Is Serve and Volley Dead?

A lot of people criticize Tennis (or maybe I should say, Pro-Tennis) today because the points go too fast and no one (it seems) serves and volleys anymore.  The question many people have is "is Serve and Volley Dead"?  Well below is a great answer from a person that calls him or herself Captain... atleast I thought is was a great answer let me know what you think.

The short answer is yes. The serve and volley game in professional tennis is pretty much dead. With the exception of a handful of players (Tim Henman, Ivo Karlovic, Taylor Dent, Mario Ancic, Max Mirnyi) there is really nobody doing it anymore. After Sampras, Ivanisovic and Rafter Retired, the serve and volley game pretty much retired with them. You can tell that it isn't really that effective in the men's game anymore based on the rankings of the above individuals that still play that style.

However, just because the serve and volley game is currently dead, doesn't mean that it can't be revived again. If a good enough player comes along who is consistant and athletic enough to play that way, he could see some big success even in todays game. Roger Federer is basically the only player that could qualify into that category but even he doesn't serve and volley anymore.

One of the problems with the serve and volley game in todays game is that it's only effective on either a fast hardcourt, grass or carpet. On a slower hardcourt or clay there are just too many opperatunities for the opponent to pass you. Not many tournaments are held on carpet anymore and the grass court at Wimbledon has been slowed down in recent years when they changed the type of grass used, so it's even less effective there.

It is true that Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and even Hewitt and Roddick have good passing shots that make it really difficult to play serve and volley, the bigger issue is that there is nobody that is really putting pressure on their return games. Nadal can come up with a great passing shot here and there, but if Federer was constantly serving and volleying, that is much more pressure for Nadal's passing shot. Eventually, passing shots breakdown under pressure and the serve and volleyer has a huge advantage. That is why Sampras has such a winning record over Agassi. Agassi was probably the words greatest returner with some of the best passing shots, but since Sampras was always putting pressure on him by coming to net behind every point, Agassi usually coudn't fend him off for long.

But Federer is so good from the baseline that he really doesn't have to serve and volley to win against most players. The best athletes nowadays if they are good at net will usually just come to net behind a good approach shot during the rally.