Daniel Evans is a slow burn that has spectacularly caught fire.

The British No. 2 boasts a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 45 this week, thanks to an impressive run Down Under in January. Evans earned his first career Emirates ATP Rankings points more than 10 years ago, back in November 2006, and was outside the Top 250 just 14 months ago.

The 26 year old from Birmingham, England, is 7-2 in 2017. He reached his first career final at the Apia International Sydney and the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open. Along the way, Evans defeated five Top 50 players, including No. 7 Marin Cilic, No. 8 Dominic Thiem and No. 27 Bernard Tomic.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Evans’ recent rise pinpoints a definitive improvement with his return game and showcases how he’s being far more opportunistic converting break points.

2016 To 2017 Return Strategy Comparison

The strategic category that has fueled his career-best ranking is converting break points, which has jumped 13 percentage points from 39 per cent in 2016 to a world-beating 52 per cent (34/65) so far this year. That even eclipses Australian Open champion Roger Federer, who converted 44 per cent (37/84) of his break-point opportunities in winning seven straight matches at Melbourne Park.

The ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS, powered by the Infosys Information Platform, shows Evans to be No. 1 in the world so far in 2017 in converting break points among players who have had 50-plus break-point opportunities.

Those metrics have directly helped the Brit raise his return game win percentage from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. It’s interesting to note that service games won have only improved one percentage point, from 80 per cent to 81 per cent, during the same period.

It’s always difficult to improve against an opponent’s more powerful first serve when returning, so Evan’s two percentage-point gain (28 per cent to 30 per cent) in this area is more impressive than it seems on the surface. The five percentage-point leap on second-serve points won (47 per cent to 52 per cent) is significant as it jumps above the 50 per cent threshold, essentially providing Evans statistical ownership of his opponent’s second serves.

There have also been some impressive numbers for Evans on the serving side of the equation. Evans hit only 95 aces during the 2016 season, and he is already at 55 after just two tournaments in 2017, representing 58 per cent of his 2016 total.

Last season he saved 70 per cent of break points when he made his first serve and a very high 60 per cent behind his second serve, which was actually four percentage points better than fellow countryman and World No. 1 Andy Murray, at 56 per cent.

Evan’s ranking is set to climb even higher this month, as he has only 60 points to defend from February 2016. He is playing at a Top 20 level so far in 2017, and it may not be too long before his ranking catches up with his scintillating level of play.

More: Evans Picks Out Winning Style In Melbourne

Daniil Medvedev has been named the Next Gen ATP Finals featured player of January, and has also put himself in early contention to be one of the rising stars who qualify for the inaugural event this November in Milan. 

The 20 year old from Russia started the year by reaching his first ATP World Tour final in Chennai, enabling him to jump from No. 99 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to a career-high standing of No. 63.

“I was really happy to be chosen for this. It means a lot to me,” said Medvedev. “It means I’ve had a good month and the best start to the year among the #NextGenATP players, so I’m really proud of that.”

Medvedev made plenty of improvements to his game during the off-season at his home base in Cannes, France, working on strengthening his volleys and increasing his stamina to contest long matches. He also spent four days this past December in Bretagne, France, participating in a pre-season physical training camp organised by Tecnifibre.

“It was something new that I had never done before. It was actually my first time swimming in the ocean!” said Medvedev. “It was very fun and only guys from the centre where I practise were there, so we all know each other well. It was just a fun camp with physical work and some activities, so there were also chances to relax a bit from tennis.”

The Russian is hopeful that the physical and on-court additions to his game will be enough to qualify for Milan. But with a growing crop of #NextGenATP stars, including Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric and Taylor Fritz, Medvedev knows that doing so will be a difficult task.

“It’s still a long way to get there because there are a lot of good young players who are playing well,” said Medvedev. “If you qualify for Milan, you will probably have to be ranked in the Top 100 or maybe even the Top 80, so it means you’ve had a great year. There are a lot of us who will have chances to make it to there.”

View Emirates ATP Race To Milan

Luckily for Medvedev, the chances for accomplishing his goals have been helped by a boosted bank account. He won a $50,000 cheque for being named the Tecnifibre Young Gun on the Road in 2016, beating out Mitchell Krueger, Omar Jasika and Gregoire Barrere in the four-month competition.

More: Medvedev Named Top Tecnifibre Young Gun

“I’m putting the money into everything for my career,” said Medvedev. “I could spend some of the money to buy tickets for my coach to come with me to Chennai and Melbourne. Maybe I’ll take a physio to some tournaments if I feel that I need it. It’s a very big start-up for my future.”

Medvedev plays with the Tecnifibre TFight 305 racquet. Click here to purchase in the U.S. Click here to purchase in Europe.

It did not take long for Roger Federer to reclaim the top spot among ‘Big Titles’ winners, kicking off his 2017 campaign with the Australian Open title on Sunday.

The Swiss’ fifth triumph Down Under, as a result of a thrilling 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over Rafael Nadal, brings his Big Titles total haul to 48. Coupled with six ATP Finals crowns and 24 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level, Federer’s 18th Grand Slam victory moves him ahead of Novak Djokovic for the Big Titles lead. He has won 89 tour-level crowns overall.

Consistency has been the hallmark of Federer’s career, since claiming his first Big Title in Hamburg nearly 16 years ago, when the tournament was a Masters 1000 event. He has since notched at least one such victory in 14 different seasons. The Swiss has played 206 tournaments at this level, averaging one title for each 4.3 events played.

Djokovic is in second place with 47 in total. The all-time Masters 1000 leader (30) has also claimed 12 major crowns and five at the ATP Finals. The World No. 2 has by the far the best conversion rate of any player, past or present, winning one Big Title for every 3.2 events played at this level.

Nadal, who was bidding for a 15th major crown, also boasts an exceptional strike rate, winning one Big Title for every 3.6 appearances. He is joint second all-time (with Pete Sampras) for most Grand Slam titles won with 14 and outright second all-time for most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles won with 28 crowns, just two behind Djokovic’s record haul.

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)