ATP: Secrets of success revealed!

Two Grand Slam titles and number one at the end of the year – Rafael Nadal has completed an exceptional season. You can find out why the second serve was decisive for the success of the Spaniard here.

“Whoever stops getting better has stopped being good” This motto was probably not brought to life by anyone more exemplary in 2017 than the old stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. While the Swiss converted his weakened backhand into a fearsome weapon, his eternal opponent made great strides in the second serve.

Nadal was even stronger in this category than anyone else in the past season: according to the ATP database, 61.5 percent of points went to the 31-year-old when he needed the second. If we compare this figure with the meagre 54 percent from the previous year (it was just as bad in 2004), the improvement is equivalent to a quantum leap.

Especially on the first page “Rafa” changed its pattern: While it served only four times (2.3 percent) at the Masters events and at the tour finals in 2016, Nadal used this tactical means 86 times (22.8 percent) in 2017. So he often caught his opponents on the wrong foot, because they expected a serve in the backhand.

On the advantage side, the left-hander preferred to serve on the body, but he was also more successful there with impacts to the outside (64 percent).

Speaking of success: Nadal was also a bank over the first markup. He scored 74 percent of the points when the first one came – only in 2010 and 2012 (75 percent each) the numbers were even better. The same goes for the Ace statistic: 286 are the second best figure after 2010, when Nadal shook 310 Aces out of the sleeve.