The Big Four (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray) & Del Potro- Statistical Precursor to Australian Open 2012: Part 2



In my previous article, we had seen the Career and 2011 Match Record of the Big 4 and Del Potro.

In this article, let’s look at their individual game and do the Strength and Weakness Analysis of these players. Here are the statistics for their individual game on Hard Court in 2011:

Statistics*
 Djokovic
 Nadal
 Federer
 Murray
Del Potro
Aces
220
142
311
273
330
First Serve
65
65
63
58
60
First Serve Points Won
73
71
79
76
75
Second Serve Points Won
54
56
57
50
55
Service Games Won
85
82
90
81
87
Break Points Saved
63
63
63
61
66
Points Won Returning 1st Serve
36
34
33
37
29
Points Won Returning 2nd Serve
58
54
53
57
51
Break Points Converted
49
45
43
48
47
Return Games Won
41
32
30
37
25

* All stats are in % except Aces.

So what story do we see unfolding in front of ourselves? The red part highlighted shows the player who is the weakest in the respective category out of the 5.

Novak Djokovic: Clearly as you can see that Djokovic was no doubt the best in 2011 with an overall balanced game. If he can continue the same this year, it will be tough to see him getting defeated until a player overshadows him in every area of his game.

Roger Federer:  He looks strong but one area where he can definitely improve his game is break points converted. He had the lowest % amongst all the 5 and if he needs to win the first GS of 2012, he will have to make use of the opportunities, ensure that pressure is created and no easy chance is given to the opponent to return back.

Rafael Nadal: As we saw last year in US Open, Nadal’s service was a major cause of concern for him. He was way behind others in terms of aces and first serve points won. This could be a major deciding factor in crucial matches against Djokovic where easy points in terms of aces can be a major difference between losing and winning. For Djokovic, the best returner in the game at present, this would mean he can put pressure on Nadal’s service and can comeback or take a lead easily in the match. Hopefully heavier racquet will help Nadal improve his serve this year.

Andy Murray: Not only Murray had the lowest first serve % but he won the lowest service games.  This proved to be a point of concern for him in crucial matches such as 2011 AO final or Wimbledon/US Open SF.  With the players of the caliber of Djokovic/Nadal, you need to be at the top in each area of the game. This is one area (apart from mental toughness); he can definitely work upon with his new coach Ivan Lendl to win his first GS this year.

Juan Martin Del Potro: He is the dark horse this year but he will have to look at his return games won which was just a mere 25% last year. His serve looks solid but if you can not break your opponent service thrice in the match, it will be tough to win the crucial matches.

In the words of Sunzi:  “Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected”.  Djokovic was a perfect example of this in 2011; let’s see who will be the main force this time?

What do you think?

In the end, in case you missed this video, Watch it to to motivate yourself. Worth watching to see how one man and his determination proved everyone wrong!



Also: Evolution of Novak Djokovic- Australian Open (2007-2012)!

Nadal/Federer Controversy: Is There Something More To It?


Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters & Petra Kvitova- Statistical Precursor to Australian Open 2012: Part 3

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com,




The Big Four (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray) & Del Potro- Statistical Precursor to Australian Open 2012: Part 1


Every tennis fan is eagerly waiting for 16th Jan when the world’s top players will come together to fight for their supremacy in Australian Open. 2011 brought in lots of surprises and results which made it an epic year.  No matter what people thought or predicted at the start of the year last time, one man- Novak Djokovic stood tall and proved them all wrong by writing his own story in a golden way. 

2012 can prove to be the same this time. Will it be the year for Djokovic continued supremacy, or Nadal will rise back again to reclaim his throne of World No.1?  Can it be the year when the myth of 30 is broken by Federer or the year when Murray wins his first GS title? Or maybe – just maybe the year when the dark horse- Juan Martin Del Potro finally wins the race second time in his career!

No matter what, but 2012 definitely promises to be a cracker of a year and I hereby will take you to a series of articles focusing on the statistics of the game and let you decide who looks to be the most threatening player of all:

In my first part, let me show you the career & 2011 hard court statistics of the current top players in tennis world:

Rank (AO)
Player
Career Record
Winning %
2011 Record*
Winning %
2011 AO Result
Win
Loss
Win
Loss
1
Novak Djokovic
247
65
79%
49
8
86%
Winner
2
Rafael Nadal
263
83
76%
31
11
74%
QF
3
Roger Federer
495
102
83%
49
8
86%
SF
4
Andy Murray
233
66
78%
42
12
78%
Final
5
David Ferrer
174
115
60%
31
14
69%
SF
6
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
136
58
70%
42
16
72%
3R
11
Del Potro
128
61
68%
36
16
69%
2R
*Includes Singles and Doubles.

Clearly as we can see that Federer has the best career hard court % record and the kind of form he has been at the end of 2011, he seems to be a formidable opponent to beat this year.

Djokovic was lethal last year on hard court and especially at Australian Open- his favorite surface, he can prove to be invincible if he can carry on his form. Already he had a wonderful start to 2012 by winning the exhibition tournament at Abu Dhabi. The only player who defeated him and came close to defeating him again was Roger Federer. This year could prove to be no different.

Murray has a better record on hard court than Nadal. I think it will depend on the draw this year if Murray can reach the finals or not. If he comes up against Djokovic in the SF, then it will be really tough for him to go past that stage. Nadal has a bigger problem in hand where he has to free himself from Djokovic’s trap and until and unless he finds a solution, he will be in a really tough spot.

In the words of Sunzi: "To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.". 

So Who do you think will win?

Up next tomorrow:  Game Statistics and Analysis of the the Big Four!

Also: Evolution of Novak Djokovic- Australian Open (2007-2012)!

Nadal/Federer Controversy: Is There Something More To It?

The Big Four (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray) & Del Potro- Statistical Precursor to Australian Open 2012: Part 2

Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters & Petra Kvitova- Statistical Precursor to Australian Open 2012: Part 3

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com,

Dare to Achieve Your Dreams!



And there I was standing in the city of my Role Model- Stefanie Graf. Not believing my eyes, I rubbed my eyes twice to make me believe that I read the sign correctly. It read Las Vegas.

As a small girl growing up in a country where tennis was a far-fetched dream, to be able to watch tennis was a luxury not afforded by approx. 80% of kids of my age. I clearly remember my childhood being shaped by memories of Stefanie Graf and her matches. I was just 10 when I saw the match which completely changed my attitude in life.
The match is considered as one of the classic matches in Women’s tennis history. Stefanie was down 1-4, 15-40 in the third set against Jana Novotna at 1993 Wimbledon’s final. At that moment I thought- all is over and my favorite player will lose. I was so disappointed and was sitting with a bad mood. My mom asked me for food and I was- No , I don’t want to eat today. Everyone in my household knew my passion for Stefanie Graf and her matches so she didn’t poke me further. And then I saw a comeback which I had never imagined. Graf won the match. All was well for me but as I lay in the bed that night, I couldn’t sleep. I was staring at the wall above me and lost in my thoughts. When everyone had given up, here she was holding it strong trying to win. My small mind was asking questions- why do people give up so easily?  Why did I give up? I was ashamed of myself that day when my favorite player didn’t lose hope, why did I?  My last thought before I slept off was Apeksha- You will not give up in any situation now and if you do then you are not a true fan of Graf.
From that day, I never missed any single match of Graf that was shown on TV.  I still remember how I used to crawl slowly to my parent’s room (which had TV in the night) at 3 AM to watch US Open matches. Without making a noise, I would switch on the TV, put it on mute and watch the complete match without making any noise scared a bit to wake up my parents and get a scolding for not taking proper sleep. But then Graf was my role model and I just so wanted to see her match every time to learn something new. And now when I look back, I still amaze in wonder about the things I have accomplished I my life.
I have done all the craziest things possible: be it traveling  6 times a week to study for my MBA and coming back to make sure my attendance is not short in my engineering course, be it coming back at 6 AM in the morning after a 10 hour journey and knocking on my friend’s door to know the syllabus to give my university exam at 9 AM, Arriving in the interview late by one hour as I was celebrating my friend’s birthday and clearing it with flying colors to land up a business analyst role when the company had come for candidates with technical expertise,  the only girl to participate in 6 sports events simultaneously in 2 days winning 4 of them, built a basketball team from scratch when no one was ready, practicing in the mornings  daily for one month before classes to defeat our senior team which  people had thought as an impossible feat, taking up a supply chain summer internship when I had 3 marketing offers(my area of expertise) just to try out a new field and acing it to get a pre-placement offer from the No. 1 FMCG of the world, hosting a 1000 people event in my sixth month only to be complimented from Asia Head to be the best he has ever heard and the list can go on and on……
I had dreams and in order to fulfill them, I took on the impossible paths, people called me crazy but then did I care about them? No I cared about my dreams and one of it was to visit the city of the person who defined my life. And there I was standing in front of the sign that read Las Vegas!
One match and how it completely changed my life. People think of me as intelligent, talented, confident, gifted, lucky but the truth is I am none of these. I am just a common person with a simple mind, average IQ but armed with one lesson I learnt from my role model: Never give up on your dreams, try and try till you achieve them.
Dreams do come true. You just have to be confident about yourself. Doesn’t matter what people think of your dreams, they are yours. My advice- being a common person should not hamper you from dreaming- If you think you can- you will. I now have new challenges and new dreams after visiting the city of my dreams and I am ready to take them on- Are you?
 You can reach me at apekshaha@gmail.com or https://twitter.com/#!/ApekshaHA .

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