"GAME! Spain leads! 1–3!"
"What's wrong? Without your luck buff, has your tennis become this fragile?" Romeo said with a smile as he looked at Kiko across the net.
Right now, in Kiko's eyes, Romeo's figure had turned into Echizen Ryōga. He had no idea how it happened, but his own good luck seemed to have been stolen by the other side, which left Kiko feeling completely stunned.
On the sidelines, the American Team members were at a loss. To them, it looked like Kiko had suddenly forgotten how to play tennis, getting led around by the nose by a middle schooler on the other side again and again.
As for Dodo, he was feeling just as bad. His once-invincible control of the air had been completely suppressed by Bambieri, leaving him unable to utilize his strength at all, and to make it worse, the opponent kept lobbing high balls.
"The two players Spain sent out completely counter Dodo and Kiko! Looks like they've studied us thoroughly! It was the same in Singles Three just now—my tennis was almost entirely suppressed by Mares!" Alan Hopkins said from the American Team's bench, his face dark.
"Maybe the intel came from Ryōga?" Don Pacino replied with a slight frown, glancing at Ryōga on the opposite side.
"I don't think it was Ryōga's doing. Spain has always paid close attention to our American Team. More importantly, they guessed our lineup correctly!" Geisel Jackson offered a different view. As a hardcore fan of Echizen Nanjirō, he naturally felt goodwill toward both Ryōma and Ryōga.
"Alright, thinking about that now won't help. Given the situation on court, we're in serious trouble. So Ryōma, be ready. The outcome of today's semifinal might depend on you," Ralph Reinhardt said seriously as he looked at Ryōma.
"Don't worry, Captain! I'll definitely win my match against that guy!" Ryōma said, staring intensely at Ryōga, his tone full of fighting spirit and confidence.
Seeing Ryōma's expression, Reinhardt wanted to say something more, but the words got stuck in his throat. All he could do was keep frowning as he looked back at the court. He understood very well how dangerous Ryōga's tennis was. His only real worry now was that Ryōma might lose his own tennis.
'Maybe I should take Singles Two myself… but would Ryōga really go that far against Ryōma?' Reinhardt asked himself silently.
——————
Inside the stadium for the Japan Team versus Germany Team match, the four players walked onto the court at the umpire's signal. After exchanging handshakes, they didn't say much and went straight to the coin toss. In the end, the Japan Team won the right to serve first.
"Best-of-three sets! Japan Team to serve first!"
When the Japan Team saw Ochi Tsukimitsu walk to the baseline, smiles spread across their faces. They knew this game was basically secured. After all, up to now, no player from any other country had been able to return Ochi's Mach Serve.
Ochi picked up a tennis ball from the side. Without even testing the bounce, he tossed it straight into the air and softly murmured, "Mach." The next second, the sound of the ball hitting the ground came from behind Bertie Borisovich Volk and Dankmar Schneider.
"ACE! 15–0!"
"Just like what the data says~ Bertie-boy~" Dankmar said with a grin, completely unconcerned about losing the point, as he spoke to Bertie.
"Heh~ only firsthand experience gives the most accurate data. But one ball isn't enough to analyze a counter yet~" Bertie replied lightly, just as unconcerned.
While the two were speaking quietly, Ochi on the other side had already tossed the ball again. Another Mach Serve blasted out, so fast it was completely invisible. This time too, Dankmar stood still without moving. He knew very well that with his speed, there was no way he could reach that serve.
"ACE! 30–0!"
After Bertie and Dankmar switched positions, Ochi immediately fired off his third Mach Serve. Two almost overlapping impact sounds rang out. Massive amounts of data seemed to flash through Bertie's eyes, but he himself didn't make a move.
"ACE! 40–0!"
"The Mach Serve is indeed fast. You could even say it's the fastest serve in this tournament. But under Bertie's AI ability, the more times it's used, the higher the chance it'll be successfully returned later," Volk said in a deep voice from the sidelines as he watched his younger brother's condition.
Right after Volk finished speaking, Ochi mercilessly fired off his fourth Mach Serve. This time, Bertie actually took a few steps to his right. Even though he still couldn't catch up to the ball's speed, that small movement made Ochi narrow his eyes beneath his bangs.
"GAME! Japan leads! 1–0!"
The second game was Bertie's service game. Wearing a confident smile, he walked to the baseline, quickly tossed the ball, and smashed it. With the sound of impact, the ball instantly cleared the net and flew toward the right sideline of the Japan Team's court.
Ochi only needed three lateral steps to reach the landing point. Then, with an upward scooping swing from below, he sent the ball high into the air over the Germany Team's half. Because of Ochi's height, the ball's arc was far higher than a normal lob.
The moment Ochi hit the lob, Mōri shifted his focus to the opposite baseline. In his view, the opponents would only have a chance to return once the ball started to drop.
But Bertie completely ignored common sense. He sprinted straight toward the center line, then nimbly stepped on Dankmar's palm and leaped into the air. In an extremely strained posture, he intercepted the ball and smashed it with full force back toward the Japan Team's half.
Ochi and Mōri didn't react in time. Only after the ball shot between them did they both turn their heads, just in time to see it slam precisely onto the baseline before bouncing out.
"15–0!"
Bertie slowly descended from the air and was easily caught by Dankmar. Clearly, this wasn't the first time they had worked together like this. Their coordination went without saying. No wonder they were a doubles pair forged on the professional circuit—Dankmar Schneider and Bertie Borisovich Volk.
"Tsk tsk tsk~ if there had been even the slightest mistake in that sequence just now, then…" Michael Bismarck didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was obvious.
"With Bertie's calculation ability, even if Schneider made a coordination error, he could still adjust his posture in time. There's nothing to worry about," Q.P. said at that moment, having already recovered from his loss.
On the court, Bertie served again with high speed. This time, the ball flew straight toward the open space on Ochi's left. For Ochi, that was easy to handle. With just a single sliding step, he cleanly returned it.
Dankmar rushed forward and intercepted Ochi's return. Then his right arm snapped forward, blasting the ball toward Mōri on the other side. Mōri took a few steps back, then gripped the racket with both hands and lifted it slightly before unleashing a fierce backhand swing.
"Jack Knife!"
Just from Dankmar's build alone, Mōri knew his strength was no joke. That was why he deliberately used the Jack Knife technique to boost his hitting power, hoping to increase the difficulty of Dankmar's return.
But Mōri's plan fell apart. Dankmar seemed to completely ignore the force of the shot. With an easy expression, he intercepted the ball and immediately sent a down-the-line passing shot back.
Seeing the ball flying straight at his lower body, Ochi felt a surge of caution. It was clear the opponents had studied his data thoroughly and knew he wasn't good at handling balls aimed at his feet.
Even so, Ochi barely managed to return it. The angle, however, wasn't ideal. The ball's path was too direct. Dankmar hardly had to move before arriving in front of it, lifting his racket as if ready to smash again.
Just as Ochi and Mōri's attention was drawn to Dankmar, Bertie's figure suddenly appeared at the net. Holding the racket horizontally in his right hand, he sliced sharply at the ball. In the next instant, the ball floated lightly over the net and dropped straight into the front court of the Japan Team.
"30–0!"