[Tennis] Strike Back

At thirteen, he was still a complete beginner. "Hey, want to play tennis?" At fourteen, he couldn't even beat a junior one year younger than him. "Want to play singles? You've got a long way to go. You both need plenty of practice. Starting today, Xiao Guang will be your doubles partner. That's what Dad said." At fifteen, Rokkaku Middle School was eliminated in the first round of the national tournament. "We lost. I'm roasted by the sun... Pfft!! Wait, Kurobane-senpai, please don't hit me on the head!" At sixteen, he joined the tennis club at Makuin High School. "You attended the U-17 training camp back in middle school? I don't remember you. You must've been some nobody, right?" At seventeen, he represented Japan in the U-17 for the first and last time. "So weak." At eighteen, he officially went pro. "A late start for a slow bird. I'm already a step behind so many people." At twenty, he won his first Challenger title and qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. "Years of preparation, then a sudden rise. The latecomer wins in the end." At twenty-three, he won his first Masters title and Grand Slam championship. "I don't like tennis. I just hate losing." At twenty-eight, he completed a career Golden Slam and spent more than one hundred weeks ranked No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings. "The secret to success? Does outlasting all the geniuses count?" From thirty to thirty-nine, he and his partner held the No. 1 spot in the ATP doubles year-end rankings for ten consecutive years. "How would I describe my partner in one sentence? Well, that guy's life is built on one failure after another. Oh? You look surprised. Here's the rest: 'Still, at least things worked out in the end.'" One by one, the princes left tennis, but he was still there. [The next line is corrupted in the source.] The blurb's too long. No matter how I lay it out, it looks bad, so whatever~ Updates at 9 p.m.