Mardy Fish (Retired: 2 September)
Mardy Fish returned to the court in 2015, and the sport was grateful. There was no fairytale end, but the American retired on his terms. From his diagnosis of severe cardiac arrhythmia in March 2012, to panic attacks that at its worst point left him feeling unable to be compete, travel or leave his house, Fish endured a private battle that affects millions worldwide.

A raw talent, Fish combined a big serve and smooth backhand to reach a career-high No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on 15 August 2011, when aged 29 he discovered the drive and discipline that was needed to be a consistent player. He made one appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in 2011, the year he reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals – his third last eight appearance at a Grand Slam. But his late-career surge was derailed and he was forced to step away from the sport.

Fish won six titles from 20 finals, including four runner-up finishes at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments and ended with a 302-219 singles record. His memories of leading Nicolas Massu by two sets to love, with a break in the fourth set, only to lose the 2004 Athens Olympics gold medal match remain vivid. Aged 33, Fish left the Louis Armstrong Stadium in tears, to a standing ovation, after his final match against Feliciano Lopez in the US Open second round. “I’ve got a lot of great memories,” said Fish, after his final match. “I’ve got a lot of good wins out here. I have made a lot of really good friendships with almost everyone out here. I’ll miss that.”

Robby Ginepri (Retired: 27 August)
Robby Ginepri called it a career shortly before the US Open draw ceremony. Ten years earlier, ranked No. 45 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Ginepri entered the hard-court major playing the best tennis of his career. Having won 14 of his past 17 matches, including three Top 10 scalps, he won three straight five-setters before an epic semi-final loss to Andre Agassi. It was to be the baseliner’s career highlight in a year when he won a career-best 37 matches, reached the semi-final at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Cincinnati, and also rose to a career-high No. 15 on 26 December 2005.

Injuries and a lack of consistency hindered Ginepri, who suffered a freak mountain bike accident in October 2010 – involving a squirrel – and he later underwent two elbow surgeries. He won three ATP World Tour titles at 2003 Newport, and 2005, ’09 Indianapolis. “Although every athlete knows this day will eventually come, it doesn’t make the decision to retire any easier,” said Ginepri. “To play tennis as a profession and compete on the biggest stages around the world is a privilege, and I will forever be grateful to have had the opportunity.”

Michael Russell (Retired: 8 September)
Throughout his 17-year pro career, Houston-based Michael Russell was a dedicated and diligent worker. An agile performer with bulging biceps, long before Ginepri became the first player to bare his pecks at Wimbledon in 2003, Russell earned the nickname “Iron Mike” for his durability and longevity, predicated on a dedicated fitness regimen. He underwent three knee surgeries, broke his arm and suffered rotator cuff tears in his shoulder during his career.

The 5’8″ Russell reached a career-high No. 60 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on 13 August 2007, compiled a 15-6 record in ATP Challenger Tour finals and finished runner-up with Xavier Malisse in the 2012 Atlanta doubles final. He was also the first player to qualify into each of the Grand Slam championships in succession (2000 Wimbledon and U.S. Open, 2001 Australian Open and Roland Garros). Arguably his finest performance came in defeat. As a No. 120-ranked qualifier at 2001 Roland Garros, he led then World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten by two-sets-to-love and 5-3 in the third set, but could not convert a match point opportunity in their fourth-round clash. It proved to be the impetus for his whole career.

Coming tomorrow…ATPWorldTour.com looks back at the careers of Robin Soderling, Jarkko Nieminen, Ryan Sweeting and Michael Lammer.

Today’s elite power servers are all too familiar with Novak Djokovic’s return game; how the Serb can neutralize their weapon of choice and all but nullify the concept of the “free point.” But a closer look at his 2015 Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers stats reveal that his arsenal goes well beyond the return of serve.

A side-by-side comparison of Djokovic’s heads-above-the-rest campaigns of 2011 and 2015, when he won three of four majors and posted records of 70-6 and 82-6, respectively, illustrates that the World No. 1 is among the best servers on the ATP World Tour. And he’s only getting better. This year, he notched career-bests in second-serve points won, service games won and break points saved. That’s bad news for the competition. 

BOLD = career best

“My serve has gotten better — not in terms of speed, but in terms of precision and accuracy,” Djokovic explained.

So effective is Djokovic’s second serve that he has finished in the top five in second-serve points won in six of the past eight years, leading the ATP World Tour in both 2013 and 2015. All the more reason why the 28-year-old has been able to distance himself from his Top-10 foes. In 2015, Djokovic went a career-best 31-5 against Top-10 competition, a dominance that was seen on all surfaces, against both lefties and righties.

Djokovic At No. 1
Novak Djokovic finished as the year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the fourth time in five years and passed two greats in 2015 in the list of most weeks spent in top spot. The Serbian moved past Rafael Nadal on 13 April with 142 weeks, and John McEnroe on 2 November with 171 weeks for fifth position in the all-time list. Today, he is enjoying his 178th week as the summit of men’s professional tennis behind Jimmy Connors (268 weeks), Ivan Lendl (270 weeks), Pete Sampras (286 weeks) and Roger Federer (302 weeks). Djokovic enters 2016 having been ranked No. 1 for 78 straight weeks – the longest stretch since Federer’s 237 straight weeks in 2004-08.

Federer’s 1,000th Match Win
Federer added another jaw-dropping achievement to his great career on 11 January, in the first week of the 2015 season. By capturing the Brisbane International crown, he became just the third player in the Open Era (since 1968) to notch 1,000 singles match wins. Connors, the all-time record-holder with 1,253 match wins, achieved the feat in early 1985, while Lendl (1,071) brought up the milestone as Basel in October 1992. Federer will begin 2016 just 13 match wins (1,059) away from breaking Lendl’s mark.

Tomas Berdych (25 February, Dubai) and Andy Murray (31 March, Miami) also both recorded the 500th match wins of their careers.

Karlovic Keeps Swinging
As Ivo Karlovic edged closer to Goran Ivanisevic‘s ATP record aces tally (since 1991), the Croatian fired down a new marker of 45 aces in a best-of-three set match on 19 June by beating Berdych in the Gerry Weber Open quarter-finals. It was the fifth time since 1991 that 40 or more aces had been hit in a best-of-three match. Karlovic broke his previous record of 44 aces, hit against Daniel Brands in the Zagreb first round in February 2014. The 6’11” Karlovic finally broke Ivanisevic’s aces record on 8 October at the China Open, when he struck 26 aces – for a career total of 10,247 – past Pablo Cuevas to jump 10 clear of his fellow Croat (10,237 aces).

Doubles Milestones
As Daniel Nestor (999 match wins) stands on the brink of becoming the first doubles player to record 1,000 match wins, 2015 was a significant year for Leander Paes in his 25th season on the ATP World Tour. The Indian celebrated his 700th doubles victory on 27 May and competed with the 100th doubles partner of his career, Marcel Granollers, at Nottingham on 24 June. Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan saw their streak of 143 weeks at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings end on 2 November, when they were replaced by Marcelo Melo.

Finals Club Launched
The ATP World Tour celebrated year-end championship participants from the 1970s at The O2 in London as a new initiative, Finals Club, was launched. Stan Smith, the first singles and doubles (w/Ashe) champion at Tokyo in 1970, and four-time winner Ilie Nastase joined 20 other players in mid November as they reconnected with the sport, their peers, as well as the world’s best players of today.

Grand Slam Anniversaries
ATPWorldTour.com reflected on Arthur Ashe‘s greatest triumph on a tennis court on 5 July, the 40th anniversary of his 1975 Wimbledon final victory over Jimmy Connors. On 11 July 1985, Boris Becker‘s life changed forever as the 17 year old lifted his first Grand Slam trophy at the all England Club. Pete Sampras is still the youngest winner of the US Open, a trophy he first won on 9 September 1990.

When considering the best returners in the annals of the sport, names like Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Lleyton Hewitt are quick off the tongue. But there’s a sizeable crop of current stars that are rapidly inserting themselves into the discussion, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and World No. 2 Andy Murray, long one of the best returners in professional tennis.

Since turning pro a decade ago, Murray has made a living out of neutralising power servers with his athletic return game. So solid is the Scotsman that he regularly ranks among the ATP World Tour’s best on the return charts. In fact, between 2007 and 2015, Murray finished among the top five in first-serve return points won (seven times), second-serve return points won (nine times) and return games won (seven times).

BOLD = career-best, * = ATP World Tour leader

“The return has become a very important part of the game,” said Murray. “Before, when the courts were extremely quick, it was a different game. Guys were holding serve a lot more than they are now. That was a bit because of the surface. I just think that the return is maybe more important than the serve now because of the [slower] surface.”

Get more at Infosys ATP Scores & Stats

GRAND SLAM WINS

Stan Wawrinka was the only player to defeat Novak Djokovic in Grand Slam tournaments this year, stopping the Serb in the final of Roland Garros.                                   

TIE-BREAK WINS

Big serving helped John Isner, Ivo Karlovic, Kevin Anderson and Gilles Muller find success in tie-breaks in 2015. The four men also led the field in total aces on the year.                

TOP 10 WINS

Djokovic became the only player to beat each player in the Top 10, compiling a tour-best 31-5 record.

ATP MASTERS 1000 WINS

Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer (16-6) were the only players to claim an ATP Masters 1000 tournament this season.                         

DECISIVE SET WINS (Third or Fifth Set)

Kei Nishikori was the most accomplished comeback artist in 2015, leading the field in deciding set wins and also in wins after losing the first set.                                   

WINS AFTER LOSING FIRST SET                   

MATCH WINS                          

EMIRATES ATP RANKING IMPROVEMENTS  (from year-end 2014 to 2015)

IN TOP 50 (25-more spots)

Britain’s Aljaz Bedene improved his Emirates ATP Ranking by exactly 100 spots and ended 2015 at a career-best No. 45. Benoit Paire returned from injury to reach No. 19 and win the Comeback Player Of The Year award.                                                             

IN TOP 100 (40-more spots)

Hyeon Chung secured the 2015 Most Improved Player Of The Year award by breaking into the Top 100 for the first time.                                                               

Teenagers (10) in Top 200 (Listed by Age)

21 & Under (6) in Top 100 (Listed by Age)

Alexander Zverev took home the ATP Star of Tomorrow Award presented by Emirates for being the youngest player in the Top 100. 

17 & Under (5) in Top 500 (Listed by Age)

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