Hey Will, why does that advertisement come up every time I start the video?
Federer
The idea with volleying is cutting on time and relying on that effect to outplay your opponent. A good shot hit with top spin will grab and kick; if you look at clay you will see it and on most hard courts, the sand mixture of the acrylic will allow a quite noticable effect. However, what happens when you are playing at Flushing Meadows or on a very fast grass court is that the ball instead of grabbing starts sliding onto the surface upon contact; the faster the court, the lesser pace you need to get this effect.
With a slice shot – where you put backspin – the ball stay relativly low because of that: the spin makes it harder for the ball to catch on the surface, therefore, it slides.
A volley is basically a slice shot hit in the air as near as possible to the net and the idea is to make sure your volley is firm enough whiel staying relativly low to limit your opponent’s time and also to force him to lift it in case he gets to it.
This is why your swing path must force the volley forward and down; you need it to push it with backspin.
wg
where did the video go? can only find the text currently.
Sarang
I am experiencing the same, since a week, it holds true for all videos