For the past three seasons, Rafael Nadal’s second-serve performance has elevated to beast mode.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Spaniard’s second-serve win percentage since he first won an ATP event in 2004 identifies that 2017, 2018, and 2019 occupy three of his best four years on Tour.

Consider the following three second-serve achievements from Nadal:

1. Best Three-Year Streak
Nadal is currently first in second-serve points for the 2019 season at 59.97 per cent (836/1394). Federer is the only player within striking distance of taking year-end honours in this category, as the Swiss currently sits at 59.56 per cent (885/1486) won.

If Nadal does finish first in this category in 2019, it will be the first time in his career that he will have finished first in second-serve points won for three consecutive seasons.

Best Three 2019 Tournaments: Second-Serve Points Won
Rome = 67.44% (58/86)
Acapulco = 67.16% (45/67)
Indian Wells = 66.67% (60/90)

2. 2017 Was The Best
Nadal’s best year since 2004 winning second-serve points was just two years ago in 2017, when he averaged winning 61.17 per cent (1095/1790).

At Roland Garros in 2017, he charged through the draw to win the title without dropping a set. Of the 20 sets he won, opponents won a maximum of two games in 14 of them. He went on a rampage with second-serve points won, winning a jaw-dropping 74.17 per cent (112/151).

His best three tournaments with second-serve points won in 2017:
Roland Garros = 74.17% (112/151)
Shanghai = 66.25% (53/80)
Brisbane = 66.10% (39/59)

3. No One Does It Better
Nobody has a higher win percentage on second serves during their career since statistics in tennis were first kept in 1991. What’s also extremely impressive is that Nadal has been positioned in the Top 10 in this category for the past 16 years.

The top three players in career second-serve points won:
R. Nadal = 57.45% (15006/26122)
R. Federer = 56.85% (24079/42353)
J. Isner = 56.11% (9972/17773)

Nadal’s 2019 US Open title saw him win an impressive 57.02 per cent (138/242) on the hard courts in New York. He is now just 0.03 of a percentage point away from winning 60 per cent or more for the third time in his career.

What will it take to tip the scales to 60 per cent in 2019? Win just one more second-serve point.

2004 – 2017: Rafael Nadal Second-Serve Win Percentage / Second-Serve Position

Daniil Medvedev is human after all. The 23-year-old Russian, who reached his sixth consecutive final on Sunday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters (d. Zverev), withdrew from his home tournament, the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, on Tuesday, citing exhaustion.

The Russian leads the ATP Tour with 59 wins, including 46 on hard court and 22 at the ATP Masters 1000 level, also both Tour-leading figures. Medvedev won his second Masters 1000 title in Shanghai after winning the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in August.

“Nobody knew that I would do so well in Shanghai to reach my sixth final in a row. I just feel that I am physically and mentally exhausted. I can’t be 100 per cent. As a professional, I cannot step on court knowing that I am not 100 per cent ready to play,” Medvedev said.

“On the one hand, it is very sad, because I really wanted to play in Moscow in front of my home crowd. I’ve played for four years in a row in Moscow and each year my results improved. But, on the other hand, this is how it is. It is professional sport, and I must do what is best for my body. In this situation, I had no choice.”

With the Shanghai title, Medvedev passed Roger Federer for third place in the ATP Race To London. The Russian will make his debut at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.

“I feel amazing and have a great mood. I’ve never dreamed about six finals in a row. One of the finals is at a Grand Slam [US Open], three of them are at Masters. [Pass in the ATP Race To London] Federer? It is also something I’ve never dreamed of,” Medvedev said.

He is next scheduled to compete at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, which begins Monday.

In his first tour-level match in Europe this year, Andy Murray made a winning start to his European Open campaign on Tuesday.

The former World No. 1 converted four of six break points to overcome Kimmer Coppejans of Belgium 6-4, 7-6(4). Murray improves to 5-3 at tour-level since arriving at the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships last month.

Competing in Antwerp for the first time, Murray was forced to recover from a break down on two occasions in the second set before clinching a one-hour, 44-minute victory in the second-set tie-break. Facing the possibility of a third set, the 45-time tour-level titlist played with patience from the baseline to extract multiple errors from his opponent.

Murray will face eighth seed Pablo Cuevas or Hugo Dellien of Bolivia in the second round. The 32-year-old owns a 2-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Cuevas and is yet to meet Dellien at tour-level.

Jan-Lennard Struff needed just 44 minutes to race past Gregoire Barrere of France 6-2, 6-1. The seventh-seeded German won 23 of 24 first-serve points and converted five of seven break points to record his fifth win in seven matches at the ATP 250 event. Struff has reached the quarter-finals in each of his two previous appearances in Antwerp (2016, ’18).

Gilles Simon also dropped just two games to advance, beating home favourite Steve Darcis 6-1, 6-2. The 2018 quarter-finalist levels his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Belgian at 2-2.

This was Darcis’ last tour-level appearance in Belgium, following his announcement that he plans to retire after next year’s Australian Open. Simon will face 2017 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Soonwoo Kwon rallied from a set down to upset 2016 winner Richard Gasquet 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. The South Korean recorded his seventh tour-level win of the year after one hour and 50 minutes to hand Gasquet just his second loss in eight matches at the tournament. Kwon will meet fifth seed Guido Pella in the second round.

Feliciano Lopez levelled his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Cameron Norrie at 1-1 after beating the Brit 7-6(2), 6-4. Lopez will face fourth seed Stan Wawrinka for a place in the quarter-finals.

Italian wild card Jannik Sinner also booked his place in the second round, breaking Kamil Majchrzak on four occasions to record a 6-4, 6-2 victory. The Next Gen ATP Finals contender will meet top seed Gael Monfils in the second round.

Miomir Kecmanovic marked his VTB Kremlin Cup debut with a victory on Tuesday, beating Russian qualifier Artem Dubrivnyy 6-1, 7-5.

The eighth seed converted six of nine break points throughout the 72-minute clash to record his 22nd win in 40 tour-level encounters this year. Kecmanovic, who reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Antalya in June, will face Jeremy Chardy in the second round.

Making his first appearance at this event since reaching the semi-finals in 2011, Chardy won 90 per cent of first-serve points (27/30) en route to a 6-4, 6-2 win against Nicolas Jarry. The Frenchman owns a 6-3 record at this ATP 250 tournament. 

Home favourite Andrey Rublev edged Alexander Bublik 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to record his first victory at the ATP 250 event. The sixth seed, who entered the match with a 0-4 record in Moscow, broke serve on five occasions and withstood 16 aces to overcome the Chengdu runner-up after one hour and 32 minutes.

Two-time semi-finalist Ivo Karlovic saved one match point to beat Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(6). The first-round encounter featured 58 aces and lasted two hours and 11 minutes, with Karlovic claiming three straight points from 5/6 down in the final-set tie-break to advance. The 40-year-old Croatian will face countryman Marin Cilic for a place in the quarter-finals.

Mikhail Kukushkin defeated Moscow’s Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 6-3. The 2013 runner-up won 75 per cent of second-serve return points (15/20) to book a second-round clash against seventh seed Adrian Mannarino.

In the bottom quarter of the draw, Roberto Carballes Baena and Philipp Kohlschreiber both earned first-round wins. Carballes Baena defeated Ricardas Berankis 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, while Kohlschreiber moved past Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 7-6(3).

Making his first appearance at the Intrum Stockholm Open since 2015, Pablo Carreno Busta defeated John Millman 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the second round on Tuesday.

The fifth seed saved all four break points he faced to record his second win in three FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes against the Tokyo runner-up. Carreno Busta, who owns a 26-19 tour-level record this year, is aiming to lift his second ATP 250 title of the season after triumphing at last month’s Chengdu Open.

The Spaniard will be aiming to reach the quarter-finals in Stockholm for the first time when he faces lucky loser Gianluca Mager in the second round. Mager recorded his first tour-level victory after one hour and 40 minutes, charging from a set down to beat Pablo Andujar 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

Stockholm debutant Yoshihito Nishioka recorded his first victory at the Kungliga Tennishallen, beating Radu Albot 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. The Japanese saved 15 of 18 break points to book a second-round meeting against third seed Taylor Fritz.

Sam Querrey will also face seeded opposition in his second match in the Swedish capital. The American fired 20 aces to defeat qualifier Dennis Novak 7-6(6), 6-4. Querrey will face second seed and 2013 champion Grigor Dimitrov for a quarter-final spot. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe also advanced, beating Brayden Schnur 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

Roger Federer will go for gold in 2020. The Swiss star confirmed on Monday that he will compete for Switzerland at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

“I’ve been debating with my team for a few weeks now, months actually, what I should do in the summer time (of 2020) after Wimbledon and before the US Open,” Federer said, according to the Olympic Channel.

“I carried the flag twice for Switzerland in Athens and Beijing, I’ve got a gold and a silver, and I would love to play again so I’m very excited.”

?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ
This would be my 5th Olympic Games, I hope I will be healthy unlike Rio! Can’t wait Tokyo ?
?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ?￰ﾟﾇﾭ https://t.co/pWbxo0TibH

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) October 14, 2019

Federer has played at four Olympics, winning the doubles gold medal with Stan Wawrinka at Beijing 2008 and taking silver in singles at London 2012 (l. to Murray). The 20-time major champion missed 2016 Rio because of injury and didn’t medal at 2000 Sydney or 2004 Athens. Tennis begins in Tokyo on 25 July.

The 38-year-old is next scheduled to compete this season on the ATP Tour at his hometown event, the Swiss Indoors Basel, which begins Monday.

❤️ ? https://t.co/z32LOKEcX0

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) October 8, 2019

Alex de Minaur is coming back to the Next Gen ATP Finals.

De Minaur finished as runner-up last year in Milan. Here are five things to know about the three-time ATP Tour titlist.

1. He is perfect in title matches this season.
De Minaur is a perfect 3-0 in ATP Tour title matches this season. He started the year by winning his home tournament, the Sydney International, and becoming the youngest Sydney champion since 19-year-old countryman Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.

De Minaur also won two more hard-court titles, never facing a break point at the BB&T Atlanta Open and fighting past former World No. 1 Andy Murray en route to the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships crown last month.

De Minaur’s unblemished season in finals has come after he had rough luck during the same stage in 2018. The Aussie fell in finals in Sydney, at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., and at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals.

Watch: De Minaur’s Home Visit In Sydney

2. He talks with his psychologist every day.
De Minaur was an unknown commodity last year during his breakout season that saw him climb 177 spots, from No. 208 to No. 31 in the ATP Rankings.

This year, however, the 20-year-old has felt pressure to back up his season and continue to climb the ATP Rankings. “I’ve got a lot more expectations on myself,” he said.

You wouldn’t know it, though, judging by his improved results. The Aussie has worked with a Spanish psychologist for the past few years, and this year they’ve begun talking daily. De Minaur credits their work for his continued progress.

“I feel like the head, the mind is one of the most important things out there. I train my mind as much as I do on the tennis court or as much as I do fitness,” De Minaur said.

“Tennis is such a tough sport as it is, it’s only you out there on court, so you’ve got to deal with a lot of different pressures and expectations and when things aren’t going well. So to have someone like [him] to be on my team and be able to clear my mind and make me stronger mentally, I think it’s been the biggest change for me. That’s the way I’ve been progressing, thanks to all the work I’ve done with him.”

More On De Minaur
De Minaur Takes Third Title Of 2019, Nears Top 20
De Minaur Beats Nishikori, Dashes Into Fourth Round Of #USOpen
De Minaur Flawless On Serve To Take Atlanta Title
De Minaur On Return To Form: ‘It’s Just A Matter Of Time’

3. He learned how to drive in the off-season.
Like most players, De Minaur put in his fair share of fitness and tennis during the off-season ahead of 2019. But he also checked off a bucket list item: He learned how to drive.

“I was fortunate enough to have a week and a half off, and I put all that time and effort into getting any driver’s license in Spain. So it was a productive week and a half,” said De Minaur, who trains in Alicante, Spain. “I just had to pass my theory and pass the driving test, and it was all good.”

It’s not all open highways for De Minaur, though, who, as of January was still without his Australian driver’s license. “Here in Australia it takes a bit longer than in Spain,” he said.

Watch Uncovered: Millman Investigates De Minaur’s Driving Skills & Dancing Moves

4. He could be near Top 15, Top 10 of ATP Rankings.
De Minaur is at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 24, already seven spots higher than where he ended last season (No. 31). But the 20-year-old could be even higher had he not been injured during the middle of 2019.

A hip injury kept De Minaur out of the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and hindered his level. From the end of February to mid-May, De Minaur endured a five-match losing streak. Now, though, he has a chance to end the season inside the Top 20.

“Can’t dwell on the past. It’s about keep moving on and on to the next week. So [I’m] very happy with the progress we have made,” he said.

5. He’s making a return trip to Milan.
De Minaur won his group and rode into the Next Gen ATP Finals title match a perfect 4-0 before falling to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final 2-4, 4-1, 4-3(3), 4-3(3).

The 21-and-under event has propelled De Minaur, along with some of his 2018 #NextGenATP rivals, including Russian Andrey Rublev, who beat Roger Federer in Cincinnati, and American Taylor Fritz, who won his maiden ATP Tour title at the Nature Valley International in June.

Watch: Learn How To Defend Like De Minaur

Janko Tipsarevic is bringing his celebrated 17-year ATP Tour career to a close at the Intrum Stockholm Open. The Serbian announced on Monday that Stockholm will be his final ATP Tour event before he retires in November after the Davis Cup Finals.

But Tipsarevic isn’t content with making this week a mere nostalgia moment. He wrapped up the evening session with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 win over #NextGenATP Frenchman Corentin Moutet. Tipsarevic broke the Frenchman four times and dominated most of the baseline rallies in their 73-minute clash.

The Serbian has won four ATP Tour titles in his career, reached two US Open quarter-finals (2011-2012) and peaked at No. 8 in the ATP Rankings in 2012. Next up for Tipsarevic is top-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini.

Eighth-seeded Brit Daniel Evans won a hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 battle with Aussie Bernard Tomic and awaits the winner of #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud and Serbian Filip Krajinovic. Italian Stefano Travaglia scored the upset of the day with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory over sixth-seeded American Reilly Opelka. Travaglia will play Japanese Yuichi Sugita or Swede Elias Ymer for a place in the quarter-finals.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga got his European Open campaign off to flying start on Monday in Antwerp. In a battle of experience against youth, the sixth seed and 2017 champion defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-4.

Tsonga scored the lone break of each set to advance in one hour and 20 minutes, improving to 2-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Sonego. The 34-year-old has excelled indoors this year, picking up ATP Tour titles in Montpellier (d. Herbert) and Metz (d. Bedene). Tsonga will play fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon or Belgian Steve Darcis in the next round.

Fifth-seeded Argentine Guido Pella prevailed in a marathon 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(2) match with German Peter Gojowczyk. Pella improved to 3-2 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Gojowczyk and has won their past two matches. Next up for him is the winner of Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who prevailed here in 2016, and South Korean Soonwoo Kwon.

Tuesday’s schedule features Brit Andy Murray making his debut at this event against local favourite Kimmer Coppejans.