When was the toughest time to break Kei Nishikori in the 2018 season? Right after he just broke serve.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the year-end Top 10 identified that Nishikori led this elite group by improving his hold percentage the most right after breaking serve compared to his 2018 season average.
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Nishikori held 81.4 per cent (638/784) of the time in 2018, which was actually the lowest hold percentage out of the Top 10. But his hold percentage jumped a substantial 5.9 percentage points, to 87.3 per cent (151/173), in the ensuing service game right after breaking. Nobody improved as much as Nishikori did.
Eight of the players inside year-end Top 10 also improved holding in this specific situation, with only Roger Federer and Kevin Anderson unable to hold more after breaking serve than their season average.
Top 10: 2018 Season Average Holding Serve vs Right After Breaking Serve
|
ATP Ranking |
Players |
Holding After Breaking Serve |
Season Average Holding Serve |
+/- Difference |
|
9 |
Kei Nishikori |
87.3% |
81.4% |
5.9 |
|
4 |
Alexander Zverev |
86.5% |
82.9% |
3.6 |
|
1 |
Novak Djokovic |
90.5% |
87.2% |
3.3 |
|
2 |
Rafael Nadal |
89.6% |
86.4% |
3.2 |
|
8 |
Dominic Thiem |
88.1% |
85.2% |
2.9 |
|
10 |
John Isner |
96.0% |
93.6% |
2.4 |
|
7 |
Marin Cilic |
89.1% |
87.0% |
2.1 |
|
5 |
Juan Martin del Potro |
87.9% |
87.6% |
0.3 |
|
3 |
Roger Federer |
88.6% |
91.1% |
-2.5 |
|
6 |
Kevin Anderson |
82.4% |
89.1% |
-6.7 |
The player with the second highest improvement holding serve after breaking compared to his season average was Alexander Zverev, who had a 3.6 percentage-point jump. Zverev won the biggest title of his career at the Nitto ATP Finals in London last month, impressively holding serve seven out of eight times (88%) at The O2 right after breaking serve.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was in third place with a 3.3 percentage-point jump. Djokovic’s last title of 2018, a victory at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, saw the Serbian hold 100 per cent (13/13) of the time after breaking serve for the tournament.
Holding after breaking is all about cementing an advantage and building momentum as the match unfolds.
Editor's Note: Craig O'Shannessy is a member of Novak Djokovic's coaching team.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2RbdsDM
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