How to Improve Tennis

Kevin Drum is in danger of becoming a lapsed tennis-fan. In particular he laments the elimination of the serve-and-volley style of play:

[…] I find myself following tennis less and less every year. Why? Because it’s gotten boring. Sure, today’s players are phenomenal athletes, covering the court like gazelles and routinely hitting breathtaking shots. But every match is the same, what I’ve come to think of as “thug tennis”: huge topspin forehands, booming two-handed backhands, and endless baseline rallies. The power and shotmaking are mesmerizing at times, but in the end, I can hardly tell the players apart these days.

[…] I know the current state of the game has lots of fans, but aside from an intellectual admiration I just can’t work up a lot of enthusiasm these days. In the end, new racket technology and the coaching that went along with it have finally conspired to spoil the game for me.