In continuation of my analysis yesterday on Nadal and how his service can be a cause of concern for the defending champion, let’s carry that forward to Roger Federer - 5 times US Open Champion and his victory today! If you analyze his performance last year at US Open, you will realize that major reason of failure was his second serve and points won.
Here are some interesting stats for the fans:
Federer | US Open 2010 Overall | US Open 2010 2nd Round | US Open 2011 (2nd Round |
1st Serve % | 60% | 54% | 72% |
Aces | 14 | 15 | 6 |
Double Faults | 2 | 0 | |
Unforced Errors | 33 | 18 | 2 |
Winning % on 1st Serve | 81% | 80% | 88% |
Winning % on 2nd Serve | 56% | 65% | 82% |
Winners | 39 | 29 | 31 |
Receiving Points Won | 41% | 44% | 44% |
Break Point Conversions | 53% | 50% | 45% |
Net Approaches | 62% | 68% | 67% |
Fastest Serve Speed | 131 | 132 | 12 |
Average 1st Serve Speed | 118 | 117 | 109 |
Average 2nd Serve Speed | 97 | 96 | 96 |
In 2010, not only his first serve % was poor, but also his points won on second serve were even more pathetic ( just like the first round of US Open on Monday). If we look at his performance today, there is a considerable improvement on his 1st serve % and winning on 2nd serve % as compared to overall % and second round of US Open 2010. And this improvement is almost 12-18% points on 1st serve % and 17-26% in winning on 2nd serve. This clearly shows that the if Roger Federer has to win this time, he will have to keep a strong hold on his second serve.
People say stats don’t matter, but I still think that they can be the difference between winning and losing. If only he can maintain this performance throughout US Open, he can go on to win his 17th GS Title of his career! Key would be his service game and in particular second serve .Probably the champion knows that himself too and hence the mesmerizing performance today!
PS- I will be posting similar analysis on Nadal, Djokovic and Murray throughout US Open. Also I will be at US Open this year from coming Saturday. I will post latest updates and live pictures on my Facebook Page and Twitter. So don't forget to catch the action of your favorite players. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
Nadal's Service- A Potential Area Of Concern (US Open Round 1 Update)
Will Roger Federer Bounce Back And The Myth of Age 30?