Word: volleyings
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...provide a neutral surface for a variety of styles. But grass has the most profound influence on style of play. In 2001, Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter in a Wimbledon final that featured 38 service aces; both players favored the fast-court tactic of heading to the net to volley. A year later, however, Australian baseline specialist Lleyton Hewitt defeated Argentinian David Nalbandian in a match that featured only seven aces and not a single such serve-and-volley point...
...dramatic shift in the winning style engendered plenty of speculation. Players argued that Wimbledon had surreptitiously introduced slower balls; some commentators heralded a new generation of players so adept at returning serve that they made serve-and-volley tactics ineffective. But the biggest change at Wimbledon, of course, was to the grass...
...been a mix of 70% rye and 30% creeping red fescue. The new lawn was more durable, and allowed Wimbledon's groundsmen to keep the soil underneath drier and firmer. A firmer surface causes the ball to bounce higher. A high bounce is anathema to the serve-and-volley player, who relies on approach shots skidding low through the court. What's more, rye, unlike fescue, grows in tufts that stand straight up; these tufts slow a tennis ball down as it lands...
...obviously helped guys hit the ball harder, with a lot more spin and a lot more control, than the racquets I played with. We've maybe lost a bit of finesse in the game. No one's looking to come in and volley...
...pressure, especially with its own three-man midfield. There was no controversy on the second goal, just awe, as Dirk Kuyt, filling in for the injured Arjen Robben, collected a long pass on the right after a breakout and found Sneijder racing to the near post. Sneijder's volley left Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon at sea, and the rest of Italy's defense without a life vest. Giovanni van Bronckhorst completed the rout in the 79th minute...