Rafael Nadal isn’t playing up to his usual standards on clay, and that could be enough to make Sunday’s French Open final against Novak Djokovic very competitive. Here are the stats behind that claim: Nadal has played 7 percent below his normal clay level this year. Djokovic, his chief rival for tennis supremacy and his opponent […]
Rafael Nadal isn’t playing up to his usual standards on clay, and that could be enough to make Sunday’s French Open final against Novak Djokovic very competitive. Here are the stats behind that claim: Nadal has played 7 percent below his normal clay level this year. Djokovic, his chief rival for tennis supremacy and his opponent […]
Over the next few days, Rafael Nadal will attempt to win his ninth French Open and become only the third male player to achieve 14 major championships, tying Pete Sampras and moving within three of Roger Federer’s record of 17. He’d be the first to win a particular major nine times, and, at barely 28 […]
Over the next few days, Rafael Nadal will attempt to win his ninth French Open and become only the third male player to achieve 14 major championships, tying Pete Sampras and moving within three of Roger Federer’s record of 17. He’d be the first to win a particular major nine times, and, at barely 28 […]
In our sports coverage at FiveThirtyEight, we’ve referred several times to regression to the mean. It’s an unromantic truth about outstanding sports performances: They’re usually the product of skill and determination, but also a healthy dose of luck. We might expect the outstanding play to continue because of skill and determination, but the luck is just as likely to turn […]
