It’s been more than three weeks since Tomas Berdych struck a ball competitively, yet the significance of his loss to Roger Federer in the Australian Open third round is still sinking in. ”It was kind of a strange match for me,” admitted Berdych, a former champion at the upcoming ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. “The way he played was really incredible. I’ve played him so many times in the past. I almost want to say it was the best I’ve seen him play.” Berdych did little wrong in the 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 loss, their 23rd FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, because he was given no opportunity by the Swiss superstar to find his game on 20 January on Rod...
Fifteen-all is a leaking ship. The boat is still afloat, still steaming along in the right direction, but it is definitely taking on a little water that the server probably does not know about. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings shows a modest decline in the win percentage for the server from the start of the game at love-all to two points later at 15/15. Top 10 Average Win Percentage 0/0 = 85% 15/15 = 82% The Top 10 average a three percentage-point drop from 0/0 to 15/15, as the finish line for the game moves from four points away, to just three points away. Top 10 Hold Percentage At...
Fifteen-all is a leaking ship. The boat is still afloat, still steaming along in the right direction, but it is definitely taking on a little water that the server probably does not know about. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings shows a modest decline in the win percentage for the server from the start of the game at love-all to two points later at 15/15. Top 10 Average Win Percentage 0/0 = 85% 15/15 = 82% The Top 10 average a three percentage-point drop from 0/0 to 15/15, as the finish line for the game moves from four points away, to just three points away. Top 10 Hold Percentage At...
QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEW: Two men’s battle to be World No. 1 and two others’ quest to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are among the intriguing storylines at the BNP Paribas Masters quarter-finals on Friday. Play begins with Top 2 Americans Jack Sock and John Isner squaring off on Court Central. The countrymen captured the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai doubles title together on October 16 -- one of four finals in four weeks to feature the 24-year-old Sock. Later Friday, Sock will partner Nicholas Monroe in the doubles quarter-finals, marking the Nebraska native’s 33rd match in the past 33 days. Sock is 12-4 in singles and 14-1 in doubles since October 3, with six off-days and now six days...