We play a “front runner” sport.
G’day from Munich,
We play a sport that is so much easier to succeed at when you get ahead on the scoreboard. Coming from behind is tough. Really tough. For example, nobody in the history of tennis has a winning record after losing the 1st set. Below are several legends of our game, showing you just how hard it is to come back.
Winning Record After Losing 1st Set
- 42.4% Rafael Nadal
- 42.3% Novak Djokovic
- 41.6% Andy Murray
- 40.3% Roger Federer
- 38.9% Lleyton Hewitt
- 37.4% Andre Agassi
- 34.0% Stan Wawrinka
- 33.7% Mats Wilander
- 32.2% Michael Chang
- 28.4% Marin Cilic
You get the picture. Falling behind on the scoreboard ADDS the scoreboard as another opponent – as if you didn’t have enough already with the person standing on the other side of the net, and the wolves howling in your own head.
2017 Season
Winning the first point of your service game is a “calling card” of the Top 10 players in the world. It gets them ahead in their service games, where they tend to stay.
Eight of the current Top 10 players are performing WORSE in this specific area in 2017 than they did in 2016.
Top 10 Average – Winning Opening Point Of Service Game
- 2016 = 68.3%
- 2017 = 66.4%
The only two players that have improved in this area from 2016 to 2017 are:
- Rafael Nadal – from 61.4% to 66.2%
- Kei Nishikori – from 66.4% to 68.3%
When Nadal wins the opening point of his service game this season and goes ahead 15-0, he has a 93.1% chance of holding serve. That is up from 89.2% last season.
If Nadal falls behind 0-15, he won only 67.9% of his service games in 2016. That’s up to 79.1% in 2017.
Rafael Nadal is 29-5 in 2017, with back-to-back titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Let’s not forget he also made the final at the Australian Open, Acapulco, and Miami. He is winning 88% of his service games in 2017, which is up from his career average of 85%.
Nadal is doing a lot of things right this season, including forging ahead 15-0, instead of falling behind 0-15.
Here’s an ideal strategy for you to employ on the first point of your service game.
- Wide Slider – hit a slice serve out wide, dragging the returner off the court.
- Serve +1 Forehand – look to hit a forehand as the first shot after the serve, even in the Ad court for righty’s.
- Attack the backhand – now run the returner hard to the Ad court, attacking their backhand on the run.
That’s a much better plan of action than trying to bomb an ace on the opening point, missing it, and then giving the returner a good look at your second serve.
For the full report on all of the Top 10 players, and how well they are performing winning the opening point of their service games, click on the link below to read my ATP analysis.
ATP WEBSITE: CRAIG’S INFOSYS ANALYSIS
Cheers,
Craig