Chapter 217: Takahashi VS Borg

1 hour later.

"The Singles 1 match will now begin, between Jurgen Parisaulchi Borg of the Germany Team and Takahashi Yanichi of the Japan Team."

The broadcast voice rang out.

……

The spectator stands began to stir with commotion.

"I didn't expect the Japan Team to be quite so formidable; to actually be able to achieve a 2-2 record against the nine-time champion D-Guo Team."

"Look, players from other national teams are also arriving at the spectator stands one after another."

"That goes without saying; Borg is the strongest active professional player. They have all come for Borg."

"Is Borg's opponent, Takahashi Yanichi, that middle school student from Japan who defeated Amadeus earlier?"

"Yes. That's him, the biggest dark horse of this year's World Tournament! I never expected to see a duel between these two in the semifinals! This ticket was worth every penny!"

"Do you really think Takahashi can beat Borg?"

"No, of course Borg has the better odds right now, but Takahashi is only 12 years old. By the time he reaches Borg's age, his strength should far exceed Borg's. I'm just saying that since Takahashi could defeat Amadeus, he naturally possesses professional-level strength. We paid for a non-professional match and got to see a professional-level one; we hit the jackpot!"

"Look, there are also many fans specifically cheering for Takahashi, far more than the Japan Team's fans."

"That's only natural. Aside from the champion D-Guo Team, Takahashi has the most momentum in this year's World Tournament, and he has quite a lot of fans now. It's lucky I bought my semifinal tickets early; scalpers outside are already starting to hype up any public match Takahashi appears in."

"Is he that amazing?"

"Of course! A 12-year-old middle school student capable of defeating a professional player—even in Europe, such a genius is extremely rare. Even if he ends up losing this match, it is certain that he has an infinitely bright future, which naturally attracts many fans."

……

"Germany Team, go!"

"Borg, go!"

"Takahashi, go!"

……

Amidst the waves of sound, Takahashi and Borg slowly walked onto the court.

"Best of three sets! First is the service game for Borg of the Germany Team."

……

Borg tossed the tennis ball in his hand upward, then raised his arm and swung his racket with force.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the strike, the tennis ball transformed into a yellow streak of light, appearing in Takahashi's half of the court like lightning.

……

"What astonishing speed!"

"I can barely track the trajectory of the ball!"

Irie exclaimed, a drop of cold sweat falling down his face.

"This ball speed is even faster than my Mach Serve!"

Ochi said with a serious expression.

Oni's pupils shrank sharply, and he said:

"Starting off with a ball of such speed?"

Byodoin said: "Look at Borg's movements and demeanor; hitting this shot is effortless for him."

"In other words, this isn't even his limit!"

Irie said: "Is this the strength of the strongest active professional player?"

……

On the court.

Takahashi narrowed his eyes, his body flashing rapidly to the right baseline, where he raised his arm and successfully sent the tennis ball back into mid-air.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

Tokugawa watched the court in astonishment; his eyes could no longer track the trajectory of the ball, only hearing the sound of the ball striking the racket!

"What an astonishing duel!"

He muttered to himself.

……

"Your strength is indeed quite good."

"It seems I must get more serious."

Following Borg's low-pitched words, Takahashi felt the speed of the tennis ball coming toward him increase even further.

Even in his eyes, the tennis ball seemed to carry a slight afterimage.

"Thud!"

The tennis ball landed less than 2 centimeters away from Takahashi's racket and bounced up.

"15-0!"

"Germany Team scores!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Boom!"

Takahashi ran a few steps and caught the tennis ball at the baseline on the right side.

At the same time, his eyebrows furrowed; this power was much greater than the previous few balls.

"Clatter!"

After a few seconds of stalemate, Takahashi's racket could not withstand the power of the tennis ball and dropped to the ground.

"30-0!"

"Germany Team scores!"

Takahashi looked up at the serious and weathered face of Borg on the opposite side.

Is he being this serious right from the start?

Not giving himself any time to warm up?

Increasing ball speed and power just like that!

Recalling the two balls just now, Takahashi knew he had to muster twelve points of focus to cope.

Thinking of this, the slight smile that had been on Takahashi's face slowly disappeared, replaced by a look of complete seriousness.

He gripped the tennis racket in his hand, his body slowly leaning forward, his knees slightly bent.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Bursts of dust and thick smoke appeared on the court.

On the other side, the Germany Team rest area.

"What an intense rally!"

Bismarck couldn't help but exclaim.

Q. P looked at the speed gun in his hand; the number displayed on it was a staggering 301km/h.

"Takahashi's strength has improved significantly since the exhibition match."

"I remember that at that time, he relied on the Asura Divine Path and the other-dimensional phantom to increase his ball speed to around 300km/h."

"And now, facing Borg, he hasn't used the Asura Divine Path at all."

Listening to Q. P's words, the usually gentle Returu's expression also began to turn grave, and he said: "Once the ball speed exceeds 280km/h, every 10km/h increase is a huge threshold."

"It hasn't been long since the exhibition match, and his base strength has already improved to this extent. It's simply terrifying!"

"Moreover, Borg's serve is not just about speed; power is also his strength. No, Borg doesn't have any obvious weaknesses."

"Under these circumstances, Takahashi is actually still able to rally with Borg for so long..."

Speaking of this, Returu paused.

Takahashi's current base strength is likely on the same level as Borg's.

And he is only 12 years old!

Such talent is something Returu, as a Coach, has never heard of or seen before!

"Boom!"

Takahashi raised his arm and successfully sent the tennis ball into the air again.

This point had already been played for nearly 5 minutes, and Takahashi had basically adapted to Borg's attack speed.

Both are professional players, but Borg's strength is clearly far higher than Amadeus'.

So at the beginning, Takahashi was clearly unable to keep up with Borg's rhythm and was a bit flustered.

But thanks to the recent craziness of the two Idle Characters, his strength had also improved rapidly.

Even without using the Asura Divine Path, Takahashi had gradually adapted to the rhythm of the match.

Back at the first ball, Takahashi had also thought about whether to directly activate the Idle Character's other-dimensional phantom.

But by observing Borg's movements and expression, he understood that Borg still had energy to spare.

In this situation, he could not rashly reveal his trump card; otherwise, facing a top player like Borg, he would fall into a disadvantage later on.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Seizing the opportunity, Takahashi quickly ran to the net, and while swinging his racket, he adjusted the angle of his wrist.