You can say what you want, Nick has produced 10 world #1s. How many have serve and volley coaches produced?
The top four players today are baseliners.
What has the one-dimensional baseline form done for American men's tennis since the end of the Agassi era?
Nothing. Remember, this topic is about
U.S. men's tennis, and the two generations since Agassi have only managed to trip their way into winning one major.
Further, I do not accept the excuse made by others when they simply shift the blame to the occasional Safin blip, and the rise of Roger and Rafa, as there's no excuse for Roddick's rapid decline other than his one-trick-pony skills were easily figured out once real talent emerged.
Moreover, Federer is not now, nor has he ever been a true baseliner; he's one of the last top male players who actively and naturally plays the entire court. While we're on the subject of baeliners, let's not forget that
Nadal--the most unexpected candidate for change of all--made a conscious effort to learn the entire court when playing at Wimbledon (which was successful), as he realized baseline grinding was not going to work.
Perhaps if Roddick tried something else, he would have won those Wimbledon finals instead of
Frankensteining his way to net.
The Donald or Vania King are not going to be great players whether they serve and volley or not. That is not the issue.
No one is saying they will, but if a child starts out of the gates only knowing a part of the court, they are already robbed of opening their minds up to tactical options, as opposed to the flat-footed, predictable antics of the Roddicks of the world--still carrying the ideological torch of the Nick farm.