I hope everyone is doing well during these tough times!

I just moved into a new apartment here in Oslo, so that’s been quite a project. I’ve been working on some things in the interior and really making it my own. It’s actually been pretty busy with a lot going on and I’ve made sure to spend time with my family, friends and girlfriend.

Everything has been nice and relaxing. Oslo is next to the sea, so I’ve been heading out on a boat every now and then, having some nice dinners with friends. I’m just trying to take some time off and disconnect from tennis a little bit because in a year we play so many tournaments, travelling all over the world, so while hard work is important, it’s good to disconnect here and there, too.

I want to tell you something about me you might not know: I love golf! During my free time here in Oslo, I’ve been playing a lot of it. It’s a big passion of mine and I’ve been playing since I’m pretty young. There are actually two PGA Tour players from Norway — Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Ventura — so it is really fun to follow them.

There are two or three pretty good golf courses here in the Oslo area. My home club is about 30 minutes away by car. There’s a really nice one only 15 minutes away, so I’m on the waiting list to become a member! Hopefully in 10 years I can join that club too.

I love the way that golf is so challenging, but it’s also possible for normal people to earn a good score. Anyone can make a birdie if they are a bit lucky and in those moments it feels so easy to play golf. At other times, it feels so hard. The highs and lows of the sport are extreme, even more than tennis, and the details are so small. If you hit the ball one millimetre to the right or left on the club, the ball will fly so much differently. You really have to focus and it’s a nice feeling to hit a good golf shot. I’ve gotten to a certain level where I could get a good score and that makes it even more enjoyable because I’m making progress.

I try to play as much golf as I can, but I have to spend some time with my girlfriend as well, because golf takes a lot of time! It takes half a day to play a full round of 18 holes and that’s the issue. If it was an hour or two or three less it would be better, but at the same time you always want to play 18 holes when you go out there, so you have to try to balance a little bit the golf and time with the close ones.

At the same time, many of us tennis players are excited to start competing in our sport again. It’s something we miss. It’s not been too easy to find the best sparring partners in Oslo, but I’ve been doing well, hitting with some junior players and I feel like I don’t feel too far off from the level and the tempo of the big guys. I’m getting even more motivated to get back to the Tour.

Luckily because the coronavirus has not been too bad here, I’ve been able to practise since the beginning of April and treat this as a training period. I think it’s been an advantage that I’m pretty young. It’s easier for the young guys to keep the high level and intensity up compared to the older guys. This period could be an advantage for us if we use the time well.

I haven’t made any major technical changes to my game. However, I would say I’ve made good improvements in many different areas. I’ve tried taking my game to a new level by trying new ways of playing. I’ve purposely practised inside the court and been much more aggressive. In some practices I’ve been ridiculously aggressive just to try it and understand what it feels like to play like that so that if I do it in matches, I’ll be more comfortable. Doing things you don’t usually do is important. It’s been a good period for me to develop my game that way.

When the Tour stopped in Indian Wells, it was hard to know if we should plan for two months off or half a year off, and it’s been difficult to know how hard to train and for how long. I’ve been doing more or less five or six days a week of tough sessions, but also enjoying some time off, especially in the afternoons. I try to practise in the morning to have some time off to do something else like golf because if you just practise and practise week after week you’ll eventually get tired of it.

Whenever I’ve stepped on court during this period, I’ve done it with good focus and intensity. But at the same time, I’ve been able to do that because of the time I’ve enjoyed off the court with family and friends. Being at home in Oslo has been nice. If I have a good career, this will hopefully be my last summer here in Norway for the next 10 to 15 years. I have enjoyed it, but have also been focusing well. I’ve been able to keep my motivation up and enjoying some time off on the weekends and then when I’m back Monday, I’m motivated for good practices.

At the same time, everyone has to take care with the virus because it’s very serious and all over the world. I hope everyone stays safe and I hope to see you on court soon!

Gael Monfils’ tennis is electric. In a video on Twitter Friday, the Frenchman showed his dancing is, too.

It’s Friday then…??? pic.twitter.com/bGu9FNVn0F

— Gael Monfils (@Gael_Monfils) July 31, 2020

Monfils and girlfriend, WTA star Elina Svitolina, were on a boat listening to Push The Feeling On by Nightcrawlers when the No. 9 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings suddenly jumped up and broke out his best moves. This isn’t the first time the Frenchman has shown the world his dancing skills.

“Maybe [the dancing is] more from my dad because my dad danced a lot,” Monfils said at a press conference in 2011. “But it just is fun because I like to dance… and I have a lot of dancer friends.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Naomi Osaka are two of the brightest young stars in tennis. But who has the more interesting Twitter channel?

In this week’s episode of Tennis United, co-hosts Vasek Pospisil and Bethanie Mattek-Sands discuss the pair’s tweeting habits and guess who wrote what.

Are band-aids a fashion statement?

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) March 1, 2020

The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion enjoys sharing his musings with his fans on social media.

“That’s why I was asking,” Tsitsipas says. “I wanted to know from the people!”

We’re all pretty bizarre, some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) April 30, 2020

Pospisil and Mattek-Sands take note of Tsitsipas’ use of commas.

“[There are] way too many of them! It’s like a poem or something,” Tsitsipas says, cracking a laugh. “I have to write properly grammatically. I feel badly if I don’t!”

Former World No. 4 Robin Soderling joins the show to speak about mental health and sharing his story.

“The only reason why I decided to speak about it is because if I could just help one player or one person, it’s good enough,” Soderling says.

Two of the world’s best African tennis players, Kevin Anderson and Ons Jabeur, discuss what it means to represent the continent.

“It’ll definitely be very meaningful if in 10 years’ time if somebody has a conversation and says one of the reasons they played was because they watched us when they were kids,” Anderson says.

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal walk into a room and lock the door behind them. Like a classic Western movie, only one of them is walking back out.

There are a myriad of ways to compare and contrast the Big 3 in the interminable GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate. One way is simply mano a mano – how do they directly stack up against each other?

At this specific point in their unfinished careers, the player walking back out the door is Djokovic.

An Infosys ATP Insights deep dive into 13 metrics from matches that Federer, Djokovic and Nadal played only against each other identifies that the Serbian ever so slightly edges the Swiss and the Spaniard. It’s important to note that they played 145 matches in ATP, Grand Slam and Davis Cup events. There are two Davis Cup matches that count in the overall win/loss record, but they are not part of official ATP match statistics.

Points, Games, Sets, Matches = Djokovic
Djokovic is the only player in the Big 3 to have won more than 50 per cent of points against his two arch rivals. When you break down their storied rivalry to the building blocks of our sport, Djokovic has won 50.34 per cent of points played in ‘Big 3 battles’, with Federer at 49.84 per cent and Nadal just a hair behind at 49.79 per cent.

Less than one percentage point separates the three. When putting greatness under the microscope, it’s razor thin margins that emerge. All told, the tennis world has been gifted with just over 50 thousand points (51,770) when these three players have stood across the net from each other.

Djokovic is the only player to win more than 50 per cent of games played, at 50.82 per cent. Nadal has won exactly half his games (50%), while Federer is nearby at 49.13 per cent. The first real separation is found in sets, where both Djokovic (52.26%) and Nadal (51.49%) have won more than half of their sets, while Federer sits lower at 46.27 per cent.

A metric that carries significant weight in this analysis is that Djokovic and Nadal have both won more matches than they have lost in the rivalry.

Matches Won/Lost (Including Davis Cup)
•Djokovic = 53.33% (56/105)
•Nadal = 52.63% (50/95)
•Federer = 42.39% (39/92)

Serving = Federer
Federer outperformed Djokovic and Nadal in the serving statistics, finishing on top in service points won (63.68%). The Swiss created the most separation with first-serve points won at 71.80 per cent, which was more than three percentages points higher than Djokovic (68.48%) and five percentage points better than Nadal (66.01%).

Federer served 782 aces against Djokovic and Nadal, while the Serbian and the Spaniard put up roughly the same amount (801) combined. One metric that may surprise most is that Djokovic did the best behind his second serve, winning 53.58 per cent. Nadal finished atop in break points saved at 60.61 per cent.

Returning = Nadal
The Spaniard won the most return points at 37.32 per cent and finished first with second-serve return points won at 48.89 per cent. Interestingly, Federer finished first with first-serve return points won at 32.10 per cent, which was right around two percentage points higher than his two rivals. Nadal was also the most ruthless on break points converted at 42.36 per cent.

It is clear that this three-way rivalry has helped elevate the trio to rarified air in our sport. Ironically, the more they competitively try and knock each other down the mountain, the higher up the peak all three of them collectively ascend.

Three Metrics: 143 ATP & Grand Slam Matches Between Djokovic, Federer & Nadal

Percentage Points Won

Percentage Games Won

Percentage Sets Won