The doubles match between Hyotei and Rikkaidai had already begun. It started back when Kamikawa, Tezuka, and Atobe were chatting.
Gen and Kawamura's doubles skill was indeed exceptional. Right from the start, they displayed unique coordination, communicating through eye contact without needing many coded signals. Their rhythm might have had slight deviations, but overall, their play was perfect. They achieved the ultimate in both defensive coordination and offense, which is truly rare and impossible without a certain level of doubles talent.
On the court, Kawamura watched the incoming ball, lowering his racket face as if to hit a drop shot. Ishihara, positioned at the net, was immediately drawn in by Kawamura's movement, instinctively moving closer to him. Fusemi was also influenced by Ishihara's movement.
Just then, Kawamura's racket suddenly dropped, and the ball instantly skimmed over the top of his racket. A missed swing?! Ishihara was stunned. Before he could react, Gen had already positioned himself at the back of the court, right where the ball was headed.
Boom!
A beautiful drive shot landed precisely within the left service box.
"Game, Gen and Kawamura pair, 1-0!"
"Nice shot, Gen-senpai!" Hiyoshi cheered loudly, pumping his fist. This was practically a perfect doubles blueprint. The front player feigning a drop shot to draw the opponent's attention, allowing the back player to score cleanly. As expected of Hyotei's veteran doubles team, their synergy was far greater than anticipated.
"Excellent coordination. They don't need excessive signals; just through eye contact, they can predict the next ball's landing. They are a good doubles combination," Yanagi Renji nodded slightly. Having doubles experience himself, he immediately recognized the synergy between Gen and Kawamura.
This level of synergy is only achieved through years of playing together as a team.
"They are indeed good. But there's always someone better, and they're not a match for our senpais."
"Indeed. Even with outstanding synergy, if they haven't reached that ultimate level of doubles, no matter how good their coordination, it will vanish like a bubble in the face of absolute skill."
Listening to Yukimura's assessment, Yanagi Renji didn't refute him. In his opinion, even if the Gen-Kawamura pair's skill improved by a notch, they still wouldn't necessarily be a match for the Ishihara-Fusemi doubles team. The two of them were already strong players, and with their doubles coordination, they could contend even with top-tier National-level doubles pairs.
As expected, as the match progressed, Gen and Kawamura quickly exposed their weaknesses: their individual skills weren't strong enough. Rikkaidai then adjusted their doubles formation, moving Fusemi, who was originally defending the baseline, to the net for volleys, while Ishihara stayed at the baseline, or more accurately, at the service line. Their offense immediately became much sharper.
"Hey, Ryo..." Hiyoshi whispered, "Did you notice? Gen-senpai and Kawamura-senpai are being suppressed."
"I noticed a while ago." Shishido's eyes flickered. After a month of intensive doubles study, he now had a thorough grasp of basic doubles strategies and what needed to be done in doubles. Naturally, he could see Gen and Kawamura's predicament.
"Our two senpais aren't weak, but compared to Rikkaidai's doubles team, they're still lacking a bit," Kamikawa shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face. This Hyotei doubles pair would be considered excellent even in the Kanto Tournament, or even the National Tournament. But Rikkaidai's doubles team was stronger, definitely National level.
Previously, Kamikawa had thought that Rikkaidai's dominance in their first year of high school was due to Yanagi Renji and Sanada playing doubles, followed by Yukimura playing as Singles 3, winning with that system. However, from what he was seeing now, Rikkaidai's two doubles teams were definitely not to be underestimated. This pair was National level, and the other pair was at least Kanto level. Then, with Mori added to the mix, under this system, if Yanagi Renji played in Doubles 2 with that Kanto-level pair, given his ability to gather information on his teammates and manipulate them, that doubles pair could also temporarily perform at a National level.
Doubles isn't like singles; it places more emphasis on the coordination between two people. Even if one of the two players is only Kanto level individually, through synergy, they can possess National-level skill. This is where doubles differs from singles. Synergy can influence the overall strength of a doubles team; 1+1 might be greater than 2, or less than 2, or even less than 1. This is a simple truth.
Boom!
"2-1! Hyotei!"
Boom!
"3-4! Rikkaidai!"
Boom!
"Game, Rikkaidai's Ishihara and Fusemi pair wins, score 6-4!"
The referee loudly announced the match result. From the mid-game, the situation had briefly become one-sided. Even though Gen and Kawamura displayed astonishing resilience, they couldn't change the fact that they lost. Their fundamentals were significantly weaker compared to Ishihara and Fusemi. With similar levels of synergy, it all came down to fundamentals.
"We lost!"
"We actually lost to them again!"
Gen and Kawamura's faces were filled with frustration and resentment. Victory had been within their grasp, yet they still lost, letting a nearly certain win slip away. For them, nothing was more important than victory. This year was their third year; next year, they would leave junior high and enter senior high. In senior high, they would face even greater competition, competing against their peers and against older senpais. Tennis isn't about bragging; it's about playing. Last year, this pair lost to Rikkaidai in the finals, leading to problems with their subsequent strategy. If they had won that match back then, perhaps they could have ended Rikkaidai's thirteen consecutive victories.
"Their resilience is as strong as ever," Ishihara said to Fusemi beside him, letting out a sigh of relief after the match.
"Yeah!" Fusemi nodded coolly. Even through his eyes, one could tell that his mind was not at peace at that moment.
"This year's Hyotei is even stronger than last year." Seeing Fusemi like this, Ishihara didn't pay much attention, continuing to himself, "This year's Kanto Tournament, if we're not careful, we could lose."
"I don't want to be a sinner to Rikkaidai!" The thirteen consecutive championships, an achievement gained through the efforts of several generations, absolutely could not be lost on their watch. No matter who the opponent was, no matter what happened, they had to win.
"That's Yukimura's problem," Fusemi looked up, watching Yukimura outside the court, and said coldly.
Ishihara shrugged. That guy was still the same. Was he still holding a grudge just because Yukimura took away his five senses on the first day of school in the tennis club?
"Alright!" Ishihara pouted, feigning a relaxed tone. "From what I see, no other schools this year have players who can rival Yukimura and Sanada."
"Those two are truly monsters. Perhaps this year, we really can break into the National Tournament finals and claim that coveted National Tournament championship!"
The National Tournament championship—this was the honor every tennis player dreamed of. Don't let Rikkaidai's thirteen years of Kanto dominance fool you. Every year, despite reaching the National Tournament, they never achieved significant results. At best, they reached the quarterfinals, aiming for the semifinals. This was Rikkaidai's unique curse, or in other words, a kind of unspoken sorrow.