What are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal doing better than anyone else this year? Second serves. Federer and Nadal are the first two players to book their spots at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London. The two all-time greats have already qualified by winning a combined nine titles this season, including all three Grand Slam events. Buy Tickets Now Nadal leads the Emirates ATP Race To London with 7,095 points to Federer’s 6,545 points. Dominic Thiem is currently in third place, well back with 3,345 points. See Who's Pushing Nadal, Federer In Emirates ATP Race To London An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis identifies that Federer and Nadal both appear in...
Does Pete Sampras have the best first serve of all time? Sampras finished year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for six straight years from 1993 to 1998, dominating with pinpoint accuracy, and often backing it up with some of the finest serve-and-volley points our sport has ever seen. Sampras’ first serve has no peer when compared to other players who also ended the season ranked No. 1 from 1991 to 2016. Sampras'’ best season behind his first serve was 1998, where he won a dominant 83.0 per cent of his first-serve points. The following table shows how consistently good Sampras was during his reign as World No. 1 compared to other players ranked No. 1 at the end...
The typical way to improve in tennis is to turn weaknesses into strengths. There is also a second way, which focuses on taking strengths to a whole new level. Case in point: Rafael Nadal’s second serve. Nadal is already the career leader on the ATP World Tour with second-serve points won at 57.1 per cent (12,931/22,657), edging recognised power servers such as Andy Roddick and John Isner in this specific category. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Nadal’s 2017 season reveals he is simply blowing his already peerless career average right out of the water. [ALSO LIKE] The Spaniard is winning an astounding 61.9 per cent (628/1015) of his second-serve points so far this season, which has helped...
Winning begets winning. Winning just one point when returning creates a fascinating dynamic that helps increase the probability of winning a second. Win two points, and your percentages rise again to win the third. It all starts with one, but it snowballs from there. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings as of 12 June uncovers that there is a natural, underlying progression at work when players return serve. The data set is from the 2015 and 2016 seasons, as well as all 2017 tournaments up to and including Roland Garros. The data focus specifically on the three even point scores in a game: Love All 15/15 30/30 1. Love...
You have got to win small to win big. Pablo Carreno Busta is enjoying a breakout season, boasting a career-best Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 17 this week, following his strong run to the Roland Garros quarter-finals. For good measure, he is also ranked No. 18 in doubles, which is only one spot off his career best that he achieved in January after reaching the Australian Open doubles semi-finals. His climb up the Emirates ATP Rankings very much mirrors his playing style – patient and steady. Carreno Busta has been ranked in the Top 100 in singles for 201 consecutive weeks since 5 August 2013. This is his sixth week in the coveted Top 20. [ALSO LIKE] But just how...
