Perfection
Career points won of the world’s best players = 55%
What does perfection look like?
It looks a lot like the number 55.
Imagine for a moment that you are Roger Federer. You have won it all – multiple times. You have won north of $88 million dollars, notched up 83 titles including 16 Grand Slams, and won right around a thousand matches. You have won over 81% of your matches in your career. The numbers don’t lie – you are Superman.
Hang on a minute. There is also another way to look at Roger’s career – derivatives. Once you drill down to the basics, the real numbers come alive.
You start with a brilliant career. That gets broken down into seasons, which get broken down again into individual tournaments. Tournaments are made up of matches, matches are made up of sets, and sets are made up of games.
Finally, at the bottom level, games are made up of points.
It’s points that tell the true picture.
Points are the smallest derivatives of careers, and contain the DNA building blocks of tennis – patterns & their percentages.
Take a 50-50 battle, tip it only five percent in your favor, and you own the world.
Points are where the genius of Roger Federer can be examined and where the most important number in our sport can be found. The number 55.
Here’s a list of some players you may know that will help you gain a deeper understanding of how important the number 55 truly is.
| Player | Career % | 2014 | Best Season | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Federer | 55% | 55% | 58% | 2003 |
| Rafael Nadal | 55% | 55% | 56% | 2012 |
| Novak Djokovic | 55% | 55% | 56% | 2013, 2011 |
| Andy Murray | 53% | 53% | 54% | 2013, 12, 11, 09 |
| Pete Sampras | 54% | - | 55% | 1997, 94 |
| Andre Agassi | 53% | - | 55% | 2003, 99 |
| Marcelo Rios | 52% | 54% | 1998 | |
| Lleyton Hewitt | 52% | - | 54% | 2003, 01 |
| Patrick Rafter | 52% | 54% | 1998 | |
| Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 51% | 52% | 2003, 01, 99, 96, 94 | |
| Marat Safin | 51% | 56% | 2003 |
Federer, Nadal, Djokovic
A closer look at the careers of the three most dominant players in our sport in recent times shows just how dominant the number 55 is, year in and year out.
| Year | Roger Federer | Rafael Nadal | Novak Djokovic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 55% | 55% | 55% |
| 2013 | 54% | 55% | 56% |
| 2012 | 54% | 56% | 55% |
| 2011 | 55% | 54% | 56% |
| 2010 | 55% | 55% | 53% |
| 2009 | 54% | 54% | 53% |
| 2008 | 55% | 55% | 54% |
| 2007 | 55% | 54% | 53% |
| 2006 | 56% | 54% | 52% |
| 2005 | 55% | 55% | 49% |
| 2004 | 55% | 52% | 48% |
| 2003 | 58% | 55% | - |
| 2002 | 53% | 49% | - |
| 2001 | 52% | - | - |
| 2000 | 50% | - | - |