Roger Federer must go back to serve and volley game, says John Newcombe 'These days, when he serves and volleys, he doesn't come to the net like he really means it' says tennis legend John Newcombe. Tennis great John Newcombe says he would like to see former world No.1 Roger Federer regain the willingness to regularly serve and volley. He hopes Federer's decision to hire Stefan Edberg, one of the sport's greatest practitioners of that craft, to temporarily join his coaching team helps in this area. "I suspect and I hope that he has enlisted Edberg to work on his serve and volley game," Newcombe said. It sounds a bit funny for someone as great as Roger, but if you go back when Roger won his first Wimbledon, he served and volleyed on every point. Then he became No.1, and he was able to win from the back of the court for years and not come in that much. He has lost the art that he had. He was a very good serve and volley player early on. He has kind of lost that art because he just hasn't been doing it. These days, when he serves and volleys, he doesn't come to the net like he really means it. It's like he is doubtful about whether he should. Edberg, a six-time grand slam champion, would rush the net at every opportunity. Federer, now ranked sixth in the world and having just endured his first season without a grand slam final appearance since 2002, has said he will consult with Edberg on serve and volleying and finding other ways to get to the net. "If you see old shots of Edberg when he served and volleyed, he came into the net like he was in an Olympic race," Newcombe said. I will be interested to see if Roger does that and if he changes the way he is doing his approach shots. The whole net game - if Roger wants to stay competitive with those younger guys, he can't hang around the baseline. It's going to be too hard for him. Newcombe said Federer still had the leg speed to attack the net and prepare in time for a powerful return. "At 32, as long as you are not carrying injuries, your body is able to compete, no problem at all," he said. What gets to you after 30 is the mental side, the desire to actually want to do it. As long as that's there, and you don't mind the travel, and putting in the hard yards and the practising and all that goes with it, there is no reason why you can't do it.