Want to sneak in a second-serve ace against your next right-handed opponent? Down the T in the Ad court is your hot spot.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of 222 second-serve aces by the current Top 10 against right-handed opponents identifies that surprising to the forehand return is the most popular strategy used, with down the T in the Ad court attracting almost half of them.

The data set comes from ATP Masters 1000 events from 2011-2019 and the Nitto ATP Finals.

Second-Serve Ace Direction vs. Right-Handed Opponents

• 47%: Ad court T – to the forehand return

• 37%: Deuce court wide – to the forehand return

• 10%: Deuce court T – to the backhand return

• 6%: Ad court wide – to the backhand return

Overall, 84 per cent of second-serve aces were directed to the opponent’s forehand return side, with the majority of those occurring down the T in the Ad court.

Novak Djokovic led the pack, with both the total number of second-serve aces (58) and also the most down the T in the Ad court, with 40. The Ad court T aces accounted for 69 per cent (40/58) of the Serb’s second-serve ace total, and 100 per cent of his second-serve aces in the Ad court, with none coming out wide.

2019 Year-End Top 10: 2nd Serve Ace Total & Direction

Roger Federer knows a thing or two about hitting aces, as he currently sits in third place overall with career total aces (first & second) at 11,299. Federer, like Djokovic, hit more than half (26/49) of his second-serve aces down the T in the Ad court, surprising his right-handed opponents, who would have been expecting the traditional kick serve into the backhand body-jam location.

Gael Monfils went against the grain (but still to the forehand), hitting most of his second-serve aces (13) out wide in the Deuce court. Rafael Nadal also hit the majority of his second-serve aces (10/19) there as well, which is understandable as a left-handed server dipping into his secondary pattern.

Daniil Medvedev, who before 2018 had not won a Masters 1000 match, now has 25 second-serves aces to his credit at this level, with 16 coming against the forehand return, and nine against the backhand return.

Second-serve aces are part risk, part bravado and mostly about winning the all-important guessing game about serve direction.

Editor’s note: Craig O’Shannessy is a member of Novak Djokovic’s coaching team.

To kick off our Decade In Review series, ATPTour.com highlights the best players of the decade. Today we feature Novak Djokovic.

If the 2000s was the decade when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal emerged as players with the potential to finish among the greatest of all-time, the ’10s might be remembered as the period of time in which Novak Djokovic flexed his muscles and made room for three at the top of the sport.

Djokovic broke through in 2007, winning his first two ATP Masters 1000 titles and reaching No. 3 in the ATP Rankings. The following year, he won his first Grand Slam title (Australian Open).

But in the two years that followed, Djokovic resembled someone who was coming up short in big matches. From 2008-09, he went 3-5 in Masters 1000 finals, and he reached only one major title match. In the ATP Rankings, he was stuck at No. 3.

The Serbian, like the rest of the field, had not yet learned how to consistently topple the best in the sport, particularly Federer or Nadal. But as the new decade began, Djokovic learned quicker than anyone and started one of the best decades in the history of tennis.

By February 2011, after winning his second Australian Open, Djokovic had nudged his way into the Top 2. The milestone was worth celebrating, but Djokovic’s climb was more about who he had beaten along the way.

Before 2010, he was 5-9 against Federer and 7-14 against Nadal in their respective FedEx ATP Head2Head series. But at the 2011 Australian Open, Djokovic dropped only one set all tournament and beat Federer in straight sets in the semi-finals.

His domination against the best became a 2011 trend as he turned in one of the best seasons in recent memory. Djokovic started the year 41-0, winning Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami for his first March Masters sweep, and in Madrid and Rome. His first loss of the season came in June against Federer in the Roland Garros semi-finals.

Djokovic would finish the year with 10 titles (three major championships), a 70-6 record and his first year-end No. 1 finish. Against Federer and Nadal, he went 10-1 (4-1 vs. Federer, 6-0 vs. Nadal).

Djokovic, with his world-class defence and supreme elasticity, had caught the Top 2. Armed with one of the greatest returns of all-time, the Serbian could neutralise any big server’s best weapon, and engaged in baseline rallies, he liked his chances every time.

At least one Slam and three Masters 1000 titles per season became the norm for the Belgrade native, whose steely determination and all-world mental fortitude were unmatched.

But in 2015, Djokovic, who had finished year-end No. 1 in three of the past four years, raised his game another notch and, by some measures, started outdoing Federer and Nadal.

Djokovic won six Masters 1000s, and he also captured three Slams to bring his overall major tally to 10. He became only the third man to play in all four major finals in a single year in the Open Era (Laver, 1969; Federer, 2006, ’07, ’09).

In 2015, Djokovic won 11 titles and 82 matches, both of which remain career bests, and to finish his most prolific season, Djokovic became the first player to win four consecutive Nitto ATP Finals titles.

“This season definitely stands out. I can’t say I expected it, not at all. But I always gave my best, and I’m always asking from myself the most,” said Djokovic, who reached 15 finals from 16 tournaments played. “I’m convinced with this dedication to the sport, I can achieve more. How much, I don’t know.”

He’d achieve much more the very next season. Djokovic beat Murray for the elusive Roland Garros title, becoming only the eighth man to win all four Grand Slams during his career and just the third man to hold all four major titles at one time (Budge, 1938; Laver, 1962, 1969).

“One of the most beautiful [moments] I have had in my career,” Djokovic said.

By midway through 2016, he was not only maintaining his top form; he was improving and setting new records while playing in the same era as Federer and Nadal, a feat that seemed unlikely when the new decade began. On defence or offence, there was no one better than Djokovic, who was seemingly never out of any point.

But from there, by Djokovic standards, he entered a funk. Early exits at 2016 Wimbledon and 2017 Australian Open, a tournament he had already won six times, signaled that something wasn’t right. A lack of fire after winning the career Grand Slam? A lingering injury?

The latter was discovered to be true as Djokovic ended his 2017 season five months early and eventually underwent his first surgery (right elbow). His comeback took time, and in June 2018, two years after winning the career Grand Slam, he fell to No. 22.

What followed, though, was one of the greatest comebacks in history. Djokovic won his fourth Wimbledon title (d. Anderson) and the next month, became the first player to win the Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (d. Federer). Djokovic won each Masters 1000 event at least once this decade as well.

He finished 2018 as year-end No. 1 for the fifth time, and his climb from No. 22 to No. 1 marked the lowest anyone had fallen before finishing the season on top.

In 2019, Djokovic added two more Slams (16 overall; 15 this decade) and two more Masters 1000s (34 overall; 29 this decade). His Wimbledon final against Federer, in which Djokovic saved two consecutive match points in the fifth set on Federer’s serve, will go down as one of the greatest matches of all-time.

Ten years after Djokovic was the man trying to tear down the wall around the Top 2 of Federer and Nadal, the Serbian spent much of the decade standing at the top of the mountain. The Serbian was ranked No. 1 for 275 weeks, only 35 off Federer’s all-time mark (310).

Djokovic also leads both FedEx ATP Head2Head series. The GOAT debate, however, is far from finished. All three are tied with five year-end No. 1 finishes, and Djokovic trails them both in Slam titles and is second to Nadal in Masters 1000s.

Will the Serbian finish as the greatest of all-time? We may be deep into this new decade before the answer is any clearer.

Another decade of thrilling tennis on the ATP Tour has come and gone, with points, matches, tournaments and moments that will remain fixed in fans’ memories throughout the world for years to come.

Entering the decade, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had already cemented their status as two of the best players in the history of the sport. They were named two of ATPTour.com’s five best players of the 2000s, with the rest of the names on that list retiring.

Federer and Nadal continued to build upon their legacy, thriving and even improving parts of their game, but Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka joined them as the dominant forces in the tennis world throughout the 2010s.

Those five men combined to win 198 tour-level titles over the past 10 years, including 39 of the decade’s 40 Grand Slam championships. The only player outside of this group to win a major trophy was former World No. 3 Marin Cilic at the 2014 US Open.

The quintet also won 72 of the decade’s 90 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and seven of the 10 Nitto ATP Finals crowns. Djokovic (275 weeks), Nadal (160), Federer (45) or Murray (41) held the No. 1 ATP Ranking for the entirety of the past 10 years. Any time these five players competed, all eyes were on them. Any time they stood across the net from one another was a special occasion, with anticipation levels ramped up.

Each day this week, ATPTour.com will look back on the past 10 years for Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Nadal and Wawrinka, examining why they are the players of the 2010s.

Also in the Best of the Decade series, we will examine the best doubles from the past 10 years as well as the best records, achievements, stats and rivalries.