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        MASON — The myth is that men's tennis is a bang-bang bore, that big servers have silenced the subtleties of the sport. Today's players listen and laugh.

        “It's funny to hear people say that,” said Taylor Dent, a big-serving American. “I don't bother even correcting people anymore. I'm probably the only young guy under 26 that actually serves and volleys.”

        Predictions in the mid-1990s that the game would degenerate into a serving contest never materialized. And the emphasis in playing style has swung back to the baseline.

        A new breed of player with powerful ground strokes — led by top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt — now dominates. Of the top 35 players in the rankings, only two play a serve-and-volley style: No. 4 Tim Henman and No. 16 Pete Sampras.

        In the 1996 year-end rankings, such players represented half of the top 16: No. 1 Sampras, No. 4 Goran Ivanisevic, No. 6 Boris Becker, No. 7 Richard Krajicek, No. 12 Todd Martin, No. 14 Stefan Edberg, No. 15 Jan Siemerink and No. 16 Michael Stich.

        Of the current climate, Andre Agassi said, “I think it just shows you how much more to the game there is than just the serve.”

        Several players this week said the big-server-vs.-baseliner trend is cyclical. Facts back that up.

        In 1991, when then-No. 2 Jim Courier led a charge of baseliners, the total aces by the top 10 in that category numbered 5,003. The average match time was 103.6 minutes, and there were 3,187 total service breaks in the Tennis Master Series events.

        In '96, big servers had swung those totals wildly: a high of 7,912 aces by the top 10, a low of 93.1 minutes per match and 2,781 service breaks. But by 2001, baseliners had swung them back: 6,399 aces, 101.8 minutes and 3,071 breaks.

        “There's an age-old theory that the servers typically make progress first and get to a certain level,” Martin said, “and slowly but surely the returners catch up, learn how to return those guys better, and then that process starts again.”

        Hulking heavy hitters have given way to little guys. Five of the world's top 11 players are shorter than 6 feet: No. 1 Hewitt (5-10), No. 6 Agassi (5-11), No. 7 Albert Costa (5-11), No. 10 Sebastien Grosjean (5-9) and No. 11 Thomas Johansson (5-11). The Grand Slams this year have been won by Johansson, Costa and Hewitt.

        Advances in racket technology seem to help returners more than servers. J. Wayne Richmond, the ATP's executive vice president of the Americas, recalls a serving experiment a couple of years ago in which Luke Jensen used a wooden racket and served 125 mph, matching his lifetime best.

        “Krajicek, who was supposed to do that experiment, said the new rackets help him return but don't help his serving,” Richmond said.

        The ATP Tour has slowed some of its indoor courts considerably and, to a lesser degree, some outdoor hard courts. That helps baseliners. On hard courts, the amount of sand mixed into the paint, or how many coats of paint are used, can vary the speed.

        Richmond said indoor surfaces used to be too fast and that the ATP Tour tries only to keep its hard courts consistent, especially in relation to the U.S. Open surface. Most players have expressed happiness with the “medium speed” of the courts here, though big servers understandably oppose further slowing.

        “I think we have to be careful that the balance doesn't swing too much the other way, that all the courts become very, very slow and it really limits the style of play that you can effectively play,” Henman said.

        Wimbledon's grass is usually the sport's fastest surface, so results this year were indicative of the change in playing style. The final was the first between baseliners (Hewitt and David Nalbandian) since 1978.

        Then there's the ball. Though different brands are used at different times on tour, some players contend balls have been doctored to reduce the likelihood of quick points.

        “The ball's a little softer, maybe a little heavier, a thicker nap,” Martin said. “I disagree with the method profusely. You can do something to the court to make conditions most fair to everybody without endangering the players' health. The difference in the weight of the ball affects the amount of stress the arm absorbs.”

        Richmond said no dramatic changes have been made to balls.

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