Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers: Djokovic, Karlovic Top The Tables
Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers: Djokovic, Karlovic Top The Tables
Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers shows that Novak Djokovic and Ivo Karlovic were the clear return and service leaders in 2015 on the ATP World Tour
Novak Djokovic built his historic 2015 season on the foundation of his imposing return game. Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers reveals that the World No. 1 placed in the Top 2 of the three key return game categories.
The Serb won more return games than any other player both in raw and percentages terms. Djokovic won 364 return games (in 87 matches), 64 more than second-placed Andy Murray, who won 300 return games (in 77 matches).
Djokovic’s winning percentage was also better than any other player. He won 34.43 per cent of all return games played, finishing well clear of second-placed David Ferrer, who won 33.61 per cent of return games played. (Figures in the return-of-serve charts below have been rounded.)
| Player | Return Games Won % | Return Games Won | Matches |
| Novak Djokovic | 34% | 364 | 87 |
| David Ferrer | 34% | 274 | 69 |
| Rafael Nadal | 31% | 297 | 80 |
| Andy Murray | 31% | 300 | 77 |
| Gilles Simon | 31% | 244 | 63 |
Djokovic also finished second on the list of points won returning first serve:
| Player | First Serve Returns Won % | Points Won | Matches |
| David Ferrer | 34% | 1,117 | 69 |
| Novak Djokovic | 33% | 1,403 | 87 |
| Rafael Nadal | 33% | 1,261 | 80 |
| Roger Federer | 33% | 1,159 | 72 |
| Andy Murray | 32% | 1,277 | 77 |
And Djokovic topped the list of points won returning second serve, with a success rate of 57 per cent.
| Player | Second Serve Returns Won % | Points Won | Matches |
| Novak Djokovic | 57% | 1,607 | 87 |
| Andy Murray |
55% | 1,367 | 77 |
| David Ferrer | 55% | 1,211 | 69 |
| Gilles Simon | 55% | 1,143 | 63 |
| Tomas Berdych | 54% | 1,224 | 79 |
Ace Is The Place
For the first time since records were kept in 1992, three players this year hit more than 1,000 aces in the same season. Ivo Karlovic (1447), John Isner (1260) and Kevin Anderson (1,074) all made it to four figures. Karlovic finished just 30 aces shy of countryman Goran Ivanisevic’s all-time season record of 1,477. The Croat topped the aces list for the fifth time (2007-2009 and 2014).
| Player | Aces | Matches |
| Ivo Karlovic | 1,447 | 63 |
| John Isner | 1,260 | 68 |
| Kevin Anderson | 1,074 | 70 |
| Gilles Muller | 765 | 55 |
| Milos Raonic | 743 | 47 |
Record Setter
Karlovic shattered the previous record for percentage of service games won in a season. ‘Dr. Ivo’ won 96 per cent of his service games in 2015, topping his own record of 94 per cent in 2007.
| Player | Service Games Won % | Service Games Won | Total Service Games |
| Ivo Karlovic |
96% | 873 | 914 |
| Milos Raonic | 94% | 608 | 647 |
| John Isner | 93% | 846 | 907 |
| Roger Federer | 92% | 818 | 890 |
| Novak Djokovic | 89% | 968 | 1,082 |
So what happens when the world’s best returner meets the world’s best server? In the first week of the 2015 season, Karlovic upset Djokovic 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4 in the first round of Doha. In their first meeting in seven seasons, Djokovic won just 15 per cent of first-serve return points (well below his 2015 average of 33%) and 50 per cent of his second-serve return points (below his season average of 57%).
Karlovic boosted his chances of victory by putting 74 per cent of first serves into play.