Novak Djokovic broke a tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most ‘Big Titles’ on Sunday by capturing his 55th. The Serbian accomplished the feat by winning the Rolex Paris Masters, which is the final ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.

This is the first time that Federer has trailed Djokovic or Nadal in the Big Titles race.

Djokovic has won four ‘Big Titles’ this season, triumphing at the Australian Open (d. Nadal), the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Tsitsipas), Wimbledon (d. Federer) and now the Rolex Paris Masters. The Serbian has earned at least four ‘Big Titles’ in two straight seasons and nine times overall. Nadal has also earned four ‘Big Titles’ in 2019.  A ‘Big Title’ is a trophy at a Grand Slam championship, the Nitto ATP Finals or an Masters 1000 tournament.

Read More From Paris
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Novak Skips The Grunt Work Against Shapo

After the US Open, Djokovic and Nadal had identical win rates at ‘Big Title’ events. But Djokovic now stands alone at a rate of one per 3.3 tournaments played following his triumph in Bercy, where he lifted a record fifth trophy. Djokovic owns 34 Masters 1000 crowns, moving him within one of Nadal’s record 35. Nadal has averaged winning one ‘Big Title’ per 3.4 events played, and Federer’s rate is one per 4.3 tournaments contested.

Each member of the ‘Big Three’ will have an opportunity to add another ‘Big Title’ this season with the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals starting in a week at The O2 in London. Federer has won the season finale a record six times, while Djokovic has lifted the trophy on five occasions, tied for second in tournament history with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras.

Did You Know?
Djokovic’s win on Sunday gave him his 77th tour-level title, moving him into a tie with John McEnroe for fifth all-time. The Serbian trails Jimmy Connors (No. 1, 109), Federer (No. 2, 103), Lendl (No. 3, 94) and Nadal (No. 4, 84) in that category.

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

* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang’s one Grand Slam title came before 1990.

A one-in-20 chance of success sounds daunting, but the best players in the world deal with these odds at some stage in basically every match they play.

What’s the exact scenario? Trying to break serve after the server has built a 30/0 lead.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 50 players in the 2019 season identifies that they break serve, on average, just five per cent (525/10,065) of the time after the server has built a 30/0 lead.

Who’s the best at coming all the way back and breaking when the server has already reached 30/0? None other than Rafael Nadal, who will return to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.

Nadal has managed to break serve 9.9 per cent (20/202) of the time this season, which is right at twice the rate of the Top 50 average.

2019 Leaders: Breaking From 30/0 Leaders
Rafael Nadal – 9.9% (20/202)
David Goffin – 8.7% (18/208)
Kei Nishikori – 7.8% (17/218)
Novak Djokovic – 7.7% (15/196)

In the US Open final, Nadal triumphed 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 against Daniil Medvedev to win his 19th Grand Slam title and 54th “Big Title” overall.

In the first four sets of the match, Medvedev raced to a 30/0 lead eight times, holding all eight times. But in a thrilling fifth set, Nadal broke Medvedev twice in a row, at 2-2 and 2-4, after the Russian had built a 30/0 lead in both service games. Those were two of the biggest moments in a spectacular final.

Medvedev has broken serve the most (21 times) out of the Top 50 so far this season, but he has also trailed 30/0 when returning the second most on Tour, at 293 times. The Russian’s break percentage is a very healthy 7.2 per cent (21/293), which has him sitting in 10th out of the Top 50 in this specific metric.

Six other players who are ranked lower in the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings surprisingly elevated a long way up the list when it came to breaking serve from 30/0.

Punching Above Their Weight: Breaking From 30/0

Overcoming formidable odds is a key quality that helps these players succeed at the pinnacle of our sport.

Heading into the Rolex Paris Masters final on Sunday, one of the adaptations top seed Novak Djokovic had to make was going from playing a right-hander like he did in the semi-finals against Grigor Dimitrov to facing a left-hander in the championship against Denis Shapovalov. But the Serbian’s serve did not miss a beat.

The 32-year-old was dominant on serve in his 6-3, 6-4 triumph, helping him collect a record-extending fifth ATP Masters 1000 Paris trophy. Djokovic won 80 per cent of his service points — including 80 per cent of his second-serve points — en route to a 66-minute win.  

Shapovalov managed to put just 35 per cent of his first-serve returns and 64 per cent of his second-serve returns back into play, and Djokovic interestingly used different strategies for each delivery. And Djokovic — who hit just two aces in the match — did not need to rely on a Karlovic-like ace count to hold his serve.

Djokovic bombarded the ‘T’ with his first serve, going to Shapovalov’s forehand 74 per cent of the time in the deuce court, and to the Canadian’s backhand 56 per cent of the time in the ad court. It was the second consecutive match in which he predominantly went to his opponent’s forehand in the deuce court, after hitting 54 per cent of his first serves out wide against Dimitrov. Djokovic won 81 per cent of his first-serve points in the final.

Djokovic Final First-Serve Placement vs. ShapovalovDjokovic Semi-final First-Serve Placement vs. Dimitrov
“On the rare occasions like today, I do feel like Karlovic,” Djokovic said in recognition of the big-serving 6’11” Croat, who has hit the most aces in history. “It’s quite frustrating to play against a player like Ivo Karlovic, a player that serves very well. But it feels great when you actually can get out of your serve a lot of free points. And that was the case for me, not just today, but throughout this week.”

Djokovic changed it up with his second serve, though. He flip-flopped on the Canadian, going to Shapovalov’s backhand 71 per cent of the time in the deuce court and 57 per cent of the time in the ad court. And of Djokovic’s 14 second-serve points (excluding one double fault), Shapovalov managed to put only 36 per cent of them back into play.

Djokovic Second-Serve Placement vs. Shapovalov
Shapovalov barely won any free points with his second delivery, as Djokovic put 92 per cent of his second-serve returns back into play. The lefty targeted the Serbian’s body a majority of the time in both service boxes.

Shapovalov Second-Serve Placement vs. Djokovic
“[My] serve was definitely one of the best shots in my game and that allowed me to also feel more comfortable and more confident from baseline,” Djokovic said.

The champion spread the ball around the court, hitting to Shapovalov’s backhand more than anywhere else, doing so at a rate of 43 per cent. He made only nine unforced errors in the match.

Djokovic Shot Placement vs. Shapovalov
Shapovalov clearly targeted Djokovic’s backhand, hitting 53 per cent of his shots in that direction. He also hit 58 rally forehands to just 24 backhands. There were only three points of more than nine shots in the match.

Shapovalov Shot Placement vs. Djokovic

– Hawkeye data and visuals courtesy ATP Media

Imagine a Novak Djokovic match where more than half the points played featured only a serve and a return. Impossible, right?

Djokovic defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters on Sunday by dominating the really short points that featured no groundstrokes at all. Of the 104 points played, 56 of them (54%) featured only a serve and return, which played right into the Super Serb’s “first- strike” strategy.

No groundstrokes. No problem for Novak.

It’s important to note that rally length is dictated by balls landing in the court, not shots hitting the racquet. In rallies that lasted either zero (double fault), one or two shots, Djokovic collected 34 points, which represented more than half (56%) of the 61 points he won for the match.

More than eight points out of 10 in the final saw either player touch the ball a maximum of only two times. Djokovic’s initial touches simply went in the court a lot more than Shapovalov’s.

What mattered most to Djokovic in these ultra-quick exchanges? Extracting an error was the primary focus. Of the 34 points Djokovic won when the rally length was zero, one or two shots, only four were his winners, with 30 being errors from Shapovalov. The Canadian committed only three double faults, but 27 return errors were what sunk the ship.

2019 Paris Final: Rallies Without A Groundstroke

Shapovalov committed 15 forehand return errors and 12 backhand return errors for the match, with most of them (15/27) coming in the Deuce Court. The Canadian made eight forehand return errors from a Djokovic first serve down the T in the Deuce Court, and six on sliders out wide to the backhand. Overall, Djokovic was able to extract 22 return errors from a first serve and five from a second serve.

Shapovalov Errors
Double Faults = 3
Return = 27
Serve +1 = 5
Return +1 = 4
5+ Shot Rallies = 12
Total = 51

Djokovic’s serve was a major asset all week in Paris, and it was his primary weapon in the final. “It was tough for me to find a groove just because he was really, really picking his spots on the serve,” Shapovalov said.

We often think of Djokovic as a master of long rallies, but they had no bearing on this match at all, with only four points featuring in the nine-plus shot rally length and only two rallies maturing to double digits.

Total Points Played
0-4 Shots = 84 (81%)
5-8 Shots = 16 (14%)
9+ Shots = 4 (5%)
Total Points = 104

Shapovalov won the three-shot rally length 7-6 and drew even with Djokovic 4-4 in four-shot rallies. But the Canadian was heavily in debt in zero-, one- and two-shot rallies.

The 0-4 Shot Rally Length Broken Down

Djokovic’s game has morphed perfectly at the end of the season to excel on indoor hard courts, where striking first is dictated by the faster conditions. It must have been nice to put the lethal groundstrokes on the shelf for a day and let the serve and return collect the silverware.

Editor’s note: Craig O’Shannessy is a member of Novak Djokovic’s coaching team.

Novak Djokovic’s victory on Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters was not big just because it was his 34th ATP Masters 1000 title and a record-extending fifth at this tournament. By triumphing instead of finishing runner-up, the Serbian gained an additional 400 ATP Race To London points, pulling him within 640 of leader Rafael Nadal as the battle for year-end World No. 1 heats up heading into the Nitto ATP Finals.

Entering the week, Djokovic could have seen his year-end No. 1 chances slip away. But now, his dreams to claim his sixth year-end No. 1 finish and tie Pete Sampras’ record are very much alive.

“That puts me in a better position after this week. But, again, I have to keep on winning. There’s always a chance that I win all my matches in London, that I play well,” Djokovic said. “I have done it in the past, and I like playing there. But it’s [an] extremely difficult task considering who my opponents are going to be. You’re playing a Top 10 player every single match.

“So that’s a big task on my end that I have to focus on. And as a consequence, if I manage to get the year-end No. 1, that would be, of course, fantastic.”

If he lifted his first Paris trophy, Nadal would have clinched his fifth year-end No. 1 finish, which would have tied Djokovic, Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors for second all-time. But the Spaniard was forced to withdraw in the semi-finals due to an abdominal injury, allowing Djokovic to gain ground.

“I’m sad to see that he’s injured because that’s not what you want to see, not for Rafa, not for any other athlete. I know how that feels. Obviously I went through major injuries in my life as well,” Djokovic said. “I hope he can recover and compete in London. Because with or without him, obviously, also the battle for No. 1 but also the tournament itself is different. He’s a great champion and obviously lots of respect for him.”

Djokovic is not salivating at the opportunity ahead of him in London. Instead, he’s focussing on one match at a time, knowing he needs to go undefeated at The O2 to earn 1,500 points, which would give himself the best possible chance to claim his sixth year-end No. 1 finish.

“It’s not possible for me now to assume anything. It is not a reality. I have to wait and see what happens in London, to see if I can reach that goal,” Djokovic said. “It wouldn’t be correct to presume with regard to Nadal and the others.”

For the moment, Djokovic is ecstatic with his performance in Bercy. At the start of the week, he admitted to being ill. But that did not stop the Serbian from lifting the trophy — his fifth of the year, matching Dominic Thiem for the ATP Tour-lead — without losing a set.

Djokovic extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against Shapovalov to 4-0 with his 66-minute championship victory. But the Canadian was the second #NextGenATP player to reach a Masters 1000 final in 2019, joining Stefanos Tsitsipas (Madrid). And with 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Daniil Medvedev winning two Masters 1000 trophies this year, Djokovic recognised that younger players are on the rise.

“I don’t think there’s any big difference in terms of the game. Next Gen guys have won Masters 1000s like Zverev some years ago. And so it has happened and it’s going to happen more,” Djokovic said. “The new generation is already there. And guys like Medvedev and Khachanov and Rublev, the Russians, and Tsitsipas and Zverev and Thiem, and you know, Denis, Felix, this generation, it has already established themselves in the first Top 20 of the [ATP Rankings].

“And now these guys are starting to believe, more and more, that they can actually fight for the biggest trophies with the other guys. So I think it’s a matter of time, it’s a matter of when things come together in terms of experience, in terms of a good given day, I guess, as well.”

But for now, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer maintain the top three slots in the ATP Rankings. And while Nadal will climb to No. 1 on Monday as Djokovic’s 2018 Nitto ATP Finals points drop off, the Serbian will head to London with confidence that he could earn himself an opportunity to take that spot right back.

From Novak Djokovic’s flawless title run to home hopes thrilling the Bercy crowd throughout the week, relive the best moments of the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters.

1. Djokovic Maintains No. 1 Hopes: Djokovic arrived in Paris knowing he would lose his No. 1 ATP Ranking to Rafael Nadal on 4 November, and that, depending on this week’s results, he’d lose his hopes of securing the year-end top spot for the sixth time, too. But the Serbian kept his year-end No. 1 dreams alive with a tremendous run at the season’s final ATP Masters 1000 event, battling to the title without losing a set.

The top seed extended his record to five titles at this tournament, and he also tied John McEnroe for fifth all-time with 77 tour-level crowns.

2. Doubles Champs: Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert became the first Frenchmen to win the doubles title in Bercy since Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in 2006. The home favourites did not lose a set, defeating Russian singles stars Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the final.

This year’s Australian Open champions will now turn their attention to the Nitto ATP Finals, where they will compete together for the fifth consecutive year.

3. Shapovalov Shines: The Canadian defeated three Top 15 players en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 final in the French capital. Two weeks after claiming his maiden ATP Tour crown in Stockholm, Denis Shapovalov overcame Fabio Fognini, Alexander Zverev and Gael Monfils en route to the championship match in Bercy.

Following his loss to Novak Djokovic, Shapovalov ends the European indoor swing with an 8-2 record and will break the Top 15 in the ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday. Read More.

4. Final Battleground: With two singles and three doubles Nitto ATP Finals qualification positions up for grabs in Paris, the pressure was high for all London contenders. Alexander Zverev claimed the seventh singles spot after five contenders bowed out in second-round action Wednesday, and Italian Matteo Berrettini took his place in the field for the first time after Gael Monfils fell one win short of qualification in the quarter-finals against Denis Shapovalov. Read More

Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau and Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury clinched their positions in the doubles field early in the week. The final spot was taken by Paris semi-finalists Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek. Read More

5. French Fever: For the first time since 2012, the crowd at the AccorHotels Arena saw two home players advance to the last eight. Home favourites Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga provided hope of a first French champion since Tsonga’s triumph in 2008, before Denis Shapovalov and Rafael Nadal recorded straight-sets victories against the duo in Friday’s evening session.

Herbert and Mahut continued to thrill the home crowd all the way through the end of the tournament, becoming just the third all-French team to triumph at this event.

6. Halloween Triple Treat: The stars aligned for a spooky coincidence on Halloween as Djokovic, Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas all collected their 50th wins of the season on the same day. Tsitsipas, who reached the milestone for the first time, was the first to join Daniil Medvedev and Roger Federer in this year’s ’50 Club’ with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Australian Alex de Minaur. Djokovic followed next with a 7-6(7), 6-1 win over Briton Kyle Edmund and Nadal completed the hat trick following a 6-4, 6-4 win against Stan Wawrinka. Read More.

7. Chardy Snaps Multiple Medvedev Streaks (And One Of His Own): Jeremy Chardy upset Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4  in the second round to end the Russian’s 11-match Masters 1000 winning streak and run of six consecutive tour-level final appearances. The Frenchman saved 14 of 15 break points throughout the match to cut short Medvedev’s bid for a third straight Masters 1000 title.

Medvedev entered the match on a nine-match winning streak and had not lost any of the 18 sets he had contested since falling to Nadal in the US Open final. Chardy also broke a streak of his own, earning a first victory in his 11 most recent matches against Top 10 opposition. Read More

8. Struff Eliminates Defending Champ Khachanov: Jan-Lennard Struff beat defending champion Karen Khachanov 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 in the second round to earn the seventh Top 10 win of his career. The German fired 17 aces and won 84 per cent of first-serve points (48/57) to end Khachanov’s hopes of a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals after two hours. Read More

 Khachanov bounced back to end his season on a positive note, advancing to the doubles final with Rublev, his countryman. It was their second Masters 1000 doubles final together, having finished runner-up last year in Miami. 

9. What Battle For No. 1? Although Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal came to the Rolex Paris Masters locked in a battle for year-end No. 1, it didn’t stop the long-time rivals from practising together for the first time in ‘years’, according to Djokovic, ahead of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

“It was great. It was a lot of fun. It was very intense and competitive, as you can imagine, obviously, but in a very respectful way,” Djokovic said. “We are rivals but that doesn’t prevent us from being respectful and treating each other in the right way and our teams as well.”  Read More

10. Newlywed Nadal Returns: Rafael Nadal returned to action for the first time since competing at the Laver Cup, and also, for the first time as a newlywed. 

“The wedding had been a great day for me, for my wife, I think for the guests, too – for all the people that shared this special day with all of us,” said Nadal, ahead of his Paris opener. “Happy to be back here in Paris.” Read More

Novak Djokovic will head to the Nitto ATP Finals in striking distance in the battle for year-end No. 1. The Serbian won his 34^th ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday, beating #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Djokovic was untouchable on serve and took advantage of a nervy start from Shapovalov, who was broken twice in his first Masters 1000 final, to claim a record-extending fifth Paris Masters 1000 title and remain unbeaten against the 20-year-old in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry (4-0).

Djokovic added 1,000 ATP Race To London points to his tally and, with 8,945 points, is only 640 points away from Spain’s Rafael Nadal (9,585), who will become No. 1 on Monday for the first time in a year. Nadal withdrew from his semi-final against Shapovalov (abdominal) but said he plans to do everything to be ready to compete at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

ATP Masters 1000 Career Title Leaders

Djokovic climbed to within one of Nadal’s all-time Masters 1000 titles lead and also tied John McEnroe on the all-time titles list with his 77^th tour-level crown.

Shapovalov, with new coach Mikhail Youzhny, has been in the form of his life of late, winning his first ATP Tour title at the Intrum Stockholm Open last month and making his first Masters 1000 final in Paris. But the left-hander couldn’t hold off Djokovic, who was in control throughout the final. Shapovalov lifted a forehand long during his first service game to hand the Serbian the early break.

All-Time Leading ATP Title Winners

Djokovic was hitting his spots on his serve and was never so much as even pushed to Deuce in the opening set. Shapovalov recomposed himself in the second, but another forehand error gave Djokovic the break in the seventh game and a clear path to his fifth title of the season, which ties him with Dominic Thiem for the Tour lead. Djokovic, who will receive €995,720 in prize money, is now 11-1 at the Paris Masters 1000 after reaching the semi-finals.

Shapovalov will receive 600 ATP Rankings points and €995,720 in prize money and is projected to climb to a career-high No. 15 in the ATP Rankings.

Had Casper Ruud converted his match point in the 2017 Rio de Janeiro semi-finals, it might have helped propel him into the Next Gen ATP Finals that year. But more than two years after that match, he’s made it to Milan.

The 20-year-old Norwegian makes his debut at the Allianz Cloud on Tuesday against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. Ruud has enjoyed a breakout season that has seen him climb more than 50 spots in the ATP Rankings, recording his first ATP Tour final in Houston alongside a pair of semi-finals in Sao Paulo and Kitzbühel.

“This is the week all of us have been waiting for,” Ruud said. “I did really well in the beginning of 2017 and I was really high up in the [ATP Race To Milan], but I didn’t make it that year or last year. It was a big goal for me to be here this year. This was my last chance, so I guess you could say it will be a nice end to my Next Gen career. (Ruud was born in December 1998, therefore making him ineligible for the 2020 Next Gen ATP Finals, which will accept only players born in 1999 or later.)

“Most of our matches on Tour are against guys who are much older, so it’s fun to measure our powers against each other. Everybody here can beat each other with the [unique] scoring system, so it’s something we should be prepared for. One set can just be a difference of one or two points, so it will be a fun event.”

Read More: How Ruud Plans To Follow In Nadal & Thiem’s Footsteps

But if Ruud had to pick the week that’s had the biggest impact on his fledgling career so far, he still thinks back to the highs and lows of his run in Rio. He arrived that week as an 18-year-old wild card with an ATP Ranking of No. 208, playing just his second main tour-level main draw an first ATP 500 event. But the Norwegian punched well above his weight by shocking a trio of established clay-court experts for his first tour-level semi-final.

“I was the underdog in every match,” Ruud said. “Nobody knew me or how I played, but I had seen all of these guys on TV and knew how they played. They didn’t really know what to expect from me.”

Ruud held a match point in the second set of his semi-final against Pablo Carreno Busta, but the Spaniard won the next nine games to prevail. Had Ruud won, the victory would have propelled the Norwegian into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings. The magnitude of the moment wasn’t lost on him as he spent much of the year competing on the ATP Challenger Tour, fully aware he’d be in the main draw of many tour-level events if he’d made good on his chance.

Realising that dwelling on the situation wouldn’t help, Ruud made peace with his circumstances. He worked even harder off the court and cracked the Top 100 this March. But what’s most satisfying to the 20-year-old is that he reached the milestone off a consistent body of results, rather than a single flashy run.

“I was one point away from being in the Top 100 as an 18-year-old, which is a big deal. It’s probably something I thought about a little too much after that week. It was tough to know that I was so close and it could have been an unbelievable rest of the season for me,” Ruud said. “[But] this has been my best year on Tour. I feel more steady and grown up in my game and behaviour than I did during that week in Rio.”

Read More: 5 Things To Know About Ruud, Who’s Going To Milan

Ruud credits his father, former Top 50 player Christian Ruud, with his on-court success. He freely admits that Norway isn’t known as a tennis hotbed, so having a parent who played on Tour was an ideal substitute when sparring partners weren’t plentiful growing up. Living under the same roof as the only Norwegian player at the time to crack the Top 100 also gave him firsthand knowledge on how to pursue his dreams of a pro tennis career.

“He’s always been there for me and tried to guide me,” Ruud said. “When you’re 13 or 14, it’s easy to think about other things or want to go out to parties. My dad was strict with me in those ways because he knew you have to be serious from a young age if you want to be a professional tennis player. There were some sacrifices, but it’s paid off.”

Read More: Like Father, Like Son: Ruud Makes His Mark

Competing in Milan is just one of the rewards for his years of hard work. But with his 21st birthday a month away, Ruud is one of the “veteran” #NextGenATP players on Tour. He hopes that a big run this week will serve as a springboard to match the success of younger players at the upper echelons of the ATP Rankings like Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov.

“I’m not going to say that I feel old, but there are younger players that are doing better than me. It’s something to perhaps gain motivation from,” Ruud said. “I’m a couple of steps behind them now, but I’ve built a good base this year and will hopefully be ready for an even better season next year.”