Nadal Has Done This Better Than Everyone
Nadal Has Done This Better Than Everyone
It’s the hardest hit shot, and is the driving force behind the most common rally length in matches – a rally of just one shot. The serve went in, but the return didn’t come back in play. That rally length happens way more than anything else, right around 30 per cent of total points.
It creates the greatest paradox in our sport – the practice court is overflowing with forehands and backhands, but the rally length that dominates the match court contains only a serve and a return.
See Nadal’s serving patterns in the Infosys Serve & Return Tracker
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis identifies that only 222 players since 1991 have been able to make their second serve an asset – winning a minimum of 50.1 per cent of second-serve points played.
It’s an astonishing metric since most of us hold the view that the serve in general is a dominant weapon. First serves definitely are, but second serves are absolutely not.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is widely recognised as a preeminent returner in our game. He is third best on tour since 1991 in return points won against first serves, and fourth best returning second serves.
But there is a serve category in which he is simply the best: Nadal is No. 1 in second-serve points won, at 57.2 per cent (13,485/23,590). The Top 10 career leaders in this category:
Career Leaders: Top 10 Second-Serve Points Won
|
Ranking |
Player |
Percentage Won |
|
1 |
Rafael Nadal |
57.16% |
|
2 |
Roger Federer |
56.70% |
|
3 |
John Isner |
56.01% |
|
4 |
Andy Roddick |
55.95% |
|
5 |
Novak Djokovic |
55.35% |
|
6 |
Wayne Arthurs |
54.63% |
|
7 |
Milos Raonic |
54.60% |
|
8 |
Juan Carlos Ferrero |
54.22% |
|
9 |
Andre Agassi |
53.98% |
|
10 |
Stan Wawrinka |
53.72% |
|
TOTAL |
AVERAGE |
55.23% |
When you search farther down the list, just below the 50 per cent win mark, there is an impressive array of players who attained a coveted Top 10 ranking but had a losing record with second-serve points won.
Top 10 Players: Career Second-Serve Points Won
|
No. |
Player |
Career High Ranking |
Percentage Won |
|
1 |
Andrei Medvedev |
4 |
48.71% |
|
2 |
Jonas Bjorkman |
4 |
49.18% |
|
3 |
Thomas Enqvist |
4 |
49.46% |
|
4 |
Cedric Pioline |
5 |
49.47% |
|
5 |
Gaston Gaudio |
5 |
49.84% |
|
6 |
Jakob Hlasek |
7 |
48.65% |
|
7 |
Alberto Berasategui |
7 |
48.79% |
|
8 |
Mark Philippoussis |
8 |
49.93% |
|
9 |
Carlos Costa |
10 |
48.97% |
|
10 |
Magnus Gustafsson |
10 |
49.51% |
|
– |
– |
AVERAGE |
49.3% |
Second serves are the real battleground in our sport. First-serve win percentage is always positive in our sport, all the way down to Under 12s. Not even close with second serves.
At last month’s Australian Open, Nadal averaged hitting his first serve 114 mph (180 km/h) through five matches to the quarter-finals. His average speed on second serves dropped to 95 mph (153 km/h).
That’s a 19 mph (31 km/h) difference, and is the primary reason winning points behind second serves becomes so much tougher. It’s simply not the big hammer like the first serve.