LONDON — The yellowing obituaries are looking premature as serve-and-volley tennis creeps, with a few tweaks, toward a renaissance of sorts.
A number of top men are leading the charge and, in a curious twist, the same blend of technology and lung-busting fitness blamed for all-but killing off this style of play is behind its resurgence.
As players hit harder shots, miss fewer balls and run for hour upon hour, competitors need a ploy to shorten points.
Introducing... the serve-and-volley.
It is an old-school move which, used selectively, might just become the newest potent weapon in the armory of modern players.