With The Match On Their Racquet, The Top 10 Stay Clutch
Four more points is all you need.
You have put yourself into position to win the match, and now you need to serve it out. The Top 10 players in the world are clutch in situations just like this but none of them are perfect on serve with the match on the line.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 (on 31 July) reveals that, since the start of the 2015 season, they have combined to hold serve just under 90 per cent of the time when serving out a match. They are performing slightly better in the 2017 season, but nobody has held every single time they have had the opportunity to seal the match.
In a very tightly bunched field, Marin Cilic has led the way since the beginning of the 2015 season, serving out a match 90.6 per cent (58/64) of the time. The only other player to be above 90 per cent in the past two and a half years is Milos Raonic, who has held serve 90.2 per cent (74/82) of the time.
Top 10 as of 31 July 2017: Holding Serve For The Match
|
Ranking |
Player |
Holding: Serving For The Match |
2015-2017 Win % |
2017 Season |
2017 Win Percentage |
|
1 |
A. Murray |
104/120 |
86.7% |
18/19 |
94.7% |
|
2 |
R. Nadal |
82/93 |
88.2% |
26/28 |
92.9% |
|
3 |
R. Federer |
69/77 |
89.6% |
16/20 |
80.0% |
|
4 |
S. Wawrinka |
80/92 |
87.0% |
15/19 |
78.9% |
|
5 |
N. Djokovic |
99/113 |
87.6% |
13/14 |
92.9% |
|
6 |
M. Cilic |
58/64 |
90.6% |
21/23 |
91.3% |
|
7 |
D. Thiem |
79/88 |
89.8% |
27/30 |
90.0% |
|
8 |
A. Zverev |
57/64 |
89.1% |
21/22 |
95.5% |
|
9 |
K. Nishikori |
89/99 |
89.9% |
18/21 |
85.7% |
|
10 |
M. Raonic |
74/82 |
90.2% |
19/21 |
90.5% |
|
- |
TOTAL/ |
791/892 |
88.7% |
194/217 |
89.4% |
There are four players closely bunched right behind Cilic and Raonic in the 89 per cent range, including Kei Nishikori (89.9 per cent), Dominic Thiem (89.8 per cent), Roger Federer (89.6 per cent) and Alexander Zverev (89.1 per cent).
Not far behind them follows Novak Djokovic (87.6 per cent), Stan Wawrinka (87 per cent), and World No. 1 Andy Murray, who's in 10th place at 86.7 per cent.
But Murray’s 2017 numbers are significantly better, as he is one of only three players this season who has failed just once to close the match out when serving. Murray has won 18 of 19 service games when attempting to serve out the match, while Djokovic is 13 of 14, and Zverev has impressively won 21 of 22.
The Top 10 have won 89.4 per cent of their service games this season when serving to win the match – a slight uptick from the 88.7 per cent they have averaged since the start of the 2015 season.
As the ATP World Tour now heats up in the North American summer hard-court season, keep an eye on these players in this specific stage of the match. It’s a key factor in taking titles for the tour’s elite.
