60. Side-Top Spin Serve

“I never expected Otaki to…” Kawai began, only for Saito beside him to interject, “It’s been barely two minutes so far, right? Is it already 2-0?”

“Quite an impressive momentum. The opposing team must feel as if they’re trapped in a nightmare—one they believe they’ve awakened from, but it’s only an illusion,” Fuji said with a gentle smile, his eyes narrowed.

“But even nightmares have their end,” Tezuka remarked seriously.

“Yes,” Fuji nodded in agreement.

“Winning two games in a row, yet remaining so calm and composed… This boy, Naruki Matsubara, possesses an uncommon maturity of mind,” Inoue Mamoru said, growing increasingly interested in Matsubara.

“Indeed. If it were any ordinary first-year, you’d expect some sign of pride on his face by now, wouldn’t you?” Shiba Saori quickly snapped a few more photos of Matsubara, observing his tranquil demeanor. She laughed softly, “Really, he ought to look a bit nervous at least once in a while.”

“Matsubara, keep it up,” Oda Fuyuka listened to the two reporters praising Matsubara, her lips pink as cherries curling into a smile, silently cheering him on in her heart.

“This little guy from Evergreen is truly extraordinary…” Kikumaru mused inwardly, gazing at Matsubara.

“Go, Matsubara! Break his service game!” Shishido Ryo shouted loudly.

“A first-year… shouldn’t get too cocky. I’ll crush you. Since my Volt serve isn’t working… let’s try this!” Otaki Heijiro prepared to serve, and noticing his familiar posture, Matsubara exclaimed, “Shoelace serve?!”

Everyone outside the court wore expressions of astonishment, yet Fuji suddenly opened his blue eyes wide. “That move is…”

With a swift whistle, the tennis ball spun rapidly over the net. Matsubara immediately shifted sideways, readying his racket, but before he could act, the ball spun several times on the ground, then bounced high and flew out of bounds!

“15-0!”

“No… it’s not a twist serve…” Matsubara gazed at the ball rolling back, still shaken. Though the posture was similar, the ball didn’t spin long enough on the ground, nor did it fly toward his face. Moreover, the height at which it went out was far greater than a regular twist serve.

“Incredible, Otaki! When did you master that kind of serve?” Saito cheered.

“Amazing spin! To make it spin on the ground and bounce up like that…” Kikumaru marvelled.

“Hmm… If I’m not mistaken, that was a side twist serve,” Oishi seemed to have discerned something.

“Side twist?” Kikumaru tilted his head.

“Sadaharu…” Yanagi Renji called out to Otaki Heijiro on the court.

“Yes, I saw it. That was a side twist serve,” Kaido Kaiji nodded softly.

“I never expected a Seigaku player to use such a difficult serve,” Yanagi felt he had underestimated them.

“They are a seeded school after all, their strength is unlike ordinary teams. If it were only an inside twist serve, Matsubara might still have a chance to counter,” Kaido explained.

“I say… you guys keep talking about side twist and inside twist, what are those?” Shishido Ryo, bewildered by the technical jargon, asked.

“If I put it differently, maybe you’ll get it. A side twist serve is actually a side spin serve, while an inside twist serve is what’s known as a twist serve,” Kaido raised a finger.

“Though one’s called side, the other outside, both serves are essentially quite similar. The twist serve is a recently adopted term, since the serve itself is an uncommon inside side spin. The name was too long, so it was shortened to twist serve,” he continued.

“So, the side spin serve is basically a side outside spin serve?” Akutsu remarked coolly.

“Bingo,” Yanagi nodded.

“Because one’s outside and the other inside, the rotation and power differ. Let’s talk about Otaki Heijiro’s side outside spin serve. Both it and the inside spin serve are high-level techniques—hard even for third-year students, let alone adults. In English, they’re called twist serves, a type of kick serve, generally referred to as side spin serves,” Kaido paused before continuing, “There’s another category called topspin, but Otaki’s serve is neither purely side spin nor topspin—it’s a side outside topspin serve. Its main purpose is to land in the corner and bounce out of bounds, whereas the inside topspin serve aims for the opponent’s body.”

“Even though both serves are high-level techniques, the inside topspin serve is harder than the side outside topspin. So far, even professional players rarely pull it off; and if they do, it’s usually just the side outside topspin,” Yanagi clarified.

“However, Otaki Heijiro’s side twist serve isn’t yet refined enough to land in the corners for an ace, so there’s still a chance for Matsubara to return it…” Kaido recalled, speaking evenly.

“In that case, Matsubara could still break through!” Shishido’s eyes lit up.

“What Sadaharu meant is only a relative probability. If Matsubara were taller, he could use his jump to reach the ball at its peak, but as he is now, he simply can’t reach it after it bounces,” Yanagi shook his head.

“If so, maybe a half volley could do the trick?!” Shishido remembered the volley technique—if he could intercept the ball before it hit the ground, he could counter it!

“According to the records and data, Matsubara has never used a half volley. The probability that he doesn’t know the technique is 99.99%,” Kaido, flipping through his notebook, delivered a crushing blow that left Shishido speechless.

“Well, kid, have you tasted the power of my side outside twist serve?” Otaki Heijiro, finally scoring a point from Matsubara for the second time in two games, was now overflowing with confidence and joy.

“Oh? Side outside twist serve?” Matsubara had researched twist serves before, and the records stated that a side outside twist serve is one that, upon landing, bounces out of bounds and is impossible to return. It seemed Otaki’s serve was indeed different from Ryoma Echizen’s twist serve.

“Senior Inoue, I remember there’s a serve called a twist serve, so why is Otaki’s serve called a side outside twist serve?” Shiba Saori asked.

“Well…” Inoue Mamoru saw the intensity of Shiba’s curiosity and patiently explained.

“I see… Still, calling the side outside topspin serve a side spin, and the inside topspin serve a twist serve—it feels so asymmetrical,” Shiba Saori couldn’t help but complain.

“It’s determined by the angle of the swing and the direction of the spin. The former moves the racket toward the forehand’s outside as it drops, while the latter sends the ball spinning toward the opposite direction after it hits the ground—what we call the outside. Of course, you could call the side outside topspin serve a twist serve and the inside topspin serve an inside spin serve, but let’s stick to the professional terms,” Inoue Mamoru laughed heartily.

Purple Pen Literature