When Matteo Berrettini hits a first serve in the advantage box, it’s basically a coin to think about whether or not he’ll get back on the court. When those first serves are subtracted, it is Stefanos Tsitsipas who dominates, winning almost two out of three points in the deuce box after his first serve.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 in 2021 shows which player produces the most unreturned serves and who earns the most points once the first serve is put back on track, both in the deuce and in the draw. advantage. (A compilation of informative data can be found at the end of this note).
Deuce Draw: First Serves Not Subtracted
Daniil Medvedev leads the Top 10 this season in most missed serves in the deuce draw, at 44.3% (227/512). That total contains 103 aces and 124 aces that did not return to the court. A total of 65 aces were connected on the T, while 38 direct aces were opened. Matteo Berrettini (44.2%) and Alexander Zverev (43.8%) are a short distance from Medvedev on non-subtracted serves on the deuce draw.
Deuce Draw: First Serves Not Subtracted
| Top 10 Player | No Remains |
| D. Medvedev | 44,3% |
| M. Berrettini | 44,2% |
| A. Zverev | 43,8% |
| D. Shapovalov | 41,3% |
| A. Rublev | 40,4% |
| C. Ruud | 38,7% |
| S. Tsitsipas | 37,8% |
| Father Carreño Busta | 31,8% |
| N. Djokovic | 30,9% |
| R. Still | 27,5% |
Advantage Chart: First Serves Not Subtracted
Berrettini is the player with the most first services not subtracted in the advantage box with 46.3% (195/421). The Italian connected 80 direct aces (47 open, 33 on the T), also accumulating 115 services not returned with his first serve. The only two players who also exceed the 40% threshold in serves not subtracted from the lead box are Denis Shapovalov (42.7%) and Medvedev (42.6%).
Advantage Chart: First Serves Not Subtracted
| Top 10 Player | No Remains |
| M. Berrettini | 46,3% |
| D. Shapovalov | 42,7% |
| D. Medvedev | 42,6% |
| A. Zverev | 38,4% |
| A. Rublev | 38,1% |
| S. Tsitsipas | 38,1% |
| C. Ruud | 36,8% |
| R. Still | 30,4% |
| Father Carreño Busta | 26,2% |
| N. Djokovic | 25,4% |
Deuce Draw: First Serve Subtracted And Point Earned
When the first service is returned to the court, the receiver has gained important ground on the point. Steganos Tsitsipas leads the numbers serving over the deuce draw, winning 65% (241/596) of the first serve points that are subtracted. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (63.5%), Casper Ruud (62.0%) and Andrey Rublev (61.4%) are the only players who have passed the 60% barrier when the rest have been put on track.
First Serve Subtracted In Deuce Box And Point Won
| Top 10 Player | Point Earned |
| S. Tsitsipas | 65,0% |
| N. Djokovic | 63,5% |
| C. Ruud | 62,0% |
| A. Rublev | 61,4% |
| M. Berrettini | 59,7% |
| D. Medvedev | 59,6% |
| Father Carreño Busta | 58,1% |
| A. Zverev | 57,4% |
| R. Still | 55,5% |
| D. Shapovalov | 54,6% |
Advantage Chart: First Serve Subtracted And Point Earned
Canadian Denis Shapovalov leads the Top 10 in points earned over the lead box when the first serves are over returned with 63.5% (139/219). Medvedev (62.5%), Tsitsipas (61.8%), Rublev (61.5%) and Berrettini (60.6%) also won more than 60% of the points in the lead box.
Advantage Chart
First Serves Subtracted and Point Won
| Top 10 Player | Point Earned |
| D. Shapovalov | 63,5% |
| D. Medvedev | 62,5% |
| S. Tsitsipas | 61,8% |
| A. Rublev | 61,5% |
| M. Berrettini | 60,6% |
| A. Zverev | 59,3% |
| Father Carreño Busta | 58,5% |
| C. Ruud | 57,4% |
| N. Djokovic | 56,4% |
| R. Still | 55,9% |
Traditional tennis statistics, such as first serves on the court and first serves won, help to understand how a player performs on his first serve. The Infosys Serve Tracker brings a new perspective on the number of first serves that don’t get back on track, and who performs best when this happens. Berrettini and Tsitsipas have been the Top 10 players with the best performances of the season in this section so far.
The data collected includes 2021 matches of the ATP Cup, ATP Masters 1000, as well as different ATP 500 and ATP 250 contested with Hawkeye. Top 10 players (as of August 23) must have played 20 on-court matches with Hawkeye to be included. No. 11 Casper Ruud and No. 12 Pablo Carreño Busta took the place of the injured Dominic Thiem (18 games) and Roger Federer (13 games).
Editor’s Note: Craig O’Shannessy is a strategy analyst for the Italian Tennis Federation and for players like Matteo Berrettini.
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