FedEx Performance Zone: Best By Surface 2016

The ability to quickly adjust to different surfaces and conditions is a necessity on the 64-tournament circuit. Here’s a look at some of the best performers in 2016 by surface this year:

Hard Courts (minimum 10 matches)
Andy Murray won six of his nine titles on hard courts in 2016, contesting eight finals on the surface (6-2). Juan Martin del Potro, who rose from No. 1041 at the start of the year to No. 38 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won .750 of his 2016 matches on hard courts, including a win over Andy Murray in the Davis Cup semi-finals.

Clay Courts (minimum 10 tie-breaks)
Novak Djokovic and Murray competed in three clay-court finals in 2016 – the Mutua Madrid Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia and at Roland Garros. King of Clay Rafael Nadal enjoyed a resurgence with his ninth Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and ninth Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell crown to equal Guillermo Vilas’ record of 49 red dirt trophies.

Grass Courts (minimum 5 matches)
Murray once again dominated on mown lawns by picking up a record fifth Aegon Championships crown prior to triumphing again at Wimbledon. Milos Raonic, who lost to Murray in The Queen’s Club final, reached his first Grand Slam title match at SW19. Nicolas Mahut added to his 2013 and 2015 titles at the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Outdoors (minimum 10 matches)
Five of Djokovic’s seven titles in 2016 came outdoors, including a 14-match winning streak at the start of the season. Murray continued to improve his hard-court tally year-on-year (2014 – 45-16; 2015 – 58-10). Gael Monfils, the newest member of the Top 10, enjoyed a career-best year with one hard-court trophy at the Citi Open in Washington, DC.

Indoors (minimum 10 matches)
Murray completed 2016 with a 15-match indoor winning streak that helped him become year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, including three titles at the Erste Bank Open 500, the BNP Paribas Masters and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Del Potro was victorious indoors at the If Stockholm Open in a comeback year from injury.