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BGonline.org Forums
OT - peRFection Take 2
Posted By: Stick
Date: Monday, 5 March 2018, at 4:17 a.m.
This is meant as a reply to Jeremy's post but as I'm not sure when I'll finish it I decided to start a new thread. The old thread could very well be pushed off the page by the time I finish.
Can one serve / volley on clay? I understand clay is "slower" but why does that make serve / volley less attractive?
First off, the modern game has killed serving and volleying to begin with. Aside from that, from all surfaces one would chose to survey and volley on, clay is by far the worst.
The modern game has a lot more topspin (racquet & string technology) and this allows returners to dip the ball at the server's feet more easily. A returner has far too many options/weapons available to him to counter a serve and volleyer.
Combine these facts with clay, the slowest of all surfaces, allows the returner more time to react to a serve. The slower court helps the receiver more than the server because the volley is played before the bounce. While there is some offset in the time delay allowing the server also to close the net more closely since he also has the added time, I think this detail clearly is in favor of the returner.
Due to the advancements in technology and the overall slowing of the courts many players have abandoned the idea of serving and volleying as a legit game plan to begin with. When that happens it means if someone 'out of the blue' tries to serve and volley they will have very little success. Their volleys won't be up to par. It is worth noting that not all volleys are created the same. You may see someone like Rafa for example who in the past has played doubles to some degree of success and seems to be comfortable volleying for the most part.
To serve and volley you have to have a map of the upcoming point before the point starts. It starts not only with your serve placement but the type of serve you choose to hit. Hard and flat is great but a lower percentage of first serves in which is vital to a s&v player and also, when the ball comes back, it is often on you a lot quicker than you'd like it to be. Big kickers should see a much higher first serve percentage go in and can be lethal but they need to be penetrating and not hang. They'll allow you more time to close the net so your first volley will be higher but if not executed with precision you will be hanging yourself out to dry. The type of opponent you're playing also comes into the equation. You'll sometimes see Federer serve and volley especially against players that return from deep behind the baseline. With his opponent being so far back he has a lot more time to close and a lot more options available to him with his first volley due to the poor positioning of his opponent.
Another thing of note, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Pat Rafter, Tim Henman, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Roger Federer, what do all these players have in common? All highly successful tennis players sure, but not what I was looking for. All serve and volley players (except Federer), also correct but not what I was looking for. They are all players who not only were highly successful serve and volley players in the modern era, but a trait they all share is a one handed backhand. Federer serves and volleys at times and is one of the very scant collection of players who I believe could do it and have a successful game which is why I included him.
It would seem that since the new technology has allowed for the two handed backhand and almost everyone grows up/learns the two handed backhand nowadays that the volley potential has gone by the wayside. All the great volleyers have had a one handed backhand, if one handed backhands are almost out of existence it only makes sense that the serve and volley game has followed suit. For a modern day player with a two handed backhand to learn to serve and volley that would be a huge addition to add to their game necessitating learning a one handed backhand basically to even have the option.
Need proof that clay is the worst surface for a S&V player? Look at the stats of those players I just mentioned, the greatest of greats of serve and volley players. Sampras, Edberg, Rafter, etc...Their worst results? The French Open. Sampras won twelve majors but never even made it to the finals of the French in 13 attempts. Edberg won 6 majors, two each of all the other majors but never won the French in 13 attempts. McEnroe nabbed 7 majors never winning the French. You get the idea.
What do you think of Federer's chances at the French this year? (Assuming he were to decide to enter.)
If Federer decided to play the clay court season and make a go at the French Open his chances would heavily depend on the health of Nadal (obviously) and Djokovic. While Djokovic in his current form is not much of a threat to Roger, I expect he'll get his head out of his ass again one of these days. Rafa's game is ideal for clay and perhaps equally important is his confidence playing RG. If they were ranked 1 and 2 though and met in the finals I would expect an exceptional match I'd be happy to watch and not know what to expect as far as the outcome is concerned. Getting there is the problem, there are plenty of other players who might be able to take a crack at Fed on clay...it shouldn't be overlooked however that Fed has made 5 French Open finals, winning one and losing the other four all to Rafa. He's no slouch on clay to say the least.
I doubt Fed plays the French. I hope he does for lots of reasons ranging from potentially keeping the #1 rating far into the season since he has no points to defend at the French it would be a huge boost to wondering if he can win it to wanting to see a Rafa/Roger final. Having taken it off last year though and seeing the great results it produced unless Roger is feeling especially spunky I bet he and his team decide to skip it once again.
It sounds like you'll be at Indian Wells when I am. Hit me up!
Stick
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