What’s so important about a first serve anyway?
What’s so important about a first service? Everything. As the game of tennis has become more fast paced the serve, especially the first one, has grown without question. A strong first serve means not having to get into long volley matches that wear you down.
That is why Sampras dominated on Centre Court. 
He would blast the ball over the net at such a blistering speed that his opponent’s couldn’t keep up. He struggled when his serve was off and he got mired in long matches.
The same theory holds true for the current number One, Swiss Bomber Roger Federer. Federer’s serve is in my opinion more deadly than Pete’s and for good reason. He first serve clocks in at 125 MPH. And he’s able to back that up with a smooth volley game.
Of course a powerful service game cannot be your only strength. In fact, it can also be mediocre. While no one would say Andre Agassi’s serves were weak, but it wasn’t his strong suit. The backbone of his game was his ability to control the game AFTER the serve. He was a statistical anomaly. The man relied on outlasting his opponent AND he kept on playing. When any other player his age would hang up the tennis shoes Agassi was still backhanding his way into tournaments. Agassi alone almost debunks my whole theory.
Kudos, to you Mr. Agassi. And even though you just hit her in the face with your racket I’m sure you and Steffi Graf will move past this accident and have a good career playing doubles on the Married Circuit.
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