Eiichiro is looking for ways to improve, so he receives guidance from Mike, a sports psychologist who's visiting STC from Florida. Mike, who focuses on the mental side of the game, tells Eiichiro to close his eyes and remember the moment he first met Natsu.

Miyagawa is on the back foot after a risky attack by Eiichiro. Eiichiro has survived one difficult situation, but he has to break Miyagawa's serve if he wants to win. Eiichiro uses his sharp eyes to hang on, but neither player is able to secure a break.

Eiichiro has become known as the player who takes notes during matches as he spends every day playing tennis. However, he continues to struggle to win matches as his rivals are clearly well above him. After some deliberation, Eiichiro increases the time he spends running and weight building. Time passes and Eiichiro is now a second-year. It will soon be time for the Kanagawa Junior Circuit again.

Eiichiro is about to play his first match. He receives advice from the other STC members, but it only makes him more nervous. He doesn't get a chance to calm himself down as he's soon called to the tennis court. His first opponent is Oobayashi Ryo, a player with five years of experience, the assistant captain of the tennis team at Shonan Tech, and a top eight finalist in the prefectural tournament. It's finally time for Eiichiro's first match!

Eiichiro is unable to answer Natsu when she asks him what he enjoys doing most. He becomes interested in tennis and returns to STC for another free trial. This time, he meets Egawa Takuma, an upperclassman who's friendly with Natsu. For some reason, he acts hostile towards Eiichiro, which is very intimidating. As Takuma watches, Natsu teaches Eiichiro how to hit the ball.