Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2016. Today we feature Dominic Thiem vs. Alexander Zverev:

The future superstars of the ATP World Tour made their presence known with significant statements in 2016. Players aged 19-23 accounted for 11 titles in total and two of them wasted no time in kicking off a budding rivalry.

Longtime sporting adversaries Austria and Germany added Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev to the fray, with the pair meeting on four occasions this year. Each encounter proved to be an intense clash of exuberance and shotmaking, as 23-year-old Thiem and 19-year-old Zverev contested a trio of three-set clashes on the ATP World Tour, in addition to a four-set battle at Roland Garros.

With three meetings in a mere five-week span during the European clay-court swing, Thiem and Zverev got acquainted early and often this year. The Austrian would take all three encounters, prevailing in the Munich semi-finals, Nice final and Roland Garros third round, but it was far from straightforward.

Thiem rallied from a set down, saving eight of 11 break points for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win in Munich and was pushed the distance in retaining the Nice title. It was the first career final for #NextGen star Zverev, who fell to the reigning champ 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. With a combined age of 41, it represented the youngest final on the ATP World Tour this year.

“Against a player like Dominic, who is one of the best clay-court players right now, you have to be at your best to beat him,” said Zverev. “There’s not a lot of chances.”

With Thiem hurtling towards the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings and Zverev rapidly ascending to the Top 20, the pair carried the momentum from the Nice final into Roland Garros for the second Grand Slam of the year. Both would enjoy their best major results and a third round encounter brought their growing rivalry to one of the biggest stages in the game. Court Suzanne-Lenglen welcomed Thiem and Zverev, with a Round of 16 berth at stake, and they did not disappoint the French faithful.

Like he did in Munich, Thiem was forced to battle back from an early deficit. He missed six break chances late in the first set as Zverev went on to snatch the opener and grab a quick break in the second. But Thiem struck back, reeling off five straight games and eventually putting the match out of reach with a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory after nearly three hours.

“I knew already before the match that it was going to be a very tough one against such a great player like Sascha,” said Thiem. “I think the little difference today was probably the three years’ age difference.”

The pair would wait five months before capping their season series with a first-round meeting at the ATP World Tour 500 event in Beijing. Fresh off claiming his first tour-level trophy at the St. Petersburg Open, stunning Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka in the semis and final, Zverev scored his third Top 10 win in four days with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Thiem.

With both players continuing to plot their ascent up the Emirates ATP Rankings, look for many more encounters in the years to come.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head (Thiem Leads 3-1)

Thiem vs. Zverev: 2016 Meetings

Twenty years ago was the golden age of the big server.

Players such as Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras, Richard Krajicek and Boris Becker dominated during an unprecedented period of first-serve dominance, the mid- to late 1990s. Today, it’s superiority behind the second serve that has risen to prominence as players look to climb the Emirates ATP Rankings.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of first- and second-serve win percentages beginning in 1991, when such statistics were first kept in tennis, to the 2016 season, shows a clear and dramatic transition of where players are excelling to begin the point.

Performance categories were created with the following criteria:

• First-serve points won at 80 per cent or higher;

• Second-serve points won at 55 per cent or higher.

1996 = Best Year For First-Serve Performance

The evolution of sport is not always linear. We think today’s players should be better than yesterday’s, but that’s simply not the case. You have to go back 20 years, to 1996, to find the last season in which at least eight players won 80 per cent of their first-serve points.

1. Goran Ivanisevic (85.5%)

2. Pete Sampras (82.9%)

3. Richard Krajicek (82.7%)

4. Boris Becker (82%)

5. Mark Philippoussis (80.9%)

6. Greg Rusedski (80.7%)

7. Marc Rosset (80.7%)

8. Michael Stich (80.3%)

2011 = Best Year For Second-Serve Performance

The year 2011 saw the most players (11) win 55 per cent or better of their second-serve points. That same year also had the greatest disparity in favour of second-serve performance, with only two players (Ivo Karlovic, 80.3%, and Gilles Muller, 80%) at or above the 80 per cent mark on first-serve points won. The 11 players who won at least 55 per cent of their second-serve points in 2011:

1. Juan Carlos Ferrero (57.3%)

2. Roger Federer (57.1%)

3. Federico Delbonis (56.9%)

4. Rafael Nadal (56.7%)

5. Andy Roddick (55.7%)

6. Novak Djokovic (55.6%)

7. John Isner (55.4%)

8. Juan Martin del Potro (55.4%)

9. Janko Tipsarevic (55.4%)

10. David Ferrer (55.4%)

11. Tommy Robredo (55%)

Tipping Point = 2001

In the 10 years from 1991 to 2000, there was only one year (1991) where the total number of players who won 55 per cent of their second-serve points was more than the total number of players who won 80 per cent of their first-serve points. Then in 2001, players’ second-serve performances surged ahead, and it has stayed that way since.

The last two seasons (2015 and 2016) have seen four players each year win at least 80 per cent of their first-serve points, which is the best since 2000. It is definitely a resurgence, but interestingly it has not been at the expense of second-serve performance, which has stayed solid, with 10 players winning 55 per cent plus in 2015, and nine in 2016.

Summary

The cyclical nature of tennis is influenced by new technology as well as the strategic chess moves and counter-moves that players make to find a critical edge. There is no denying that proficiency behind your second serve is our sport’s current global phenomenon.

How First Serve Dominance Has Changed From 1991-2016

Juan Martin del Potro has endured more pain than most tennis players during his injury-stinted career, including four wrist surgeries during the past seven years. So of course he wasn’t going to let a broken left pinky finger stop him during his final match of the season on Sunday.

Del Potro and Marin Cilic were tied two sets a piece during their Davis Cup match when the Argentine broke his smallest left finger while trying to catch a missed Cilic serve off the bounce.

Del Potro played through the injury, though, and improved upon his already impressive 2016 by coming back from two-sets down for the first time in his career to beat Cilic 6-7(4), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in four hours and 53 minutes. Del Potro’s win forced a fifth rubber in the Davis Cup final between Argentina and Croatia, and his teammate Federico Delbonis completed the turnaround by beating Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic to give Argentina its first Davis Cup title.

“My finger is broken but I won’t mind one bit if we win the Davis Cup,” del Potro told reporters after his win, while Delbonis was still on court. “This was an emotionally exhausting match and one of the biggest wins of my career. Thanks to all those who prevented me from retiring. I was very close to never playing again and, well, here I am.”

The 28 year old has said he thought about giving up tennis during his latest comeback. But he didn’t, and tennis fans were the beneficiaries this season.

Del Potro, No. 38 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, has climbed 1,007 spots since February. He beat Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal this season. Del Potro also became a titlist again this year, hoisting his first ATP World Tour trophy since January 2014 by winning the If Stockholm Open in October (d. Sock).

All of his accomplishments earned him his second Comeback Player of the Year honour in the 2016 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon. Del Potro also received the award in 2011 after coming back from right-wrist surgery that he underwent in May 2010. The Tandil native also had three surgeries on his left wrist in 2014 and 2015.

Join us in coming weeks as we re-live the drama and excitement of 2016 in our annual review of the ATP World Tour season.

We begin this week with the five most intriguing rivalries of 2016. We’ll also look at the best matches, biggest comebacks, most stunning upsets, statistics, hot shots, off-court fun and more.

Look for new content each day as we reflect on a great year and count down to the start of the 2017 season, which begins January 1st in Brisbane (and Jan. 2 in Doha and Chennai).

The Rivalries
Andy Murray v Milos Raonic

More to come…

To kick off our Season In Review Series, ATPWorldTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2016. Today we feature Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic:

Two players have capped stellar seasons on the ATP World Tour with career-highs in the Top 5 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. Year-end World No. 1 Andy Murray leads the pack, with a surging Milos Raonic finishing at No. 3 after a semi-final run at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Raonic nearly went one step further at the season finale, but a clutch Murray stopped him in his tracks in arguably the match of the year – a three-hour and 38-minute instant classic. With both competitors turning in career years, it’s no surprise that they faced off in multiple thrilling encounters throughout the season.

The budding rivalry had it all in 2016, with meetings on hard, clay and grass and at multiple Grand Slams and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. It found a home in London, with final encounters on the lawns of Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, in addition to their epic under the lights at The O2. On paper, it was completely one-sided, with Murray winning all six affairs, but the drama and intensity of each encounter made it one of the best rivalries of the year.

It all started in January, with Murray and Raonic dueling in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The Scot would prevail in a five-set, four-hour thriller, rallying from the brink of elimination to move into the final 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2. Raonic was impeded by an adductor injury as the match progressed and Murray, sensing blood in the water, would break once in the fourth set and twice more in the decider to reach his fifth title match at Melbourne Park.

After capturing their lone clay-court encounter 6-2, 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, the rivalry would shift to grass. Their contrast in styles was on full display in the finals of both the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club and the third Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon. Murray had the partisan British crowd behind him, but Raonic was buoyed by his big serve on the slick courts and surging confidence in reaching his first major final. Sparks flew as Murray battled from a set and a break down to lift his fifth Queen’s Club crown and denied the Canadian’s bid for history three weeks later at the All England Club in a tight 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) final.

“Milos has had a great few weeks on the grass and had some unbelievable wins,” said Murray after winning his second Wimbledon title. “His match against Roger in the semis was a great, great match. He is one of the hardest workers out there, always trying to improve and get better.”

“There are guys that are always sort of trying to push those barriers down that these guys try to set up,” Raonic added. “Everybody wants to win. The guy across the net from you wants to take what you’re trying to get. I did the best I could. I tried to put the things together. I tried coming forward, putting pressure on him. He was playing much better than me off the baseline. He was more effective there.”

Murray would add a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, before squaring off one last time with a spot in the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on the line. Murray stormed back from another set and a break deficit to triumph after a tournament record three hours and 38 minutes, saving one match point in a pulsating 20-point deciding tie-break. Raonic had Murray’s bid for year-end No. 1 in his hands, but the Scot wrestled free, neutralising his biggest weapons and stretching the Canadian from side to side on the baseline. Raonic demonstrated why he’s one of the elite players in the world, while Murray exhibited his growing affinity for the big moment, emerging 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(9).

“It was one of the tougher matches I played this year,” Murray said. “It was not easy… obviously with it being very long, but also mentally tiring as well.”

“I really tried to, in the best way possible, leave it all out there,” Raonic said. “I turned it around for myself twice there at the end of the third… I just did everything I could, everything that was within me, at least, to really try to win.”

View FedEx ATP Head2Head (Murray Leads 9-3)

Murray vs. Raonic: 2016 Meetings

A LOOK BACK

Columbus Challenger (Columbus, Ohio): Fourth seed and #NextGen star Stefan Kozlov picked up his first Challenger title by defeating sixth seed and fellow American Tennys Sandgren, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. The 18-year-old’s victory marks the third time in the past four weeks that an American teenager has won their maiden Challenger title, with Reilly Opelka prevailing in Charlottesville and Michael Mmoh winning in Knoxville. This is the 13^th time a teenager has won a Challenger this year and Kozlov is now the 17^th #NextGen winner overall. Kozlov rises 30 spots to a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 116.

American Teen Finalists In 2016

*Escobedo won first Challenger title less than a month after turning 20 in July, in Lexington (USA)

Sandgren’s best two Challenger results this year have come in Columbus, with the 25-year-old reaching the semi-finals at the $50,000 event here in September.

Astana Challenger Capital Cup (Astana, Kazakhstan): Top seed and #NextGen star Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan won his second Challenger title of 2016 in a marathon final over second seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(3). The win also marks the first time two #NextGen stars have won Challenger tournaments in the same week. The 21-year-old Nishioka clinched his maiden Challenger title in July in Winnetka, Illinois. His win also ensures he will finish the year inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Andria E Castel Del Monte Challenger (Andria, Italy): Fourth seed Luca Vanni won back-to-back Challenger titles in Italy by defeating fellow Italian and wild card Matteo Berrettini, 5-7, 6-0, 6-3. Vanni also prevailed last week on home soil in Brescia.

Despite the loss, the week was a career breakthrough for Berrettini, who had never reached a Challenger quarter-final prior to this week. The 20-year-old Italian jumped from No. 680 to No. 433 in the Emirates ATP Rankings with his performance in Andria.

WHAT’S AHEAD

That’s a wrap for the 2016 ATP Challenger Tour season. The circuit will be on a five-week hiatus before resuming with events in Australia, Thailand and New Caledonia in January.

CROATIA 2, ARGENTINA 2
Arena Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Davis Cup Final 

Juan Martin del Potro completed a riveting comeback from two sets down to send the Davis Cup Final to a deciding rubber on Sunday.

Del Potro and Argentina silenced a partisan Arena Zagreb crowd with a 6-7(4), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 victory over World No. 6 Marin Cilic and host nation Croatia. The Argentine stalwart and Comeback Player of the Year in the 2016 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon, rallied from an 0-2 deficit for the first time in his career.

“It’s tough for me to speak, but I did my best and this is amazing,” said an emotional Del Potro, who overcame 34 aces to prevail after four hours and 53 minutes. He joins Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Nick Kyrgios and Cilic as the only players with at least six Top 10 wins this year.

Cilic struck first blood in Sunday’s fourth rubber, breaking to love in the second game and reeling off 12 of the first 14 points to surge ahead 3-0. Del Potro would later break back for 4-4, but his Croatian opponent was too strong in the eventual tie-break, taking it 7-4.

Cilic looked to be in cruise control after snatching the second set 6-2 and denying a pair of break chances early in the third with consecutive clutch aces. The shot of the match came in the opening game of the third set, when Del Potro struck an improbable baseline-to-baseline tweener lob. They would remain on serve until the 12th game, when Del Potro surged to a 0/40 lead. Cilic turned aside the first two set points, but a lunging backhand volley winner would give the Argentine the third.

Another clutch late break leveled the match at two sets apiece, as Del Potro grabbed the fourth 6-4 and he would overcome a quick break to open the decider, reeling off six of the last eight games to complete the improbable comeback. He sealed the win on his first match point when Cilic netted a backhand return, extending his FedEx ATP Head2Head lead to 9-2.

While it was the first two-set comeback in Del Potro’s career, it marked the third time Cilic had relinquished a two-set lead in 2016 alone. He had fallen to Jack Sock in Davis Cup play and to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Federico Delbonis will face Ivo Karlovic to decide the tie. It is the first live fifth rubber in the Davis Cup Final since 2012 and ’13, when Radek Stepanek won consecutive live fifth rubbers against Spain and Serbia, respectively.

Croatia is seeking their second Davis Cup title, having lifted the trophy in 2005, while four-time finalist Argentina is eyeing its first.