Every week, Tennis Analytics dives deep into the data, bringing you a stat of the week to help you understand tennis better and become a little smarter.
Stat of the Week: 49% = #21
The stats don’t lie…
In tennis though, not all points are created equal. The men’s 2022 Australian Open Final was one of those matches.
Rafael Nadal won the right points at the right time. On paper, Medvedev was the better player.
- Nadal won 49% of all points in the match (Nadal 181, Medvedev 190)
- Nadal also won 49% of all rallies under 8 shots. These accounted for 82% of all rallies.
The major “battles” of each match are the 1 to 4 and the 5 to 8 rally lengths. It is extremely rare that a player loses both of these and wins the war.
It almost never happens. Unless your name is Rafael Nadal.
The minor battles – rallies over 9 shots – accounted for only 24% of all rallies.
So, how did Nadal win the war?
In the last 3 sets, he stayed competitive in the major battles (under 8 shots), and dominated the smaller battles (over 9 shots).
Point of the Week
All points are important. The shorts ones. The long ones. The in-between ones. Fortitude, belief in oneself, and fighting to the bitter end, cannot be measured in numbers.
We always counsel players to avoid viewing match stats in isolation. That is looking at stats match to match.
This match is an example of that… not the norm. But neither is Nadal.
Numbers are powerful when match stats are combined or aggregated over time, especially when using competitive matches. Then, they don’t lie.
That’s why we recommend using data from at least 5 competitive matches before drawing any conclusions about your game. Purchase a 5-match player package to see your stats.
Photo of the Week
Rafael Nadal’s backhand slice.
Leave a Reply