarou looked surprised. "You’re saying Shishido-senpai only has a 60% chance to win?"

  He pyed Shishido seven times and lost every single match. To him, Ishikawa, just like himself, was a serve-focused first-year. It didn’t make sense for him to have a 40% chance.

  "You misunderstood, Chotarou," Atobe suddenly chuckled from the side. "Oshitari meant Shishido has a 40% win rate."

  "What!?"

  Chotarou’s eyes widened in shock. He looked at Oshitari, who helplessly nodded in confirmation.

  "You’re saying Shishido-senpai only has a 40% chance of winning?"

  If it were anyone else, he’d think they were joking. But these two were among Hyotei’s strongest. Atobe might’ve been teasing, but he clearly agreed with Oshitari.

  "Don’t be so shocked," Oshitari expined. “Ishikawa’s first serve success rate is 100%. And on top of that, he’s very skilled in long rallies. If this match drags on, Shishido doesn’t stand much of a chance."

  "Which means..."

  He gnced toward the court, his expression turning serious. "If Shishido wants to win, he has to finish the match in under 20 minutes."

  In a sense, the styles and abilities of Ishikawa, Hiyoshi, and Shishido form a triangle:

  Ishikawa: strong in both offense and defense.

  Hiyoshi: strong offense, weak defense.

  Shishido: even stronger offense than Hiyoshi.

  Yesterday, Hiyoshi nearly broke through Ishikawa’s defense.

  So from Oshitari’s perspective, if Shishido’s attacks could penetrate that same defense, he’d still have a 40% chance of winning.

  If not, he wouldn’t fare much better than Hiyoshi.

  Meanwhile, on the court...

  Ishikawa and Shishido finished the coin toss, with Shishido winning and choosing to serve.

  "One-set match, winner takes all!"

  The umpire sitting on the high chair confirmed both pyers’ readiness and announced: "Shishido to serve. First game!"

  Shishido pulled out a tennis ball and gently bounced it on the ground.

  "His instincts are sharp. The moment I serve, he’ll probably read my shot."

  "So if I want to keep my advantage on serve, I need to rush the net immediately."

  "If he adapts during the early exchanges, my edge will disappear."

  As one of Hyotei’s regurs, Shishido wasn’t cking in tennis IQ.

  He’d witnessed Ishikawa defeat Hiyoshi yesterday, and in the afternoon match, he’d beaten Hiyoshi himself—experiencing that unique Martial Arts-style tennis firsthand.

  So he knew his best chance was within the opening exchanges. If he wanted to win, he needed to shorten the points.

  Boom!

  With that thought, Shishido served decisively.

  Tap tap!

  He took off like a rocket, lowering his body and sprinting forward with all his might.

  "He’s coming!"

  "Shishido’s serve-and-volley!"

  "He's going all out from the start? Makes sense—his opponent’s no pushover. Even a regur can’t afford to let their guard down."

  The spectators held their breath.

  "So decisive..."

  On the other side of the court, Ishikawa nodded inwardly.

  In the original series, Shishido first appeared during the Tokyo Tournament quarterfinals when Hyotei faced Fudomine.

  Back then, he underestimated Fudomine, thinking they were a no-name team. He didn’t recognize Tachibana’s identity either and got crushed.

  But now, with prior knowledge of his opponent, Shishido came in fully prepared, unleashing his best weapon: net py.

  And his speed was clearly a cut above Hiyoshi’s.

  Even if Ishikawa could read Shishido’s tactics, his options for counterpy were limited.

  "High lob? Or target the backhand?"

  The audience watched Ishikawa carefully.

  Boom!

  He finally moved.

  Surprisingly, he hit the ball directly in front of Shishido—about half a meter away.

  "Huh?"

  Shishido raised an eyebrow, slowing down slightly and adjusting his racket.

  Thwack!

  The ball bounced up, and Shishido struck it cleanly with a half-volley, nding it just inside the sideline for a point.

  "15–0!"

  "He scored that fast?!"

  Spectators were stunned. Just yesterday, Ishikawa had completely dominated Hiyoshi. But today, he’d just given up the first point like that?

  Was this the difference between a regur and a non-regur?

  Everyone was shocked. But some of the regurs had thoughtful expressions.

  "Trying a standard anti-netpy tactic?" Oshitari squinted, frowning. "But Shishido isn’t some second-rate pyer like Shinohara. That won’t work on him."

  "Interesting..."

  Atobe, on the other hand, reacted differently.

  He gnced at Ishikawa, who was already retreating to the baseline, and smirked.

  Given how calm and calcuted Ishikawa usually was, he wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake.

  On the contrary—

  Atobe had a hunch that Ishikawa was testing something.

  (End of Chapter 31)