jamesblakefan#1
G.O.A.T.
Why does nobody play serve and volley anymore?
I think it is strange that nobody asks this question or just assume the players are too lazy, dumb or whatever.
If s&v is so succesfull why do players choose to play from the baseline. Do you really believe they are this stupid? Some players in the top 20 have good enough volley's, yet they choose to stay back and lose slam after slam. Unlike some people here I believe there is a good reason for this. The return of the opponent is just too good. Just look at Federer he always plays into the opponents feet when they approach the net, the ball jumps up giving him enough time to hit the passing shot. Other players do exactly the same. Returners nowadays are smarter, they don't go for the direct winner but let the s&v player play a difficult volley which enables them to run to the ball and hit the winner. I think a really good player like Sampras might still be able to win a lot of slams, but he is something special. Other players like Krajicek, Ivanisevic, Rafter, Becker etc. would not stand a chance in this field.
Couldn't agree more w/ this point. It seems some bitter Samp-****s believe S&V to be a superior game style. Though S&V can be an effective tactic to mix in every once in a while, the time has come and gone where a purely S&V player can dominate the men's game. Slower surfaces, better returners, new racquet technologies, have all made S&V more difficult to do on a consistent basis and be effective. This is the point which 90s ****s either fail to realize or just plain ignore.