ATP Top 50 Career Win % vs Age

Inspired by this viz piece by Jessica Minton on the Age vs Success Ratio of Quarterbacks in Superbowl, I set out on a similar visualization to see how things looked for the ATP Top 50, thanks to easy data availability via the stats page of tennisabstract.com.

Here is the viz:

If you can't access the whole visual, check it out here

You can hover over each dot on the plot to find more details on each player represented by the dot.

Interesting Observations from the Viz:

• Average Age of ATP Top 50 is 28.1
• Average Success % of ATP Top 50 is 62.2%
• Tennis is a tough sport. Only 4 players have a success rate of >75%, the Big Four. In other words means, only 4 of them are expected to win at least 3 out of any 4 matches played in succession
• There are JUST 7 active Grand Slam Champions (including del Potro who isn't in top 50 today), 4 other slam finalists & 5 other Masters finalists which talks of the mind-boggling domination of the select few in the upper echelon of men's tennis
• At the same time, tennis gives its opportunities. The last few in top 50 have a win rate of just above 50%. In other words, you win one, you lose one and if you do this consistently you are going to be hovering around the top 50 in the world. Another indication of how tough and brutal the knock-out format tennis follows is!
• At the age of 34, Roger Federer maintains such a high level winning % of 82% (which is on par with what Novak and Rafa have currently, before even their expected decline)
• The man with the lowest win % in top 50 is Guillermo Garcia Lopez (52% success rate)
• The youngest in the top 50, Borna Coric enjoys an above average success rate of 64% which is expected to go higher as he continues to make progress

Hope you like this.

Five Major Highlights from US Open 2014

US Open, the slam that used to be Federer's turf for 5 years from 2004 to 2008 in which period he defeated five different opponents to claim the title, suddenly got a lot unpredictable seeing 4 different winners in the next 4 years. Rafa Nadal was about to restore order in 2013 but this year's edition takes the cake for unpredictability in the men's draw over which a lot would have lost money on bets and very few would have gained huge rewards. They deserved to, if they had backed Kei Nishikori & Marin Cilic - two from the Lost Boys generation of tennis - to be the lone men standing on the third monday at Flushing Meadows.

A quick summary of five key takeaways from this year's US Open here:

Child's Play for Serena

1. Serena is Serena, no matter what!The women's draw saw a number of upsets which were no shockers given the characteristic inconsistency seen & expected off a number of top-10 players. Simona, Aga, Ana, Masha, Kerber & a struggling Vika were all shown the doors in matches they were expected to win. There was one player in the mix who certainly was not expected to bow out despite the fact that she had not reached Quarters in any of the slams this year - Serena Williams. Serena was on quest for her 18th Major to tie her with legends like Navratilova & Chris Evert in terms of slam count and she was unwavering in that quest - She won the title without dropping a set, and not dropping more than 3 games in any of the 14 sets she played! In tennis terms, that is 'God Level' of play. She is all set to chase the Stefanie target. I won't place any bets against her doing that,even if she is 4 slams away from it.

2. Some New girls, Some Old girls

Take Serena out of the picture and there were a few delightful stories from the women's draw. There is a young Swiss who is making rapid progress this season - Belinda Bencic. She made some giant killing on her way to the Quarters but was tamed by a veteran Chinese who had a breakthrough of sorts. Props to Shuai Peng, the doubles specialist for making a deep run. It was a pity the girl who had a heart surgery as a kid had to suffer heat cramps and retire in the first semi-final of her career against Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane was the protagonist of another sweet story at the US Open with her inspiring run to the final after she was unceremoniously thrown off her relationship by the Golfing champ Rory McIlroy. She has chosen a wonderful means to divert her attention and that seems to be playing hard & playing better. Kudos!

3. Brothers, Legends!

Few partnerships have been as mind-boggling as that of Mike & Bob Bryan! The duo had not won a slam this season & were stranded at 99 titles together for quite some time. The way they played this tournament makes one think they delayed the inevitable, as if on purpose, just to choose the most grand of stages, the biggest of courts to get to Title No.100! They did that in style. The fact that the 2nd best partnership (61 titles of Woodbridge/Woodforde) is light-years away from their tally underlines the weight of this achievement of the left/right twin pair.

4. Curtains on the Fab Four Era?

It has been the first slam since the Australian Open of 2005 to not have at least one of Roger, Rafa and Novak in the final. It is also the first major since French 2005 to have two first-time finalists. It is the first year since 2003 that we have had two first-time slam winners. It is also the second time in three years that we have had 4 different winners for the 4 slams. Does the combination of all these stats mean the Fab Four era is inching closer to its end?! Inasmuch as I am tempted to say 'Yes', it still seems early days for any such bold statements. They have still won 2 off 4 slams and 5 off the 7 Masters titles this year! The year may have set the ball rolling for the Lost Boys and the 90s generation to step up and be counted but the big guns are still dominating the sport with as much intent as they have in the past. The rest of the year and the World Tour final will provide a better answer to that looming question. Having said that, Don't be surprised if the Big 3 dominate the reminder of the season. They are going nowhere. At least for the moment.

5. Boom, The Cilic Clinic!

Marin Cilic would not have featured beyond the Quarters in most (if not all) of the projections of the men's draw but his season and his Wimbledon run in particular had all signs that nobody cared to see. He stretched Novak to five sets there. After serving a 4 month ban for alleged drug intake, Cilic seems to have set the time up to take the rust off his game, use Goran's inputs to start enjoying the game and he came in to week-2, scraped through a tough 5-setter against Gilles Simon & then literally set up a clinic on Arthur Ashe and showed how professionally one can lay hands on the trophy coveted and longed by the ATP pros. In his straight-sets wins over Berdych, Federer & Kei with unbelievable serving, aggressive approach in hugging the baseline, power-packed shots off both wings, he has played the best tennis we have seen from anyone in week 2 of any slam in the last few years. It is one thing to say Kei was nervous, lacked the energy to match Cilic but is quite another to appreciate his getting over the emotions he must have run through the last year or so and get the Win playing clean tennis on his own terms.

Idemo Chilaa!

The best bit of the tournament was this quote from Cilic:
“For all the other players that are working hard, this is a big sign, a big hope, that if you’re working hard, things are going to pay off.” 

It won't be incorrect to say this bit from his winner's speech was more classy and inspiring than the clinical display he put forth in the business end of the tournament. That is saying something!

The ATP Aces in aceing opponents

The ATPWorldTour website has been getting  better in terms of providing career stats of players. I have thought about putting it to some use, making some analyses out of it and seeing if they lead to some interesting insights!
I start it off with this one involving one of the most loved-about stat in the sport - Aces! The site provided a list of the top 500 men to have sent the maximum no. of aces in their career. Looking at that number alone may not make sense for the reason that someone like Raonic would feature low because of the lesser number of years he has been a pro than, say, Ivan Ljubicic. So, I have taken another parameter 'Aces/Match' and have combined the 'Aces' vs 'Aces per match' into an X-Y chart to see where the 500 players turn up.
Here is a look at the chart. You can hover over each circle to get details of the players. I have purposely annotated some players' names to draw some highlights out of the exercise. Additionally, the chart will also allow you to play with and compare players by giving the option of filtering specific players. Feel free to play with it. Believe me, this filter option is good fodder for some insightful time-pass for any tennis lover.

Learn About Tableau

Some of the highlights that can be inferred from the chart above:
1. The chart is so crowded towards the bottom left indicating how difficult it is to serve Ace bombs day after day, set after set! A lot of the players are in the '2-6 Aces/Match & <1000 aces="" br="" career="" category.="" in="">2. The ones towards the extreme right form a scarce community and the names there are all the ones we get reminded when we think of Aces! Goran Ivanisevic, unsurprisingly, leads by ace count but Ivo Karlovic is way ahead of all others with a staggering 18.72 Aces/Match! Unbelievable number that.
3. Pete Sampras and Roger Federer are not compared and pitted against each other for just their single-hand backhand and grandslam count. They are as close as they are in terms of their Acing pattern as they are in the specified areas. Pete, though, has a pretty solid 10 Aces/Match to Federer's 8!
4. Aces alone don't win one matches - If Goran and Ivo are examples for that theory, the corollary is well defended by the locations of Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in this chart. The numbers of Rafa are a shocking surprise: He averages 3 Aces/Match! It is significant to mention that Rafa & Ferrer stay close in their Acing patterns.
5. Mildy surprising is the fact that Andy Murray out-numbers Nole in this matrix. He can send rockets,we all knew but would we have thought he would be serving 1.5 aces more than Djokovic on an average?
6. The Ivanisevic effect is quite evident in the current generation of players when you take a look at those who fly high on the Y-Axis!
There is Ivo and then there are two up and coming North Americans in John Isner and Milos Raonic (I don't know if Isner qualifies for that sort of an adjective given the horrid phase he is going through!). The two average more than 15 Aces/Match!

Compare that with the 2.7 of someone like Kei Nishikori and that will make you appreciate the beauty of this sport! Two players could be contrasting in one very important stat but still could stay close in Rankings, thanks to the dynamics of so many other parameters that come into play. More on those other parameters in  subsequent articles!
Till then, enjoy and play with this siloed piece of the puzzle.

Bercy Indoors Preview!

When the words 'Paris' and 'Tennis' are heard together, connecting that with Roland Garros is inevitable for any tennis fan.

Quietly, in the shadows of RG, the BNP Paribas Paris Masters (Bercy) has been churning out champions for the past 40 years. A lot of big names in the past have won at Bercy but till last year, this was probably the biggest tournament on whose silverware neither 'Roger Federer' nor 'Rafael Nadal' had never been etched. Thankfully for the tournament, Roger took off that oddity by winning it in 2011, for, if he had not, the streak would have continued this year as well as both Roger and Rafa have opted out of the event.

What's in stake?

Leading the line-up of stars is Novak Djokovic, the World No.2 this week and No.1 next week - irrespective of what happens here. Apart from proving his authority and stylishly getting back atop the rankings chart, the 2009 champion has nothing much to prove. For Andy Murray, vital points collected here can help him set his sight on the No.2 which he would happily accept if he can get there by the year end or in time for the Australian Open 2013. For other top stars like Berdych, Tsonga, last week's victors Ferrer and delPotro, wins against one another in the later stages of the tournament could give the much needed confidence ahead of their clashes-to-be at the O2 arena in London next week. The last berth for the World Tour Finals is up for grabs and the likely contenders Tipsarevic and Gasquet would be inspired to take a deep plunge into the draw. Never rule out the Outsiders like Raonic & Almagro who can mathematically still make it to the World Tour Finals. For the rest of the field, a good performance at the last event of the year would give them some nice confidence for the season ahead.

What's the draw like?

Top Half:
Victor Hanescu is the lucky loser who replaces Federer after the latter's last minute withdrawal. He is a lucky lucky loser as he gets a bye directly into round 2. Murray and Berdych are the top seeds in the top half. Murray has a tough one on paper. He has to contend with PHM, the man who had a good last week at Basel, in round 2 and has to go past Cilic in round 3 if he wants to help himself and Gasquet's chances in a potential quarter final match with Tipsarevic.
For Berdych, a  round-3 clash with Gasquet is in the offing, for which Gasquet needs to overcome either the brazilian left-hander Bellucci who has an uncanny knack to play well against top players or the South African giant Kevin Anderson! Going by the draw, if you were to choose between Tipsarevic and Gasquet on who'l buy tickets to London, choosing the Serbian would be a better thing to do.

A good first round match to look for in this half would be the one between the new father in the circuit,Baghdatis and home boy Gilles Simon. Whoever wins there can fancy his chance of reaching the last 16/last 8 thanks to Federer's withdrawal.

Bottom Half:
There are a lot of potential mouth-watering clashes in this half as well. With Novak pitted to face Raonic in round 3 and delPotro in his quarters , he has his hands full! For delPotro who, with a staggering 17-1 indoors this season,is looking for a third title in three straight weeks, Isner might offer some resistance if they are to meet in round 3. In other possible match-ups, it would be nice to see if Wawrinka can realise his potential if and  when he takes on the in-form Ferrer in a round 3 clash. For the 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the quarter appears good as he has to contend with men like Troicki/Almagro against who he has the power and skill to dominate. If Benneteau can get inspired like he did when he upset Roger at this event in 2009, it would help the french crowd see an all French clash in Tsonga vs Benneteau.

A good first round match from this half would be the one between Llodra and Stepanek. For people fed up with the baseline slugfests, this could be one match to look for as the two are known for their liking to finish off points one way or the other from the net!

In all, a lot of promising match-ups and a pleasantly vociferous Paris crowd, we can expect quite a few fireworks in the last regular event of the year. If that is not enough, here's a trivia. Since 2003, the event has seen different men win different editions and this year, one man has the skill and form to end that streak. Novak Djokovic, of Serbia. There is a Scot practising somewhere in Bercy who would want to let the streak continue! We'l see how it pans out!

Tequila shots of Tennis

The title was meant to be attractive. It must be read - 'the killer' shots of tennis.
Tennis is not just about fitness. There is something called finesse that is crucial in the sport and one must know when to pounce on his prey and that pouncing is the tequila shot.

Tennis is an attractive sport to watch because of the options available for players to win points and the geometries involved in shot-making. Decisions are made in a split-second and among the top 20-30 players, there is not much difference in the talents they possess. When it comes to separating the top 3-4 from the rest, it boils down to the percentage of times the correct shot-making decisions are made. So it would be unsurprising to find that the best in the business when it comes to some of the popular eye-catching shots are the big names of the big game.

This piece would focus on some of the scintillating shots that have ‘winner’ written all over them and the players who play that shot best.

1. Forehand down the line
This is the bread and butter shot if the need is to suddenly confuse the opponent in a rally which thus far had been going well for both the players. It is a high risk shot but the dividends are too attractive not to be tried. The man who plays this with precision is the world’s numero uno (could change soon) Rafael Nadal. He keeps churning out mid-court forehands shot after shot and suddenly comes out with this winner and the fist-pump would follow. The powerful Swede Robin Soderling too plays this shot well but is erratic and plays it long quite a lot of times.

2. Forehand crosscourt inside-out

This is a deft ploy which requires setting up play as its pre-requisite. One has to be in control of the point before playing this shot. The opponent needs to be made to hit the ball to one end and in doing so must be positioned in the same end. That would give much room to play this shot turning and making a spontaneous winner out of it. When the ball is short and when the player is in, many (almost all top players) play this shot well but the one who plays this with sublime touch from behind the baseline and gets incredible winners out of it is the man with the most grandslam titles in the history of the men’s game – Roger Federer. The angles he uses to play this shot when he is on top form are inhumane, out of the world! Andy Roddick is another wonderful player of this shot and then there is Juan Martin Del Potro. If he becomes the legend he is expected to become, he will have a lot of say with this particular shot in the future.

3. Backhand up/down the line
This is one of those shots that separate the very best from the rest –adds an extra dimension. For example, this is one shot that separates a Jo Wilfried Tsonga from a Novak Djokovic. While Tsonga doesn’t play it confidently, Djokovic rips this shot at ease and earns an instant point. This one too, must be played out of the blue by setting up the point after playing a few cross court backhands – A dreadful defence to offence shot! Players who play well off both the wings play this shot well – Djokovic,Nadal,Federer,Soderling,Wawrinka in that order.

4. Forehand and approach to the net
This is a high risk attacking option when a player is not in full control of a rally but is the easiest of ways to score a point when his opponent is defensive and crumbling in the rally. One needs impeccable footwork to carry out this shot as this might not exactly be a winner. It sets up the point for a winner off the next shot. Roger Federer’s beautiful approaches in the grass lawns of Wimbledon are a treat to watch.

5. Backhand crosscourt

This is that shot that gives considerable advantage for a double-hand player against a player who employs a single-hand backhand. This one is all about using the angles to the fullest. Rafael Nadal torments his opponents with his powerful crosscourt backhands that are virtually unreachable. Roger Federer and the inconsistent Russian Nikolay Davydenko are quite effective too. But this season, Rafa is being given a taste of his own medicine by Novak Djokovic who is combining terrific angles and power in this shot to ensure the running machine Nadal doesn’t reach the ball. At this point, Nole is the best player around with this shot.

6. Forehand pass
When the opponent is at the net, there is no better way to break his confidence than sending a blitzkrieg of a pass so near yet so far for the opponent to return and the top players are all best in this business. Pete Sampras has been the legend of playing running crosscourt passing shots but in the current era Rafael Nadal does this very well and breaks the confidence of his rival with the shot following it up with his trademark fist-pump and a fuming look at the pitiful man on the other side of the net. But, to me, the best in this shot is the Scot Andy Murray. He has a lot of heart, backs himself up in taking the high-risk option and plays this shot to success at crucial break point opportunities. No wonder he is one of the players with an amazing number of breaks of serve.

7. Backhand pass
It is quite difficult to play the backhand pass for a double hander for want of control but having said that, Nadal plays this at a good success rate but the players whose backhand passes give pleasure to a tennis fan are those who have single-hand backhands – Especially Roger Federer and Richard Gasquet – Sheer class !

8. Backhand Slice
This shot is owned by RogerFederer. He employs it to destabilise his opponent during the course of a rally. It is akin to the famous Undertaker move of choking an opponent’s throat before slamming him down. The change in pace offered by a slice followed by a free-flowing shot or vice-versa is enough to confuse and get the opponent off balance during a rally. Federer uses this shot to move from defence to offence at the unpredictable of times during the course of a rally.

9. Volley
Thanks to the baseline counter-punching started by Lleyton Hewitt and then made extremely popular by Rafa, the volley is almost as extinct as the Siberian Tiger. Wimbledon used to boast of short rallies and sweet vollies but those days are long gone. However, much is being spoken of this shot and of Roger’s coach Paul Annacone after Federer’s success from mid season 2010 from when he started using it much better like in his 2003-05 days. One person who still patronises the volley and does it very well is the Czech Radek Stepanek. When it comes to drop volley, one of the sexiest shots in the sport, Federer and Djokovic are supreme frontrunners.

10. Tweener!

The between-the-legs shot, more popularly dubbed the 'tweener' is the ‘YOUTUBE’ shot of tennis. Discovered in the 80s by Yannick Noah, the eccentric Frenchman, it has been used time and again by players, when in despair ; when they have no options left and more often than not, it ends in failure to fetch the point. In some cases, players suffer hits at vital parts attempting to play this one!Andy Roddick got one right in his vitals once.This is a shot for the occasion and no one seems to play it better than the man who rises to the occasion,TMF - The Mighty Fed. The tweener that Roger Federer hit to set match points during his semifinal against Nole at US Open 2009 is highly popular. He virtually owns this shot and when Rafa played an incredible tweener this year at Madrid, Roger followed that up with an even better one just a week after that in Rome against Gasquet as if to say ‘Please stay away;This is my territory’.

And there ends a rather technical note on some of the finest of shots in men’s tennis.

US O GO!

US Open 2010 Preview

There are just a few hours left for the last grand slam of the year to go! Last but not the least will definitely hold good for the US Open as it is one of the most celebrated events in the sport , happening at the Flushing meadows in the Apple city of New York.

This year’s open is marred in the women’s circuit with the withdrawals of Justin Henin,Serena Williams among others which leaves last year’s titlist Kim Clijsters and runner-up Caroline Wozniacki as the hot favorites for having a shot at the title this year. In the men’s circuit, the options are wide enough this year. The winner of last year’s USO Juan Martin del Potro would unfortunately be unable to defend his title owing to injury & the Open is to see a different champion for sure. Who will that be?? Let us play the cards.


The contenders

 World No.1, Rafael Nadal:
Why he can?
He is back at the helm winning two slams in a row & sweeping the entire clay court season.
He needs this one badly to complete a career golden slam – which only Agassi has managed to do.
Many pundits feel that a US Open crown in his repertoire would claim his contention of being one of the very best the game has ever seen. If that cannot motivate, nothing else can.

Why he can’t?
He hasn’t reached the finals at Flushing Meadows even once. His best has been a semi-final appearance. Losing in four sets to Murray in 08 & receiving a thrashing at del Potro’s hands last year.
The fast paced courts wouldn’t help him as well as they can in clay. Guys will have fast answers to his top spinners.

World No.2, Roger Federer:

Why he can?
He is the in-form player with a final loss at Toronto & a trophy at Cincinnati.
He has won the US Open in 2004,05,06,07,08 & was runner-up after leading 2 sets to 1 in 09.PERIOD.

Why he can’t?
He is 29 now. Getting old is a significant thing in a sport like tennis.
His consistency at slams has slowly been waning off.
Has the difficult of draws – to face Soderling in the Q/Fs.

World No.3, Novak Djokovic:

Why he can?
He has it in him to win a grand slam. He has shown that.
He has been consistent at the US Open reaching the final once in 07 & semis in 08,09.

Why he can’t?
He is highly unpredictable and his respiratory disorders don’t help his cause either.
He has hurdles in Andy Roddick & Roger Federer to reach the final.

World No.4, Andy Murray

Why he can?
He reached the final in 08 defeating Nadal. Had reached the final at Aus open this year once again defeating Nadal & losing to Roger. So he has the hard court game to threaten the bigwigs.
He needs a slam badly to shrug off the ‘the best player not to have won a slam’ image – That can arouse him bigtime.
Defeated Rafa & Roger a fortnight back at Toronto. What a confidence boost that could be!

Why he can’t?
Has to defeat Nadal once again to reach the final. Defeating Rafa three times in Slams. Has anybody done that?! I doubt..
Has to ward off his inconsistent shows. Last year he was thrashed by Marin Cilic. That was unexpected.

Other darkhorses:

Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych – Guys who have already spoiled Roger’s party at Paris & Wimbledon this year can cause such upsets and break into the semis at New York too. Watch out for these big serving boom forehand players.

Andy Roddick & Nikolay Davydenko – Veterans who have the potent WMDs with them but the time against them. They are getting close to 30 and they are no Roger. It is a make or break year for these two and that might stir them to cause some damage to the draw.

This US Open is not an easy one to predict but nothing can better a final showdown that reads:

[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP)

VS

[2] Roger Federer (SUI)

They haven't met in a slam since Aus 2009.And I am looking forward to that showdown.

Two,Three and Four

The stage is set. The three men are next only to the World No.1 Rafael Nadal.The media needs to talk on the favorite for Runner-up slot at RG.The winner is already there,adjusting his trousers,the locks of his hair and practising how to stare disdainfully at the pitiable person who would stand at the other side of the net wondering how soon the time would pass.

It is not such a bad thing being behind Rafa.Infact – Let us be practical here -they can climb only that higher when the Nadal thunderbolt is rocking the way he is. Over to the three of them now.

At No.4,he stands the best example to the cliché “Numbers don’t always tell the true story”. At present,and the present has been present with him since Cinci 08, Andy Murray stands the second best in the world.With his counter attacking game and execution of smart game plans against most of the top ten players,he has won many a heart than the matches he has won in this period. His isn’t the most attractive game but can be the best example of the virtues that staying in a point and not giving it up for a winner can offer. With victories in Cincinatti and Madrid Masters’ he completed 08 consolidating his position at the tail of the top Four. The year 09 began in the best possible way – He defeated Federer and Nadal at Doha Exhibition and was a strong media favorite to win the Norman Brookes trophy at Melbourne – Yes.Djokovic and Federer wouldn’t agree though! His only blemish came when he suffered at the hands of an enraged Verdasco in the 4th round of the year’s first grand slam. He followed that up with wins in Amsterdam(defeated Nadal) and Miami(Defeated Djokovic). He has started the clay season in the best possible fashion,reaching the Semis at Monte Carlo. He was nowhere near being a threat in clay ,sametime last year.But now,he would be in the semis consistently. Thanks to his poor clay season 08, he is lucky defending the least points among the three in context and will probably pile up the most,taking current form into account.So, by the time he heads to the lawns of Wimbledon ,he might have the No.2 by his side.Likelihood – 45%

World No.3 for somewhere close to two years now,Novak Djokovic would be the most tempted man to snatch the coveted No.2 spot (Coveted because Nadal is No.1 and it would do good forgetting that spot than longing for it! ).
What would be more frustrating is the fact that he came so close to getting there,once each when Nadal and Federer were there.He came as close as being two points away from Federer and what did he do? He messed it up with a loss against Verdasco in Brisbane.In retrospection,the Djoker’s game has seen more ups and downs than -well ,as they always say..yes,- the BSE.He was runner up to Murray at Cinci but didn’t show great touch till the TMC where he won in a field that was deprived of Rafa.He didn’t face Murray too there.Things got worse when he continued his dubious distinction of never defending a title in his career at the Aus Open where he lost to Roddick-No,I wouldn’t mention he retired. Frustrations started looming large when he lost to Tsonga 4 times in a row.And when everyone thought Djokovi was not up there,he came up with Runner-up efforts against Murray(Miami) and Rafa(Monte Carlo). Winning a set off Rafa in the dirt is worth a special mention and that puts him the first threat for Rafa on clay – As they say,Probability is always right and Rafa has to lose someday. He had won at Rome last year and was a semi-finalist at Hamburg.So,he would be losing a lot of points.We will have to keep our fingers crossed to see if he can compensate and win a lot of points to go No.2 and set up an ideal draw that would pit him against Rafael Nadal in a dream final at SW19.Likelihood – 35%
So,all this sets up an intriguing phase of contest for tennis lovers before the Queen of Grand Slams begins at Wimbledon on June 22.

Let's wait and watch.

What?!What else are you looking for!Did I miss something??

Oh.Yeah..Didn’t you see. 45 and 35 add up to 80.So,the remaining 20% is for him.

Not just because he is the shadow of Roger Federer,smashing racquets,netting backhands,hitting long forehands,the winner of 8 hard court grand slam singles’ titles who says “Thank god!The hard court season is over”.He had won at Hamburg,was a quarter finalist at Rome and a finalist at RG(Ya..That was him and that still is him!).With defeats at the hands of Blake,Karlovic,Simon(twice) and Murray(5 times in a row) over the period in discussion,he definitely doesn’t look as threatening as the other two.The loss to Wawrinka isn’t to be taken too seriously as he was trying out a few new things and was under prepared.The Madrid and Rome Masters will expose his current form ahead of RG.
I know he is very much capable of making this piece of blog and its calculations a gross blunder.And I would be very happy to see that happen!