In Record Year, Nadal Bucks Top 10 Trend
In Record Year, Nadal Bucks Top 10 Trend
The Top 10 are under siege.
As a collective unit, they are not enjoying the same success this season as they did last year when attempting to win the opening point of their service games.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings uncovers an almost two percentage-point drop in the Top 10 forging ahead to 15/0 compared to falling behind 0/15 when serving.
In fact, eight of the current Top 10 players are performing worse during the opening point of their service games this year compared to last year. The standout is current World No. 5 Rafael Nadal, who has improved almost five percentage points in 2017 compared to 2016.
The 30-year-old Spaniard is 29-5 through the first four months of this season. The left-hander claimed his 10th title at both the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell last month.
Read More: Nadal Wins 10th Barcelona Title
The only other player to be in positive numbers in 2017 compared to 2016 is No. 7 Kei Nishikori, who has improved by almost two percentage points.
Top 10 2017 vs. 2016: Percentage of Winning The Opening Point On Serve
|
Ranking |
Player |
2016 |
2017 |
Percentage-Point Change |
|
5 |
Rafael Nadal |
61.4% |
66.2% |
4.8 |
|
7 |
Kei Nishikori |
66.4% |
68.3% |
1.9 |
|
8 |
Marin Cilic |
69.2% |
67.5% |
-1.7 |
|
3 |
Stan Wawrinka |
66.9% |
65.1% |
-1.8 |
|
9 |
Dominic Thiem |
67.1% |
64.5% |
-2.6 |
|
1 |
Andy Murray |
69.2% |
66.5% |
-2.7 |
|
10 |
David Goffin |
64.8% |
61.9% |
-2.9 |
|
2 |
Novak Djokovic |
70.5% |
66.8% |
-3.7 |
|
4 |
Roger Federer |
73.0% |
68.7% |
-4.3 |
|
6 |
Milos Raonic |
74.5% |
68.0% |
-6.5 |
|
– |
AVERAGE |
68.3% |
66.4% |
-1.9 |
The peak performer in the current Top 10 in 2017 is Roger Federer, who is winning the opening point of his service games nearly 69 per cent of the time, with Nishikori in second place at about 68 per cent.
Federer was actually at 73 per cent last season – second to only Milos Raonic, who was head and shoulders above the pack at 74.5 per cent. Nadal was the worst performer out of the current Top 10 during the 2016 season, winning the opening point of his service games only 61.4 per cent of the time.
Navigating from love-all to 15/0 is more challenging so far this season for the Top 10 – a small chink in their armour where opponents are enjoying increased success.