Imagine playing a match where you get three serves and your opponent gets only one.

Sounds very unfair, but that’s the dynamic the world’s elite players artificially create to gain their competitive edge. There are four separate serves hit in a match – a first and second serve for each player – and the best of the best manage to consistently create a winning percentage with three of them.

The hidden key is to own your opponent’s second serve, and to at least break even on your own. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis uncovered just 21 players on tour last year managed to maintain a winning percentage against their opponents’ second serve and also be above 50 per cent on their own second serve.

The first thing to understand is that nobody will consistently average a winning percentage against an opponent’s first serve. In the 2015 season, David Ferrer ranked No. 1 in this category, winning 35 per cent of his opponents’ first serves. In the past 52 weeks, Bernard Tomic has maintained a ranking of around No. 20 in the world, and has won just 25 per cent of his opponents’ first-serve points. The career best, since 1991, is Argentine Guillermo Coria, who won 36 per cent against his opponents’ first serves.

Once the first serve misses its mark, the world’s best returners flick the switch from defense to offense to take advantage of the second serve’s slower delivery with a faster return. Simply, the faster serve dictates a slower, more defensive return, while a slower serve invites a lot more offense from the returner.

Below is the list of the 21 players in the 2015 season who averaged a winning percentage on their opponents’ second-serve points and on their own second serve.

In the 2015 season, there were 24 players who had a winning percentage on their opponents’ second serves, but three of them failed to generate a winning percentage on their own second serves. They were Andreas Seppi (49.9 per cent), Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (49.7 per cent) and Fabio Fognini (49.3 per cent).

Some players, such as World No. 2 Andy Murray, actually win more second-serve points from their opponenst than on their own second delivery. In the 2015 season, Murray won 56 per cent returning second serves, and 52 per cent of his own second-serve points. In the table above, there were seven players with a similar performance, and another three who were within half a percentage point of doing better on their opponents’ second serve than on their own second serve.

As you would expect, this is an area of extreme focus for World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. In the past 52 weeks, the Super Serbian is ranked No. 1 in second-serve points won (59.3 per cent) and second-serve return points won (56.8 per cent). More than any other player, Djokovic maximises the battle surrounding second serves. He also happens to be the world leader in first-serve return points won in the past 52 weeks at 34.6 per cent.

Having a winning percentage on three of the four serves hit is one of the most important tactical concepts that directly translates to a W at the end of a match at all levels of the game.

The top half of the men’s singles draw will take to the court on Thursday for their second-round singles matches at Roland Garros, with No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic and No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal highlighting the day’s action.

Djokovic continues his quest for the career Grand Slam as he takes on qualifier Steve Darcis of Belgium. The Serbian is in top form, having dropped just five games in his opening-round match. Nadal also continues his quest for a 10^th Roland Garros title when he plays Facundo Bagnis of Argentina. Nadal was even more ruthless in his first-round match, dropping just three games.

No. 6 seed and local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will face Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. The Frenchman leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 6-1. No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych also continues his quest for another deep run at Roland Garros when he plays Malek Jaziri of Tunisia. 

No. 11 seed David Ferrer aims to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the 12^th straight year when he plays Juan Monaco of Argentina. Their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry is currently split at 4-4. No. 12 seed David Goffin will have his first meeting against Carlos Berlocq of Argentina when they take to the court.

Two other top players will look to reach the second week at Roland Garros for the first time in their careers. No. 13 seed Dominic Thiem takes on veteran Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain, while No. 14 seed Roberto Bautista Agut plays wild card Paul-Henri Mathieu of France.

A pair of #NextGen players are also hoping to keep their breakthrough runs going. Wild card Quentin Halys of France faces off against No. 25 seed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, while Alexander Zverev of Germany takes to the court in a battle of experience versus youth against 36-year-old Frenchman Stephane Robert.

Another intriguing matchup on Thursday will see former French Open semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis of Latvia take on No. 26 seed Joao Sousa of Portugal.

No. 15 seed John Isner recorded his 300^th career tour-level win on Wednesday with his second-round victory at Roland Garros. The American defeated #NextGen star Kyle Edmund of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

In customary Isner fashion, he hit 18 aces throughout the contest and only four double faults, in addition to saving three break points, all in the second set. He was equally impressive from the baseline, finishing the day with 36 winners to 22 unforced errors. The No. 15 seed fittingly closed out the match with an ace to move into the third round. 

“I’m feeling better and better,” said Isner. “I lost a lot of tough matches and was sidelined a bit with injuries. Now that I’ve won two matches here, I feel I can keep going.”

Isner will now play Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia. Gabashvili leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry by 2-1, but Isner’s lone win over the Russian came on clay at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Madrid in 2014. 

No. 17 seed Nick Kyrgios rolled into the third round at Roland Garros with a convincing win over qualifier Igor Sijsling of The Netherlands 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. 

The Australian was nearly perfect on serve throughout the match, firing 11 aces without hitting a single double fault and not facing a break point. He was almost as dominant on return games, accumulating 13 break points and converting six of them. Kyrgios wrapped up the match with a backhand winner after one hour and 10 minutes, finishing with 35 winners and just 13 unforced errors.

“I knew it was going to be tough. He’s obviously played a lot of matches here already. I knew what my game plan was going to be,” said Kyrgios. “I’m really happy with the way I performed today. I thought I found my form from the back of the court and returned a lot better than I did in the first round.”

Kyrgios will now play No. 9 seed Richard Gasquet in an intriguing third-round match. Gasquet leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry by 4-2, but Kyrgios won their most recent meeting in February at the ATP World Tour 250 event in Marseille.

“Me and Richard have played some really memorable matches. Some of my favourite matches that I’ve played have been against him,” said Kyrgios. “We’ve played a lot of times and he’s a great guy. He’s a guy I feel comfortable around and that has always been nice to me. I’m looking forward to it.”

Eighth seed Milos Raonic had similar luck against Adrian Mannarino, sweeping the Frenchman 6-1, 7-6(0), 6-1. The Canadian broke Mannarino four times and never faced a break point. “I tried to do my best during the whole match, but he returned very well in the first and third sets,” Mannarino said. “When you server at 200 kilometers, whether on clay or hard court, it makes a difference. Raonic is a great server and he returns even better.”

The right-hander will face lucky loser Andrej Martin of Slovakia, who beat Lucas Pouille of France 6-3, 7-5, 6-3. Before Roland Garros, the 26-year-old Bratislava native had been 0-1 in Grand Slam matches (2013 US Open).

Andy Murray might be in for another dogfight on Wednesday at Roland Garros. The second seed, who’s taking to the court for the third time in three days, is tied at one-set all with French wild card Mathias Bourgue 6-2, 2-6.

The Scot had avoided the slow start that plagued him against Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek, which forced Murray to come back from two sets down for the ninth time in his career. The World No. 2 broke Bourgue at 2-1 and again at 5-2 to win the first set in 40 minutes.

Murray’s level of play dipped, though, early in the second. He was up 2-0 but then let Bourgue reel off the next six games, including three service breaks, to take the second set. The 22 year old won 16 points in a row from 30-all, 3-2 in the second set to 30-0 in the first game of the third set.

Murray has reached the semi-finals in Paris three times, falling to Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal each time. The 29 year old enters the season’s clay-court Grand Slam on the heels of a title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome two weeks ago and a runner-up finish at the Mutua Madrid Open earlier this month.

No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka had a far more comfortable victory in his second-round match on Wednesday at Roland Garros. After surviving a five-set encounter against Lukas Rosol on Monday, Wawrinka improved his form as he defeated Taro Daniel of Japan in straight sets, 7-6(7), 6-3, 6-4. 

The Swiss star nearly found himself in another lengthy battle as Daniel held two set points in the opening set tie-break, but Wawrinka fought back from 4/6 to take the first set. He started the second set strongly by breaking Daniel and put consistent pressure on the Japanese player’s serve, earning break point chances in four out of Daniel’s five service games that set. Wawrinka broke his opponent once again at 5-3 to take a commanding two-set lead.

Daniel is known for his competitiveness and wouldn’t go away quietly, breaking Wawrinka in the first game of the third set.  Wawrinka had more firepower from the baseline, though, eventually earning the break back on a lengthy game on Daniel’s serve at 4-3. With Daniel serving at 4-5, Wawrinka sealed the contest on his first match point with a backhand winner. Next up for Wawrinka in the third round is No. 30 seed Jeremy Chardy. 

“He plays a different style, more from the baseline, a lot of long rallies, topspin, forehand. It was a good match. I’m happy to get through in three sets,” said Wawrinka. “Chardy is a dangerous player. He’s playing really fast and heavy, big serve and always trying to use his forehand. He loves to play here, so I will have to play better.”

The Frenchman delighted the local crowd on Court 6 with a straight-sets win over qualifier Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. With the crowd chanting his name in the last game of the match, Chardy hit an ace on his first match point. He is looking to reach the second week at Roland Garros for the second consecutive year.

“I started very well, and I was able to stay focused and aggressive throughout. I think I played a solid match. My energy never went down. That’s really what I wanted,” said Chardy. “Playing Stan will be a rough one. He’s a great player and plays well on all surfaces. I’m going to go on the court hopefully very confident and prepare for the match the same way I prepare for my other matches.”

Meanwhile, Teymuraz Gabashvili continues to find his best form at Roland Garros. The Russian caused the first upset of the day on Court 2 by defeating No. 19 seed and local favourite Benoit Paire, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Gabashvili reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time at last year’s Roland Garros. He’ll look to repeat that feat when he plays the winner of the match between No. 15 seed John Isner, who swept #NextGen star Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Lucky loser Andrej Martin of Slovakia continued to take advantage of his good fortune at Roland Garros. Martin dismissed 29^th seed Lucas Pouille of France 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to move into the third round. Before Roland Garros, the 26-year-old Bratislava native had been 0-1 in Grand Slam matches (2013 US Open). He’ll face eighth seed Milos Raonic, who beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 7-6(0), 6-1.