Federer, Nadal: The Masters Of Momentum

  • Posted: Oct 24, 2019

Federer, Nadal: The Masters Of Momentum

Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers shows how two of the best of all-time control momentum better than anyone

Roger Federer is a master at building momentum. Rafael Nadal is the king of killing it if it’s flowing against him.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 10 from the 2019 season focusses on players winning three points in a row when serving to surge to 40/0, and also losing three in a row to drop into a precarious 0/40 hole.

Serving: Getting To 40/0
So far in the 2019 season, Federer wins the opening three points of his service game almost 38 per cent of the time – well above the Top 10 average of 32 per cent. In second place is World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is following closely behind at 36.21 per cent (256/707).

The other two players who have won three points in a row to start their service games more than a third of the time are Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Current Top 10: Winning Three Consecutive Points To Go To 40/0

#

Player

Reaching 40/0

Total Service Games

Percentage At 40/0

1

R. Federer

268

707

37.91%

2

N. Djokovic

256

707

36.21%

3

R. Nadal

225

664

33.89%

4

S. Tsitsipas

285

853

33.41%

5

D. Thiem

212

649

32.67%

6

D. Medvedev

269

858

31.35%

7

R. Bautista Agut

228

735

31.02%

8

A. Zverev

221

741

29.82%

9

K. Khachanov

176

619

28.43%

10

K. Nishikori

172

607

28.34%

AVERAGE

2312

7140

32.38%

Serving: Avoiding Falling To 0/40
Nadal is best of the current Top 10 at not losing three points in a row and falling to 0/40 in his service games this season. Only 2.26 per cent (15/664) of the time does Nadal find himself in a 0/40 hole.

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Federer comes in second at 2.40 per cent, while Djokovic is not far away in third place at 3.39 per cent. The Top 10 average falling to 0/40 just 4.31 per cent (308/7140), or around one in 23 service games.

Current Top 10: Losing Three Consecutive Points To Go To 0/40

#

Player

Times at 0/40

Service Games

Percentage At 0/40

1

R. Nadal

15

664

2.26%

2

R. Federer

17

707

2.40%

3

N. Djokovic

24

707

3.39%

4

S. Tsitsipas

32

853

3.75%

5

R. Bautista Agut

29

735

3.95%

6

D. Medvedev

38

858

4.43%

7

K. Nishikori

29

607

4.78%

8

K. Khachanov

38

619

6.14%

9

D. Thiem

40

649

6.16%

10

A. Zverev

46

741

6.21%

AVERAGE

308

7140

4.31%

It’s important to note that the Big Three – Federer, Nadal, Djokovic – are the leading three players in both categories. Sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where they create their separation from the rest of the Top 10. Here’s one such specific example.

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