Nadal, Djokovic Would Be Hall of Fame Baseball Players

  • Posted: Sep 20, 2018

Nadal, Djokovic Would Be Hall of Fame Baseball Players

Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers shows that the two all-time greats are returning well above “.300”

If you can get on base three times out of 10 in baseball, which is referred to as batting .300, then you are one of the elite in the sport.

Statistics in tennis usually focus on much higher winning percentages, but an equivalent stat does exist with an almost identical win percentage – points won returning first serves.

In baseball, you must stare down a 100 mph fastball, and in tennis the speed of a first serve can regularly reach 130-mph plus. Both very difficult propositions to begin the contest.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 20 from the 2015 season to present identifies that, on average, they win 29.5 per cent against first serves, or .295 in baseball vernacular.

You May Also Like: Del Potro Shows He’s The Ultimate Game Closer In Tennis

The batter and the returner both face serious heat to begin the point, and both are defined as “successful” if they conquer the pitcher or server just one out of every three times.

Since 2015, Rafael Nadal leads the current Top 20 with points won returning first serves at 34.5 per cent. The other seven players that successfully batted above .300 are Novak Djokovic (34.2%), Diego Schwartzman (33%), Roger Federer (32.3%), Fabio Fognini (31.5%), David Goffin (31.4%), Kei Nishikori (30.6%) and Dominic Thiem (30.4%).

Current Top 20: Points Won Returning First Serves 2015 to present

ATP Ranking

Player

First-Serve Return Points Won

Total First-Serve Return Points

Win Percentage

1

R. Nadal

4209

12207

34.5%

3

N. Djokovic

4215

12309

34.2%

14

D. Schwartzman

2788

8446

33%

2

R. Federer

3346

10359

32.3%

13

F. Fognini

3077

9781

31.5%

11

D. Goffin

3763

11971

31.4%

12

K. Nishikori

3416

11172

30.6%

8

D. Thiem

4191

13774

30.4%

7

G. Dimitrov

3470

11655

29.8%

5

A. Zverev

3344

11296

29.6%

6

M. Cilic

3601

12179

29.6%

4

J.M. Del Potro

2092

7197

29.1%

17

J. Sock

2575

9292

27.7%

16

K. Edmund

1944

7114

27.3%

18

B. Coric

2319

8519

27.2%

19

L. Pouille

2320

8611

26.9%

20

M. Raonic

2762

10299

26.8%

15

S. Tsitsipas

871

3282

26.5%

9

K. Anderson

2924

11274

25.9%

10

J. Isner

2651

12158

21.8%

AVERAGE

59878

202895

29.5%

What’s interesting is how much the court surface factors into points won against first serves.

Of the seven ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments completed so far in 2018, Nadal has the largest total of first-serve return points won by a champion, and also the least. At the clay-court Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, he won a staggering 43.6 per cent of first-serve return points, but won just 29.1 per cent while winning the Rogers Cup, the hard-court Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto.

2018 Completed Masters 1000 Events: First-Serve Return Points Won By Champion

#

Masters 1000

Winner

First-Serve Return Points Won / Total

Win %

1

Monte-Carlo

R. Nadal

58/133

43.6%

2

Rome

R. Nadal

91/217

41.9%

3

Madrid

A. Zverev

80/219

36.5%

4

Cincinnati

N. Djokovic

107/327

32.7%

5

Indian Wells

J. M. Del Potro

97/299

32.4%

6

Miami

J. Isner

83/271

30.6%

7

Toronto

R. Nadal

60/206

29.1%

 

AVERAGE

576/1672

34.4%

The clay-court tournament winners at Monte-Carlo, Rome and Madrid averaged winning 40.2 per cent of first-serve return points, while the hard-court champions at Cincinnati, Indian Wells, Miami and Toronto were way off that pace, winning 31.5 per cent of first-serve return points.

Baseball has a pitcher and a hitter. Tennis has a server and a receiver. The similarities, particularly defined by the winning percentages, are striking.

Source link