Eiichirō overhears Araya telling Takuma that if he loses to him this tournament, he will retire from tennis. His plan is to defeat Takuma and then announce he is going pro. Takuma agrees to tell Eiichirō Araya's weaknesses.

In an effort to try and reverse the tide, Eiichirō decides to go back to his idea of having 100-squares to aim for instead of 9.

The Kanagawa Prefectural begins as Eiichirō faces off against Araya's new underclassman Nishimura. Araya has told Nishimura all of Eiichirō's weaknesses from the year before, making Nishimura very confident in his chances of winning.

Eiichiro is stunned by all the cheering Ide receives as their match begins. He struggles with the unpredictable plays of the intuitive Ide, but he recalls what he learned in his match with Natsu and concentrates on watching his opponent. Meanwhile, Ide also struggles to keep up with Eiichiro's constant changes in tempo and starts to tune out the world as he tries to focus.

Ide's remarkable ability to adapt instantly to everything has Eiichiro struggling, and reads his notes again to regain his focus. This improves his movements and leads to more impressive rallies, making the match even more exciting. Neither is willing to yield as the match comes down to which player can manage to hold serve...