You don’t want to go the distance with Kei Nishikori. When matches get extended to deciding sets, Nishikori is the most successful player of all time winning them. This speaks to how well his physical game holds up under pressure, and how strong his mind is to not buckle with both players in the match so close to the finish line. 

A FedEx ATP Performance Zone analysis reveals that Nishikori takes a 50-50 battle at the start of a deciding set and wins almost eight out ten of them. In a one-set shootout to decide the final outcome, Nishikori’s will to win and ability to craft a winning game plan helps him find another gear to elevate himself above the pack.

The career Top 10 list is this category is a mixture of playing styles from different eras, indicating that success in this area is not predicated on specific physical attributes, but rather mental and emotional toughness under pressure.

View Career Performances In Deciding Sets 

Interestingly, every player in the Top 10 Career Deciding Sets Won index has been ranked in the Top 4 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, with seven of them former World No. 1s.

The FedEx ATP Performance Zone win-loss index also uncovered several other former World No. 1s in the 10-20 range, including Boris Becker (12), John Newcombe (13) Thomas Muster (14), Mats Wilander (15), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (19) and Ivan Lendl (20).

In 2016, Nishikori is continuing his outstanding performance in deciding sets, going 11-3, placing him in sixth place this season with a 78.6 win percentage. The five players in front so far in 2016 are Dominic Thiem (95 per cent / 19-1), Novak Djokovic (85.7 per cent / 6-1), Milos Raonic (84.6 per cent / 11-2), Tomas Berdych (80 per cent / 8-2) and John Millman (80 per cent / 8-2).

In the past 52 weeks, Thiem has won the most deciding set matches with 21, with Murray a close second with 18 wins, and Nishikori tied for third place with Benoit Paire and Nadal with 16 victories.

Third seed Stan Wawrinka looked like a man on a mission in his second round dismissal of qualifier Alessandro Giannessi, downing the Italian 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-5 at the US Open.

Wawrinka, a semi-finalist in two of the past three years in Flushing Meadows, has not dropped a set en route to the third round. The Swiss completed the victory in two hours and 28 minutes, striking 57 winners, while turning aside 10 of 11 break points faced.

“It’s always better to win in three sets, that’s for sure,” said Wawrinka. “But I was ready to go even longer in that court. It was not as hot as the other day, but it was really humid. I think except for that little moment when I got broken in the second, there were a few games when I was a little bit out of it mentally and not as focused as I wanted. But I came back. In general, I think it was a great level.”

Giannessi capped an impressive run through qualifying, which saw him reach his first Grand Slam main draw, and claim his first tour-level match win in more than four years. Wawrinka admits the World No. 243 gave him a stern test.

“I never played against him, but I watched him before,” Wawrinka said of Giannessi. “I talked with [coach] Magnus [Norman] and knew what to expect. He is a great player. He has some great shots. He’s feeling the ball well. It was a tough match, as I expected. But I think I’m quite happy to have won in three sets.”

Wawrinka now awaits resurgent Brit Daniel Evans, who continued his strong run of form with a 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 upset of 19-year-old and 27th seed Alexander Zverev. Evans has won eight of his past nine matches, including a title run at the $100k ATP Challenger Tour event in Aptos, U.S.A. He will face Wawrinka for the first time.

Evans, who denied 11 of 14 break points faced, while converting six of 14 of his own, was made to work in beating the Emirates ATP Star of Tomorrow. The German teen battled to force a fourth set, taking his seventh set point in the third. But Evans would prove to be too strong in the end, breaking for 2-1 in the fourth and again for 5-2, before closing out the win after three hours and nine minutes. He reaches a second straight third round at a Grand Slam, having advanced as far two months ago at Wimbledon.

“It was probably my best win, [considering] the situation and circumstances,” said Evans. “It was late and difficult mentally. To come back in the fourth and get on top was good. I was a bit passive [in the third set]. He took control. It was pretty evident that’s what he was going to do for the rest of the match. I needed to stay on top of him.”

Where one #NextGen star failed to reach the third round, another succeeded, as American hopeful Jared Donaldson cruised past Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Donaldson, who is projected to crack the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time, followed up a first-round upset of David Goffin with a two-hour and 17-minute victory over Troicki. The Rhode Island native is the youngest American to reach the third round at the US Open since 18-year-old Donald Young did so in 2007.

“I’ve been playing well this summer,” said Donaldson. “I’ve also had kind of an average beginning of the year. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to play so well through the hard courts. It’s really special to be able to culminate the summer and play really well at this event.

“I remember coming here when I was 12. It was really cool to watch all the best players in the world play here. Now I’m thankful that I’m one of those players now.”

One of four Americans in the third round, along with John Isner, Jack Sock and fellow qualifier Ryan Harrison, Donaldson will next face big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic. Karlovic polished off Donald Young 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-4 on Thursday, firing 24 aces in total.

Juan Martin del Potro took a stroll down memory lane at the US Open on Thursday, emerging with a convincing 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-2 second-round win against American Steve Johnson on the site of his greatest triumph. The Argentine wild card won the 2009 US Open title against Roger Federer on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court and returned to Flushing Meadows seven years later older and wiser.

“I’m trying to play as I was in 2009, but it’s not easy as I’m getting older. I took all my chances during the match, and at the end I played very well,” del Potro told ESPN’s Brad Gilbert during an on-court interview after the match.

Del Potro’s huge popularity meant that he was on equal footing with Johnson when it came to crowd support. Both players were evenly matched in the first set until the Argentine’s superior serving made the difference in the tie-break. Johnson bounced right back, breaking for a 2-1 lead in the second set by ripping a massive forehand pass from 10 feet behind the baseline before holding at love for 3-1.

The surge represented the high point of Johnson’s evening. Del Potro drew on his positive memories at Flushing Meadows to capture 20 of the final 22 points of the second set. Unable to find a solution against del Potro’s inside-out forehand attack, Johnson dropped serve in the opening game of the third set and again at 2-4 before succumbing in two hours and eight minutes. He finished with 24 winners and 35 unforced errors while del Potro fired 33 winners and only made 23 unforced errors.

“I think the fans are proud to see me playing tennis again after all my surgeries,” del Potro said in his post-match press conference. “They know what I have been through. I’m having great days at the US Open. I am really enjoying the attention from the fans around the world.

“I served much better than in my first-round match. I focused on the important moments of the game. I played great in the tie-break. At the end, I saw him physically a little tired, so I took all my chances to close out the match in three sets.”

“I just didn’t execute my game plan tonight,” Johnson said. “I had a chance to do well in the second, had my chance to get back on serve in the third. I’ve been winning a lot of those points in the past three months. Unfortunately today I didn’t win those points to get back in it. 

“He’s a great player. Look, he’s 6’6″, great serve, can move well, long wingspan, gets his racquet on a lot of balls. That’s why he’s a Grand Slam champion. He’s no slouch.”

The Argentine has not been past the third round of a Grand Slam event since his semi-final showing at Wimbledon three years ago and last made the second week of the US Open in 2012, when he reached the quarter-finals.

Ivo Karlovic backed up his historic first-round win with a solid follow-up performance against Donald Young. The Croat, who blasted a US Open-record 61 aces in his opening match against Yen-Hsun Lu, added 24 to his tally in beating the American left-hander 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-4. Karlovic had 52 total winners and saved all six break points faced in the two-hour, 20-minute match. He will take on #NextGen star Jared Donaldson in the third round. The 19-year-old Donaldson is the youngest American to reach the third round at the US Open since Young in 2007.

Nick Kyrgios produced a serving masterclass Thursday night at the US Open en route to a commanding 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 win over Horacio Zeballos to reach the third round without conceding a set.

The #NextGen Aussie won 23 of his first 24 first-serve points, eventually winning 45 of 48 for the match (94 per cent) against the left-handed Argentine. He served 27 aces – including one 125 mph second serve to seal the first set – against just one double fault.

Kyrgios, currently 13^th in the Emirates ATP Race To London, could surge into qualifying contention for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals should he have a deep run at Flushing Meadows. After clubbing 48 winners to just 18 unforced errors against Zeballos, Kyrgios next plays the winner of Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko and Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Kyrgios, who did not face a break point tonight after being broken just once in his opening-round win over Brit Aljaz Bedene, will now attempt to reach the US Open fourth round for the first time following a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon and third-round runs at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

With family and friends surrounding Court 9 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Eric Butorac bade farewell to the doubles circuit. The affable former ATP Player Council president played his last professional match alongside good friend Scott Lipsky, falling to Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-4 at the US Open on Thursday.

“Scott’s a really good friend, so it’s fun to play with someone I’ve been close with my whole career,” said former doubles World No. 17 Butorac, who is also in the mixed doubles draw with Timea Babos. “And the two guys on the other side of the net were probably the two I’ve spent most of my time with. I spent a few years with both Raven and Rajeev. I know them as well as anyone. It’s weird, but fitting to go out to them. We didn’t have much of a chance in the match, so there was a little less emotion. But to end here and finish my playing career at a place where I’ll now have an office, is fitting in that way too.”

Butorac was recently named the USTA’s Director of Professional Tennis Operations and Player Relations. Ironically, Butorac’s best result in Flushing Meadows came in reaching the 2014 quarter-finals with Klaasen, falling to Lipsky and Ram. The 35-year-old father of two is an 18-time doubles champion on the ATP World Tour. He won at least one title in each of the past 10 seasons, including five with Jean-Julien Rojer and three with Klaasen, Lipsky and Jamie Murray. He most recently lifted the trophy at the Millennium Estoril Open with Lipsky in April, his third title at the ATP World Tour 250 event.

It was an honor and privilege to share a court with @ebutorac in his last doubles match. The guy is a total legend! D3 to ATP! Love you Boot

— Scott Lipsky (@scottlipsky16) September 1, 2016

“I never expected to have a career like this,” added Butorac, whose best Grand Slam result came in the 2014 Australian Open, finishing runner-up alongside Klaasen. “I moved to France to play money tournaments, then stumbled into Futures and Challengers and later moved my way up. It was a surprise to be out there doing it. To look back and say I did it for 13 years is a strange feeling, but also quite rewarding. I feel accomplished, I worked really hard and got to see the world and meet great people. It was a great experience.

“Off the court, being a part of the Player Council was something really special for me. It was something I stumbled into and someone nominated me for it. I took it very seriously, spending eight years on the council and doing two as president. That was something I’m very proud of. As much as anything I achieved on the court, for the good of the sport I was able to do a lot more off it.”

Great guy and big part of how doubles has gotten bigger and better on the @ATPWorldTour https://t.co/FhB4R9rzU1

— Treat Huey (@TreatHuey) September 1, 2016

A tweet is not enough to describe Booty, total class act. Tour is gonna miss you buddy. Wish you only the very best. @ebutorac #gamechanger

— Bruno Soares (@BrunoSoares82) September 2, 2016

Klaasen and Ram progress to face Chris Guccione and Andre Sa in the second round. The South African-American duo is looking to build on a No. 7 position in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, as they bid to secure a spot among the final eight teams at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi, currently No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, suffered a setback in their London qualification bid, falling to Nicolas Almagro and Victor Estrella Burgos 6-4, 6-4. Huey/Mirnyi’s loss represented an opportunity for Henri Kontinen and John Peers, currently eighth in the race, to make up precious ground. The Finnish-Australian duo won their opening match 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3 against Federico Delbonis and Guido Pella. They came into New York only 445 points behind Huey/Mirnyi and 340 points behind Klaasen/Ram and will next face Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who won 6-3, 6-4 over Carlos Berlocq and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

In other action, Daniel Nestor was forced to retire from his opener with Vasek Pospisil, due to a left calf strain. The Canadian duo conceded the match to American teens Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul after just four games.

Kei Nishikori is through to the US Open third round after withstanding a serving barrage from #NextGen player Karen Khachanov on Thursday. The Japanese No. 6 seed had never met the 20-year-old Russian before and needed all his guile to hold off his opponent’s all-court game in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Nishikori’s six aces paled in comparison to the Russian’s 20 and while his 35 winners were five fewer, his consistency in the key moments shone. The 2014 runner-up’s 36 unforced errors were 13 less.

A runner-up at the Rogers Cup in Toronto leading in, Nishikori closed the match out with an ace at the two-hour, 36-minute mark to set up a showdown with French veteran Nicolas Mahut, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu. He returns to the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since his run to the final in 2014.

Eighth seed Dominic Thiem is through to the US Open third round for the third straight year after a comfortable 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over Ricardas Berankis on Thursday. The 22-year-old Austrian will be thankful for the straight-sets win following a tough five-set victory over Australia’s John Millman in the first round.

Currently fifth in the Emirates ATP Race To London and on track to make his debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Thiem improved to 51-16 on the year

“It was a rough starting being down 1-4, but the rain break came at a pretty good time for me because I just made a re-break to 4-all,” Thiem said. “It’s never easy with a rain delay, especially here as there is nowhere really to relax. But I had a very good start after the break to take the set 6-4 and I was able to carry this for the rest of the match.”

Thiem had been in a mini slump after his sizzling start to the season. After reaching the Roland Garros semi-finals he began the grass season with his third title of the year in Stuttgart and then reached the Halle semi-finals, where he suffered a surprise loss to World No. 192 Florian Mayer. He lost in the Wimbledon second round and first-round exits followed on home soil in Kitzbuehel and Toronto. He reached the Cincinnati quarter-finals with one win and a walkover.

Thiem attributed his form reversal to playing too much. But he believes he is now physically and mentally refreshed and approaching his best form.

“I just played so many matches that the body and mind say ‘That’s enough now’. At Wimbledon and a little bit after I carried it until maybe after Toronto and little bit to Cincinnati. Then everything went the right direction. Cincinnati was very lucky but I had a good practice week last week and my fitness level and level of my game went the right way. Now it’s on a pretty high level again.”

Thiem next plays World No. 39 Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who rallied from two sets down to defeat Janko Tipsarevic 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that was interrupted by rain late in the third set.

Last week Carreno Busta won his first ATP World Tour title when he defeated countryman Roberto Bautista Agut in the final of Winston-Salem. The 25 year old previously reached the US Open third round in 2014.