The Big Four didn’t just dominate this decade individually. Their battles against each other also created some of the most compelling storylines throughout the past 10 years.

ATPTour.com looks at how the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalries featuring Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray helped shape the 2010s.

Novak Djokovic v. Roger Federer (Djokovic leads 21-14 this decade)
The tussle for dominance in Federer and Djokovic’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry had been brewing for years, but it appeared that the Swiss had gained the upper hand at the start of the decade. He won four of their five clashes in 2010, but Djokovic’s lone victory in that year’s US Open semi-finals created a divide that continues to this day.

The Serbian saved two match points in the fifth set to prevail against Federer, then shockingly replicated the feat the following year as he rallied from two sets down. A dejected Federer reflected afterwards that, “It could be worse. It could be a final.”

Eight years later, Djokovic did the unthinkable once again by saving two match points against Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final. Their historic match was the first championship clash at The All England Club to use a final-set tie-break at 12-12.

Djokovic’s victory embodied his decade-long trend of prevailing in tight matches against the Swiss. After scoring his first New York comeback against Federer, he went on to win nine of their next 11 matches that went to a deciding set.

Federer is capable of winning quickly against his longtime rival, though. He hadn’t beaten Djokovic in four years heading into last month’s Nitto ATP Finals, but produced a masterful performance to prevail in 73 minutes and score his fastest non-retirement victory against the Serbian.

Their 35 matches throughout the decade topped any other rivalry on Tour in the 2010s.

Novak Djokovic v. Rafael Nadal (Djokovic leads 21-12 this decade)

The contrast in Djokovic and Nadal’s playing styles and personalities has always made their clashes must-see viewing and their compelling matches throughout the decade have made their rivalry one of the greatest of all-time.

Their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting of the decade saw Nadal snatch his maiden US Open crown in the 2010 final, but the Serbian quickly shifted the momentum in his favour. They competed in seven tour-level finals from March 2011 to January 2012 and Djokovic won all of them, including three consecutive Grand Slam championship matches.

Djokovic completed the hat trick in a grueling 2012 Australian Open final, which remains the longest Grand Slam final in history at five hours and 53 minutes. Both men were so worn out from the brutal baseline rallies that chairs were brought out for them during the trophy ceremony. Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the title match at the 2013 Nitto ATP Finals.

The Serbian compiled another seven-match winning streak from April 2015-May 2016 and became the second player to defeat Nadal at Roland Garros with his 2015 quarter-final victory. Djokovic is the only player to go toe-to-toe with Nadal on clay throughout the decade, splitting their 14 matches on the surface.

However, there were also plenty of times when Nadal held the momentum. He racked up a pair of three-match winning streaks against Djokovic in 2012 and 2013, including the 2012 Roland Garros and 2013 US Open finals. The Spaniard continues to impose himself against Djokovic and won their most recent meeting this May in the championship match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Neither player has had a clear upper hand in their rivalry during the past three seasons. With both men continuing to elevate their games, fans can expect more enthralling tussles between Djokovic and Nadal. 

Roger Federer v. Rafael Nadal (Nadal leads 11-9 this decade)

The demand for Federer-Nadal matches has continued to intensify. Ticket prices on Stubhub started at nearly US $9,000 for their most recent FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting in this year’s Wimbledon semi-finals.

Both men traded blows early in the decade, with Federer taking the title match at the 2010 Nitto ATP Finals and Nadal gaining revenge in the 2011 Roland Garros final. But beginning in 2013, their rivalry produced drastic shifts in momentum.

Nadal won all five of their clashes in 2013 and 2014, four of which took place in 2013. The Spaniard used his powerful forehand to attack Federer’s backhand and consistently gain the upper hand in their baseline exchanges.

Federer’s switch to a bigger frame in 2014 would pay dividends. He was far better able to counter Nadal’s relentless attacks to his backhand and hit with greater topspin to take charge of more points. He broke the losing streak against Nadal with his own five-match run and swept all four of their clashes in 2017. Federer’s dramatic five-set victory in that year’s Australian Open final that gave him his first Grand Slam title since 2012 Wimbledon.

Although Nadal dominated the Swiss on clay (5-0) and Federer won their lone grass-court meeting (1-0), they remained nearly even on hard courts (Nadal leads 8-6). Another epic hard-court battle between them in Australia would be a fitting way to open the new decade.

Novak Djokovic v. Andy Murray (Djokovic leads 21-8 this decade)

There are times when a single match can alter the course of a rivalry. For Djokovic and Murray, the 2012 Rolex Shanghai Masters final can be seen as the catalyst for the Serbian’s dominance.

Murray was riding high after defeating Djokovic to clinch his first Grand Slam at the 2012 US Open, but the Serbian responded in Shanghai with one of his greatest comebacks. He broke Murray as the Brit served for the title at 5-4 in the second set, then saved five match points in the second-set tie-break before going on to complete his Houdini act.

Djokovic has since posted a 17-4 record against Murray in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including winning 14 of their 15 hard-court matches. He also prevented Murray from making a push to achieve a Career Grand Slam by defeating him in four Australian Open finals (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016) and the 2016 Roland Garros final.

Although Murray’s victories over Djokovic have been less frequent, he’s made them count. The Brit prevailed in the 2013 Wimbledon final and the title match at the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals, which was also a winner-takes-all battle for the coveted year-end No. 1 ATP Ranking.

They haven’t squared off since the 2017 Doha final (won by Djokovic), in part due to injuries that have largely prevented both men from being healthy at the same time. But now that they’re back to full strength, fans are hopeful that the new decade will see them resume their rivalry.

Rafael Nadal v. Andy Murray (Nadal leads 10-5 this decade)

Numbers can be deceiving. Although Nadal won the bulk of his FedEx ATP Head2Head matches with Murray, his lone stretch of dominance against the Brit took place during a 10-month span at the beginning of the decade.

Their epic clash in the semi-finals of the 2010 Nitto ATP Finals saw Nadal prevail in a third-set tie-break. He rode the momentum to his longest winning streak against Murray (5), prevailing four times in 2011 that included semi-final victories at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Murray adjusted his tactics against Nadal, changing the height of the ball more frequently in rallies and primarily hitting second serves to the Spaniard’s forehand. He broke his losing streak in the title match at the 2011 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships and has kept pace with Nadal since then, winning three of their past seven matches.

The Brit’s past two victories over his rival have surprisingly come on the clay courts of the Mutua Madrid Open. Murray stunned Nadal in the 2015 final for his first ATP Masters 1000 title on clay and followed up with another win in the 2016 semi-finals.

Nadal and Murray have only played each other five times since 2012 and haven’t met since their 2016 Madrid clash, but they’ve always brought out the best in each other. Another Nadal-Murray clash would still be just as compelling to watch.

Roger Federer v. Andy Murray (Federer leads 10-5 this decade)

The intensity of Federer and Murray’s matches, combined with the mutual respect and admiration they show for each other, made their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry one of the most intriguing to watch throughout the decade.

Both men traded body blows from 2010-2012. Federer beat Murray in the 2010 Australian Open and 2012 Wimbledon finals, but Murray became a national hero for Great Britain by winning their gold medal match at the 2012 London Olympics. The Swiss handily defeated his rival in round-robin play at the 2010 and 2012 Nitto ATP Finals, while the Brit swept all three of their matches at Masters 1000 events in straight sets.

After losing to Murray in their lone five-set clash in the 2013 Australian Open semi-finals, Federer took firm control and has won their past five matches. The Swiss swept their three battles in 2014, including a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing during round-robin play at the 2014 Nitto ATP Finals. The defeat remains the most one-sided loss of Murray’s career. Murray chalked the losses up to being part of his recovery from back surgery the previous year, but when Federer prevailed two more times in 2015, he simply tipped his hat to the Swiss.

Although they haven’t played in four years, Murray has said that facing Federer again is an opportunity he’d relish. It’s safe to say that their fans would relish it as well.

Roger Federer v. Juan Martin del Potro (Federer leads 12-5 this decade)

The rivalry between Federer and Del Potro opened the decade as brutally one-sided in favour of the Swiss, but closed it with the Tower of Tandil making firm inroads in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

The duo produced the rivalry of 2012 by facing off eight times. Federer won their first six clashes of that year, which included his two biggest comebacks against the Argentine in back-to-back matches. He rallied from two sets down to defeat Del Potro in the Roland Garros semi-finals, then prevailed in a 3-6, 7-6(5), 19-17 tussle two months later in the semi-finals of the London Oympics. The final set alone took two hours and 43 minutes. 

But Del Potro was inching closer to another win against his adversary and broke through in a thrilling title match in that year’s Swiss Indoors Basel, then closed out his 2012 season with another three-set win in the Nitto ATP Finals. The Argentine’s pair of victories marked the first time in 10 years that a player had scored consecutive wins indoors against Federer.

Little has separated Federer and Del Potro throughout much of the decade and the pair have split their past 10 matches. Their battles have also consistently gone down to the wire, with 10 of their past 12 matches reaching a deciding set.

Their most recent clash in the 2018 BNP Paribas Open is a microcosm of the gripping drama they deliver. Del Potro let slip a championship point in the second-set tie-break, but saved three championship points with Federer serving at 5-4 in the third set and ultimately prevailed 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(2).

Even after their most epic battles, the pair regularly embrace each other at net afterwards and have maintained a warm relationship. The camaraderie and intensity of their rivalry is something that fans will hope to see more of in the new decade.

After being successfully implemented at the Next Gen ATP Finals, Video Review will be used by officials at the inaugural ATP Cup, held throughout Australia from 3-12 January.

“The job for officials is to get things right in a match, so here’s another tool for that,” said Gayle David Bradshaw, Executive Vice President, ATP Rules & Competition. “There could be a lot riding on a judgement call. If they make a bad judgement and there’s a clear way to correct it, we’re all for it.”

The Video Review is delivered using Advanced Hawk-Eye technology. Players will be able to challenge judgement calls from the chair umpire such as Not-Ups, Foul Shots, Touches, Invasion, Through and Hindrance.* Each player is limited to three incorrect challenges during a set, but will receive an additional challenge if a set reaches 6-all.

When a reviewable call is challenged, the VR operator uses all available camera angles to find the best view of the incident. They will then send the video to a screen attached to the chair umpire’s chair. If the line review system is unable to make a determination, the chair umpire may review the call for clear evidence that confirms or overturns the call on the court. If there is no clear evidence, then the original decision stands.

Although Bradshaw expects the video review to be used sparingly in matches, he believes it’s a crucial component to ensure that incorrect calls don’t disrupt the flow of a match.

“Last year at Wimbledon, there was a point that a player won twice and ended up losing that point,” Bradshaw explained. “There was a double bounce that wasn’t called and then his opponent actually missed the shot he hit. They’re showing it on the television replays and you can clearly see that it was two bounces. In that case, having Video Review would have solved the whole issue.”

Video Review was in place, but not used by players, at the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals. This past November in Milan, Casper Ruud called for the first-ever Video Review adjudication during his round-robin match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The historic moment took place at 30-all in the opening game, when chair umpire Fergus Murphy stopped the point and declared that Ruud’s lob touched the bottom of the jumbo screen. The Norwegian challenged the call, but the review showed that the call was correct.

Ruud’s challenge was played out in real time to spectators at the Allianz Cloud on a large video board, in addition to fans watching the match on broadcast. Bradshaw believes that using technology to bring fans closer to the action will only help the sport in the future.

“[Umpires are] used to being under pressure, but now the spectators are seeing in real time the same video that the official sees to make the decision. This has huge potential for entertainment value for the fans,” said Bradshaw. “You don’t have that in American football or in soccer stadiums. We’ve taken it to another level in fan engagement.”

In addition to the ATP Cup, Video Review will be used in 2020 at the Next Gen ATP Finals and Nitto ATP Finals.

* Examples of incidents that would be subject to video review at the ATP Cup are:

• Not-Ups – double bounces

• Foul Shots – deliberate double hits or carry; or hitting the ball before it has passed the net; the ball, prior to bouncing, hits a permanent fixture; or the racquet is not in the player’s hand when touched by the ball.

• Touches – ball skimming racquet, clothing or body; or if a player, or anything he is wearing or carrying, touches the net, net posts/singles sticks while the ball is still in play.

• Invasion – when the player, or anything he is wearing or carrying, touches the opponent’s side of the court while the ball is in play.

• Hindrance – decisions on whether a point should be awarded or the point should be replayed. The most common use of this would be a call corrected from out to good and whether the player had a play on the ball.

Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies will be part of the German team at the inaugural ATP Cup, to be held from 3-12 January. They will join Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff and Mats Moraing in Group F in Brisbane.

ATPTour.com caught up with Krawietz and Mies, who successfully transitioned from the ATP Challenger Tour to Roland Garros success and Nitto ATP Finals qualification in 2019.

What are you most looking forward to about the ATP Cup?
Krawietz: It’s great to be a part of the team and the team feeling, travelling around the world and following results of other German players. It’s great that former German players remain involved in the sport, such as Boris Becker, who will be the captain in Brisbane, plus Tommy Haas, Michael Kohlmann. It’s a big thing for us.

Who were your idols growing up? What shot would you like from a compatriot?
Krawietz: Roger Federer was one of the biggest for us, but also Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt for their style of play and personalities. If I could take one shot of a compatriot, it would be the Becker serve. Such power and placement.

Mies: My idol was Becker growing up, but I liked watching Roger, Haas, and the German guys. I’d certainly take the one-handed backhand of Haas, which was so smooth.

What is your favourite thing about Australia?
Mies: I like how relaxed Australia is. I went to Melbourne this year and I felt that the people were very nice. It’s completely different to Germany, where things are strict and people are stressed. Australia is more relaxed.

Krawietz: For me, Australia has great weather and beautiful cities.

Which German player do you find funny?
Krawietz: Struffi is funny, even when he doesn’t try to be. Kohli can have a dry and ironic sense of humour.

Mies: We’re Germans, we don’t joke! No, no, we like to joke around and have a lot of laughs. I once took a German player’s car key, and he was so stressed, looking around non-stop.

What are the things you love most about Germany?
Krawietz: When I come back, I always realise Germany is so structured and organised, that everything is on time. But I also see that people are stressed. I also like the football.

What sports did you play growing up?
Krawietz: I started playing tennis, football and a little bit of basketball, then I had a decision to continue with two sports.

Mies: Growing up, I played a lot of football, that was probably my main hobby until 10-11, when my parents said they couldn’t drive me four times per week for tennis and football. So I had to decide. I tried athletics and swimming too, but I stuck to tennis.

When did you first meet, and subsequently play together?
Krawietz: We met during Futures tournaments together. I was playing junior tournaments, then in 2017, I was looking for a fixed partner, as we were both changing partners a lot. We said let’s try it out.

Mies: I graduated from Auburn University in 2013, with an international business degree, and returned to Germany that summer. We played against each other a few times in doubles, then in December 2013, we played against each other in singles of the German Championships. Kevin won 7-6 in the third set and it still hurts, he was 5-1 up in the third set and I got to 6-5. He smelled the victory and beat me.

We played our first tournament in Meerbusch, a Challenger, and won. I was injured a bit after that for a few months, then we started playing full-time in 2018 and here were are.

How did your life change after you won your the Roland Garros title?
Krawietz: It was a special moment after Roland Garros. The walk from the Halle practice court to the hotel normally takes just a few minutes, but this time it took 30 minutes because we were signing so many autographs. We were very grateful and humbled. We helped conduct the singles draw and there were 200 people watching us. It was a great feeling.

Mies: Life has changed since then for sure, playing smaller events and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was a big surprise, even for us. There was a lot of attention all of a sudden, as it was 82 years since the last all-German pair (Gottfried Von Cramm and Henner Henkel) won a Grand Slam championship in 1937. There was so much attention in the first few weeks and we didn’t sleep very much the first few days as our phones were going off so much. Going to Halle and having so much attention, we weren’t used to it.

Leander Paes, the 46-year-old Indian who has amassed 767 tour-level doubles wins and 54 tour-level doubles titles during his illustrious career, announced Wednesday that 2020 will be his final season.

“I am looking forward to the 2020 tennis calendar where I will be playing a few select tournaments, travelling with my team and celebrating with all my friends and fans around the world. It is all of you who have inspired me to become me and I want to take this year to say ‘Thank you’ to you,” Paes wrote on social media. “2020 is going to be an emotional one and I look forward to seeing all of you out there roaring with me.” 

#OneLastRoar pic.twitter.com/WwALCVF5LO

— Leander Paes (@Leander) December 25, 2019

Paes won his first ATP Tour doubles title at 1997 Chennai, nearly 23 years ago, before the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Denis Shapovalov and Alex de Minaur were born. He lifted at least one tour-level trophy every year from 1997-2015, with his most recent triumph coming at 2015 Auckland. Paes, who first reached No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings in 1999, won the bronze medal in singles at the 1996 Olympics and captured his lone ATP Tour singles title at 1998 Newport.

“I’m playing for a lot of passion now. I really love my life and travelling the world,” Paes told ATPTour.com in July. “When I was younger, I was playing to put bread and butter on the table. I still am, but now I’m playing because I get a lot of happiness out of playing tennis.

“Every morning, I put on [tennis clothes] and have fun… [tennis is] a beautiful sport to bring happiness to a lot of people.”

Did You Know?
Paes has won eight men’s doubles and 10 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.

Veteran Nicolas Mahut will play on a stacked French team at the inaugural ATP Cup, to be held 3-12 January. Mahut, along with countrymen Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Benoit Paire and occasional doubles partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, will look to outplay Serbia, South Africa and Chile in Group A in Brisbane.

Mahut talked with ATPTour.com about his French pride and his hopes for next month’s ATP Cup.

Which French players did you watch growing up as a kid and what did you like about them?
I started to watch tennis and really became a tennis player when I watched the Davis Cup final in 1991 with Guy Forget and Henri Leconte. They were my heroes at the time.

If you could take one stroke from any of your ATP Cup teammates and add it to your game, what would you take?
I would say Benoit Paire’s backhand. He can hit winners from everywhere. I would take Gael Monfils’ athleticism. He is the best athlete on Tour for me, one of the best. I would [also] take his serve.

If you were to have a team dinner, which player would most likely be late?
Definitely Gael. Or it would be a contest between Gael and Benoit, but I would say Gael.

What is your favourite thing about Australia?
The people. I love Australian people… It is funny because when you arrive from Europe and you arrive at the security, you know you are in Australia already. The weather, of course, but if I had to pick one I would say the people.

What are the things you love most about France?
Wine, food and I think in France you can stay in every part. You have mountains, you have sea and you have big cities. Paris, of course.

What are your memories of playing in teams, and what do you like about being part of a team?
I played in all the teams since I was 14 in France. I played under-14, under-16 and under-18. To me, French teams are really important. When you play tennis you are mostly alone on the court or sharing good or bad moments with your coach. For once a year, you are with your teammates wanting to achieve the same goal. It is what I like in team sports.

What are you most looking forward to about the ATP Cup?
It is a brand-new competition. I am really excited that we are going to have a new captain that will be Gilles Simon. I am really excited to be on the court, with him on the bench. That will be a really good experience. We will start in Brisbane and hopefully finish in Sydney. I want to see how this works. I am really excited about this competition.

Do you like hearing from a captain who can give you tips on the court during a match?
I like being on court with a captain, especially Gilles, who is a good friend of mine. Tactically, he is really strong. He can see quick on the court and I really look forward to it.

Can you sing 100 per cent of your national anthem?
Of course. When you grow up in France, this is something you learn at the beginning at school. Every French [person] knows the national anthem.

South Africa’s Raven Klaasen is 37 but he’s hardly slowing down. The veteran right-hander reached a career-high No. 7 in the ATP Doubles Rankings in 2019 and, along with partner Michael Venus of New Zealand, made the doubles title match of the Nitto ATP Finals.

Ahead of the ATP Cup, to be held 3-12 January, Klaasen talked with ATPTour.com about which South African’s serve he’d like the most, his three favourite things about his country and what he’s most looking forward to about the inaugural ATP Cup.

Which countrymen did you watch, on the television or in person, as a kid growing up?
I just missed the back end of Kevin Curren’s career. I heard about him a lot but I started watching when Wayne Ferreira was starting to play good tennis, so I caught most of his career. He was probably the South African that I watched play tennis the most and [he was] a big inspiration for me.

If you could take one shot from one of your ATP Cup teammates and add it to your game, what would it be?
Kevin Anderson’s serve. Give me that. I would take that in a heartbeat. I think if you can start points like he does, it would make my job a little easier.

Who is the funniest player in the team and why?
That is a good question. I think we all think we are pretty funny in our own right, but right now I am going to go with myself. I am going to be confident there.

What are the three things you love most about your country?
I think South Africa is a beautiful place to live. I have grown up there and not ever wanted to leave. The scenery is the first thing, the second thing is the weather — we get spectacular weather — and right now, in the past year or two, the wine country has started to be a big one for me. The weather, beaches, scenery and people are fantastic.

What percentage of your national anthem can you sing?
I can sing the whole thing, but I probably understand about 60 per cent. I know what to say and I understand the meanings, but two of the languages I don’t speak.

Name three Australian animals.
Wallaby, I want to say kangaroo and what is it, a dingo? Dingo, yeah.

Talk about the team sports you played growing up. What did it mean to be playing as part of a team?
I played quite a bit of rugby growing up. My dad was a good rugby player and I played until I was about 14 or 15 years old. I think that team aspect is really spectacular when you are going out there and have more motivation than just the self satisfaction to put a result together. Looking back and seeing how happy people get when you are doing well and how nice it is supporting other guys is really a fun part of team sports.

Who would be most likely to turn up late to an ATP Cup team dinner?
Can I pass on this one, because I might have to say myself!

What do you enjoy most about Australia?
It is such a similar culture to South Africa. We have similar things that we enjoy, we are big sporting nations and [share the] Southern Hemisphere weather. Coming back at the beginning of every year is exciting to me and I look forward to going back there for many more years.

What are your earliest memories of playing tennis in South Africa?
The earliest vivid memories would probably be at 10 to 11, but I have got some vague memories of being next to the court [at a younger age]. Both my parents played league matches and they were pretty competitive tennis players themselves, so they had me next to the court — my mum says — when I was an infant. I don’t have great memories of that but I do remember some early days when we were young kids hanging out at the court, not even playing, just being around tennis. That is probably where the love of the game started.

Who on the team would be the best to dress up as the team mascot?
I’d say Lloyd Harris is probably the one to go to there. He is a pretty confident individual and I think he’d pull that off pretty good.

What would be a signature comment from your home country?
It is also a greeting, but we say ‘Howzit boet?’. That is just ‘How are you doing?’. ‘Boet’ means brother as a loose translation.

What are you most looking forward to about ATP Cup?
It is part of history. To get the opportunity to play this tournament, that is going to be massive for us. It is something that I look forward to and something that I will cherish when I look back one day. I have got a little guy now and to pass that story on to him will be a lot of fun. Having the South African boys on the team and hopefully giving some struggles to the other teams out there, that would be a lot of fun to me. I look forward to that event a big deal.

The statistical chance of breaking Ivo Karlovic’s serve when he wins the first point of the game is so small that it’s laughable.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Karlovic’s service games for the past five seasons (2015-2019) uncovers just how dominant he has been when he gets ahead in the point score. The data set includes players who have played 50-plus matches during that period, so on average 10 matches per year.

The only point score over the past five seasons where the returner was favoured to break Karlovic was 0/40. How often did opponents win the first three points of the 6’11” Croatian’s serve game? Just 1.8 per cent (59/3329) of the time.

Holding From 40/0
Karlovic is near-perfect at this specific score, holding serve 1,040 times out of 1,041 from 185 matches. During that span, he averaged playing a “love-hold” game almost six times a match. Reilly Opelka, who played his first ATP main draw match in 2016, has not yet dropped serve on Tour when leading 40/0. The leading three players holding from 40/0:

R. Opelka = 100% (310/310)
I. Karlovic = 99.90% (1040/1041)
J. Isner = 99.85% (1362/1364)

Holding From 30/0
Karlovic has dropped serve only 11 times in five years when leading 30/0. It’s an astounding statistic that puts him above a 99 per cent win rate with only half the points in the game completed. The leading three players holding from 30/0:

I. Karlovic = 99.23% (1411/1422)
J. Isner = 98.93 (1844/1864)
M. Raonic = 98.76% (1518/1537)

Holding From 15/0
Karlovic is the career leader for Service Games Won at 92.08 per cent (8713/9462) from 683 matches. He is one of only four players to be above the 90 percentile mark, along with Isner (91.79%), Milos Raonic (91.02%) and Andy Roddick (90.11).

In the past five seasons when Karlovic has won just one point in his service game to surge ahead 15/0, he has won a jaw-dropping 97.3 per cent (1915/1969) of his service games. You may as well turn the lights out after just one point. The leading three players holding from 15/0:

I. Karlovic = 97.26% (1915/1969)
J. Isner = 96.83% (2537/2620)
R. Opelka = 96.66% (636/658)

Holding from 15/40
You may think you have finally turned the tables on Karlovic by putting him in a 15/40 hole. Think again. Karlovic is the only player in the past five seasons to have a winning record from 15/40, just tipping the scales at 50.9 per cent. The leading three players holding from 15/40:

I Karlovic = 50.94% (81/159)
J. Isner = 45.03% (86/191)
S. Wawrinka = 39.77% (138/347)

Holding From 0/40
Amazingly, this is the only point score in the past five seasons that the returner tips the scales above 50 per cent with the odds to break serve. Karlovic is still the best-rated player in this category, holding serve on average one out of three times. The leading three players holding from 0/40:

I. Karlovic = 33.90% (20/59)
R. Federer = 30.12% (25/83)
M. Raonic = 28.57% (22/77)

Karlovic’s career-high ATP Ranking is No. 14, which he reached in August 2008. and he was ranked inside the Top 20 as recently as February 2017. The Croatian has made a career of winning one more point than his opponent. He finished the 2016 season ranked No. 20, went 34-24, and won $1.2 million. He won 4,612 points for the season. He lost 4,611.

Editor’s Note: This story was amended to correct Karlovic’s hold percentage from 15/0, which is 97.26%, not 99.26% as originally reported.

The 2019 resurrection of Stan Wawrinka has a fascinating sub-plot that provides an insight into how he halved his ATP Ranking and then halved it again this season.

An Infosys ATP Insights deep dive into Wawrinka’s journey back to the very top level of our sport identifies the Swiss was No. 68 in February of this year, and finished the season by storming northward all the way back up to No. 16.

Wawrinka held a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 3 as recently as July 2017, but two knee operations later in 2017 knocked his ranking all the way down to No. 263.

Wawrinka finished this year ranked 11th on the ATP Stats Serve LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys Nia Data, which was considerably higher than 62nd place he finished on the ATP Stats Return LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys Nia Data.

So what did the Swiss do so well on the serving side of the equation? Buckle down when his service games were under threat. The following data set comes from the 2019 season and includes players who competed in 10-plus matches.

Serve Performance When Trailing In The Game
Wawrinka was ranked 11th overall on the ATP Stats Serve LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys Nia Data, in 2019, but in four point-score situations where he was trailing in the game, he was ranked considerably higher than his season average.

2019 Season: Wawrinka Ranking Holding Serve / Per Point Score

Wawrinka’s serve performance elevated in the face of adversity, rising to the challenge at these specific point scores exactly the same way as he methodically improved his ranking back towards 2017 markers.

What’s interesting is that when Wawrinka was level in the point score, or ahead, his performance was solid, but not as good as when he was trailing in the point score compared to his peers.

2019 Season: Wawrinka Ranking Holding Serve / Per Point Score

Quite simply, Wawrinka performed better when serving under pressure in 2019, rising to the occasion as he rose up the ATP Rankings.

Wawrinka has an excellent opportunity to keep climbing up the rankings in the first quarter of 2020 as he won only two matches combined at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami in 2019.

He does have to defend a final in Rotterdam (300 points) and a quarter-final in Acapulco (90 points), but don’t be surprised to the see the Swiss star break back into the Top 10 around the middle of the year.

It happens every year on the ATP Challenger Tour. Players emerge onto the professional scene with breakthrough Challenger campaigns, making immediate statements as they surge up the ATP Rankings. The 2010s were no exception.

All paths to the top are created differently. While it takes some players longer to achieve their goals, others have entered the fray with immediate success. From Top 10 stars Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov launching their careers to open the decade, to the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner most recently crashing the party, fresh faces have burst onto the scene every year.

As the decade draws to a close, we look back on the players that made immediate impressions in the 2010s.

2010 – Grigor Dimitrov
When Dimitrov entered the 2010 season, the highly-touted Bulgarian was already on everyone’s radar. A junior Wimbledon champion just two years earlier, the 18-year-old was embarking on his professional journey with plenty of hype surrounding him. While his ascent would prove to be slow and steady, eventually peaking at World No. 3 after lifting the Nitto ATP Finals trophy in 2017, the start to Dimitrov’s career was anything but. He sprinted to the Challenger winners’ circle early and often.

In his first full season as a pro, Dimitrov vaulted from outside the Top 300 to a year-end position of No. 106 in the ATP Rankings. A total of 30 wins included his maiden Challenger title on the clay of Geneva, followed by back-to-back triumphs in Bangkok a month later. Also a finalist in Orleans, Dimitrov would cap his campaign on a staggering 23-5 run.

Honourable Mention: This technically wasn’t the breakthrough season for Kei Nishikori. That came two years prior when he won his maiden ATP Tour title in Delray Beach as an 18-year-old. But after missing nearly all of 2009 with an elbow injury, the teen was forced to rebuild his ATP Ranking from scratch and prove himself at the Challenger level. He would return with a vengeance, posting a 27-4 record, with titles in Savannah, Sarasota, Binghamton and Knoxville. From outside the Top 800 in March to a Top 100 return by year’s end.

2011 – Cedrik-Marcel Stebe
Stebe will be the first to admit that his professional career has not gone according to plan. The 29-year-old has featured in the Top 100, reached an ATP Tour final and battled the likes of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the biggest stages. But a long list of injuries and multiple surgeries on his hip, back, pelvis, wrist and forearm tendon had the German recently saying, “I felt like someone has a voodoo doll of myself.”

Before the litany of physical ailments, Stebe captured the attention of the tennis world with a dominant 2011 campaign. A 20-year-old competing in his first full pro season, he would break through with a 42-15 record and a title at the former ATP Challenger Tour Finals. After opening the season with a final appearance in Kyoto, he would also lift the trophies in Bangkok and Shanghai, soaring to year-end No. 81 in the ATP Rankings. And after making his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon as a qualiifer, he stunned Nikolay Davydenko en route his first ATP Tour quarter-final in Stuttgart.

Eight years later, Stebe is on the comeback trail once again, completing a resurgent season that included a first tour-level final in Gstaad.

Honourable Mention: Benoit Paire entered the fray as a 21-year-old, claiming his first Challenger titles in Brasov, Romania and Salzburg, Austria, in 2011. The future World No. 18 and three-time ATP Tour champion would win 37 matches during his breakout season.

2012 – Martin Klizan
Klizan was the Newcomer of the Year in 2012. And for good reason. The Slovakian claimed the honour in the ATP Awards after registering a ruthless Challenger campaign that saw him win 28 of 33 matches played. It included four titles from five finals, prevailing on the clay of Rabat, Marrakech, Bordeaux and San Marino.

The Bratislava native, who would rise to a career-high No. 24 in the ATP Rankings just three years later, was already plotting his ascent on the ATP Tour while dominating the Challenger circuit. He also made a statement at the US Open, storming to the Round of 16 behind an upset of fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. And just a few weeks later he lifted his biggest piece of silverware at the St. Petersburg Open. Where most players don’t experience such a rapid, seamless transition from the Challengers, that was the 22-year-old’s reality in 2012. He would soar to No. 30 in the year-end ATP Rankings.

Honourable Mention: The 2012 season was one for the breakthroughs. Andrey Kuznetsov, Guido Pella and Jerzy Janowicz also crashed onto the scene with impressive campaigns. Kuznetsov and Janowicz, whose careers were plagued by injuries, combined for 66 wins and a 7-1 mark in finals in 2012. Poland’s Janowicz memorably streaked to the final at the Rolex Paris Masters to conclude his season.

After five years competing on the ITF circuit and sitting outside the Top 300, Pella made his mark in 2012 with 40 wins in his first season on the Challenger Tour. He would take home the trophy at the ATP Challenger Tour Finals, surging to the year-end Top 100.

2013 – Pablo Carreno Busta
There are no words to describe Carreno Busta’s 2013 season. Any hyperbole would not be sufficient to explain what the Spaniard achieved in his breakthrough season.

At the age of 21, Carreno Busta won a grand total of 92 matches at all levels – ITF, ATP Challenger Tour, ATP Tour and Grand Slams. Yes, NINETY-TWO victories. After opening the season at No. 654 in the ATP Rankings, he transitioned smoothly from the ITF circuit, promptly reaching his first tour-level semi-final as a qualifier at the Estoril Open.

From there, Carreno Busta qualified for his first Grand Slam at Roland Garros and proceeded to reel off 33 of 39 matches at the Challenger level. That included three straight titles on home soil in Segovia and Italian territory in Cordenons and Como. He also lifted the trophy in Tanger, Morocco, celebrating a rise of nearly 600 spots to No. 64 in the year-end ATP Rankings.

Did we mention he achieved all that at the age of 21? Four years later, Carreno Busta would crack the Top 10 and feature at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Honourable Mention: Jiri Vesely earned Newcomer of the Year honours behind a 31-win season and three titles from five final appearances. And Bradley Klahn notched a 40-17 Challenger record after completing a storied career at Stanford University.  

2014 – Diego Schwartzman
Wait, where’s Nick Kyrgios in this spot? After all, the Aussie won three Challenger titles in just five tournaments played, before marching to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. We’ll get to Kyrgios soon, but this is Schwartzman’s moment in the spotlight.

Before he became a perrenial Top 20 star, three-time ATP Tour champion and Grand Slam quarter-finalist, the Argentine paid his dues at the Challenger level. Schwartzman spent two seasons on the circuit before finally putting it all together in 2014. A 48-14 record included a whopping seven finals and titles in Aix-en-Provence, Prague, Campinas, on home soil in San Juan and at the ATP Challenger Tour Finals.

Schwartzman rose to No. 61 in the year-end ATP Rankings, continuing his steady progression from unheralded Challenger star to unstoppable force on the ATP Tour.

Honourable Mention: We promised Kyrgios would get his due and here it is. The Aussie went back-to-back on the clay of Sarasota and Savannah and triumphed on the grass of Nottingham, posting a 15-2 record in a two-month span. As quickly as his Challenger career started, it ended. Kyrgios would stun Rafael Nadal en route to the last eight at Wimbledon and reach the third round at the US Open. From outside the Top 200 entering Sarasota to year-end No. 52.

2015 – Hyeon Chung
In previous years, there were rumblings about a Korean teen with incredible potential. As the calendar flipped to 2015, Chung announced his arrival with authority. After capping his 2014 campaign with a maiden crown in Bangkok, he picked up where he left off with a title in Burnie and final run in Launceston in February.

But it was Chung’s sprint to the finish that was the most impressive part of his season. The 18-year-old not only reeled off a 19-1 stretch to conclude his Challenger campaign, but did so with the loss of just four sets. He triumphed on the clay of Savannah and hard courts of Busan and Kaohsiung. One week later, he would surge to his first ATP Tour quarter-final in Shenzhen, en route to year-end No. 51 in the ATP Rankings.

Honourable Mention: Kyle Edmund marched up the ATP Rankings in 2015, storming into the Top 100 behind a 33-win season and titles on three continents – in Hong Kong, Binghamton and Buenos Aires. And we can’t forget about Taylor Fritz’s month of October. In just his second and third Challenger appearances, the 17-year-old claimed his first titles in Sacramento and Fairfield. He saved a combined 47 of 51 break points in doing so, soaring from No. 694 to the year-end Top 200.

2016 – Frances Tiafoe
Nowadays, the 21-year-old Tiafoe has established himself as a Top 50 stalwart, already boasting an ATP Tour title and Grand Slam quarter-final. But many forget that the American had dropped his first five Challenger finals. Every path to the top is created differently and Tiafoe’s was no exception.

After struggling to find his footing in 2015, he put it all together in 2016, compiling an impressive 42-18 record and finally lifting his first trophy in Granby. Another title would follow in Stockton and he would push John Isner to five gripping sets at the US Open. After many years with plenty of hype surrounding him, Tiafoe’s breakthrough had arrived in grand fashion. And a year later, he concluded his Challenger tenure with back-to-back titles on the green clay of Sarasota and red clay of Aix-en-Provence. The Top 50 would soon follow.

Honourable Mention: Jordan Thompson dominated in 2016, posting a 46-17 record to break into the Top 100. Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev also cracked the Top 100 after earning his lone Challenger trophy in Saint-Remy, France, part of a 35-win season.

2017 – Denis Shapovalov & Felix Auger-Aliassime
How can you choose between Shapo and Felix here? You can’t go wrong either way. While Felix pulled in record after record, rewriting the Challenger history books with seemingly every tournament, it was his fellow Canadian who instantly became a household name after a stunning single-season ascent.

Having entered the season outside the Top 200, an 18-year-old Shapovalov would complete a dramatic rise to No. 51 in the ATP Rankings. He did not drop a set in claiming his first crown in Drummondville, becoming the first player born in the year 1999 to win a title. And after lifting his second trophy in nearby Gatineau, he introduced himself to the world with a stunning run to the Rogers Cup semis and US Open fourth round, stunning Rafael Nadal along the way. While many players spend years moving up from the Challenger to the ATP level, Shapovalov did it in a matter of months.

The left-hander may have snatched the spotlight, but it was his countryman Auger-Aliassime who etched his name in the record books. It’s hard to believe that the teen was just 14 years old when he became the youngest match winner in Challenger history in 2015. And two years later, the Montreal native became the eighth-youngest champion with his maiden title in Lyon, France. Auger-Aliassime, who vaulted 439 spots to No. 162 in the ATP Rankings in 2017, joined Richard Gasquet, Rafael Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt as the youngest players to break into the Top 200 in the past 20 years. The Canadian would add a second title in Sevilla, Spain later in the year.

Honourable Mention: Cameron Norrie and Matteo Berrettini more than tripled their career wins totals in 2017, with the Brit putting together a 32-11 campaign and the Italian registering a 31-14 season. Both players put themselves on the map with their breakout seasons and would be just months from surging into the Top 100.

2018 – Ugo Humbert
To say that Humbert came out of nowhere to break onto the scene in 2018 would be an understatement. Just inside the Top 400 to open the year, the Frenchman was well off the radar as he mixed some Challenger appearances with ITF tournaments in the first half of the season. Then, suddenly, it all clicked for the Metz native as the calendar flipped to July.

Humbert turned in an astonishing five-month stretch to not only soar 300 spots to the year-end Top 100, but nearly qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals. Having previously competed in just a handful of Challengers, he would put together the following mid-season run: Gatineau final, Granby final, Segovia title, Cassis final, Orleans second round, Ortisei title. Considering that Humbert had previously won a combined five matches at the level, his run was awe-inspiring.

The Frenchman would also qualify for the US Open and win a round in the main draw, before claiming his first ATP Tour match win in Metz. And he capped his campaign with a third Challenger title of the season in Andria, Italy, solidifying his Top 100 ascent.

Honourable Mention: Reilly Opelka and Cristian Garin were on a mission to finish the 2018 season. The American and the Chilean both lifted three trophies in the final months, with Opelka capping a 17-4 stretch with a Top 100 debut and Garin going back-to-back-to-back in Campinas, Santo Domingo and Lima to break into the year-end Top 100 himself.

2019 – Jannik Sinner
It was a breakthrough unlike any other. The incredible ascent of Jannik Sinner goes down as arguably the biggest storyline on the ATP Challenger Tour this decade. And it came in the final year of the 2010s.

From competing in Tunisia and Kazakhstan on the ITF circuit in January to lifting the trophy at the Next Gen ATP Finals in November, Sinner’s rapid rise was as awe-inspiring as it was shocking. In just the fourth Challenger appearance of his fledgling career, the Italian lifted the trophy on home soil in Bergamo in February. He was outside the Top 500 at the time and only 17 years of age.

Sinner would post a 28-7 record with two more titles in Lexington and Ortisei, becoming the youngest player in the year-end Top 100. The Italian is also the second-youngest to win three titles in a single season in Challenger history, behind only Richard Gasquet.

Honourable Mention: The Nordic NextGen revolution kicked into high gear with Emil Ruusuvuori and Mikael Ymer both registering four titles and finishing in the Top 10 among win percentage leaders. And of all players with at least 30 matches played in 2019, no one had fewer losses than Tommy Paul. He posted a staggering 30-5 record, finally putting it all together after many years competing on the Challenger circuit.