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Part 3: Why Can’t Michael Llodra Break Through?
Welcome to Part 3! We finished Part 2 with a big question: if a 6’3, athletic serve and volleyer is our best hope for serve and volley to return to the upper echelons of the game, why not Michael Llodra? He’s 6’3. He’s fast. His volley technique is superb. He has a world-class slice backhand and isn’t afraid to chip and charge on second serves. His service motion is good, and his serve has garnered praise from his fellow pros. So why can’t he break through? At 32 it isn’t a question of him peaking.
So what is holding Llodra back?
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Part 2: Why A Serve And Volley Player Can Succeed
Welcome back to Tactical Tennis for Part 2 of our Serve and Volley series. In Part 1 we looked at the decline of serve and volley tennis in the last decade. Included in the reasons were equipment, technique, adaptation of returners to faster serves, and the longer time it takes for a serve and volley player to mature compared to a base-liner. There is a decided dearth of serve and volleyers in the top 100: for the year end rankings of 2012 on-again off-again serve and volleyer Radek Stepanek is ranked 31, and the only pure serve and volleyer Michael Llodra is 53. Stepanek is a spry 34 years old, and Llodra will be 33 next May.
The future looks bleak. Chris Guccione showed promise, but at 27 he is now ranked 567 despite his formidable serve. Devin Britton won the NCAA Singles title with a mostly serve-and-volley game in 2009 and while his ranking is on an upwards trajectory at 402 in the world, his rise has hardly been meteoric and he’s confessed in interviews to not believing pure serve and volley tennis is viable at the pro level. Is Britton correct?
Can a current professional player be a consistent presence in the top 10 in the world as a genuine serve and volleyer?Tactical Tennis believes so, and here are the reasons why: -
Part 1: Where Did All The Serve and Volleyers Go?
This is the first in a three-part series on serve and volley tennis in the modern game.On September 21st, 2007 Tim Henman defeated Roko Karanusic in straight sets to give Great Britain a 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup tie against Croatia. Although he would team with Jamie Murray to seal the victory in doubles the next day, his victory marked Tim Henman’s last official singles match on the men’s tour. It also marked the last true serve and volleyer at the top of the game. In the 5 years since, we have seen some aggressive players (Tsonga immediately leaps to mind), they are more all-court players, roaming forward occasionally when they see a tactical advantage in doing so. However, they more likely to stay back than not. Even the great Roger Federer – the last man to win Wimbledon serve and volleying nearly every point – uses it sparingly.So where did all the serve and volleyers go?