Taylor-Made For Success

Sunday Telegraph, June 2003

While the world paid homage to Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt last year, tennis purists paid their last respects to a style of tennis that had seemingly just passed away. Hewitt had overwhelmed Argentine David Nalbandian in a final full of blistering ground-strokes from the back of the court, but without a single memorable exchange of volleys at the net.

For anyone brought up on John McEnroe's delicate touch, Boris Becker diving around like a goalkeeper to fend off passing shots, or Pete Sampras serving and volleying his way to seven Wimbledon titles, this was a day to mourn as much as celebrate.

Nobody was blaming the players. After a decade of service-dominated finals since Andre Agassi had blunted the power of Goran Ivanisevic in 1992, the courts and balls had been slowed to give baseliners a chance. They duly took it. Tim Henman was the only recognized serve-and-volley specialist in the semifinals last year, as Sampras, Richard Krajicek and Greg Rusedski all fell to back-court scrappers who suddenly had a bank holiday to get to their opponents' mighty serves and volleys.

With little incentive for the current crop to master an art that had served McEnroe, Pat Cash and the rest so well in the 1980's, no one knew quite where the next serve and volley champion could possibly come from.

A week later, an American, Taylor Dent, provided the answer, albeit at the slightly less grand venue of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island. In the final leg of tennis's ridiculously short five-week grass court season, Dent served, volleyed and swept his way to the title, only staying back behind the baseline to commence each point.

Dent had been on the tips of American tongues ever since he was 16. He had the pedigree - his father was the 1974 Australian Open finalist Phil Dent, his mother was Betty Ann Grubb, a former US Open doubles finalist - and when he started out he was billed as the man to bridge the abyss that the retirements of Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier would surely leave.

At the US Open junior competition in 1997, agents and media flocked to see him play a spindly little teenager called Lleyton Hewitt.

An hour or so later, after trying and failing to punch holes through Hewitt with his serve and forehand from the back of the court, he lost 6-4, 6-1, and it was the Australian's signature everyone sought.

Aged 16, Hewitt went on to beat Agassi, win the US Open and Wimbledon crowns before his 22nd birthday, and become the youngest ever year-end World Number One in 2001.

Dent went back to the drawing board. On the advice of his father, he ditched his back-court strategy.

"In the juniors I was just a big hitter from the baseline," said the 22-year-old Dent. "I just used to stand back and rip forehands. I think in the back of my mind I always I wanted to be a serve-and-volleyer - I used to like Becker a lot, but it was really my Dad who convinced me. When I turned pro he told me that in order for me to be a top class player I would have to use my talents at the net. It's taken some time to get that under control but I'm making headway."

It didn't happen overnight.

It took more than four years for him to break into the top 100, and his results were striking mostly for their inconsistency. At Wimbledon in 2000 he overwhelmed Agassi for a set, taking it 6-2, before losing his timing and then his fitness, as a knee injury forced him to pull out in the fourth set.

A year later he met Hewitt again, and discovered just how far he had come. He broke the Wimbledon service speed record three times with deliveries of 140mph, 141mph, and 144mph in a pulsating five set battle, but the match was most memorable for the way in which Dent swarmed the net, and the Australian's screams of relief after finally finding a way through.

After making the third round last year, when he came out on the wrong side of a four tie-break serving duel with Wayne Arthurs, he beat James Blake in the final of Newport. This year, he defeated Mark Philippoussis, 2000 Wimbledon semi-finalist Vladimir Voltchkov and Andy Roddick to win the title in Memphis.

"It takes a lot more shots to be developed to play serve and volley," said Dent. "I'm not saying it's any harder or any easier, but you do have to learn a different part of the game. Historically, serve-and-volley players have taken a little bit more time to develop. I'm not worried. It's not really a sprint and I'm in it to be there at the end."

Whether he, Henman or one of the other small group of serve-and-volley specialists will produce on the biggest grass court stage of them all over the next fortnight, is another matter, but, with words that will comfort the purists, Dent has no doubts that it is possible.

"It definitely makes it tougher that the courts are slower and the balls are heavier. That's why fewer players are serving and volleying - guys return and pass so well these days. But, if Sampras was playing he would still have the best serve in the game and be top 5 in the world, no question. I think for sure that a serve and volleyer can win, otherwise I wouldn't doing it!"

previousnext