Phi-Fic Chapter 176 New Formation? The Gap Between the Two Teams
Chapter 176 New Formation? The Gap Between the Two Teams
After landing his game-winning shot, Mukahi laughed and excitedly swung his arm. He then turned back and bumped rackets with Taki, his eyes shining like stars.
"How was that, Taki? Pretty good, right?"
"good."
Taki's smile deepened, and his voice was steady, "You've got the rhythm under control very well. Keep it up from here."
He mentally reviewed all the data about his opponent from the first set: Kikumaru's movement speed, reaction time, and rate of stamina depletion; and Momoshiro's serving habits and the point of force for his smashes...
Everything is crystal clear.
The first round of probing has ended, and the opponent has completed 70% of their data collection.
Next, we just need to wait it out as planned.
The two walked to the sidelines to rest and picked up towels to wipe their sweat.
Wang Yueling sat on the coach's bench without getting up, and handed over two bottles of electrolyte water in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for them to hear.
"Tu m'épates (You amaze me), Ogi no Suke."
His voice carried a hint of approval as he tapped his wrist with his fingertip, "The latency control for real-time calculations is excellent, much more stable than during training matches."
After speaking, he looked at Xiang Ri with a hint of advice in his eyes.
"Gakuto, you played well too. But... just now, during the third point, you pushed forward too quickly and went out of Taki's cover range."
"Next time, pay attention and don't stand in the wrong positions."
Xiang Ri took the water, gulped down more than half of it, wiped his mouth, and said a little embarrassedly, panting, "I know, Coach. I was just too excited and couldn't help it."
"However... they are a bit weaker than I thought. Kikumaru is fast, but his stamina is really bad. He was already panting like that after just one round."
"Save the excitement for later." Wang Yueling raised an eyebrow, reached out and put away their towels, her voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable weight.
"Don't underestimate your opponent now. The first game is just a warm-up. Continue at this pace in the second game. Don't rush to score points; make the rounds last."
"Kikumaru's physical fitness threshold is lower than you think. If we drag this out for another game, his net coverage area will shrink by at least half again."
As he spoke, his gaze swept across the Seigaku rest area across the street. Kikumaru was bent over, panting heavily, while Momoshiro stood beside him, frequently glancing down at his arm. It was obvious that he was checking the copied doubles rules.
"Change formation for the second game."
Wang Yueling spoke, her voice not loud, just loud enough for the two people beside her to hear, "Do it the way we practiced before."
Xiang Ri's eyes lit up immediately. He looked up abruptly, his voice brimming with excitement, and his legs swayed slightly as he sat in the chair.
"Finally, we can use that? I thought we'd have to wait until the third game."
"Use it sooner, and it'll be over sooner."
Wang Yueling tapped the fence lightly with her fingertips, and a slight vibration came from the metal. "If we wear them down in the first two rounds, it'll save us a lot of trouble later. Taki, you guard the baseline gradient observation position. Follow the agreed signals and be careful."
"Understood." Taki nodded emphatically, holding the water bottle.
Wang Yueling's gaze fell on Xiang Ri, and she lightly tapped his knee with her fingertip.
"Don't rush blindly." He said with a hint of reminder, "Leave all the high, deep balls to Taki to cover. Don't retreat and try to catch them yourself, it'll waste your jumping ability. Save your 'Variety Splash' for crucial points, don't use it on every ball, conserve your energy."
"Okay, okay."
Mukahi waved his hand, stood up, and jumped twice, his joints making a crisp cracking sound. He glanced at Seigaku and said confidently, "I promise I won't disrupt their formation. I'll wear them down until they can't run anymore!"
Taki stood to the side, took a sip of water, and spoke at a steady pace, with little inflection:
"Kikumaru's stamina is currently around 60%, his movement speed has started to decline, and his error rate has increased by 15%. Momoshiro's singles habits are very obvious; he can't help but frequently go to the net, and his awareness of baseline coverage is insufficient. We can continue to target these weaknesses."
"Um."
Mochizuki Ryou nodded. "You've observed very carefully. Keep the real-time data calculations running and pay attention to any changes in their movements. Especially Kikumaru; when his stamina is low, his movements become distorted. You can try to anticipate his movements a little earlier."
"clear."
Taki nodded, put the empty water bottle aside, straightened his collar, and then stretched his wrists and ankles.
Wang Yueling added, "Be careful to control mistakes and don't give them a chance to fight back."
"Yes!" they both answered in unison.
As they were talking, a hushed discussion came from the opposite Seigaku rest area.
Ryo Mochizuki glanced over and saw Ryuzaki Kin holding a tactical board, tapping his fingertips on the board as he talked to Kikumaru and Momoshiro, his brows furrowed in a deep frown.
You can guess without even listening that they're probably reviewing the mistakes from the first game.
Wang Yueling let out a very soft laugh, which almost dissipated in the wind.
"Quel dommage. (What a pity!)" he muttered in French. "If I couldn't even figure out the strategy in the first game, it'll be even harder later on."
After the second game, they should have realized the gap in skill.
……
On the Seigaku side, the atmosphere was a bit heavy.
Kikumaru squatted on the ground, sipping water, his chest heaving violently. The bandage on his face was peeling off at one end, but he didn't care.
It took him a while to catch his breath.
I only played one game, but I feel more tired than after playing a whole match normally.
The two people opposite him seemed to know him inside and out; they could see exactly where he was going. They always hit the ball in the most awkward positions, forcing him to constantly change direction and turn back.
"How's Eiji doing? Is he alright?"
Ryuzaki Jin walked over and handed him a towel, her brow furrowed. She could see that the opposing team's tactics were clear: focus on Kikumaru and wear him down.
"It's okay, coach, I can do it."
Kikumaru wiped his face, looked up and smiled, but the smile seemed a little forced. "I'm sure I can catch up in the next round."
Long Qijin glanced at the two radiant people opposite him and sighed softly.
"Eiji, you just used up the equivalent of three normal games' worth of stamina. Hyotei and the others are clearly targeting you deliberately, trying to wear you down."
She paused, then added, "Takiginosuke's data on tennis accuracy is even stronger than I expected. He's not just calculating the trajectory of the ball, but also your movement habits."
Momoshiro stood beside him listening, then quickly glanced down at the inside of his arm. Sweat had blurred the writing a little, so he quickly wiped it with his sleeve, afraid it would become too smudged to read.
"Coach, what do we do then?" He finished wiping the racket, gripping it tightly, his knuckles cracking loudly. "Are we just going to let them lead us by the nose like this?"
"Sigh, that's all we can do for now. In the next game, try to seize the opportunity to break the deadlock and get the pace back."
Ryuzaki Jin patted his arm to remind him, "Don't think too much. Play the second game according to the original strategy. Atao, you take on more baseline defense and try to hit the ball towards Taki's position as much as possible, so as not to give Mukahi a chance to volley. Eiji, conserve your energy, apply pressure at the net, and use your special skills on the key points."
"No matter how flexible their formation is, their stamina isn't unlimited. If we keep playing and pulling back and forth, we'll eventually find a weakness."
Kikumaru nodded, stood up by supporting himself on his knees, and jumped twice on the spot.
"Understood, Coach!"
He clenched his fist, forcing a smile again. "I'll definitely make up for it in the second game! If Oishi were here, he'd definitely say the same thing!"
Momoshiro nodded emphatically, pulling his sleeve down to cover the writing on his arm.
"Don't worry, Coach! I'll definitely hold my own!"
They refused to believe that they could be constantly suppressed and beaten by the other side.
……
The atmosphere in the student rest area on the platform wasn't much better.
Inui Sadaharu pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light. His pen flew across the notebook, the rustling of pages turning clearly audible in the quiet rest area.
"What a beautiful doubles match."
His voice was low, tinged with a mixture of admiration and confusion.
"In the first game, Mukahi's positioning was very spread out, not the traditional doubles style of fixed net play. She moved back and forth very frequently, covering almost two-thirds of the front court area."
"Taki's coverage area on the baseline far exceeds the usual data, and the two of them cover almost no blind spots when filling in gaps."
"What do we do, Inui-senpai?" Horio leaned closer, his face full of anxiety. "They're so strong, can Kikumaru-senpai and the others win?"
"Shut up, first-years!!!" Kaidou hissed, the veins on the back of his hand gripping the racket bulging. "We're not finished yet, don't talk nonsense."
Horio covered his mouth, shrank back in fright, and ran behind his companions to hide.
Fuji stood by the fence, his gaze fixed on Taki across from him, a faint smile playing on his lips, and slowly began to speak.
"This data-driven player from Hyotei seems a bit different from you, Inui. He barely looked at the data book at all; he relied entirely on on-the-spot judgment."
Qian's pen suddenly stopped, and his expression became even more serious.
"If it's real-time calculation, then Kikumaru and his team will be in even more trouble. They don't need historical data to support their tactics; they can adjust their strategies on the spot. This kind of fighting style is too flexible..."
Tezuka stood at the very edge and remained silent throughout.
His gaze remained fixed on the blond boy on the opposite coaching bench, who was talking to Mukahi and Taki with his head down, a nonchalant smile on his face, as if he didn't care about the game at all.
Tezuka's brow furrowed even more.
He had a feeling that Hyotei would probably reveal their true strength in the second game.
……
The rest period was over quickly.
The referee blew his whistle again, and both teams returned to the field.
Xiang Ri stood at the net, but unlike in the first game, he didn't stay in a fixed position in the front area.
Instead, he stood in the center of the net.
He stood with his feet slightly apart, his center of gravity extremely low, and his body swayed slightly from side to side, like a cat ready to leap at any moment.
Taki stood far back from the baseline at an angle, racket held horizontally in front of him, his gaze calmly sweeping over the two opponents, his footwork constantly making subtle adjustments within a small area.
"This positioning..."
Someone in the front row of the audience was whispering.
"Why is it different from the first set? Mukahi is standing so far forward, and Taki is standing so far back, leaving such a large empty space in between. Aren't they afraid of being caught out?"
"Who knows? Maybe Hyotei has a new tactic. Look, they won the first game, so they must be confident in using this new formation."
In the press box, Saori Shiba kept snapping photos with her camera, the sound of the shutter mingling with the surrounding chatter.
"Inoue-senpai, look at their positioning!" she excitedly turned to Inoue and said, "There's a huge gap in the middle. Isn't that leaving a chance for Seigaku?"
Inoue Mamoru shook his head, his brows furrowing slightly.
"It's not that simple."
He kept a close eye on the two players on the field. "Look at Xiang Ri's center of gravity; he can retreat at any time. Taki's positioning isn't fixed either; his footwork is constantly adjusting in small areas. That gap in the middle might be a trap deliberately left there."
In the Seigaku rest area, Inui Sadaharu immediately picked up his data notebook and quickly drew a simple diagram of the positions on the field.
"wrong."
Inui spoke quickly, "Their positioning is dynamic, not fixed. Hijikata's movement range can cover the midfield, and Taki can also push forward, so the gap in the middle is an illusion."
"It's a trap!!!"
The second set begins, with Hyotei serving from the other side.
Taki rotated his ankle, his eyes resolute. He tossed the ball, jumped, and served with a clean and crisp motion, the ball traveling at high speed straight towards the inside corner on the opposite side.
Momoshiro turned sideways to receive the ball, swung his racket, and returned it.
They wanted to adjust their tactics according to Coach Ryuzaki's instructions.
But the tactics were disrupted by the opponent as soon as they were put into action.
Hyotei's Takiginosuke seemed to have anticipated their adjustments, and instead of simply dropping the ball to the net, he began to alternate between hitting deep shots from the baseline and short shots to the net.
Sometimes the ball looks like it's heading towards the baseline, but it suddenly drops short after hitting the ground, forcing Momoshiro to rush forward to save it; sometimes it looks like a short ball, but it bounces up and drifts towards the corner of the baseline...
I made several trips back and forth to Taocheng, and my rhythm was completely disrupted.
He had little experience in doubles to begin with, and relied entirely on the words on his arm to remember the positioning rules. When the opponent changed the line, the rules in his mind couldn't keep up with the changes on the court.
Several times he wanted to rush up and smash the ball, but then he remembered he had to defend the baseline. In that moment of hesitation, the ball had already hit the ground.
Kikumaru was getting anxious watching from the net and had to frequently retreat to cover for his position. As a result, he actually had to move even further, and his stamina was being depleted even faster.
Momoshiro finally seized the opportunity, swinging his racket to break the deadlock. The ball was so fast that it left a blur, heading straight for Hijikata's backhand corner.
Almost the instant the ball left the racket, Xiang Ri slid to the side and took a half step back, then flicked the racket to block the ball back.
The ball was returned neither too deep nor too shallow, landing perfectly on the left side of midfield.
Kikumaru immediately rushed forward, trying to intercept the target before it landed.
The moment he moved his foot, Taki had already taken two big steps forward from the baseline, his racket already waiting at the ball's landing point. With a gentle flick, the ball slid rapidly to the other side, skimming along the net.
"So fast!!!"
Someone in the audience gasped in surprise.
Kikumaru lunged to save the ball, his fingertips almost touching the ground as he barely managed to scoop it up. The return shot was poor quality, drifting high towards the baseline with little power.
Taki instantly retreated to the baseline position, turned sideways to prepare his racket, and delivered a precise sidespin slice shot towards Momoshiro's backhand corner.
Momoshiro stepped forward to receive the ball, but he was a beat too slow. The ball grazed his racket and flew out, landing steadily within the boundary.
"30-0".
The referee's clear score announcement echoed throughout the stadium.
Hikari Taki gave a thumbs-up, a slightly excited smile on his face.
"You're really good at predicting things."
Taki nodded slightly without speaking, and his feet returned to the original position, as if the sprint had never happened.
The next few minutes became Hyotei's show.
No matter whether Seigaku hits a short drop shot or a baseline drive, Mukahi always manages to block it in time at the net. Even if the ball flies to the backcourt, Taki can still catch it safely at the net. Sometimes Kikumaru thinks he has fooled Mukahi and hits an open shot to the midcourt, but Taki just steps forward and intercepts the ball right at the net.
The two were like a net with just the right tension; once Seigaku's ball went in, it could never get out again.
The audience on stage watched in amazement, exclaiming in wonder.
"What kind of formation is this? It feels like there are holes everywhere, yet they manage to control every ball perfectly."
"That's outrageous! Two people covering the area of four?"
"This formation... with its tiered structure and forward and backward mobility, completely avoids the positioning weaknesses of traditional doubles, making it more challenging than I imagined. It probably requires a height difference, coupled with exceptional data prediction skills, to effectively counter it."
"No wonder Hyotei dared to break up the Oshitari-Makihi combination. With that lineup, it would be difficult for anyone to win. Hyotei is really strong this year!!!"
……