It's the Grand Slam Rafael Nadal has won the least – one title at the Australian Open – but that may very well change during the Aussie fortnight. Here are five reasons why the Spaniard will hoist his second Norman Brookes Challenge Cup trophy on 28 January. 1. He's The No. 1 Player In The ATP Rankings Say what you want about Nadal's knees or how he finished the 2017 season, having to withdraw from the Rolex Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals. But Nadal still finished the season better than any other male player on the planet. And he made history doing so. At the age of 31, the Spaniard became the oldest player to finish year-end No....
You are left-handed. You are serving at 30/40, and naturally opt for the slider out wide in the Ad court to give yourself the highest percentage chance to save break point. Not so fast… An Infosys Serve & Return Tracker analysis of the eight left-handed players currently in the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings identifies that, from the Ad court, serving wide and serving down the T deliver the same winning percentage, at 78 per cent. The eight left-handed players primarily served wide on break point with their first serves, but not at the volume our instincts would suspect. The data set comes from 2017 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events and the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. [ALSO LIKE]...
Who is going to rock the tennis world in 2018? The crystal ball of player improvement can sometimes be uncertain, but an Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis highlights the group of players you should keep your eye on in the 2018 season, based on their promise and performance in 2017. For different reasons and at different rankings, these players look poised to make serious headlines in 2018. Let’s just say you heard it here first… 1. Next to be No. 1 = Grigor Dimitrov The jigsaw puzzle has finally come together for the talented 26-year-old Bulgarian. He started 2017 ranked No. 17 in the ATP Rankings, but surged all the way to No. 3 at the end of the...
Watch Rafael Nadal arrive in Melbourne and practise in Rod Laver Arena in preparation for the Australian Open. Video courtesy Tennis Australia. Playback not available in Australia. Photo: Getty Images
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has arrived in Melbourne and commenced training on Rod Laver Arena ahead of the Australian Open, which begins on 15 January. The Spaniard is set to begin his 2018 campaign in Melbourne after a terrific 2017 in which he not only re-gained the top spot in the ATP Rankings, but at 31 became the oldest player to finish year-end No. 1. The left-hander also became the first player in the Open Era to win 10 titles at the same event, achieving the feat three times with victories at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and at Roland Garros. He won six titles from 10 finals. [ALSO LIKE] Nadal, who has contested the...