It’s one thing to position yourself to win a tennis match. It’s quite another to actually do it.

Gael Monfils enjoyed his best season on tour in 2016, ending the year at No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after reaching a career-high of No. 6 last month. In 2015, he finished the season at No. 24, and on the surface, not a lot of his metrics changed during the 12-month period. The difference was Monfils was far more efficient at finishing the job he started when returning.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Monfils’ 44-17 season this year showed that when returning and getting to within one point of breaking at 0/40, 15/40 and 30/40, his conversion rate sky-rocketed compared to last year and at any other time during his 14-year career.

The following comparison to the 2015 season identifies that the number of return games Monfils played was almost identical, but the break points created and converted increased dramatically.

Return Games Played
2015 = 654
2016 = 660

Break Points Converted (2005-2015 Average = 40.8%)
2015 = 40.6% (145/359)
2016 = 45.4% (189/416)

It’s a significant success to move the needle one or two percentage points with break-point conversion, but the flamboyant Frenchman improved almost five percentage points, converting 44 more break points (189 to 145) in 2016 than in 2015.

The following table shows the improvement Monfils made in breaking serve from a specific point score. When the door opened this year, he walked through it.

Monfils’ Percentage Chance of Breaking Serve by Point Score

Monfils converted 16 more break points against first serves in 2016 than in 2015, and similarly converted 28 more break points against second serves, fueling his best season on tour.

Break Points Converted When Receiving First Serves
2015 = 71
2016 = 87

Break Points Converted Receiving Second Serves
2015 = 74
2016 = 102

Monfils finished the 2016 season impressively ranked third on tour in break points converted, but he was the runaway leader on clay courts. He converted a mind-blowing 53.8 per cent of his break points on clay. As a comparison, Rafael Nadal is the career leader at converting break points on clay, at 48.8 per cent.

With the finish line of breaking serve just one point away this season, Monfils crossed it better than he ever has.

Garanti Koza Sofia Open announced on Thursday the participation of Belgian David Goffin, No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, in the second edition of the tournament.

Goffin has won two ATP World Tour titles. In 2016 he marched to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and played a match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. In 2016 the Belgian also reached the final in Tokyo and played back-to-back ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-finals at Indian Wells and Miami.

“I am looking forward to playing in Sofia,” Goffin said. “I had my best year in 2016, and I would like to start the next season at the same level. I am also looking forward to seeing the city of Sofia.”

He joins the star ensemble of the Garanti Koza Sofia Open 2017 and will play alongside Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dimitrov, Viktor Troicki and defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut in February at the “Arena Armeec”.

Tournament Director Paul McNamee said: “David is a rising star and a great addition to the field. We now have confirmations from three Top 15 players and four of the Top 20. I’m glad the Bulgarian audience will be able enjoy tennis at such a high level.”

Garanti Koza Sofia Open 2017 will be played at “Arena Armeec” from 5-12 February, 2017. The “hot ticket” for the biggest sporting event in Sofia is on sale at Eventim, with prices starting from 10 leva. Children and pensioners can access a 50 per cent discount during the first five days and a 25 per cent discount for the rest of the tournament as well as for weekly tickets. Spectators can also save up to 160 leva by buying a weekly ticket.

2. Roger Federer d. Marin Cilic 6-7(4), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(9), 6-3/QF/Wimbledon

Every year lately, when a certain Swiss player heads to a certain grass tennis club in England, his millions of fans ask a four-word question: Is this the year? As in, is this the year Roger Federer will win his record eighth Wimbledon title?

This June, it had been four years since the right-hander had captured his seventh Wimbledon crown. He had come close in 2014 and 2015, losing in the final to Novak Djokovic, and that’s exactly why Federer fans were so excited before his quarter-final match against Marin Cilic.

Djokovic, the two-time defending Wimbledon champion, had lost to Sam Querrey in the third round, leaving second seed Andy Murray, third seed Federer and sixth seed Milos Raonic as the remaining top contenders. And Federer led his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalries against both Murray and Raonic.

But before any fan dreamt of another title, Federer had to face Cilic in a rematch of their 2014 US Open semi-final, which Cilic had won en route to his first Grand Slam title. “He blew me off the court at the US Open. I know what I’m getting into,” Federer said.

Read Match Report: Federer Escapes, Moves Into SFs

The match began almost like a continuation of that semi-final. Cilic was blasting his serve-forehand combination. The 6’6” right-hander was controlling the match, winning almost 90 per cent of the points that started with his first serve during the first two sets.

Midway through the third set, though, Federer crawled through an opening. The Swiss was down three break points at 3-3, 0/40, but he somehow won five straight points to hold and hear screams from the Centre Court crowd. He’d soon take the third set.

Cilic refused to hang his head in the fourth set, though, and earned three match points, including two on Federer’s second serve. But Cilic put neither of those serves in play, and Federer erased all three match points en route to winning the fourth set after a 20-point tie-break.

“If we would go back to play again, I would try to be more aggressive on the chances when I had them in the fourth. Maybe there was a slight hesitation [during] some of them,” Cilic said.

Federer carried that momentum for the entire fifth set, breaking Cilic at 4-3 and ending the match with two of his seven aces. To the delight of the Centre Court crowd, Federer had come back from two-sets down for the 10^th time in his career and kept his title hopes alive.

“Today was epic. Probably going to look back at this as being a great, great match that I played in my career, on Centre Court here at Wimbledon,” Federer said. “This is huge for me, my season, my career. I’m very, very happy.”

1. Lucas Pouille d. Rafael Nadal 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6)/4R/US Open

All season long, Lucas Pouille had shown he was one of the best players on the ATP World Tour during the biggest moments. Coming into the US Open, the Frenchman was ranked No. 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, but he had played like Top 5 player when under pressure, according to the Under Pressure Leaders category of the ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS, powered by the Infosys Information Platform.

The 22 year old, however, had never faced a pressurised moment quite like this one: Fifth-set tie-break. Fourth round of a Grand Slam. Facing Big Four member and two-time US Open champion Rafael Nadal.

Past history pointed to a Nadal rout. The Spaniard had dismissed Pouille 6-2, 6-1, at the 2015 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, and before the 2016 US Open, Pouille had never won a match at Flushing Meadows. “I was not confident before the match,” Pouille would say later.

Read Match Report: Pouille Conquers Nadal In New York

Then again, 2016 had already been a breakthrough season for Pouille. He had hiked 62 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings, played in his first ATP World Tour final (Bucharest, l. to Verdasco) and reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon (l. to Berdych). So why not add one more career-best achievement to the list?

The Frenchman rolled through the opening set, but Nadal answered in the second set, and back-and-forth they went, each player finding ways to answer the other’s momentum. In the fifth set, Nadal led 4-2 and appeared headed towards his seventh US Open quarter-final. It would have marked his first Grand Slam quarter-final of 2016 as well.

But Pouille found a way to turn things around against the 2010 and 2013 US Open champion. All match long, the 6’1” right-hander had brought the action to Nadal, charging the net and stepping around his backhand to pelt winners. For the match, Pouille would win 60 per cent of his net points (38/63) and hit 59 winners.

Most importantly, he didn’t let nerves change his game plan in the fifth-set tie-break. The Frenchman led 6/3 in the tie-break before Nadal won three straight points for 6/6. The Spaniard then had a chance to earn a match point but he missed a short forehand putaway.

“A big mistake, yeah. But you are six-all in the tie-break. I played the right point. I put [myself] in a position to have the winner and I had the mistake,” Nadal said. “You cannot go crazy thinking about these kind of things.”

Pouille seized the opportunity the very next point. At 7/6, the Frenchman slid to his left once more and unleashed a forehand that sailed over the high part of the net and landed just inside the sideline. “It’s the best win of my career so far,” he’d say later.

For the second Grand Slam tournament in a row, Pouille had reached the last eight. No one could say he hadn’t earned it. The 22 year old had won three consecutive five-set matches. Pressure? Lucas Pouille lives for it!

In August 2015, the spotlight had not yet discovered 17-year-old American Taylor Fritz.

He was No. 685 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and had lost in the first round of US Open qualifying to No. 123 Luca Vanni 6-3, 6-3. Fritz won only three points against the Italian’s first serve, four against his second serve, and was not able to generate a single break point.

And then everything changed. The American won 11 straight matches and strung together four impressive results in four months:

• Oct. 2015: Won $100K Challenger, Sacramento, California

• Oct. 2015: Won $50K Challenger, Fairfield, California

• Nov. 2015: Finalist $50K Challenger, Champaign, Illinois

• Jan. 2016: Won $75K Challenger, Onkaparinga, Australia

Fritz’s ranking jumped from No. 685 to No. 155 during that run, and the spotlight is now well and truly shining in his direction as he finished the season ranked No. 76, slightly down from a career high of No. 53 in August.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Californian’s meteoric rise highlights the strengths that got him this far this quickly, and also what improvements Fritz needs to make in 2017 to keep feeding the steep growth curve.

First-Serve Prowess

For 2016, Fritz finished 52^nd in the Serve Leaders category of the ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS, powered by the Infosys Information Platform, including 30^th in first-serve points won, 73.2%, and 17^th in average aces per match, 8.4. His first serve is a bomb.

View The ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS

When he lost to then-World No. 5 Stan Wawrinka in four sets in the opening round of Wimbledon this year, the American’s fastest serve was 135 mph. Wawrinka topped out at 129 mph.

Focus On Returning

This is where Fritz will find his growth in 2017, as most maturing players do. In the 2016 season, Fritz fared 66^th best in the Return Leaders category of the ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS. He didn’t break the Top 50 in any of the four return statistics that comprise the Return Leaders category.

The below chart shows six point scores and the percentage chance of breaking at each scoreline for Fritz and fellow #NextGen players Kyle Edmund, World No. 45, and Alexander Zverev, No. 24 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

2016 Season: Percentage Chance Of Breaking Serve By Point Score

Break Points Saved

Fritz was 21^st on the ATP World Tour in 2016 in break points saved at 64 per cent. Behind his first serve, that percentage elevated to an extremely high 77 per cent (125/163), which is even higher than World No. 1 Andy Murray and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who were both at 74 per cent.

But behind second serves, both Murray (56 per cent) and Djokovic (57 per cent) were well above Fritz’s 47 per cent, identifying another snapshot of current vulnerability.

Fritz turned 19 just over a month ago (Oct. 28), and is still very much putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his developmental pathway. Look out world when this rough draft starts looking like a masterpiece.

5. Kei Nishikori d. Andy Murray 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5/QF/US Open

To some, Andy Murray was the favourite, the pick to win his second US Open and claim back-to-back Grand Slam championships during the second half of 2016.

The Scot, who had won his second Wimbledon title in July, was certainly playing like a top contender in New York. Before his quarter-final against Kei Nishikori, Murray had gone 26-1 since his first match at The Queen’s Club in London, where he’d won a record fifth title.

Some doubted his main competition as well. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic had endured an up-and-down July and August. The Serbian had lost in the third round at Wimbledon and in the first round at the Olympics, but he had won the Rogers Cup, his record 30^th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

Nishikori, however, likely didn’t care who was the top player. The 26 year old, who reached the 2014 US Open final, knew he could beat anyone at anytime in New York, and that was all that mattered when he and Murray stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Murray, the second seed, played like the favourite in the first set, winning more than half of his return points. But Nishikori changed his tactics in the second set, mixing in drop shots and more slice against the World No. 2.

Murray grabbed a back-and-forth third set – five service breaks – and was one set away from the semi-finals. He held to start the fourth and had a break point at 1-0, but a loud noise in the stadium caused a let and changed Murray’s entire mindset.

The Brit was flustered about the disturbance, and Nishikori took advantage, reeling off six consecutive games to even the match. In the fifth set, Nishikori stayed calm, breaking Murray to lead 6-5 and holding to reach the semi-finals at the US Open for the second time.

“There were many up and downs, but I tried to [stay] calm. I think that’s the most important thing I did today. Even though there were many up and downs I tried to stay tough,” Nishikori said.

It was just the latest time that “Clutch Kei” had brought his best tennis in a decider. To date, Nishikori is the most successful player in matches that go to a deciding set, according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone. Nishikori owns a 99-29 record in such matches, giving him a winning percentage of 77 per cent, higher than anyone in the Open Era.

4. Novak Djokovic d. Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4/F/Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic had meandered through his most complicated Roland Garros path, winning five matches in six days because of a gloomy stretch in Paris. But what awaited the Serbian next in his fourth Roland Garros final was an opportunity that had eluded him all of his career: the Roland Garros title.

The pressure had never been greater. Djokovic was trying to become the third man in history to hold all four major titles at the same time (Don Budge, 1938; Rod Laver, 1962, 1969). The Belgrade native was also attempting to become the eighth man in history to complete the overall career Grand Slam.

Three times before he had come within a match of winning Roland Garros. In 2012 and 2014, Djokovic was in Rafael Nadal’s path to Roland Garros glory, and in 2015, Stan Wawrinka, wearing his plaid shorts, improved to 2-0 against World No. 1s in Grand Slam title matches.

But in this year’s final, Andy Murray stood in Djokovic’s way and placed doubt in Djokovic’s mind for the first nine games. Murray, playing in his first Roland Garros final, bullied a nervy Djokovic to the back of the court for a one-set lead.

The two were playing for the seventh time in a Grand Slam final and for the 34^th time overall in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Murray had been 2-4 against Djokovic in Grand Slam finals, but the Scot started about as well as he could have hoped.

Djokovic took over in the second set, though, returning aggressively and forgetting about the nerves that had hobbled him earlier in the match. He sought to wear Murray down with a steady stream of drop shots and was striking his backhand as cleanly as he had all tournament.

Djokovic rode early breaks in the third and fourth sets. Serving at 5-2 in the fourth set, he was broken but he held two games later to solidify his place in tennis history.

“I started well in the first game and then I dropped four straight games. Nerves kicked in. I needed a little bit of time to really find the right rhythm and start to play the way I intended, which happened in the beginning of the second and practically until 5-2 in the fourth set,” Djokovic said. “It was flawless tennis. I really felt like I played on a high quality and put a lot of pressure on Andy’s serves.”

On his third and final match point, Djokovic said he experienced an out-of-body moment as he tried to clinch the career Grand Slam.

“In the last point I don’t even remember what happened… It’s like my spirit has left my body and I was just observing my body fight the last three, four exchanges, going left to right and hoping that Andy will make a mistake,” Djokovic said. “[It was] a thrilling moment. One of the most beautiful I have had in my career.”

3. Fernando Verdasco d. Rafael Nadal 7-6(6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2/1R/Australian Open

The stage in the tournament had changed but the drama and level of play was all the same when Fernando Verdasco and Rafael Nadal met during the first round of the Australian Open this year.

Seven years earlier, in 2009, the Spaniards had faced off in the semi-finals in Melbourne. Verdasco was playing in his first and, to date, only Grand Slam semi-final. Nadal was trying to reach his maiden Australian Open final, and he’d fend off his countryman after five hours and 14 minutes, then the longest match in tournament history.

Who would have guessed the two would come close to matching that feat on the same court, Rod Laver Arena, seven years later? Surely not Nadal, especially when he led Verdasco two sets to one and had won the third set in 43 minutes, the fastest set of the match so far. Verdasco’s level had cooled – his winner tally had dropped from 20 in the first set to six in the third set – and it looked like Nadal would cruise to yet another win against his compatriot.

Read Match Report: Verdasco Stuns Nadal In Five Setter

The Mallorca native owned a 14-2 record in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Verdasco. But Verdasco was leading in the “what have you done for me lately?” category, having taken two of their past three meetings, including a three-set win in Miami the year earlier.

In the fourth set, Verdasco earned a break and served to even the match at 5-4. But Nadal fought back to force a tie-break, which Verdasco won with an ace down the T. He’d hit 20 on the day.

The story of the match became the fifth set, and the story of the set was Verdasco’s bullet-like forehands. Nadal gained an early break but Verdasco charged back, winning six consecutive games to end the four-hour, 41-minute match.

“I was just closing my eyes and everything went in!” Verdasco said. “In the fourth set I started serving better than the second and third. He started playing less deep and strong. I started coming inside the court, being aggressive and it went well.

On match point, Nadal served to Verdasco’s forehand, and he replied with a practice-esque cut at the ball for his 90^th winner of the match.

“He had a lot of success hitting every ball at full power in the fifth,” Nadal said. “I have to congratulate him.”

Maybe most telling was Verdasco’s reaction once the ball whizzed past Nadal. He didn’t scream to the sky or jump in celebration. He simply glanced at his box and silently pumped his fist. He had known what it was like to be on the losing end of a back-and-forth battle with Nadal, but thanks to one of his best efforts of the year, Verdasco also knew what it was like to be on the winning end.

Coming Thursday: The Best Grand Slam Matches Of 2016, Part 2