Tennis News

Battle of the Brits: Jack Draper beats Cameron Norrie on day two

Teenager Jack Draper gains a shock win over Cameron Norrie on day two of the Battle of the Brits in Roehampton.

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When Returns Are Back In Play, Rafa Reigns Supreme

Thirty per cent of serves in tennis don’t come back in play. Strategically placed aces and missed returns abound.

That means that 70 per cent of serves are returned in the court. This is where the heavy lifting of holding serve takes place. This is where Rafael Nadal reigns supreme.

An Infosys ATP Insights deep dive into 88,640 first serves and second serves struck by the current Top 10 identifies that Nadal has won 58.5 per cent of all serves that are returned in the court against him. The data set is from the Infosys Serve & Return Tracker, which includes metrics from 2011 onwards at ATP Masters 1000 events and the Nitto ATP Finals, with data also coming from select ATP 500 and 250 events from 2019 and the 2020 ATP Cup.

Nadal sits almost four percentage points above the Top 10 average of 54.6 per cent. The only other three players with win rates above the average were Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Federer and Djokovic were tied in second place, winning 57.3 per cent of all serve points when the serve was returned.

Current Top 10: Serve Points Won When The Ball Is Returned In Play

First-Serve Points Won When Serve Returned In Court
Federer rose to the top spot when filtering only for first serves returned in the court. The Swiss won 61.9 per cent of these points, which was considerably lower than the 77.6 per cent he won when you count all first-serve points won, including aces and unreturned serves.

The leading three players in the data set winning first-serve points when the ball was returned in the court were:
1. R. Federer = 61.9%
2. S. Tsitsipas = 61.3%
3. R. Nadal = 61.2%

Overall, the current Top 10 averaged winning 59.9 per cent of first-serve points when the ball was returned in the court, which was considerably lower than the 74.5 per cent they averaged on all serves, including aces and missed returns.

Second-Serve Points Won When Serve Returned In Court
Nadal sits in the top position as one of only three players who managed to win north of 50 per cent of second-serve points in which the serve was returned in the court. Those players were:
1. R. Nadal = 53.5%
2. N. Djokovic = 51.7%
3. R. Federer = 51.4%

The Top 10 average sits at a very compelling 49.5 per cent, meaning that the current Top 10 average losing slightly more second-serve points than they win when the second serve is returned in the court.

Examining serves that are returned in play adds another layer of understanding of Nadal’s formidable strengths. Sometimes he wins more points in this category because of his thirst to hit a Serve +1 forehand from anywhere on the court. Other times it’s all about blocking a powerful return back in play and keeping the point alive.

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2020 ATP Awards: And The Winners Are…

Carlos Alcaraz, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Vasek Pospisil, Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe are among the winners in the 2020 ATP Awards, which also celebrates Novak Djokovic and Mate Pavic/Bruno Soares as the year-end No. 1s.

Rublev, 23, and his coach Fernando Vicente have both been recognised by their peers for a season in which the Russian claimed a Tour-leading five titles and 41 match wins and reached a career-high World No. 8. Rublev has been selected as Most Improved Player of the Year, while Vicente has been named Coach of the Year.

Nadal, who claimed a historic 13th Roland Garros crown in 2020, has been voted by fellow players as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the third year in a row and the fourth time overall. Seventeen-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, a fellow Spaniard, took home the Newcomer of the Year honour after a breakthrough season in which he achieved a career-high No. 136 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and lifted three ATP Challenger Tour trophies.

Visit the official ATP Awards section on ATPTour.com

Former World No. 25 Vasek Pospisil, who underwent back surgery in 2019, has been selected as Comeback Player of the Year. The Canadian reached two ATP finals during the abbreviated season and lifted his FedEx ATP Ranking to No. 61 (from No. 150 in 2019).

The singles Fans’ Favourite Award goes to Federer for a record-extending 18th straight year, while the all-British pairing of Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski claim their first fan-voted honour.

Tiafoe has been named the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for using his platform to the fullest in 2020. The American auctioned off signed memorabilia to Athletes for COVID-19 Relief and posted ‘Racquets Down, Hands Up’, an impactful video that united the Black tennis community in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.

Meanwhile, Bob Brett has been unanimously selected as the winner of the Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award, and The Guardian’s Kevin Mitchell receives the Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award.

Djokovic, honoured on court at the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals as the ATP No. 1 presented by FedEx, celebrates a record-equalling sixth finish in the top spot. The Serbian won four titles this season, including a record eighth Australian Open and two ATP Masters 1000s. US Open champions Pavic and Soares finish their partnership as the ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by FedEx.

2020 ATP Awards Winners

ATP No. 1 presented by FedEx
(determined by FedEx ATP Rankings)
Novak Djokovic: The Serbian finished World No. 1 for a record-equalling sixth time in the past 10 years (also 2011-12, 2014-15 and 2018) after a stellar season in which he picked up four tour-level titles. Djokovic won his first 26 matches of the season, claiming a historic eighth Australian Open crown and lifting trophies at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the Western & Southern Open in New York and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. He was also a runner-up at Roland Garros and reached the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals. At 33 years, 6 months, 16 days, Djokovic set a new record as the oldest year-end No. 1 in the history of the FedEx ATP Rankings, overtaking Rafael Nadal’s 2019 record (33 years, 5 months, 23 days). Djokovic also drew level with his childhood hero, American Pete Sampras, who ended six straight years at the pinnacle of men’s professional tennis from 1993 through 1998.

ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by FedEx
(determined by FedEx ATP Rankings)
Mate Pavic & Bruno Soares: The Croatian/Brazilian duo of Pavic and Soares surged to the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Doubles Team Ranking after strong results in the second half of the season. While both players have previously reached the top of the doubles game, Pavic in 2018 with Oliver Marach and Soares in 2016 with Jamie Murray, it was their first year-end No. 1 finish as a team. Pavic, 27, and Soares, 38, teamed to capture their first Grand Slam trophy together in September at the US Open. They went on to reach two big finals in Paris at Roland Garros and the Rolex Paris Masters.

Comeback Player of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Vasek Pospisil: Former World No. 25 Pospisil was sidelined for much of 2019 after undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disk, and started the year ranked outside the Top 100. But the Canadian cut his FedEx ATP Ranking by more than half after a statement comeback season, jumping 89 spots to sit at No. 61. He made the biggest jump in the year-end Top 100 from 2019. Pospisil, 30, reached his first ATP Tour final since 2014 at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, and backed it up with a run to the Sofia Open final – the second and third ATP Tour finals of his career. Pospisil also reached the fourth round of the US Open, defeating back-to-back Top 20 players – Roberto Bautista Agut (No. 11) and countryman Milos Raonic (No. 18) – along the way to his best Grand Slam result since his 2015 Wimbledon quarter-final. Kevin Anderson, Andrey Kuznetsov and Raonic were also nominated in this category.

Most Improved Player of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Andrey Rublev: 23-year-old Rublev rose from No. 23 to a career high No. 8 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after a red-hot season saw him win five titles – more than anyone else on Tour. The Russian exploded onto the courts at the start of the year by winning back-to-back titles at the Adelaide International and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, becoming the first player since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004 to start the year with titles in the first two weeks of the season. He continued to impress in the second half of the season reaching quarter-finals at the US Open and Roland Garros, and added three ATP 500 trophies to his cabinet with victories at the Hamburg European Open, St. Petersburg Open and Erste Bank Open (Vienna). Rublev capped it off with his debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals and finished with a 41-10 win-loss record on the year, equalling Novak Djokovic (41-5) with the most match wins on Tour in 2020. Ugo Humbert, Diego Schwartzman and Jannik Sinner were also nominated in this category.

Newcomer of the Year
(voted by ATP players)
Carlos Alcaraz: Spain’s Alcaraz finished 2019 at No. 491 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. In 2020, he moved 350 spots to close the season at No. 141 after reaching a career-high ranking of No. 136, winning a trio of ATP Challenger Tour titles to mark his rapid rise. The 17-year-old, who was the youngest of four teenagers in the year-end Top 200, claimed his first ATP main draw victory in emphatic fashion, outlasting No. 41 Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round of the Rio Open. Alcaraz made his Challenger breakthrough when he lifted the trophy in Trieste, but the best was yet to come as he arrived on home soil. The Spaniard lifted back-to-back Challenger trophies in Barcelona and Alicante – the latter sealed with his second Top 100 victory of the year in the final. As a result, Alcaraz added his name to an exclusive club of players who have won at least three Challenger titles before turning 18, joining Richard Gasquet, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Five other #NextGenATP stars – Sebastian Korda, Lorenzo Musetti, Jurij Rodionov, Emil Ruusuvuori and Thiago Seyboth Wild – were also nominated in this category.

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
(voted by ATP players)
Rafael Nadal: Fellow players chose World No. 2 Nadal as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a third straight year and fourth time overall, recognising the Spaniard for his fair play, professionalism and integrity on and off the court. Nadal also received this honour in 2010. John Millman, Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem were also nominated in this category.

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award
(awarded by ATP)
Frances Tiafoe: Rising American star Tiafoe made a big impact off the court during a turbulent 2020 season, using his platform to the fullest during the ATP Tour’s five-month suspension. Tiafoe, who supports ThanksUSA and the USTA’s National Junior Tennis and Learning Network (NJTL), auctioned off signed memorabilia to Athletes for COVID-19 Relief, with the funds benefiting the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Alongside girlfriend and fellow player Ayan Broomfield, Tiafoe also posted ‘Racquets Down, Hands Up’, an impactful video that united the Black tennis community in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, featuring cameos from Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, James Blake, Gael Monfils and more.

Fans’ Favourite Award (Singles)
(voted by fans)
Roger Federer: The 39-year-old Swiss was selected by fans as Fans’ Favourite for a record 18th straight year, taking his record haul of ATP Awards to 39. Currently ranked World No. 5, Federer reached the 2020 Australian Open semi-finals in his first tournament of the season, but was sidelined in the subsequent months after undergoing right knee surgery.

Fans’ Favourite Award (Doubles)
(voted by fans)
Jamie Murray & Neal Skupski: The all-British duo won their first Fans’ Favourite award. Murray, 34, and Skupski, 31, teamed in 2019 and finished this season with their first title together at the Sofia Open. The pair also reached two finals at the Western & Southern Open in New York and Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Coach of the Year
(voted by ATP coaches)
Fernando Vicente: Andrey Rublev’s coach guided the 23-year-old Russian to an ATP Tour-leading five titles from five final appearances and 41 match victories, as well as a career-high No. 8 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. “I would give him an ‘outstanding’ on the season,” Vicente told ATPTour.com. The former Spanish player helped lead Rublev to his first ATP 500 titles at the Hamburg European Open, St. Petersburg Open and Erste Bank Open (Vienna), in addition to winning in Adelaide and Doha. Vicente was selected as the winner from a shortlist that included Gilles Cervara (Daniil Medvedev), Juan Ignacio Chela (Diego Schwartzman), Nicolas Massu (Dominic Thiem) and Riccardo Piatti (Jannik Sinner).

Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award
(voted by ATP coaches)
Bob Brett: The 67-year-old Australian, who formerly worked with Grand Slam champions such as Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic, Marin Cilic and Johan Kriek in a 46-year coaching career, was unanimously chosen as the second winner of this award. The recipient exemplifies excellence, leadership, respect, and a true love for the sport of tennis and the art of coaching. Named after the late Tim Gullikson, the award showcases someone who has inspired generations of young players and fellow coaches to grow the sport of tennis.

Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award
(awarded by ATP)
Kevin Mitchell: A sportswriter for The Guardian, Mitchell specializes in tennis and boxing. Born in Malawi and educated in Australia, Mitchell was named the UK’s Sports Journalist of the Year in 1999 and was formerly the chief sports writer at The Observer. He has also written for the London Daily News, the Sunday Times and Hayters, and authored numerous books, including boxer Frank Bruno’s autobiography.

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Season Portrait: Daniil Medvedev

Over the course of eight days, ATPTour.com is serving up a season snapshot of the eight players who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. The series is illustrated by intimate portraits shot by British photographer Simon Owen. So far, we have looked at Diego Schwartzman, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas’ year. Today, we examine Daniil Medvedev’s season.

Memorable Moment
Daniil Medvedev turned a late-season surge into the biggest triumph of his career with an undefeated run at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Russian had finally returned to his giant-slaying ways at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he earned his first title of the year, and took that momentum with him to the season finale. Medvedev didn’t drop a set in the round-robin stage — avenging his disappointing 2019 debut, when he bowed out with a 0-3 record — and battled past the world’s Top 3 players to claim the trophy and finish the year on a 10-match win streak. 

Perhaps just as memorable as the way Medvedev won was the way he celebrated his impressive feat. In typically cool Medvedev style, there were no tears, no shouting and no collapsing to his knees: just an understated smirk for a mission accomplished. 

Key Stat
Proving once again that he can hang with the ATP’s biggest names, Medvedev defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Dominic Thiem on his way to the Nitto ATP Finals crown. He became the first player to defeat the world’s Top 3 at the season finale, and the first player to do so at any tournament since David Nalbandian’s 2007 Madrid run. 

Quotable
“I think it’s not easy for guys to play against me when I play like this… I’m really trying to make my opponent crazy.”

The Road Ahead
In 2021, Medvedev will go for his biggest title yet as he seeks to become the first Russian man to win a Grand Slam championship since Marat Safin’s 2005 Australian Open victory. Medvedev, who reached the US Open final last year and the semi-finals this year, would become just the third Russian man to win a major singles title, following in the footsteps of Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Photo: Simon Owen/Wonderhatch

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Djokovic Becomes Second Player To Reach 300 Weeks At No. 1

Novak Djokovic today begins his 300th week as the No. 1 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, becoming just the second player in history (Roger Federer, 310 weeks) to reach the milestone.

The Serbian, who climbed to tennis’ pinnacle for the first time on 4 July 2011, is in the middle of his fifth stint in the top spot. He leads World No. 2 Rafael Nadal by 2,180 FedEx ATP Rankings points.

ALL-TIME WEEKS AT NO. 1

MOVING UP THE NO. 1 LADDER – Djokovic has started his 300th week at No. 1 and now only record-holder Roger Federer is ahead of him for most weeks spent at No. 1. If Djokovic maintains his position, he will pass the Swiss star on 8 March 2021.

“This is one of my two biggest professional goals,” Djokovic said earlier this year. “To reach the record of, [and] surpass Roger’s record for longest [time at] No. 1 and win as many [Grand] Slams as possible. I have been saying that before, so I’m working towards that. I’m at a good place right now, in a good position. Hopefully I can stay healthy and continue to play well.”

DJOKOVIC AT NO. 1 – Take a closer look at Djokovic’s match wins, Top 10 and finals record during his five stints at No. 1.

Djokovic earned a fifth reign at the top spot after his win at this year’s Australian Open, where he claimed his 17th Grand Slam title. He also finished as the year-end World No. 1 for a sixth time, tying Pete Sampras’ record.

Read profiles on all 26 World No. 1s

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