bestfiction Chapter 77 Doubles Black Hole: Genichiro Sanada
Chapter 77 Doubles Black Hole: Genichiro Sanada
The whistle of the game pierced the morning air.
In the middle of the grass field, the coach's bench was positioned at the best vantage point, allowing them to see both sides of the game simultaneously. Wang Yueling leaned back in his chair, his fingertips casually tapping the coach's notepad, his blond hair gleaming softly in the sunlight.
On the left side of the field, Genichiro Sanada and Yota Aoyama took their positions, opposite Renji Yanagi and Ryohei Koizumi. The two first-year students stood in the front zone, while Sanada and Yanagi each positioned themselves in the back zone.
"Double match: Genichiro Sanada & Yota Aoyama vs. Renji Yanagi & Ryohei Koizumi. Let's begin."
The referee was a third-year student from Hyotei University who was about to become a regular member of the team. Next to him sat a third-year student from Rikkai University who was serving as the "linesman".
Sanada serves first.
The movements were still powerful and the ball speed was extremely fast. However, due to the unfamiliarity with the field, the ball bounced lower after landing and was not very predictable.
"Bang."
The first ball hit the net directly.
Sanada frowned.
He served again. This time, he adjusted the angle, and the ball cleared the net, landing deep. Koizumi stepped forward to meet it, and at the moment his racket made contact with the ball, he flicked his wrist slightly, slicing the ball to Aoyama's feet.
Qingshan took a step forward, but his foot slipped on the grass, and the angle of his return shot was wildly off.
"Advantage, Liu, Xiaoquan."
"15-0".
Sanada watched his partner Aoyama lose the ball with a blank expression, said nothing, and simply turned around to get the ball again.
Aoyama stood frozen in the front area, at a loss, not knowing where to stand. He took two steps to the left and right, but ended up colliding with Sanada's defensive range.
Liu observed calmly from behind, giving a slight nod to his temporary partner. He had already calculated that the friction of the grass field would reduce a novice's movement efficiency by 60%.
Koizumi handled that ball very cleverly.
On the second ball, Sanada added spin to his serve, and the ball landed near the sideline. Koizumi stepped forward to try and volley. His racket grazed the surface of the ball, but he couldn't control the force, and the ball bounced outwards, which he missed.
"Deuce, 15-15."
Sanada took a deep breath.
He glanced at Liu across from him; the other man was standing there without moving much. He knew that Liu was gathering information on them in the first round.
In the next two points, Sanada served well, and his returns and attacks were powerful. He completely dominated the ball, and his partner Aoyama didn't even have a chance to touch it.
It can only stand frozen in place, like a superfluous decoration.
"Game, Sanada, Koizumi!"
"First set, 1-0."
Mochizuki Ryo leaned back in his chair, watching the match, his thin lips parting slightly as he let out a low scoff. "Heh!"
Atobe, standing to the side, lightly touched his beauty mark with his fingertip, his icy blue eyes sweeping across the room, his tone filled with undisguised disdain.
"Sanada's playing style has absolutely nothing to do with doubles."
Wang Yueling didn't reply, her gaze fixed on Qingshan's hurried footsteps.
The boy was standing on the grass court for the first time. His steps were unsteady, his center of gravity was too high, and every movement was noticeably sluggish. Even though he was in the front zone, he struggled to receive even the simplest drop shot.
Second round.
Liu changed tactics. In his service game, instead of rushing to attack, he steadily probed and deliberately hit the ball towards Aoyama's forehand.
Aoyama gritted his teeth and stepped forward. His racket barely touched the ball, but due to the irregular bounce of the grass, it went directly into the net.
"Advantage, Liu, Xiaoquan."
"15-0".
"Sanada-senpai..." Aoyama turned around and glanced back.
"Focus your attention."
Sanada kept his voice low, his brows furrowed, and his face under the brim of his hat was gloomy. He still didn't offer any advice, but simply increased the pace of his serves.
The ball speed increased again, carrying an oppressive airflow. Liu calmly blocked it back, and the landing point was still tricky.
Sanada launched another attack, leaning forward with extreme force, completely disregarding the open space in the backcourt. Aoyama hurriedly retreated to cover, but was hit by Sanada's elbow, staggering and almost dropping his racket.
In the following points, Yanagi's serves consistently targeted Sanada's backhand. Sanada's returns were conservative and lacked speed.
Koizumi and Yanagi worked together seamlessly in the frontcourt, scoring two consecutive points with volleys.
"Game, Yanagi, Koizumi!"
"First set, 1-1."
Wang Yueling sat up a little straighter on the coach's bench, her fingers tightening slightly as she gripped the coach's board, her pen moving swiftly across the paper, her handwriting sharp and precise.
[Stealing the ball, colliding with opponents, ignoring teammates, leaving gaps in defense wide enough for a horse to run across!!!]
A series of annotations fell, the pen almost piercing the paper.
Atobe sat next to him, elegantly crossing his legs and tapping his knee with his finger.
"Sanada's backhand return was too hesitant." Atobe's voice wasn't loud, but everyone around could hear it. "He's still holding back on an unfamiliar grass court."
Wang Yueling didn't speak, but wrote several lines of text on the training board.
He wrote very quickly, and his handwriting was somewhat messy.
Atobe turned his head to look at it, raising his eyebrows.
"Um... what are you writing?"
"Write down their problems." Wang Yueling didn't even look up, paused for a moment on the paper with her pen, and then continued writing.
The Rikkai members watching the game felt the oppressive atmosphere emanating from Sanada and held their breath.
Niou leaned against the net, twirling the end of his hair with his fingertips, his fox-like eyes full of amusement. "Puri~ Our Rikkai Emperor's doubles is as 'wonderful' as ever."
Yagyu adjusted his glasses, his tone calm and even, "Sanada's singles ability is beyond doubt, but doubles is indeed not suitable for him."
Kirihara clung to the netting, his eyes wide open, his seaweed-like head swaying gently with his breath. Marui chewed gum, bubbles rising and falling around his lips. Both of them were completely engrossed in the game, forgetting their own upcoming match.
In the third game, Sanada had completely fallen into a singles mindset.
He no longer cared about any positioning; he would grab the ball as soon as it came, and even if the landing point was off, he would rush up to attack.
Qingshan was forced to retreat repeatedly by him, rendering the front area virtually useless.
Liu has thoroughly analyzed the data on the two partners' partnership, and can easily score with just a short lob.
He deliberately placed the ball precisely in the empty space between the two players. Just as Aoyama was about to reach out, Sanada rushed over like a whirlwind and swung his racket fiercely.
"Aggression is like fire."
With a low shout, he smashed the ball powerfully into the opponent's backcourt. The force was so great that the grass seemed to tremble. But just as the ball crossed the net, Liu caught it steadily and slashed it back into Sanada's backcourt corner.
"Vice-Captain Sanada, to the left!" Aoyama's voice trembled with urgency as he tried to remind him.
Sanada seemed oblivious, his eyes fixed on the ball, and unleashed "Aggressive as Fire" once more. The ball was fierce, but due to the bounce of the grass, it went directly out of bounds.
"Advantage, Liu, Xiaoquan."
"15-0".
At the start of the second point, Sanada's breathing became heavier, he gripped his racket tightly, his knuckles cracking, and he let out a low growl.
"Moving like thunder."
As the deep voice faded, a figure suddenly appeared, and the ball hurtled towards the other side with near-instantaneous speed. Koizumi had no time to react; the ball had already landed in bounds.
Sanada retracted his racket, his back straight, exuding an unassailable aura of authority. However, his earlier charge had left a large open area in the front court, leaving Aoyama with no way to recover.
A glint flashed in Liu's eyes, and he immediately seized the opening. With a series of wide-angle cross-court shots, Sanada was exhausted and his feet slipped slightly on the grass, causing his return shot to drop sharply.
"Sanada-senpai, grass has less friction, so you can't stop suddenly like you would on hard courts," Koizumi whispered a respectful reminder from the front of the opposite court.
"Genichiro, calm down and play carefully. Don't rush. This is doubles, not singles." Yanagi frowned as he watched Masami's movements and gently reminded her, making his returns even more steady.
He didn't engage Sanada head-on, but instead used precise ball control to wear down his opponent's stamina. At the same time, he constantly created safe opportunities for Koizumi to receive the ball, allowing Koizumi to gradually adapt to the rhythm of the field.
Across from him, Qingshan tried to keep up, but the more he rushed, the more chaotic things became.
Misstepping, the return shot went into the net, giving away points in a row.
Sanada's expression grew increasingly grim, and the oppressive atmosphere around him was suffocating. Aoyama felt tense under his gaze, his eyes slightly reddening, but he dared not lower his head.
But for the next ball, Sanada wanted to continue his "lightning-fast" attack. He pushed off with his feet and charged forward, but the grass under his feet gave way, and he slid half a step to the side.
The racket missed its target.
Koizumi's return shot flew past him and landed inside the baseline.
"Game, Yanagi, Koizumi!"
"First set, 2-1."
As the whistle blew, Sanada stood still, gripping his racket tightly, his chest rising and falling slightly. He stared at the grass beneath his feet for several seconds, his hat pulled low, obscuring his expression.
Yota Aoyama stood in the front court, his fingers gripping the racket handle tightly, looking aggrieved and guilty. He turned and walked to Sanada's side, his voice very soft.
"Vice-Captain Sanada, I..."
"Alright, that's enough."
Sanada interrupted him, switched the racket to his left hand, wiped the sweat from his palm on his pants with his right hand, and then walked back to the baseline.
"Continue, next round." His voice was deep, as if he were talking to himself.
His indifference hurt Aoyama more than if he had yelled at her directly. Liu walked to the net and patted Koizumi on the shoulder.
……
Wang Yueling held the pen, writing and laughing at the same time. The laugh was faint, but it carried a strong sense of mockery, making the surrounding air feel colder.
He drew a big X on the training board.
Atobe glanced at the cross and his lips twitched slightly.
"Is this fork for Sanada?"
"Give them the whole set." Wang Yueling uncapped the pen and capped it again. "There are too many problems; not even one cross is enough to draw them all."
Atobe wasn't too surprised. He lightly tapped his brow with his fingertip, then looked back at the match and quietly offered his opinion.
"Sanada's team played too unstylishly. In fact, they played extremely unstylishly."
"Oh, how so?" Mochizuki Ryou tilted her head to look at him with interest, waiting for his next words.
"It was obvious. His doubles positioning was a mess from start to finish, leaving his first-year partner stranded in the frontcourt while he charged around in the back alone."
"In his hands, doubles became one person against two, which is utterly absurd."
Atobe raised his hand to touch the beauty mark at the corner of his eye, and continued, "The Yanagi group is much smarter. They've been constantly maneuvering the Sanada group's defenses, having those two fill in the gaps everywhere."
Wang Yueling nodded slightly, tapping her pen on the training board.
"Anything else?"
"Qingshan's first-year student was clearly too nervous. He kept slipping on the grass, moving too slowly, and the angle of his volley was also wrong."
Atobe lowered his hand, interlacing his fingers on his knees. "Koizumi on Yanagi's side is very steady. He has a solid foundation and executes whatever Yanagi points to."
Mochizuki Ryo put down his pen, glanced at Atobe, and gave him a sincere evaluation.
"Well said."
Atobe's assessment was fair, but he lacked experience. He only saw the superficial aspects: the chaotic positioning, the tension between partners, and the good teamwork of the Yanagi group.
But he didn't see the deeper things.