tennista 🎾
Posts
🥵 The year in tie-breaks

🥵 The year in tie-breaks

October 20, 2022

Hey, Tennis Pro! It's Thirstday!

Sweden's Jewel. Honestly, I had never taken the time to watch a Mikael Ymer match. However, as all the hype for the Swede is palpable at the Stockholm Open, I made a space in my day to see him in action. I was blown away. This boy plays with exceptional security and maturity for his 24 years of age.

As the main elements that I noticed in his style, it was a solid backhand that constantly found the winner's alley more than once against his 1.93 meter German opponent with ample court coverage. In addition, a great ability to respond to the bombardments of 1st serves and forehands that Otte was throwing at him point after point. And finally, an excellent approach at each instance of the game, orchestrating the rallies from side to side, taking advantage of his youth that allowed him to go to the ends of the court again and again without losing efficiency.

He ended up advancing to the next round after another three-set match and with tiebreaks for both sides. Sweden, in Mikael we trust!

Every time I analyze statistics of the Live Top 10, I continually see that Carlos Alcaraz's numbers rarely figure in the highest positions. During 2022, the best tennis year for Carlos, he appears as the one with the worst record in tie-breaks among the best on the planet, with just under 60% of victories in this instance. Incredible that without having the top stats, he is still the absolute king of the sport.

On the other hand, we observe two of the Big Three with the best tie-break records so far this year, although with only 13 played, they look like only few compared to almost twice as many played by Felix Auger Aliassime. All jokes aside, it must be very difficult to play a tie-break against Nadal or Djokovic. The experience they both have without a doubt weighs in and allows them to win more than 80% of the defining games they find themselves in. Beware the Big Two!

Nishikori loses rank

For the first time in 12 years, Japan's former world No. 4 is not listed in the official ATP rankings. After hip surgery in early 2022, Kei has been inactive in official games since October last year and is breaking the streak of being part of the pro ranking since April 2010.

Nishikori is now 32 years old and his return to the courts remains uncertain for the remainder of the year. It's a shame to see players leaving the tour like this with a high degree of quality and with a level of experience that few players have reached in a long time. Speedy recovery to Kei and we hope to see him back soon on court to show us again that style of play that led him to be at the top of the tennis world not so long ago.