Where do you need to direct your serve to make the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals? It turns out that variety works very well, and out wide slightly edges down the T as the most dominant first serve location at the elite level of our game. Breaking down first and second serves by targets and win percentages is a new metric now available at www.atpworldtour.com, in the Serve & Return Tracker under the Stats tab. The data comes from ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments and Nitto ATP Finals from 2011 to present. View The Serve & Return Tracker An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of first serve location from the eight players at the Nitto ATP Finals reveals that...
Deuce is normally a comfort zone for the server, where they hold around three out of every four visits to this extended-point score. Not so at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan this week. The new event is trialing several exciting innovations, including playing a sudden death point at deuce where the winner takes all. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the eight #NextGenATP players in the 2017 season has identified that this new scoring system will lead to more exciting pressure moments in the match, and the potential for more breaks of serve as a result. The following table identifies the percentage chances for all eight players holding serve from deuce in 2017, and also from...
One out of a hundred. Ninety-nine players out of the Top 100 have a losing record holding serve in 2017 when falling behind 15/40. Only one player has won more than 50 per cent of his service games from this perilous point score. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 100 players this week reveals that one player is World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. It’s an amazing achievement, considering the Spaniard does not possess a flame-thrower of a serve, or routinely ace his way out trouble. Nadal is ranked 33rd on tour this season in total aces hit at 278 from 75 matches – averaging 3.7 aces per match. [ALSO LIKE] He is not the fastest server,...
How many second serves do you think you can make before a double fault eventually creeps in? The benchmark may be a little lower than you think. Players in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings average one double fault for approximately every 12 second serves they hit. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Top 10 players since the beginning of the 2015 season identifies that double faults are on the rise, and that Roger Federer leads the pack in double faulting the least. Top 10 Average: Double Faults / Second Serves 2015 = One double fault / 13.4 second serves 2016 = One double fault /11.4 second serves 2017 to date = One double fault /...
As a returner, everything is stacked against you. Firstly, you are facing the hardest shot hit on a tennis court, sometimes upwards of 140 mph. Blink, and it’s gone. Secondly, you begin in a statistical black hole, not even forecast to win three out of every 10 points you play. Returning first serves is one of the toughest elements of our sport, with only a handful of players able to nudge their win rate higher than 30 per cent in this key strategic area. Depending on court surface and speed, average first-serve return win percentages for the Top 100 are typically between 26-30 per cent, with the average right at 28 per cent. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis...