Modern-day tennis is increasingly becoming a baseline slugfest with players astounding the world with their physical strength but Nenand Zimonjic, one of the most formidable doubles players, says it can sometimes be boring to watch two players just hitting from the back.
Top current tennis greats such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have redefined the capabilities of the human body, having dished out innumerable marathon contests in their glorious careers.
Zimonjic, the winner of eight Grand Slam doubles titles, says all styles of the game have their own significance but rues that the conditions now do not allow players to adopt the serve and volley style.
"It's always nice when you see opposite styles, like (Andre) Agassi and (Pete) Sampras. (Pat) Rafter playing against some baseliner. But now balls are little slower, strings have improved which give you opportunity to hit the ball heavy and harder," Zimonjic told PTI in an exclusive chat.
"It's tough to play serve and volley but not impossible. Nobody plays this style anymore. For sure, it can be boring two guys playing from the back of the court, hitting the ball as hard as they can," Zimonjic, one of the most successful players from Serbia having won 52 ATP titles, said.
Asked if it was possible to dominate the game with serve and volley style, Zimonjic said that a player's game has to have all ingredients.
"You have to be complete player, what (Stephen) Edburg was, what (Boris) Becker was. You can mix it up. You can volley, if conditions are fast stay back.
"I think, definitely lot more points could finish on the net but the guys are comfortable hitting big ground strokes and going for the winners. This is the way it has been."
The 38-year-old has played with India's biggest tennis stars like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, and he fondly remembered his playing days with them.
