Slideshow: The Heirs to Stefan Edberg's Throne

I subscribe to several YouTube channels, which cover tennis.

Jsnap2 features Pete Sampras highlights, neibaf3 primarily involves past Roland Garros exploits, and LleytonHewittTV speaks for itself.

The one I've watched the most lately would probably be ysdwdy, who offers videos from Stefan Edberg's prime.

I watch ysdwdy's videos the most because they are the most different from today's game.

Edberg, along with John McEnroe, is the most effective pure serve-and-volley player of the last 30 years.

When I say "pure S&V," I mean that as opposed to players like Boris Becker and Pete Sampras, whose volleys weren't quite as good, but possessed bigger serves and harder ground strokes.

Volleys were central to the the pure S&V game, especially to Edberg, who lacked McEnroe's lefty Gordian Knot of a service delivery.

For Edberg, the serve, the groundstrokes, and his swift, agile movements were all primarily designed to get him to net, where he shined brightest.

The same cannot be said for the top 100 players today, most of whom come to net to put away easy volleys set up by their big forehands.

The pure S&Vs like Edberg, Patrick Rafter, and Tim Henman, all of whom were great volleyers, have since retired. In fact, so have most of the those who were "merely" really good at net, like Sampras, Becker, and Richard Krajicek.

Let's take a look at some of the best volleyers left in the men's top 100, in no particular order.

Fabrice Santoro

Current ranking: 52

Age: 36

Twenty years after turning pro, the wily Frenchman still has many charms: His joyous on-court demeanor, his two-fisted forehand and backhand, and his net-charging strategy.

On the ATP tour, Santoro is widely regarded as one of the players with the best touch and feel, particularly around the net.

His volleys are hurt somewhat by his relatively limited reach, though—he's 5'10", and putting two hands on volleys doesn't really help.

He remains a fan favorite, however, and has greatly frustrated many a top player through his relentless attack.

Ivo Karlovic

Current ranking: 26

Age: 30

Don't laugh; at 6'10", the most towering of Croatia's big servers has good technique at net and positively monumental reach.

Along with the other of the Two Towers, John Isner, Karlovic regularly follows his booming serve into net, making him one of the last to actually attempt serve-and-volley tennis.

His trouble is, of course, his movement, plus his difficulty in even getting returns back in play, much less charging the net behind him.

However, his presence in the game helps disprove the notion that net-rushing is dead art, though it's doubtful that will make fans like him more.

Radek Stepanek

Current ranking: 19

Age: 30

Though he's getting up there in age (at least in tennis years) Stepanek has had a strong season thus far, winning two events.

Known for his unconventional style of play and even stranger style of celebration, Stepanek loves to come to net, especially after a drop shot.

His best Grand Slam event is a quarterfinal at Wimbledon three years ago.

It's therefore safe to say he'll not be a threat to win one, but will remain a dangerous floater no high seed wants to face.

In his career he has beaten Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and his straight set win over Gilles Simon in Davis Cup probably set back the Frenchman's plans of ascension in 2009 considerably.

Roger Federer

Current ranking: 2

Age: 27

Among the plaudits that have been heaped upon the man from Basel, there's at least one more to add: He combines crisp volleys with heavy topspin forehands better than anyone who has ever played the game.

Despite his semi-Western grip, Federer arguably volleys as well as anyone in the top 100, thanks to his ability to react quickly and his superb eye.

His volleys are very good, and he's the only active player who looks as smooth on court as Edberg did; that's probably not a coincidence.

He long ago jettisoned the serve-and-volley approach, or even making net-rushing central to his game, but his ability to come to net and knock off a winner is one of the things that separates him from a generation rife with power baseliners.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Current ranking: 11

Age: Turns 25 on April 17

I don't list him after Federer because I think his volleys are better (it's debatable), but because I think his results say the most about the state of volleying in general.

Both are fast, but Tsonga does not defend as well as the Swiss. Both have big forehands, but Tsonga's is flatter and has a lower margin for error.

Therefore, attacking the net is more central to his game, and his rate of success in future majors will illustrate how important volleys will be in 21st century tennis.

Plus, in case you hadn't noticed, he's by far the youngest on this list.

At his best, he reminds me most of a young Becker: His touch around the net, plus his booming serve and forehand, were all key to his demolition of Rafael Nadal at the 2008 Australian Open.

If he wins a major one day, volleys will be critical again.

Conclusion

Could an Edberg-like player, with a good (not great) serve, good (but not overpowering) groundstrokes, outstanding movement, and world-class volleys have that level of success today?

My guess is no, at least not quite so much.

Courts play slower now, giving players with great groundstrokes just that much more time to execute a passing shot.

I do believe, however, an Edberg-like player could win at least one major: In the 90s, players like Thomas Muster and Michael Chang were great at hitting passing shots, yet had poor records against Edberg.

Why? Because it's one thing to hit a brilliant pass against a player with a topspin approach shot who may not know how to react inside the service boxes; it's quite another to hit it against a flat or slice approach and a player who smothers the net.

There are so many reasons to celebrate the game we're watching now, but every now and then I tune into ysdwdy's channel and get nostalgic.

A crisp volley is beautiful thing.

PS: Other great volleyers active today include just about anyone near the top of the doubles circuit (the Bryan Brothers and Leader Paes come to mind).

Then there are Dr. Ivo's fellow Croatians Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic.

Finally, there's the American contingent of Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent and John Isner, of whom the latter two will hopefully be returning to the top 100 soon.