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Hunting Wins? Find Your Forehand, Thiem Shows

  • Posted: Dec 31, 2020

Want to win more matches? Hit more forehands.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of 38,952 groundstrokes from all completed matches at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells identified match winners possessed a greater thirst to hit forehands from the back of the court over backhands.

Match Winners
Forehands –
57% (10,971)
Backhands – 43% (8,313)

Match Losers
Forehands – 54% (10,663)
Backhands – 46% (9,005)

Combined
Forehands –
56% (21,634)
Backhands – 44% (17,318)

The grouping of match winners totalled 57 per cent forehands from the back of the court, while match losers were at 54 per cent. The combined breakdown displayed a significant 12 percentage-point difference, with forehands totalling 56 per cent and backhands at 44 per cent.

You don’t need to look further than tournament champion Dominic Thiem to find a player who tried to upgrade to his forehands at every opportunity. Thiem defeated Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final, with both players hunting as many forehands as possible to reach the last match on Sunday.

To reach the championship match, Thiem hit 61 per cent of his groundstrokes as forehands, while Federer was not far off at 59 per cent. Both players were above the match winners’ tournament average of 57 per cent forehands from the back of the court.

In the final, Thiem’s ability to find his forehand, and limit Federer’s, was a key factor.

2019 Indian Wells Final

Dominic Thiem
Forehands –
64% (164)
Backhands – 36% (92)

Roger Federer
Forehands – 
51% (131)
Backhands – 49% (124)

Thiem clearly won the battle to use his forehand more, hitting it 64 per cent of the time compared to 51 per cent for Federer. This dynamic was even more of a factor in the deciding third set in which Thiem hit 67 per cent forehands (70 forehands/35 backhands) to Federer’s 51 per cent forehands (54 forehands/52 backhands).

A big reason Thiem was always looking to upgrade to a forehand was the speed at which he hit it. Thiem’s average forehand speed for the match was a lacerating 77 mph, making it by far the biggest baseline weapon on the court. Federer’s average forehand speed of 69 mph actually ended up being exactly the same as Thiem’s average backhand speed. Federer’s average backhand speed was just 63 mph.

Thiem’s Round of 16 match against Ivo Karlovic at that event may have produced one of the most uneven totals between forehands and backhands ever in an ATP Tour match. Thiem defeated Karlovic 6-4, 6-3 in 58 minutes. Only two points from the 93-point total reached a rally length of double digits.

What’s astounding is that Thiem made Karlovic hit more backhands than forehands in the match, while hitting just eight backhands himself in two sets.

Dominic Thiem
Forehands –
91% (58)
Backhands – 9% (8)

Ivo Karlovic
Forehands – 43% (29)
Backhands – 57% (39)

Our sport features a plethora of points with both players dueling it out from the baseline. If you get a chance to turn a backhand into a forehand in your own match, the metrics from the best players in the world fully support it.

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Djokovic, Nadal To Pursue History In 2021

  • Posted: Dec 31, 2020

There are many intriguing storylines to watch for in the 2021 ATP Tour season.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal lead the way as the Top 2 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings and both men will be chasing history in 2021, as they look to add to their extraordinary resumés. The pair was given an early warning for next season at the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals by Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, who both earned victories against the Top 2 stars en route to the championship match.

World No. 3 Thiem and London champion Medvedev lead a growing list of challengers to the dominance of Djokovic and Nadal. That group includes former Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2020 Most Improved Player of the Year Andrey Rublev. Before the new season, ATPTour.com looks at five of the top storylines to watch:

1) Novak’s Push For History
After becoming only the second man to hold the top spot in the FedEx ATP Rankings for 300 weeks on 21 December, Djokovic will have his sights set on one of the most prestigious records in tennis in the first quarter of the 2021 ATP Tour season. The Serbian is currently nine weeks behind Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks at the top of the sport.

Djokovic, who leads longtime rival and World No. 2 Nadal by 2,180 points, will pass Federer’s mark if he can maintain his position at the top of the sport until 8 March 2021. It is not the only FedEx ATP Rankings record the Serbian is chasing next year.

In 2020, Djokovic tied his idol Pete Sampras’ record of six year-end World No. 1 finishes. The 33-year-old will be aiming to take sole ownership of that record by completing back-to-back year-end World No. 1 finishes for the third time (also 2011-12, ’14-15).

All-Time Weeks At No. 1 (as of 28 December 2020)

No. 1 Player
Total Weeks
Longest Streak
1) Roger Federer
310
237 weeks
2) Novak Djokovic
301
122 weeks
3) Pete Sampras
286
102 weeks
4) Ivan Lendl
270
157 weeks
5) Jimmy Connors
268
160 weeks

2) Does Rafa Have Another Surge In Him?
Rafael Nadal equalled Federer’s record haul of 20 Grand Slam trophies at Roland Garros in 2020 and finished the year with a record 12th Top 2 finish in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The question is, will the Spaniard be able to bounce back to the top spot in 2021? History suggests he is more than capable.

Nadal and Djokovic are the only two men to have immediately recovered the year-end World No. 1 position twice. Nadal finished 2008 and 2010 as World No. 1 and repeated the feat by finishing in the top spot in 2017 and 2019. The 34-year-old, who also finished as No. 1 in 2013, will be aiming to match Djokovic and Sampras’ tally of six year-end No. 1 finishes in 2021.

The 20-time major champion’s hopes of returning to the top position will rest on his ability to continue adding to his impressive Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 trophy collections. Nadal will attempt to move clear of Federer with a 21st major title next year and regain the top position in the Masters 1000 trophy leaderboard. Djokovic currently leads 35-time Masters 1000 champion Nadal by one trophy at the level.

3) Can Domi Take the Next Step?
After becoming the first player in six years to win his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2020 US Open, Thiem defeated his main rivals Djokovic and Nadal en route to his second consecutive runner-up finish at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. The Austrian is now within touching distance of a major milestone in 2021.

Thiem currently sits just 725 FedEx ATP Ranking points behind World No. 2 Nadal. The last player outside the Big Four of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray to occupy a Top 2 position was Lleyton Hewitt in July 2005. One of the keys for Thiem to achieve that goal will be his ability to maintain his recent success against his main rivals. Since the start of the 2019 ATP Tour season, Thiem has compiled a 9-3 record against Federer (3-0), Nadal (3-1) and Djokovic (3-2).

4) Can Medvedev Maintain His Momentum?
Daniil Medvedev ended 2020 as the in-form player on the ATP Tour. The Russian claimed back-to-back titles at the Rolex Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals to finish the year on a 10-match winning streak, which included seven Top 10 victories.

If Medvedev can translate his indoor form to outdoor success, he could join Thiem as a challenger to Djokovic and Nadal’s stranglehold on the Top 2 positions in the sport. The World No. 4 has started his season strong in the past. He opened his 2020 campaign with seven wins from nine matches in Australia.

5) Moving To Turin
After 12 editions at The O2 in London, the Nitto ATP Finals moves to Turin from 2021-2025. The biggest singles and doubles stars on the ATP Tour will all be aiming to finish the year by competing at Italy’s largest indoor sporting arena: the Pala Alpitour.

The season finale is moving to a nation where tennis is firmly on the rise. There are currently eight Italian men in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, highlighted by 2019 Nitto ATP Finals qualifier and Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini.

Italy also possesses the youngest player in the Top 100: 19-year-old Jannik Sinner. The World No. 37, who captured his maiden ATP Tour trophy at the Sofia Open in November, has already achieved success at a round-robin event on home soil. In 2019, the San Candido native charged to victory on his tournament debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

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Raonic, Isner & Three Former Titlists Feature At Delray Beach

  • Posted: Dec 31, 2020

Milos Raonic and John Isner headline the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com field, which includes three former champions: Reilly Opelka (2020), Frances Tiafoe (2018) and Sam Querrey (2017).

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray withdrew from the ATP 250 hard-court tournament. “After much deliberation with my team I’ve decided not to travel to play in Delray Beach,” Murray said in a press release. “Given the increase in COVID rates and the transatlantic flights involved, I want to minimize the risks ahead of the Australian Open. I’m really thankful for the understanding of the tournament and I look forward to playing there soon.”

The Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com is typically played in February, but it is now in the first week of the 2021 ATP Tour season alongside the Antalya Open due to COVID-19. The main draw will be played from 7-13 January 2021.

The ATP Champions Tour legends event, featuring past-main draw champion Tommy Haas and six-time doubles champions Bob and Mike Bryan, will be contested between 4-6 January 2021.

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