This Swiss Can Be Perfect, Too

Imagine hitting your first serve out wide in the Deuce court and winning a perfect 22 of 22 points. Impressive.

Now take it up a level and do it in the pressure-cooker situation of 15/40 on the big stage at ATP Masters 1000 events. That’s something special, and that’s exactly what Stan Wawrinka achieved this season.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the year-end Top 20 of the ATP Rankings identified that Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Fabio Fognini and Daniil Medvedev were all able to save 100 per cent of their break points at 15/40 to a specific first serve target in the Deuce court service box. The data set is comprised of Masters 1000 events in 2019 and the Nitto ATP Finals.

The leading five players out of the year-end Top 20 to save break point at 15/40:
Grigor Dimitrov = 96% (24/25)
Stan Wawrinka = 88% (44/50)
Fabio Fognini = 84.6% (33/39)
Denis Shapovalov = 83.3% (45/54)
Stefanos Tsitsipas = 80.5% (66/82)

Winning 100 Per Cent To A Specific Location
Wawrinka’s effort to win 22/22 out wide in the Deuce court was jaw-dropping, but he wasn’t the only one to be perfect at a particular serve spot. Below is the breakdown of the four players saving break point from 15/40 to the three first serve locations of wide, body and T.

First Serves Wide at 15/40
Stan Wawrinka = 100% (22/22)
Grigor Dimitrov = 93.3% (14/15)
Denis Shapovalov = 88.2% (15/17)

First Serves Body at 15/40 (minimum of four attempts)
Daniil Medvedev = 100% (5/5)
Matteo Berrettini = 83.3% (5/6)
Fabio Fognini = 75% (3/4)

First Serves T at 15/40
T1. Fabio Fognini = 100% (16/16)
T1. Grigor Dimitrov = 100% (10/10)
3. Dominic Thiem = 88.0% (22/25)

Overall, the year-end Top 20 served almost the same amount out wide as down the T (421-419), but the T delivered the highest win percentage.

First Serve Breakdown at 15/40 – Total and Win Percentage

Sometimes it’s about hitting your favourite first-serve location when the pressure meter goes through the roof. Other times it’s about hitting it where you opponent doesn’t expect it.