Past great players only looked more effective attacking because the court speed helped attacking tennis. Court speeds today hinder attacking tennis.
Yeah, right that's why Federer was able to win so many points today at net. If he can show that attacking tennis is a viable option on clay, it stands to reason that he & others could do it on hardcourt/grass. But most don't have the guts/ability to do so, so they stay back.
I think Fed came to net today more than he did at any match at the US Open last year. And possibly Wimbledon. And that was the only reason this match was even close, because he kept coming forward.
As far as surfaces being different, only Wimbledon & indoor events have changed. All other events have same exact surface as 10 years ago. Australia was just as slow in the 90s & Becker/Sampras did well there(not exclusive S&V, but all court play mixed with attacking play. Sampras was exclusive S&V at 2000 Australian Open & still almost won it. Krajicek won Miami '99-a very slow hardcourt.)
New lux strings(according to James Blake) may be a bigger factor than surface in lack of attacking player. And average height of todays players is less than in the past, so they might not have the reach to volley well.
So many sitters float back nowadays that would have been put away for volleys in the recent past. I saw Nadal beat Ferrero at China Open last year, if Ferrero could volley even decently (or even just tried coming forward) so many points could have been ended in his favor.
