MELBOURNE, Australia -- Pat Rafter belongs to that
increasingly rare species in men's tennis -- a serve-and-volleyer.
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ANDRE AGASSI (USA)
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Seed: Sixth
Age: 30
Lives: Las Vegas
Plays: Right-handed, double-handed backhand
Grand Slam titles: Six (Australian Open 1995, 2000, French Open
1999, Wimbledon 1992, U.S. Open 1994, 1999)
Record at Australian Open: 2000-Champion, 1999-Fourth round,
1998-Fourth round, 1996-Semifinals, 1995-Champion
Route to semifinal:
1st round: beat Jiri Vanek (Czech Republic) 6-0, 7-5, 6-3
2nd round: beat Paul Goldstein (U.S.) 6-1, 6-3, 6-1
3rd round: beat David Prinosil (Germany) 7-6, 5-0 retired
4th round: beat Andrew Ilie (Australia) 6-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3
Quarterfinals: beat Todd Martin (U.S.) 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
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"The guy serves and volleys every time," said Andre Agassi,
the defending Australian Open Champion and a baseline prowler.
"You know he's going to do it, and he still is an athlete enough to
pull it off."
The two put their contrasting styles on display Thursday night
in the semifinals. In the other semifinal will be two Frenchmen --
Arnaud Clement and Sebastien Grosjean. The last Frenchman to play
in the Australian Open final was Jean Borotra, who won in 1928.
In the quarterfinals Wednesday, Grosjean beat Carlos Moya and
Clement downed Kafelnikov.
"We know each other's game so well, there'll be no tactics,
maybe just a lot of bluff," Clement said. "But if he played as
well as he did against Moya, he's the guy going into the final."
A generation ago, the serve-and-volley game was the textbook way
to win. Rod Laver, Stan Smith and others followed the classic
formula of serving and scampering to the net for the volley
putaway. Nowadays, many top players -- with the notable exception of
Pete Sampras, a winner of 13 Grand Slam titles -- tend to stay back.
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PATRICK RAFTER (AUS)
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Seed: Twelfth
Age: 28
Lives: Bermuda
Plays: Right-handed
Grand Slam titles: Two (U.S. Open 1997, 1998)
Record at Australian Open: 1999-Third round, 1998-Third round,
1997-First round, 1996-Second round, 1995-Fourth round,
1994-Third round, 1993-First round, 1992-First round
Route to semifinal:
1st round: beat Scott Draper (Australia) 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
2nd round: beat Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6
3rd round: beat Michel Kratochvil (Switzerland) 6-4, 6-1, 7-5
4th round: beat 8-Tim Henman (Britain) 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
Quarterfinals: beat 14-Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, 6-0
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It helped long ago, of course, that Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and
the Australian Open were played on grass -- a fast, skidding surface
suited to net rushers. The clay courts at the French Open have
always been a baseliner's delight.
The U.S. Open gave up on grass in 1974 and switched to hard
courts and the Australian followed suit in 1988. Now there are only
five men's grass court tournaments: Wimbledon, Queens and
Nottingham in Britain, Halle in Germany and Newport in Rhode
Island.
"I guess the loss of grass around the world doesn't help,"
Rafter said. "My heroes were Pat Cash and (Stefan) Edberg growing
up, and (Boris) Becker, and I loved the way they played. (John)
McEnroe coming to the net. That's the way I wanted to play."
Today, on slower courts, baseliners can flummox
serve-and-volleyers with laser-sharp returns. Agassi, winner of six
Grand Slams, sets the standard.
Todd Martin, who lost to Agassi in the quarterfinals in
Melbourne, said players today can win from the backcourt because
they are better athletes.
"More and more, we have guys who hit the ball just remarkably
well. A lot of that has to do with their movement," said Martin,
who regrets the decline of the classic serve-and-volley.
"But maybe, you know, some of the guys who hit the ball so well
from the backcourt will develop into people who can approach the
net and do a little bit more in the frontcourt," he said.
Rafter is not entirely alone. Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman, and to
some extent Mark Philippoussis, are also prominent
serve-and-volleyers.
But five of the eight quarterfinalists in Melbourne were
baseliners -- Agassi, Grosjean, Clement, Kafelnikov and Hrbaty.
Spain won the Davis Cup last year, and a joke in tennis circles
holds that Spanish players go to net only to shake hands at the end
of a match.
Marat Safin, the No. 2 seed who was knocked out by Hrbaty in the
fourth round, is a big server who also stays back. He trained as a
teen-ager in Spain.
Role models like Agassi often influence styles of play. So the
serve-and-volleyer could have his day again.
"Who's to say a great serve-and-volleyer won't come along in
the near future and start winning everything?" said Graeme Agars,
a vice president of the ATP. "That will inspire coaches to start
teaching the same way."
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