Grass-court tennis traditionally favours big servers, with the slick bounce off the turf adding to the arsenal of heavy hitters. But with Wimbledon rapidly approaching, keep an eye on two of the most successful grass-court players of all-time, who have found success by nullifying that potent threat on the surface.

Although two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and six-time winner Novak Djokovic are more than capable on serve, it is their return games that lift them to historic heights on the grass. Djokovic leads all active players with a 26.4 per cent win rate in return games on the surface, while Murray is a close second at 26.3 per cent, according to statistics from the Infosys ATP Performance Zone.

As a result, those two men have claimed more grass titles than any active player other than Roger Federer, whose 19 tour-level titles are the most on the lawns since records have been kept. Murray has won eight such titles, while Djokovic has claimed seven.  

Diego Schwartzman is the only other active player to surpass the 25 per cent mark (25.3%) in grass-court return games won, with Denis Kudla fourth on the list (23.9%).

Career Return Games Won % On Grass (Active Players)

When considering all surfaces, Djokovic and Murray win 32.2 per cent and 31 per cent of their return games, respectively. That still puts them in elite company, but slightly behind active leaders Rafael Nadal (33.6%) and Schwartzman (32.4%). Seventeen active players eclipse 25 per cent in that statistic.

A similar gap can be seen in serving statistics as well. Just three men have held serve at a rate better than 90 per cent throughout their careers: Ivo Karlovic (92%), John Isner (91.8%) and Milos Raonic (91.2%). Federer is the next-best at 88.8 per cent. But narrow the scope to just grass courts, and 12 men surpass 89 per cent, including Djokovic.

The Serbian is seventh in hold percentage across all surfaces (85.8%) and ninth on grass (89.4%). Murray clocks in at 24th overall (81.8%) and 14th on the grass (88.4%).

Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion, is seventh among active players in grass-court hold percentage with a rate of 89.8 per cent. That leaves him just below Matteo Berrettini (90.9%) and Nick Kyrgios (90%).

Rafael Nadal arrives at Wimbledon in a position he has never been in.

Before this year, the Spaniard had never triumphed at the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the same season. Now he is halfway to becoming the first men’s singles player to win the Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

One year ago, Novak Djokovic claimed the first three majors of the year before falling in the US Open final. Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion, will try to move closer to achieving the feat at SW19, where he will be the second seed.

The lefty will also attempt to move further clear of his chief rivals in the race for the most major titles. Nadal earned his 22nd Slam at Roland Garros, while Djokovic and Roger Federer own 20 each. It is the 36-year-old’s first appearance at The All England Club since 2019, when he lost in the semi-finals against Federer.

Both Nadal and Djokovic practised on Centre Court Thursday, a historic moment at Wimbledon. It was the first time that the tournament has allowed practice on Centre Court and No. 1 Court before the first day of the event. Organisers permitted it in order to help the players get used to the conditions and break in the courts.

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Nadal trained with Italian Matteo Berrettini, who advanced to his first major final at Wimbledon one year ago. The Italian underwent right hand surgery in March, but has quickly returned to form on the grass. Berrettini has won all nine matches he has played since his nearly three-month absence, lifting trophies in Stuttgart and at The Queen’s Club.

Djokovic is 79-10 at the grass-court major and has won its past three editions. The top seed will chase his seventh Wimbledon trophy and 21st major crown over the coming fortnight.

The Serbian practised on Centre Court with former Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic. The Croatian has found some of his best form in recent weeks, having reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros and The Queen’s Club.

Australian Jason Kubler and Czech Lukas Rosol, who stunned Rafael Nadal at The Championships a decade ago, led 16 qualifiers through to the main draw at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Kubler, the second seed in qualifying, cruised past Swede Elias Ymer 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and six minutes to confirm his place in the main draw. The No. 98 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings needed a deciding set in his first two matches at Roehampton, but he earned five service breaks to triumph. It is the second time he has qualified for the grass-court major, having done so in 2018.

View All Final-Round Qualifying Results

Ten years ago, Rosol shocked Nadal in the second round at Wimbledon, marking one of the most memorable upsets of the decade in tennis. However, entering this week, the 36-year-old had not advanced to the main draw here since 2017. The Czech changed that on Thursday with a 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 win against Argentine Renzo Olivo. 

Former Top 10 star Jack Sock also moved on with a 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 victory against Frenchman Hugo Grenier. The American reached the third round in 2016.

The final around of qualifying featured best-of-five action compared to best-of-three for the first two rounds, and there were three five-setters. Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler outlasted Chinese Taipei’s Jason Jung 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, Austrian Dennis Novak battled past American Stefan Kozlov 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, and American Christian Harrison rallied past German Daniel Masur 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

The other qualifiers were Frenchman Enzo Couacaud, Switzlerland’s Alexander Ritschard, German Nicola Kuhn, Australian Max Purcell, German Maximilian Marterer, Moldovan Radu Albot, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin, Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Slovakian Lukas Klein and Italian Andrea Vavassori.

The Wimbledon draw will take place Friday.

Just last week, Daniil Medvedev cruised past Roberto Bautista Agut on grass in straight sets at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle. On Thursday, the Spaniard flipped the script.

Bautista Agut eased past the World No. 1 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Mallorca Championships. It was the fourth time the veteran has defeated the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (4-8), with his three previous victories coming against Novak Djokovic.

“I had to play very good to beat Daniil. He’s the No. 1, the last champion here in Mallorca. He just beat me a few days ago. I played a really compete match,” Bautista Agut said in his on-court interview. “I was more convinced with my game today, hitting strong, very solid. I think I did a really good match.”

It was not the first time the 34-year-old has troubled Medvedev. In fact, Bautista Agut won their three previous meetings outside of Halle with the loss of just one set.

Medvedev consistently frustrates opponents with his solid play, flat strokes and big first serve that puts them under pressure throughout the match. But it was the top seed who was visibly frustrated Thursday, making uncharacteristic errors as he tried to crack the Bautista Agut code. 

Normally, Medvedev is comfortable staying in extended rallies with anyone on Tour. But against Bautista Agut, he was trying to change the rhythm with drop shots and other plays, while the Spaniard remained in his comfort zone. The fifth seed faced just one break point — which he saved — in his 71-minute triumph.

“You need to be very confident that you can make it. Last week I was a bit far,” Bautista Agut said. “Today, I was with a lot of confidence. I knew that if I would play a good match, I would get my chances, and I got it.”

This year’s Doha champion will next play Switzerland’s Antoine Bellier or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor as he pursues his second title of the season. Bautista Agut won his first ATP Tour trophy in 2014 on the grass of ‘s-Hertogenbosch and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2019.

Maxime Cressy reached his second tour-level semi-final of the season Thursday, upsetting top seed Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-5 at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.

The American overcame Reilly Opelka and Daniel Evans in his first two matches and produced another strong display on the grass at the ATP 250 event. The 25-year-old fired 10 aces and won 80 per cent (35/44) of his first-serve points to advance after one hour and 39 minutes in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Norrie.

“The court conditions were amazing,” Cressy said during his on-court interview. “Thank you to the crowd for making the match so special and bringing an incredible environment. It is a big win for me.”

Cressy, who is making his debut in Eastbourne, will face #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper or British wild card Ryan Peniston in the last four. Earlier this season, the World No. 60 reached the championship match at the Melbourne Summer Set, losing to Rafael Nadal.

”It has been a tough past three months, but I have stayed resilient and I knew my time would come,” Cressy added. “My confidence is back and I am proud of myself and so happy.”

The 2019 champion Taylor Fritz continued his strong record in Eastbourne with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Alexander Bublik in 67 minutes.

The third-seeded American has now won his past seven matches at the ATP 250 event and will next play Australian Alex de Minaur or countryman Tommy Paul.