Sampras laments the end of an era

Picture John McEnroe, slightly stooped, almost crouching standing side on to the service line.

His tennis racket is held loosely in his left hand with his arm locked straight. Menacingly he rocks very slightly, forwards and backwards as he brings the ball in his right hand down to meet the butt of his racket.

A few more rocks, a knee bend, a ball toss and he springs up and forward propelling the racket through the air sending the ball fizzing into the corner of the service box.

He is little more than a metre from the net as the serve is returned and arrogantly punches a volley into the empty court or caresses it back to stop dead inches from the net for a winner.

It doesn't have to be John McEnroe. Pick Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Arthur Ashe, Boris Becker or Pete Sampras, all exponents of serve-and-volley tennis - one of the most exciting styles in which to play the sport.

But according to Sampras, who employed the style to win seven Wimbledon crowns among his record haul of 13 grand slam titles, serve-and-volley tennis is dying and will be extinct in a matter of years.

"People are not playing that way anymore. I would be surprised if there is anyone playing like that in a couple of years," the American said.

CONTRASTING STYLES

The art, and the era of contrasting styles, will certainly become extinct over the next decade, Sampras says.

"There is no cure," he said. "It's just the nature of where the sport is going.

"Guys are just serving big and cracking the ball big from the back court. There are not too many serve-and-volleyers."

And Sampras says it is not much use fighting against such a pervasive trend.

"I just think, let it be. I think it comes down to the type of athlete you are, what you want to play as a kid, who is teaching you. It's definitely much easier to play the game from the baseline ... to serve and volley takes a little bit more time to develop.

"A lot of young guys breaking through the game are coming from overseas, Europe, and primarily the Challenger circuits are on clay so all these guys are playing from the baseline. You don't see too many grass court challengers."

Tennis, he says, will be the loser. "The best tennis is seeing two contrasting styles."