Medvedev, Berrettini dictated the serves, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov the returns
Daniil Medvedev and Matteo Berrettini showed themselves to be the best servers in 2021. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov were particularly successful in the setbacks to a first service.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 18, 2021, 03:18 pm
Craig O´Shannessy is not only the big numbers guru of the ATP, no, O´Shannessy is now also on tour as a coach. At the side of Alexei Popyrin, who is currently on position 71 in the world rankings. After his protégé was eliminated in the third round of the US Open 2021 (very honorable, by the way. In the tie-break of the fifth set against Daniel Evans), O'Shannessy had enough time to dismantle the last major of the season into its individual parts. And to be included in the annual statistics for 2021.
Particular attention was paid to the serve and return numbers, each divided according to the position from where the service was served. The top ten men were examined more closely.
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These statistics are headed by the champion himself, Daniil Medvedev. The Russian played 103 aces, plus 124 first serves that never came back into the field. 65 aces came through the middle, 38 out. Medvedev's lead over the next best in this category (Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev) is, however, in the percentage range.
| player | Direct service points entry page |
| Daniil Medvedev | 44.3% |
| Matteo Berrettini | 44.2% |
| Alexander Zverev | 43.8% |
| Denis Shapovalov | 41.3% |
| Andrey Rublev | 40.4% |
| Casper Ruud | 38.7% |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 37.8% |
| Pablo Carreno Busta | 31.8% |
| Novak Djokovic | 30.9% |
| Rafael Nadal | 27.5% |
Advantage side, first surcharges not returned
Here Wimbledon finalist Berrettini saw the nose ahead over the 2021 season. And not even so close to Denis Shapovalov, who as a left-hander enjoys special advantages from the advantage side. The “serve bots” Reilly Opelka, John Isner, Milos Raonic and Kevin Anderson are not included in the statistics. After all, these are outside the top ten.
| player | Direct service points entry page |
| Matteo Berrettini | 46.3% |
| Denis Shapovalov | 42.7% |
| Daniil Medvedev | 42.6% |
| Alexander Zverev | 38.4% |
| Andrey Rublev | 38.1% |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 38.1% |
| Casper Ruud | 36.8% |
| Rafael Nadal | 30.4% |
| Pablo Carreno Busta | 26.2% |
| Novak Djokovic | 25.4% |
Buy side, first serve returned and point won
Seen over the year 2021, this category has emerged as the best of the year. Industry leader Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud, who has only been among the ten best players in the world since Monday of this week, follow with a little respectful distance.
| player | Direct service points entry page |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 65.0% |
| Novak Djokovic | 63.5% |
| Casper Ruud | 62.0% |
| Andrey Rublev | 61.4% |
| Matteo Berrettini | 59.7% |
| Daniil Medvedev | 59.6% |
| Pablo Carreno Busta | 58.1% |
| Alexander Zverev | 57.4% |
| Rafael Nadal | 55.5% |
| Denis Shapovalov | 54.6% |
Advantage side, first serve returned and point won
The same applies here: left-handers have an advantage. But not Rafael Nadal, who all in all played very little tennis in 2021 (which of course shouldn't play a role in percentages). But Denis Shapovalov, whose best result was the entry into the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
| player | Direct service points entry page |
| Denis Shapovalov | 63.5% |
| Daniil Medvedev | 62.5% |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 61.8% |
| Andrey Rublev | 61.5% |
| Matteo Berrettini | 60.6% |
| Alexander Zverev | 59.3% |
| Pablo Carreno Busta | 58.5% |
| Casper Ruud | 57.4% |
| Novak Djokovic | 56.4% |
| Rafael Nadal | 55.9% |