By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Seven-time Wimbledon winner Pete Sampras feared serve-and-volley tennis would be extinct after his retirement.
Maxime Cressy continues a rousing serve-and-volley revival.
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In his Wimbledon debut, Cressy stunned sixth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(9), 7-6(5) in a four hour, 10-minute Wimbledon opener on Tuesday.
Empowered by his run to the Eastbourne final last week, Cressy relentless attacked. The world No. 45 won 95 of 134 trips to net (71 percent) attacking net 101 times more than the 2021 Wimbledon quarterfinalist.
Afterward, Auger-Aliassime put the 6’7″ Cressy’s serve in the same dangerous category as John Isner, Milos Raonic and Reilly Opelka, Auger-Aliassime, US Open semifinalist last summer, said the American has Top 20 potential.
“I knew it was coming, but the quality of the serve was impressive, I have to say. I mean, I have played the likes of, you know, John Isner, Milos, Opelka, but he’s with these guys,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You know, he’s definitely with these guys.
“So if he keeps that going, I mean, I see this guy being, even on hard courts, he’s going to be tough to play. Clay could be different, but, you know, but I see him, yeah, being like those guys, being able to be in the top 20 and more. We’ll see. He has really high qualities, better than his ranking today. Yeah, we will see how it goes for him.”
Cressy will try to keep it going against American qualifier Jack Sock, a two-time Wimbledon doubles champion, in round two.
Auger-Aliassime credited Cressy’s courage on key points as pivotal to victory in his maiden Wimbledon appearance.
“Today, you know, was not just a serve and volley. His serve was amazing,” Auger-Aliassime said. “He took his chances when he needed to in important points. He was courageous, more than me, so he’s deserving.”
Photo credit: Getty
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