The analytics of Roger Federer’s dramatic victory at the Australian Open fly in the face of what we think matters most to succeed in our sport. Federer manufactured a stunning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Rafael Nadal, despite having a losing record from the back of the court. When you look at practice courts all over the world, the baseline is king. Federer won only 44.6 per cent (70/157) from the back of the court in the Melbourne final. But he thrived in the less popular front of the court, winning 73 per cent (29/40) at net. Serve and volley is basically a forgotten tactic, but Federer won a substantial 77 per cent (10/13) to enjoy one of...
Andy Murray broke the unbreakable. Murray defeated Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title match to become the year-end No. 1 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings by attacking the Serbian’s normally impenetrable backhand. All discussions after the semi-finals focused on possible exhaustion for the Brit after his marathon victory over Milos Raonic and Djokovic’s impressive demolition of Kei Nishikori. It took just a handful of minutes on Sunday night to clearly see both of those results would have no bearing on the final. This match was Murray’s from the beginning. He looked sharper, hungrier, and more willing to reach out and grab his destiny rather than hope it was going to be given to...
Andy Murray moved through to the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with a scintillating 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) victory at The O2 on Saturday, and a snapshot of just one point from the third-set tie-break provides an overview of how a broad strategic plan plays out at a critical moment in time. Third Set Tie-Break 5/5: Murray Serving For the match, Murray served 72 per cent out wide in the deuce court, 23 per cent down the middle T, and just five per cent at the body. On this huge deuce court point, the Brit stuck with his favorite slice location out wide, even though it was to Raonic’s more potent forehand wing. The serve offered Murray an...
The power of a shot does not always equal power over an opponent, as Andy Murray clearly illustrated in his 6-4, 6-2 victory over Stan Wawrinka at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Friday. Murray won 16 more points (67-51) than his Swiss rival, but when you examine the velocity of the groundstrokes, it appears to be in direct conflict with the final score. Murray and Wawrinka were not shy trading forehands and backhands from the back of the court, but the more powerful groundstrokes in this encounter were clearly struck by the player who won’t end up playing this weekend. Wawrinka’s average forehand speed was 77 mph, well ahead of Murray’s 73 mph, with the Swiss hitting 16...
Milos Raonic is not just a serve. Think of him much more along the lines of a “Serve +1”. Raonic defeated Dominic Thiem 7-6(5), 6-3 on Thursday evening at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, dominating the short points and fusing together his two biggest weapons into one lethal package. Serve +1 is a ruthless, doubling down strategy of purposefully following the serve with a forehand. Raonic’s primary pattern of play is to then typically match that combination up against a backhand return, and then a defensive backhand on the run. The percentage breakdown below between hitting a forehand or backhand immediately behind either a first or second serve clearly shows the efficiency of Raonic’s strategy. Raonic 1st Serves 85%...