A view of evolution of tennis

By Motez Robinson, Jr. Sports Central Columnist

I have been involved in tennis as a player and instructor for nearly 30 years and have seen and experienced the changes that have occurred in the game. Over the last 30 years, the game has basically retreated from net play to baseline play.

In the '60s and '70s, players like Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, and John Newcombe (just to name a few) were net rushers who hit flat strokes with little topspin, used the slice backhand effectively (and very often), and hit big serves. Indeed, many of today's stars hit serves with tremendous pace, but Ashe and his contemporaries not only served hard, they employed with equal effectiveness the slice, flat, and twist (topspin) serves.

Since most tournaments were played on either grass or some other fast surface, players in this era used classic grips on the forehand and backhand side. Two-handed backhands were as rare as Ashe hitting a lob. Most players used the classic Eastern grip (shake hands grip) on the forehand and the continental (like gripping a hammer) or Australian grip on the backhand. Only a few players of this time used the Western forehand grip (palm of the hand against the bottom plane of the handle), now popular on both the men and women's circuit.

Bjorn Borg and Harold Solomon were among the most famous players in the '70s to use the Western grip, which produced a heavy topspin shot, but it was not as penetrating as shots hit with the classic Eastern grip. Hence, Borg and Solomon had success on clay and carpet surfaces, but did little on faster surfaces such as grass. (Note: Borg would soon make major alterations in his strokes to win a record five straight Wimbledon titles.)

Another reason that the Eastern forehand was popular with most players was because it was only a slight turn away, to the left (for right-handers), to the Continental grip, the most popular grip used to volley with. This one grip suffices for both forehand and backhand volleys.

In addition, players could hit easily hit a slice forehand approach with the Eastern or could switch to the Continental before hitting the shot and was therefore ready to volley. Contact was usually made at or below waist level with these grips.

In the late '70s and through the mid-'80s, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, and Jana Novotna were among the players who found great success, especially on grass, using the Continental type grips. And although these players could produce winners from the baseline off the forehand wing, the stroke was mainly used as an aggressive setup shot, as was the slice backhand, which skidded and stayed low.

The Eastern grip forehand was and still remains the easiest to learn because the racquet head follows a simple path to the ball. There is also less stress placed on the arm and torso because of the forward weight transfer.

Beginning in the mid-'70s, court surfaces began changing, being slowed down, and producing higher bounces. Racquet technology began to explode with new, lighter, and stronger materials, larger and stiffer racquet frames with larger hitting surfaces that greatly increased the power with which players could strike the ball.

The Borg/McEnroe/Connors rivalries beginning in the early '80s gave men's tennis an intriguing contrast in playing styles, temperament, and some of the most memorable tennis matches to ever to be played. Who will ever forget the Borg-McEnroe epic five-setter at Wimbledon in '81?

By the mid-'80s, wood racquets were just about obsolete. The women's game picked up some with the emergence of Navratilova's big serve and volley game, the arrival of Steffi Graf and her laser forehand, and Monica Seles' penetrable grunts and punishing ground strokes. But the men's game would get the biggest shot in the arm as bigger, stronger, faster athletes entered the courts -- as Arthur Ashe had so insightfully predicted years earlier. And these players would get even bigger, stronger, and faster, and revolutionize the game of tennis.

Grips styles changed radically, as well. More and more players were hitting two-handed backhands and powerful Western grip, open stance forehands. This made hitting high-bouncing balls easier to hit with topspin and pace. Players were now making contact with the ball closer to chest and shoulder level, and hitting outright winners. It was vogue to run around the backhand, just for the opportunity to unleash a bow-low forehand. The serve took on a different role, too -- to solicit a short reply, setting up the forehand -- not the volley.

There seemed to be no accident that the emergence of the Western style forehand coincided with the arrival of slower court surfaces and the demise of wood racquets. Players such as Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, and Stefan Edberg dominated play in the late '80s. Becker and Edberg played the most memorable Wimbledon finals of this time. With the exception of Edberg, the only true serve-volley player of that time, all the players mentioned above relied on powerful Western grip forehands to dominate baseline rallies.

The difference, though, was that players at that time began to flatten out their strokes more, striking the ball earlier off the bounce, run around the backhand at every opportunity to hit a forehand, and hit more penetrable shots from the baseline. Ivan Lendl led this new movement, and thus the genesis of the power baseline game in tennis.

In the 1990s, racquets and court surfaces continued to evolve and even more players were camping out at the baseline. Lendl, Edberg, and Becker continued their success in the majors in the early part of the decade, and were joined by an outstanding group of American players such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, and Michael Chang.

A supporting cast of European and South American players, once known as moon-ballers and clay court pushers, also joined these stars -- players like Sergi Bruguera and Carlos Moya of Spain, Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, Thomas Muster of Austria, and Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, who enjoyed immense success on the soft dirt of Roland Garros. All were big hitters from the baseline. However, Krajicek and Ivanisevic, tall enough to start in the NBA, would serve their way to a Wimbledon titles.

An extra element was added to the forehand stroke during this period as players were launching themselves into the shot. What was once an over the shoulder follow-through turned into a wrap around at the end of the stroke. Players now whip the racquet head through the strike zone with the wrist and forearm with tremendous speed.

Sampras' forehand, a much feared weapon on the tour, would remain somewhat classic with a semi-Western grip (closer to the classic Eastern), not a lot of topspin, and possess a more classic follow-through. He dominated men's tennis in the mid- and late 1990s, but surprisingly his all-court attacking style was not emulated ... until Roger Federer arrived.

Also arriving in the new millennia was yet another crop of baseliners lead by Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, Argentinaâ?Ts David Nalbandian, and Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero. These player didn't exactly follow the progression of bigger, stronger, faster; but, what they do bring to the game is exceptional speed, anticipation, and quickness along with the ability to hit winners from anywhere on the court. This dominance of baseline play has actually prolonged the career of Andre Agassi. Which brings me back to Federer.

He is a player of all surfaces whose brilliance and versatility is of that not seen on this planet in many years. Federer's game is also welcomed because it proves that the serve-volley game can still win in today's power-based game. This also why we see Andy Roddick employing this tactic more and more.

Even with his ability to hit winners off the forehand and backhand sides -- almost at will it seems -- to serve players off the court with deception and bulls-eye accuracy, and volley deftly, Federer is kind of throwback: he's 6-1 and slender, the classic build for tennis; he effectively mixes different spins and paces to confuse his opponents; and he is quick and moves exceptionally well.

With all the tools necessary to rewrite the tennis history books, it is Federer's ability to shift gears from a defensive mode to an offensive mode in the blink of an eye that ultimately makes him so tough to beat. This is what he brings to the table that the others players cannot.

Many predict that Federer will be the first male to complete the Grand Slam -- win all four major tournaments in the same calendar year -- since Rod Laver completed the task for the second time in 1969. He has proven that he has the consistency to win from the backcourt, the ability to play a forcing game and win at net. Hence, all eyes will be on Federer starting at the next Slam, the French Open. Federer will have to maintain his composure, though, through what will be some grueling fortnights to the Grand Slam.

We have seen that tennis changes with the times. But where will the game go next? Will it follow Federer's lead back to the net game? Will the next crop of champions be nearly seven-feet tall with nearly unreturnable serves? Or will the unthinkable happen and tennis' governing powers decide to revive wood racquets or downsize the large, powerful racquets currently used on the circuit? We will have to wait and see. One thing we know for sure, though: Wimbledon will be played on grass.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.