Is S&V Dead Or Alive?

With playing conditions super-slow even on grass now, we are seeing players of Raonic's booming serving ability struggle to follow it with coming to the net and finishing points with a few volleys.

Still, after the landmark AO 2012 6 hour long physically gruelling final, we have seen the growing trend of people asking for something to be done about it.

Late Brad Drewitt did a very good thing and made sure ATP umpires began to enforce the 25 seconds between the points rule.

That was a drop in the ocean, still a welcoming start.

Sadly, tournament directors did not follow suit in fear of profit losses. The courts are still slow, and only a minor odd tournament or two in France has faster balls.

Nonetheless, more and more players are trying to solve the career shortening and body ruining physical tennis problem at the moment:
Novak Djokovic has hired Boris Becker to help him shorten the points with more agressive all-court tennis.

The player that needs fast conditions more than anyone is Roger Federer.
At this stage of his career, he simply cannot afford to grind from the base-line.

His hiring of Stefan Edberg and this statement from his latest interview got me thinking:

"It's going to be interesting to see what he thinks, if it's possible to play a lot of serve-and-volley on the slower courts we see all around the world now, or if there are different ways for me to find my way to the net.
I've tried many things. We can debate - with Severin Luthi, my coach - about ways to come to the net or not … It's a combination of many things now against the good players we know at the top. So it's going to be interesting to see what he has to say. I have some idea, but then, am I able to make that happen in a match yet? I don't know.


What do you think this "some idea" Federer has is?

For the question in the OP: S&V tennis is long gone and only someone like Karlovic, Llodra and Stepanek ( a bit lesser that the first 2) have been playing it and that too because they simply can't transform their game into anything else. Their lack of success clearly tells the state of this art in modern tennis. I don't see it can ever revive itself, ever.

About Fed's S&Ving, he may have some ideas but I don't know how good can they work if its got to do with S&Ving. Its just too difficult and risky to come to the net and volley. See the AO2012 semis of Nadal-Fed match, how many passes was Nadal able to make against Fed from 3-4m behind the court. 

The ball bounces higher, the courts are slower and the strings/rcquets allow angles and power like never before. What chance does a volleyer have? Unless its a perfect volley, its very likely that the opponent will be able to chase it down and hit a pass. 

Fed most importantly needs to improve his health, most other things will fall in place after that. He also can work on his server, he has lost a lot of pace especially on the T. 

Rest is about about his confidence.

I still think there is room for S&V, and even more for C&V (charge and volley), it's just that players don't learn it from young age as much as baseline tennis any more, so a lot of them can't volley, but slow conditions remain the main problem.
You can see it best with Nole who wants to do it but is behind in every aspect of volleying game: approach, volley variety, and mainly - execution. I hope Becker helps him fix it all.
It's a shame that serve has almost been neutralised as a weapon these days, although I don't particularly miss the booming servers of the 90s in the least.
It's hard to strike a balance.
With Fed, I think he'll have to work on specific tactics for each of his main rivals and try and exploit their weaknesses, almost tailor-make individual scenarios, but if anyone can pul it of it will be him.
I really look forward to seeing him play this year.

noleisthebest wrote:I still think there is room for S&V, and even more for C&V (charge and volley), it's just that players don't learn it from young age as much as baseline 

There is room, of course but it can mainly be used as a surprise tactic on few occasions. I doubt a player can deploy it as a game-plan and hope to win against the likes of Nadal, Murray and Djokovic ( mostly Nadal, he is often a nightmare opponent for a Volleyer. ) No one learns it from am early age simply because its not seen as a great play. All the recent successful players have been baseliners. It can't be a coincidence. 

nitb wrote:You can see it best with Nole who wants to do it but is behind in every aspect of volleying game: approach, volley variety, and mainly - execution. I hope Becker helps him fix it all.

But why do you think that Novak wants to S&V? What suggests it? I have never read/heard/seen any of his interviews where he mentions anything about it. But he often mentions about fitness, secret routines, keeping maximum balls in play, return better etc. but no S&V talks. He does come in to the net but those are almost as many times any other player comes in to the net for a volley. Yes he has got Becker, but I don't know he is there for improving his S&V. Honestly, I just can't see what can Becker contribute to Djokovic's current game.