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All-Japan Tennis Championship (全日本テニス選手権 Zen Nihon Tenisu Senshuken) is the 310th chapter of manga, Baby Steps.

Characters in Order of Appearance[]

Summary[]

Coach Aoi and Yukichi congratulate Eiichiro for qualifying for the All-Japan Championship. Eiichiro also has a heart-to-heart talk with Natsu, reassuring his plans for this tournament.

Synopsis[]

Ei-chan goes to STC the day after the prelims. He reports his win to Coach Aoi and returns the DVDs of Asano's matches. Coach Aoi had expected Ei-chan to win, but he tells Ei-chan it's an extremely curious feeling to have his student defeat a player he admired. When Ei-chan says he'd come to practice the tactics he'd picked up during the match with Asano, Coach Aoi is surprised and tells Ei-chan, "You're a scary guy." Yukichi's in the court and he congratulates Ei-chan on making it to the tournament proper. Then they talk about the value for the Japanese of the All-Japan Championship. Apparently the All-Japan Championship is limited to Japanese players. Ei-chan says it's a marvel to see his name in the final draw among so many players whose names he recognizes. Coach Aoi says it's a title he'd also wanted; it seems Coach Aoi had gotten only as far as the Best 4 in the All-Japan Championship and no champion has emerged from the prelims. Coach Aoi adds that he has expectations—which makes Ei-chan gulp. Ei-chan remembers that if he wins 1R, he'll face Takuma. Ei-chan's 1R opponent is the 22-year old Tamakoshi, a pro JTA ranked 46th who had also qualified through the prelims. Scene shift to Tamakoshi Shinji who's playing tennis at home. He apparently does image training, visualizing himself winning in Wimbledon. Tamakoshi has been a pro for 3 years and he thinks it's about time for him to move on to the next stage; last year he lost in 2R. He's also feeling cautious about Ei-chan since Ei-chan defeated Asano. Scene shift to STC. Ei-chan practices with Yukichi and then scribbles in his notes that "this pattern will be useful..." Natsu shows up, having finished training and heard that Ei-chan had come. The expressions of Coach Aoi and Yukichi on Ei-chan's being picked up by his girlfriend are LOL. As the couple goes home, naturally their conversation is about how Ei-chan might face Takuma. Ei-chan says that if he loses to Takuma, he feels he'll be satisfied and will give up on becoming a pro and can move on. Natchan tells him he mustn't be fainthearted, then breaks into a run. She shares how she'd watched Ei-chan walling here (from here?) and thought that Ei-chan would become strong—and says she was right. Ei-chan's shocked and counters that he still has a long way to go, that he has to get stronger. She tells him she knows he'll defeat Takuma and become so much stronger that Japan will be surprised. 


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