Lendl and McEnroe A Precursor of Federer and Nadal

The hunter has become the hunted. Rafael Nadal has officially claimed the number one ranking in tennis, displacing Roger Federer who had claimed squatter's rights. Now Nadal goes into the U.S. Open as the favorite and the talk is of how Federer has to change his game, but can he? Can he charge the net against the best topspin passing shots in history? There is a parallel to the last generation but with a twist. John McEnroe, a consummate net player, was number one and pursued by Ivan Lendl, the Czech baseliner. McEnroe had already frustrated the best baseliner in history to that point, Bjorn Borg, into premature retirement. For several years, McEnroe dominated Lendl in their head-to-head matches; McEnroe's clever approach shots and precise angled volleys were usually one jump ahead of Lendl's magnificent ground strokes. So Lendl retooled his game. He improved his already potent serve and more importantly, he added a volley. Now Lendl at the net never looked much more comfortable than Rodney Dangerfield in a suit but the key was getting to the net before McEnroe did, thereby depriving the American of his best weapon. From that point on, Lendl dominated McEnroe. The challenge for Federer is that Nadal wants no part of the net. Federer will not come in to keep Nadal from doing it first, but he still really has no other choice.

The Amazing Disappearing Volley in Tennis

While the Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal provided great drama and shot-making, it was also probably the first time a grass court finalist won without volleying to any extent. Nadal treated the net like a contagious disease in quarantine. Bjorn Borg was almost exclusively a base line player but when he won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles, he goaded himself into approaching the net despite being uncomfortable doing so. Nadal exhibited no such compunction. Future generations of tennis players may require the equivalent of the Rosetta stone to explain what the volley was and why anyone used it.