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"Serve-and-volley" – a phrase we don't hear much anymore these days. But if you are an old-timer like me, you'd probably remember it was rather popular with many tennis pros up until the early 80s, especially on fast, slick grass courts such as Wimbledon. The serve would hit the service box skidding low and fast, forcing the opponent to return the serve from compromised positions. As the phrase "serve-and-volley" suggests, the server would hit a serve, and immediately rush up to the net to try and hit a volley, in hopes of winning the point easily and quickly. Examples of pros who were big on serve-and-volley included Martina Navratilova, Stefan Edberg, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer, just to name a few. These top players have all won many Grand Slam titles while using this technique. As we stepped into the 2000s, serve-and-volley became less and less prevalent. By the same token, net-rushing has also declined dramatically among the pros. Nowadays, you will notice most points during a professional match are played and won from the baseline. Why, you may ask? First of all, before the early 70s, the one-handed backhand – favored by the majority of players – could rarely produce enough speed, spin, or precision to trouble a volleyer. But with the introduction of the two-handed backhand in the late 70s and early 80s, the quality of service returns and passing shots improved significantly, making it much harder for the serve-and-volleyer to win easy points at the net. Secondly, during the 80s, the old wood rackets with 65-inch hitting areas were replaced by graphite rackets with much larger head sizes. These more technologically-advanced rackets can produce much more powerful ground strokes with topspin to dip the ball right at the volleyer's feet, making serve-and-volley and net-rushing less conducive. In addition to the better rackets, the many choices of new strings also enable the serve-returner to generate more powerful returns and passing shots, making volleying at the net substantially more difficult than when facing an opponent with a wood racket. Despite the fact that "serve-and-volley" has been phasing out, I personally still believe it's a very powerful technique to have. Unfortunately, the only way to improve on it is practice, practice, practice. There's just no silver bullet! Stay safe and see you all at The Courts! Visit our website at https://sites.google.com/view/tennis- fourseasons/home. ~ Stan Lam, (714) 757-2141, slamcpa@gmail. com 56 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2021 Tennis Club Fishing Club Well, boys and girls, here we go again. March was a great month for fishing. The only problem is I hardly got to go fishing. My friends here at Four Seasons all got their shots for the virus. I am waiting for the J and J to become available. I did go fishing one day in March. I went to Lake Cahilla near La Quinta in the Coachella Valley. I went with Terry Miller. I got two bites and Terry caught a small catfish. We had a great time and I met some of my old friends from the valley there. I tried to get in touch with my rod builder friend, but no luck. I guess I will just have to go with the forty or so rods I have now. You can never have enough fishing equipment. Always go with at least three rods and reels when you go fishing. I learned that when one of my rods was pulled into the canal where I was fishing. I have been fishing for 65 years now. I have many fishing stories to tell. In my next few articles I will tell you about some of my fishing adventures. Tight lines to all my fishing friends and remember life is too short not to go fishing. ~ Richard Carrasco, ricarrasco52@gmail.com Richard's secret fishing hole Top: Roger Federer, Serve-and-Volley, Wimbledon 2015 Final Above L: Martina Navratilova, Net- Rushing Right: Pete Sampras, Serve-and-Volley

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