Don’t be seduced by the long rallies. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the drama of matches, the running, the sliding and the spectacular. Andy Murray defeated Kei Nishikori 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4 in a grueling three hour and twenty minute slug-fest. There were plenty of twists and turns before the World No. 1 finally held serve to love to put the result to bed. An examination of typical match metrics would have you firmly believing that it was Nishikori who took the honours. Here’s 13 areas where the Japanese star fared better, although some are linked more to stroke performance than match outcome. Nishikori’s Advantage 1. Hit more overall winners (37-31). 2. Won more points at net (21-15). 3. Made...
If you seek to understand the myriad of possibilities in a tennis match like a dartboard, it will quickly become clear that second-serve returns live dead in the middle. Novak Djokovic defeated Milos Raonic 7-6(6), 7-6(5) at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday, playing even in almost every aspect of the match except on the Canadian’s second serve. Raonic lost only seven points on his first serve in two long sets, winning 38 of 45 points, mainly due to his combination of incredible power and accuracy. But when he missed his first serve, Raonic’s win percentage plummeted from 84 per cent on first serves to just 36 per cent (12/33) on second serves. Djokovic’s return placement on second-serve...
Don’t miss your first serve against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian started slow, but stormed home to defeat Dominic Thiem 6-7(10), 6-0, 6-2 in his opening-round match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday afternoon. Djokovic was not in top gear, and relied heavily on winning the second serve battle to find separation from his up-and-coming opponent. When Thiem made a first serve during the three-set match, he won 67 per cent (43/64) of the points. Problems immediately developed when he didn’t. Thiem won 54 per cent of his second serve points in 2016 leading into the ATP Finals, making him 14th-best on the ATP World Tour in this category. But against Djokovic, that was chopped all the way...
The relationship between forehands and backhands is very much like a sword and a shield. Generally, you attack with the forehand (sword) and defend with the backhand (shield), all the time looking to battle from more superior court positioning than your opponent. Andy Murray defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(1), 6-1 in the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters by showcasing one of the most impenetrable shields in the sport. Bautista Agut constantly tested the Murray backhand with his own run-around forehand, but time and time again it was not a big enough weapon to inflict any damage. Bautista Agut’s Spanish style of play relies heavily on run-around forehands in the Ad Court, rifling them back cross court to his right-handed...