The serve and volley?
The best defense against a good serve and volleyer (S&V) is a good offense, right at the beginning of a match. Many S&V players will abandon their game abruptly if early percentages are not in their favor. Still, assuming a relentless S&V attack, unpredictability is the returner’s biggest asset. Whereas balance and patterns are the S&V staple, the returner must vary crosscourt slices, power down the lines, drives at the feet, and high looping returns to the backhand overhead. Lobs at the beginning of a match serve the same purpose as body punches in the early rounds of a prizefight. They fatigue a player quickly and may slow his approach to the net, opening up room for crosscourt returns and passes. Often though, lob returns are better utilized late in a match when fatigue has already set in and the serve has slowed down a bit.