Taylor Townsend was relentless. Deep in the third set, the 24-year-old American just kept coming and coming, repeatedly rushing the net against the Wimbledon champion and former No. 1, Simona Halep.
Townsend served-and-volleyed, she chipped-and-charged. On virtually every point, she smothered the net.
When was the last time you saw that?
Halep looked like she didn’t know what to make of an opponent who was up in her grill, devouring real estate on Ashe.
"Never, never. I never played someone coming so often to the net," said a befuddled Halep after her defeat.
It was a thrilling display of derring-do. Townsend forced the issue every chance she had. She turned the match into a shootout.
If it seems like there is a resurgence of interest in coming to net, Townsend is Exhibit A.
On match point, Townsend again sprinted forward and knifed an angled forehand volley deep into the corner. Halep could manage but a feeble backhand into the net, where Townsend was camped and raising her arms to celebrate. It was Townsend's 106th approach to the net.
The old-school tactics were refreshing. Although the American's performance was an extreme example of net dominance, it wasn't entirely a one-off.
Across the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, on both the men's and women's tours, net play has reared its formerly moribund head. Sure, the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams have long used net approaches to capitalize on penetrating groundies that put their opponents out of position. And as they age gracefully into their mid-30s and beyond, they are employing the tactic more frequently to avoid some of the wear and tear of wearying baseline rallies.
But it's not just the senior generation. Younger players like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov, Ashleigh Barty and Caty McNally—the 18-year-old who put up a stiff challenge to Serena Williams, precisely because she aggressively attacked the net—have all gone delightfully retro. Even 15-year-old Coco Gauff has shown a taste for coming in and knocking off tough, angled volleys.
"I think it's the right way to play, especially taking time away from your opponent," said McNally. "It's huge. Not everyone is just going to stay at the baseline and smack balls. I'm trying to get into the net, end points at the net and take away time from my opponents."
"It was definitely something to get used to," said Serena Williams, of facing McNally. "You don't play players like her that have such full games."
"Charging the net is starting to make a comeback," Billie Jean King, one of the greatest serve-and-volleyers in history, told usopen.org. "It adds a different dimension to the game and is much more fun for fans."
The 23-year-old Barty, the second seed who won the title at Roland Garros this year but is perhaps most comfortable on fast courts, is an excellent volleyer. Though only 5-foot-5, Barty uses her skidding backhand slice to come in, chipping-and-charging like her Aussie forebears.
Barty declared herself a fan of how Townsend played against Halep: "The way she smothered the net and was able to control the ball to where Simona had to pass and where she was a little bit handcuffed was really impressive."
The Greek Tsitsipas, 20, has a flowing, athletic all-court game. Though he dropped his opening match to Andrey Rublev, the No. 8 seed was at his best when he was crowding the net, rather than trading pounding groundstrokes with the Russian. Tsitsipas went to net 48 times, winning 33 of those points (a very healthy 69 percent). Tsitsipas seems intent on continuing a net-centric style of play; spotted in his player box at the US Open was Leander Paes, the doubles specialist and magnificent volleyer.
The lefty Shapovalov is, like Tsitsipas, a flashy, exciting player who's also fond of coming forward. He doesn't serve and volley often, but like Nadal, the young Canadian seizes the opportunity once he has put his opponent on the defensive with heavy groundstrokes. He then glides to net to put away winners.
A couple of years ago at the US Open, Federer raised eyebrows with a kamikaze-like "SABR" tactic, half-volleying the service return and rushing to net behind it. Nick Kyrgios, master of the trick shot, occasionally does his own version.
Yet for most of the last two decades, volleying has seemed nearly as foreign and archaic in the modern tennis vernacular as Middle English would be in hip-hop.
But look around. The metronomic, bludgeoning baseline game has subtly given way to greater variety. A growing crop of players at least no longer seem allergic, or afraid, of coming to net.
If it's a growing trend in the pro ranks, it's far from a threat to the dominant form of baseline play, of course.
All the reasons given for the demise of volleying—modern racquets and strings, court speed, heavy topspin passing shots—still make it unlikely that a majority of players will make net play a consistent part of their games.
Townsend likes the variety that net rushing adds to tennis. "It gives something different, something that people can look forward to that is not just going to be the same kind of thing," she said.
Townsend kept doing her thing in her third-round match against Sorana Cirstea of Romania on Saturday, winning decisively, 7-5, 6-2. The American charged the net on first and second balls, and if anything, volleyed even better than she did against Halep. Townsend won 47 of 65 net approaches, and 53 of those points were serve-and-volley.
A player crowding the net heightens tension and makes each point a more immediate duel. The baseliner has to come up with a passing shot or force the error. The volleyer must stick the volley or become a sitting duck. No middling rally shot will suffice.
Net play demands superb hands, great feel and lightning-quick reflexes. It's all about quick movements and snap decisions. It feels daring and fearless. And occasionally reckless.
Here's to seeing more of it.
