Best Career Tie-Break Records

[piece]

The ATP has a list of the top thirty tie-break players (by percentage) at its website http://www.atpworldtour.com/Reliability-Zone/Reliability-Tie-Breakers-Career-List.aspx

Surprisingly, of the thirty players on the list, only two of them - Becker and Edberg - were of much prominence before the 90s. Otherwise, the list has a decent number of big players from the 90s (though mostly outside the top ten), but an overwhelming majority of the most highly ranked players come from the past decade and a half. I was wondering why this is. Is there just a dearth of tie-break statistics from pre-1990, or are the best modern players better in tie-breaks than their open-era compatriots from the 70s and 80s (and to a lesser degree, the 90s as well)? This disparity is even odder considering how well represented the greats of the 70s and 80s are in the other areas that the ATP website has career statistics for (with the exception of winning record in Masters 1000 events). Borg, Connors, Lendl and McEnroe, for example, dominate many of the other statistics.

For ease of reference, the top ten tie-break record holders are

1. Federer .659
2. Isner .639
3. Sampras .637
4. Djokovic .633
5. Nadal .626
6. Roddick .622
7. Murray .608
8. Stich .601
9. Nalbandian .601
10. Edberg .601

 

[Nadal_Power]

Just one problem.. list is not true, like many things on ATP site

 

[piece]

Just one problem.. list is not true, like many things on ATP site

This was part of my question. Is data from the early open era missing entirely? From when (80s, 90s, 00s??) does the data become largely accurate?

 

[Monsieur_DeLarge]

IBM started gathering stats more accurately in 1990 after it became the tour's title sponsor. I think it was the first time the ATP had real-time, electronic data-harvesting, and I'd be pretty confident in most of the stats since then. Big Blue knows what it's doing.

Prior to that things are a bit ropey. Looking at the list, the ATP's restricted things to the last 20-odd years to ensure a degree of accuracy. In fact you can probably work things out exactly, since Edberg has 178 tie-breaks listed. I'm pretty confident he'll have played more than that over his whole career, so count back his last 178 TBs to see when the stat-gathering began. I'd guess you'll land at 1990.

Mildly surprised at the order of the list. If I'd had to guess, I'd have put Nadal ahead of Federer, and Sampras at the top of the order. I don't know if that's subjective perception, or maybe just the way they played tie-breaks on the big occasion. Despite the cited stats, if I had to pick one guy to play a TB for my life, it'd be a toss-up between Pistol Pete and Rafa.


Regards,
MDL

 

[Nadal_Power]

Voo's list at the end of 2011 :

[COLOR="Blue"]Federer, Roger[/COLOR]		66,1 % (306/157)
Ashe, Arthur        	64,5 % (162/89)
[COLOR="blue"]Djokovic, Novak[/COLOR]		64,2 % (120/67)
Gomez, Anders       	63,5 % (183/105)
Newcombe, John      	63,3 % (112/65)
Sampras, Pete       	62,8 % (328/194)
[COLOR="blue"]Roddick, Andy[/COLOR]		62,5 % (292/175)
[COLOR="blue"]Nadal, Rafael[/COLOR]		62,5 % (139/85)
[COLOR="blue"]Isner, John[/COLOR]		62,2 % (120/73)
McEnroe, John     	61,9 % (187/115)
Lendl, Ivan      	60,5 % (240/157)
[COLOR="blue"]Murray, Andy[/COLOR]		60,5 % (92/60)
[COLOR="blue"]Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried[/COLOR]	60,4 % (96/63)
Edberg, Stefan        	60,0 % (249/166)

Eltingh, Jacco          59,8 % (79/53)
Becker, Boris        	59,7 % (241/163)
Muster, Thomas        	59,7 % (166/112)
[COLOR="blue"]Gonzalez, Fernando[/COLOR]	59,3 % (150/103)
[COLOR="blue"]Nalbandian, David[/COLOR]	59,3 % (118/81)
Escude, Nicolas         59,2 % (84/58)
Stich, Michael        	59,0 % (167/116)
Courier, Jim       	58,9 % (185/129)
Rios, Marcelo          	58,9 % (132/92)
Rosewall, Ken      	58,7 % (71/50)
Ramirez, Raul    	58,6 % (136/96)
Okker, Tom     	    	58,5 % (117/83)
[COLOR="blue"]Monfils Gael[/COLOR]		58,5 % (96/68)
Panatta, Adriano       	58,4 % (94/67)
[COLOR="blue"]Baghdatis, Marcos[/COLOR]	58,4 % (90/64)
Mayer, Sandy            58,3 % (70/50)
Clerc, Jose-Luis        58,1 % (64/46)
Connors, Jimmy      	58,0 % (214/155)
Bruguera, Sergi         58,0 % (122/88)
Nastase, Ilie      	57,9 % (135/98)
Moya, Carlos		57,6 % (223/164)
Gilbert, Brad      	57,5 % (146/108)
Grosjean, Sebastien     57,4 % (139/103)
Jaite, Martin           57,3 % (74/55)
Nyström, Joakim       	57,3 % (59/44)
Clerc, Jose-Luis        57,1 % (64/48)
Ivanisevic, Goran    	57,1 % (276/207)
Kriek, Johan        	57,0 % (126/95)
Rosset, Marc       	56,9 % (203/154)
Smith, Stan        	56,9 % (165/125)
Chesnokov, Andrei       56,9 % (107/81)
Martin, Todd       	56,7 % (195/149)
Vilas, Guillermo        56,6 % (155/119)
Wilander, Mats      	56,6 % (125/96)
Koubek, Stefan          56,6 % (90/69)
[COLOR="blue"]Robredo, Tommy[/COLOR]		56,4 % (137/106)
Kiefer, Nicolas         56,4 % (119/92)
Larsson, Magnus       	56,3 % (142/110)
Agassi, Andre        	56,3 % (206/160)
Kafelnikov, Yevgeny    	56,1 % (217/170)
[COLOR="blue"]Muller, Gilles[/COLOR]		56,1 % (64/50)
Coria, Guillermo        56,1 % (55/43)
Dibbs, Eddie         	56,1 % (110/86)
Tanner, Roscoe       	56,0 % (201/158)
[COLOR="blue"]Ferrero, Juan Carlos[/COLOR]	56,0 % (168/132)
Yzaga, Jaime            56,0 % (102/80)
[COLOR="blue"]Berdych, Tomas[/COLOR]		55,8 % (111/88)
Dent, Phil              55,8 % (62/49)
El Aynaoui, Younes      55,7 % (131/104)
Kodes, Jan         	55,6 % (65/52)
Medvedev, Andrei      	55,5 % (111/89)
[COLOR="blue"]Lopez, Feliciano[/COLOR]	55,4 % (173/139)
Rusedski, Greg      	55,4 % (257/207)
Arias, Jimmy         	55,3 % (110/89)
Srichaphan, Paradorn    55,3 % (110/89)
Norman, Magnus          55,3 % (88/71)
Karbacher, Bernd        55,3 % (57/46)
Gerulaitis, Vitas    	55,2 % (132/107)
Higueras, Jose      	55,1 % (65/53)
Borg, Bjorn          	55,0 % (93/76)
[COLOR="blue"]Nieminen, Jarkko[/COLOR]	54,7 % (122/101)
[COLOR="blue"]Tursunov, Dmitry[/COLOR]	54,4 % (86/72)
Teacher, Brian          54,1 % (112/95)
Haas, Tommy		54,0 % (168/143)
Korda, Petr             54,0 % (139/118)
Noah, Yannick           53,9 % (143/122)
Rafter, Patrick         53,9 % (137/117)
Pioline, Cedric		53,8 % (161/138)
Mantilla, Felix         53,8 % (107/92)
[COLOR="blue"]Malisse, Xavier[/COLOR]		53,7 % (101/87)
Henman, Tim             53,6 % (171/148)
Gottfried, Brian	53.4 % (131/114)
Pecci, Victor           53,3 % (71/62)
[COLOR="blue"]Blake, James[/COLOR]		53,2 % (133/117)
Safin, Marat            53,2 % (206/181)
Mayotte, Tim            53,2 % (122/107)
[COLOR="blue"]Benneteau, Julien[/COLOR]	53,2 % (67/59)
Siemerink, Jan          53,1 % (136/120)
Woodbridge, Todd        53,1 % (102/90)
Philippoussis, Mark	53,0 % (161/143)
Mirnyi, Max		53,0 % (157/139)
Santoro, Fabrice        52,9 % (147/131)
Krickstein, Aaron       52,8 % (122/109)
Reneberg, Richey        52,8 % (111/99)
Smid, Tomas             52,7 % (114/102)
[COLOR="blue"]Massu, Nicolas[/COLOR]		52,7 % (107/96)	
Costa, Carlos           52,4 % (74/67)
[COLOR="blue"]Mayer, Florian[/COLOR]		52,4 % (55/50)
[COLOR="blue"]Hewitt, Lleyton[/COLOR]		52,3 % (147/134)
[COLOR="blue"]Stepanek, Radek[/COLOR]		52,2 % (128/117)
Leconte, Henri          52,2 % (115/105)
Arazi, Hicham		52,2 % (83/76)
Pozzi, Gianluca         52,2 % (69/63)
Ljubicic, Ivan		52,1 % (225/207)
Youzhny, Mikhail	52,1 % (137/126)
Lapentti, Nicolas       51,9 % (122/113)
Bjorkman, Jonas		51,6 % (130/122)
Mathieu, Paul-Henri     51,6 % (97/91)
Jarryd, Anders          51,6 % (94/88)
Dosedel, Slava          51,5 % (66/62)
Carlsen, Kenneth	51,4 % (144/136)
Berasategui, Alberto    51,4 % (74/70)  
[COLOR="blue"]Davydenko, Nikolay[/COLOR]	51,3 % (118/112)
Cash, Pat               51,3 % (97/92)
[COLOR="blue"]Montanes, Albert[/COLOR]	51,3 % (79/75)
[COLOR="blue"]Clement, Arnaud[/COLOR]		51,2 % (128/122)
Hlasek, Jakob		51,1 % (173/165)
Krajicek, Richard	51,1 % (172/164)
Mansdorf, Amos          51,1 % (107/102)
Fibak, Wojtek           51,1 % (92/88)
[COLOR="blue"]Tipsarevic, Janko[/COLOR]	51,1 % (89/85)
Kulti, Nicklas          51,0 % (53/51)
Corretja, Alex		50,9 % (132/127)
Costa, Albert           50,9 % (115/111)
[COLOR="blue"]Gasquet, Richard[/COLOR]	50,9 % (88/85)
Kucera, Karol           50,8 % (95/92)
Gaudenzi, Andrea        50,8 % (66/64)
Martin, Alberto         50,7 % (74/72)
Johansson, Thomas	50,6 % (165/161)
Ancic, Mario            50,6 % (83/81)
Curren, Kevin		50,5 % (144/141)
Sanchez, Javier         50,5 % (131/128)
Gustafsson, Magnus      50,4 % (116/114)
Canas, Guillermo        50,3 % (83/82)
Amritraj, Vijay         50,3 % (82/81)
Teltscher, Elliot       50,3 % (78/77)
Wheaton, David          50,2 % (95/94)
Boetsch, Arnaud         50,2 % (93/92)
Krishnan, Ramesh        50,2 % (84/83)
Hrbaty, Dominik         50,0 % (124/124)
[COLOR="blue"]Monaco, Juan[/COLOR]		50,0 % (64/64)
Alami, Karim		50,0 % (58/58)

Masur, Wally            49,8 % (139/140)
Sanchez, Emilio     	49,8 % (130/131)
Kuerten, Gustavo       	49,8 % (135/136)
Woodforde, Mark         49,8 % (126/127)
Karlovic, Ivo		49,5 % (198/202)
Chang, Michael         	49,4 % (153/157)
Pavel, Andrei           49,4 % (116/119)
Vacek, Daniel           49,4 % (88/90)
[COLOR="blue"]Ferrer, David[/COLOR]		49,4 % (85/87)
[COLOR="blue"]Kohlschreiber, Philipp[/COLOR]	49,4 % (83/85)
Clavet, Francisco       49,3 % (113/116)
Schalken, Sjeng         49,3 % (99/102)
[COLOR="blue"]Soderling, Robin[/COLOR]	49,3 % (106/109)
[COLOR="blue"]Simon, Gilles[/COLOR]		49,3 % (69/71)
Ferreira, Wayne         49,2 % (169/174)
Forget, Guy        	49,2 % (151/156)
Black, Byron            49,1 % (111/115)
Alexander, John     	49,0 % (178/185)
Enqvist, Thomas       	48,9 % (152/159)
Volkov, Alexander       48,6 % (106/112)
McNamara, Peter      	48,6 % (51/54)
Verdasco, Fernando	48,5 % (113/120)
[COLOR="blue"]Fish, Mardy[/COLOR]		48,4 % (104/111)
Calleri, Agustin        48,4 % (78/83)
Annacone, Paul     	48,3 % (72/77)
Melzer, Jurgen		48,2 % (110/118)
[COLOR="blue"]Acasuso, Jose[/COLOR]		47,8 % (65/71)
Gambill, Jan-Michael    47,7 % (84/92)
Schuettler, Rainer	47,6 % (118/130)
Chela, Juan Ignacio	47,5 % (96/106)
[COLOR="blue"]Andreev, Igor[/COLOR]		47,4 % (92/102)
Taroczy, Balazs         47,4 % (74/82)
Haarhuis, Paul          47,0 % (96/108)
[COLOR="blue"]Almagro, Nicolas[/COLOR]	47,0 % (95/107)
Damm, Martin            47,0 % (79/89)         
Haarhuis, Paul          46,9 % (82/93)
Querrey, Sam		46,7 % (56/64)
Hanescu, Victor		46,6 % (89/102)
Novak, Jiri         	46,4 % (103/119)
Vicente, Fernando       46,3 % (62/72)
Cherkasov, Andrei       46,2 % (75/87)
McEnroe, Patrick        46,2 % (61/71)
[COLOR="blue"]Llodra, Michael[/COLOR]		45,9 % (85/100)
Portas, Albert          45,8 % (49/58)
Stoltenberg, Jason      45,7 % (97/115)
[COLOR="blue"]Cilic, Marin[/COLOR]		45,7 % (58/69)
Fromberg, Richard       45,6 % (121/144)
Ulihrach, Bohdan        45,4 % (64/77)
Arthurs, Wayne          45,3 % (117/141)
Barazzutti, Conrado    	44,8 % (52/64)
Sanguinetti, Davide     44,3 % (78/98)
Rochus, Olivier		43,1 % (84/111)
Gimelstob, Justin       43,0 % (52/69)
[COLOR="blue"]Wawrinka, Stanislas[/COLOR]	42,9 % (73/97)
Spadea, Vincent         41,9 % (99/137)
Goellner, Mark-Kevin    41,4 % (67/95)
Tarango, Jeff 		41.1 % (74/106)
[COLOR="Blue"]Seppi, Andreas[/COLOR]		40,8 % (62/90)

 

[rwn]

IBM started gathering stats more accurately in 1990 after it became the tour's title sponsor. I think it was the first time the ATP had real-time, electronic data-harvesting, and I'd be pretty confident in most of the stats since then. Big Blue knows what it's doing.

Prior to that things are a bit ropey. Looking at the list, the ATP's restricted things to the last 20-odd years to ensure a degree of accuracy. In fact you can probably work things out exactly, since Edberg has 178 tie-breaks listed. I'm pretty confident he'll have played more than that over his whole career, so count back his last 178 TBs to see when the stat-gathering began. I'd guess you'll land at 1990.

Mildly surprised at the order of the list. If I'd had to guess, I'd have put Nadal ahead of Federer, and Sampras at the top of the order. I don't know if that's subjective perception, or maybe just the way they played tie-breaks on the big occasion. Despite the cited stats, if I had to pick one guy to play a TB for my life, it'd be a toss-up between Pistol Pete and Rafa.


Regards,
MDL

Federer and Nadal played 6 tiebreaks in their 3 wimbledon finals. Federer won 5 of them.

 

[Agassifan]

I refuse to believe that Pete won only 62.8 % of TBs.

 

[hoodjem]

Voo's list at the end of 2011 :

[COLOR="Blue"]Federer, Roger[/COLOR]		66,1 % (306/157)
Ashe, Arthur        	64,5 % (162/89)
[COLOR="blue"]Djokovic, Novak[/COLOR]		64,2 % (120/67)
Gomez, Anders       	63,5 % (183/105)
Newcombe, John      	63,3 % (112/65)
Sampras, Pete       	62,8 % (328/194)
[COLOR="blue"]Roddick, Andy[/COLOR]		62,5 % (292/175)
[COLOR="blue"]Nadal, Rafael[/COLOR]		62,5 % (139/85)
[COLOR="blue"]Isner, John[/COLOR]		62,2 % (120/73)
McEnroe, John     	61,9 % (187/115)
Lendl, Ivan      	60,5 % (240/157)
[COLOR="blue"]Murray, Andy[/COLOR]		60,5 % (92/60)
[COLOR="blue"]Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried[/COLOR]	60,4 % (96/63)
Edberg, Stefan        	60,0 % (249/166)

Eltingh, Jacco          59,8 % (79/53)
Becker, Boris        	59,7 % (241/163)
Muster, Thomas        	59,7 % (166/112)
[COLOR="blue"]Gonzalez, Fernando[/COLOR]	59,3 % (150/103)
[COLOR="blue"]Nalbandian, David[/COLOR]	59,3 % (118/81)
Escude, Nicolas         59,2 % (84/58)
Stich, Michael        	59,0 % (167/116)
Courier, Jim       	58,9 % (185/129)
Rios, Marcelo          	58,9 % (132/92)
Rosewall, Ken      	58,7 % (71/50)
Ramirez, Raul    	58,6 % (136/96)
Okker, Tom     	    	58,5 % (117/83)
[COLOR="blue"]Monfils Gael[/COLOR]		58,5 % (96/68)
Panatta, Adriano       	58,4 % (94/67)
[COLOR="blue"]Baghdatis, Marcos[/COLOR]	58,4 % (90/64)
Mayer, Sandy            58,3 % (70/50)
Clerc, Jose-Luis        58,1 % (64/46)
Connors, Jimmy      	58,0 % (214/155)
Bruguera, Sergi         58,0 % (122/88)
Nastase, Ilie      	57,9 % (135/98)
Moya, Carlos		57,6 % (223/164)
Gilbert, Brad      	57,5 % (146/108)
Grosjean, Sebastien     57,4 % (139/103)
Jaite, Martin           57,3 % (74/55)
Nyström, Joakim       	57,3 % (59/44)
Clerc, Jose-Luis        57,1 % (64/48)
Ivanisevic, Goran    	57,1 % (276/207)
Kriek, Johan        	57,0 % (126/95)
Rosset, Marc       	56,9 % (203/154)
Smith, Stan        	56,9 % (165/125)
Chesnokov, Andrei       56,9 % (107/81)
Martin, Todd       	56,7 % (195/149)
Vilas, Guillermo        56,6 % (155/119)
Wilander, Mats      	56,6 % (125/96)
Koubek, Stefan          56,6 % (90/69)
[COLOR="blue"]Robredo, Tommy[/COLOR]		56,4 % (137/106)
Kiefer, Nicolas         56,4 % (119/92)
Larsson, Magnus       	56,3 % (142/110)
Agassi, Andre        	56,3 % (206/160)
Kafelnikov, Yevgeny    	56,1 % (217/170)
[COLOR="blue"]Muller, Gilles[/COLOR]		56,1 % (64/50)
Coria, Guillermo        56,1 % (55/43)
Dibbs, Eddie         	56,1 % (110/86)
Tanner, Roscoe       	56,0 % (201/158)
[COLOR="blue"]Ferrero, Juan Carlos[/COLOR]	56,0 % (168/132)
Yzaga, Jaime            56,0 % (102/80)
[COLOR="blue"]Berdych, Tomas[/COLOR]		55,8 % (111/88)
Dent, Phil              55,8 % (62/49)
El Aynaoui, Younes      55,7 % (131/104)
Kodes, Jan         	55,6 % (65/52)
Medvedev, Andrei      	55,5 % (111/89)
[COLOR="blue"]Lopez, Feliciano[/COLOR]	55,4 % (173/139)
Rusedski, Greg      	55,4 % (257/207)
Arias, Jimmy         	55,3 % (110/89)
Srichaphan, Paradorn    55,3 % (110/89)
Norman, Magnus          55,3 % (88/71)
Karbacher, Bernd        55,3 % (57/46)
Gerulaitis, Vitas    	55,2 % (132/107)
Higueras, Jose      	55,1 % (65/53)
Borg, Bjorn          	55,0 % (93/76)
[COLOR="blue"]Nieminen, Jarkko[/COLOR]	54,7 % (122/101)
[COLOR="blue"]Tursunov, Dmitry[/COLOR]	54,4 % (86/72)
Teacher, Brian          54,1 % (112/95)
Haas, Tommy		54,0 % (168/143)
Korda, Petr             54,0 % (139/118)
Noah, Yannick           53,9 % (143/122)
Rafter, Patrick         53,9 % (137/117)
Pioline, Cedric		53,8 % (161/138)
Mantilla, Felix         53,8 % (107/92)
[COLOR="blue"]Malisse, Xavier[/COLOR]		53,7 % (101/87)
Henman, Tim             53,6 % (171/148)
Gottfried, Brian	53.4 % (131/114)
Pecci, Victor           53,3 % (71/62)
[COLOR="blue"]Blake, James[/COLOR]		53,2 % (133/117)
Safin, Marat            53,2 % (206/181)
Mayotte, Tim            53,2 % (122/107)
[COLOR="blue"]Benneteau, Julien[/COLOR]	53,2 % (67/59)
Siemerink, Jan          53,1 % (136/120)
Woodbridge, Todd        53,1 % (102/90)
Philippoussis, Mark	53,0 % (161/143)
Mirnyi, Max		53,0 % (157/139)
Santoro, Fabrice        52,9 % (147/131)
Krickstein, Aaron       52,8 % (122/109)
Reneberg, Richey        52,8 % (111/99)
Smid, Tomas             52,7 % (114/102)
[COLOR="blue"]Massu, Nicolas[/COLOR]		52,7 % (107/96)	
Costa, Carlos           52,4 % (74/67)
[COLOR="blue"]Mayer, Florian[/COLOR]		52,4 % (55/50)
[COLOR="blue"]Hewitt, Lleyton[/COLOR]		52,3 % (147/134)
[COLOR="blue"]Stepanek, Radek[/COLOR]		52,2 % (128/117)
Leconte, Henri          52,2 % (115/105)
Arazi, Hicham		52,2 % (83/76)
Pozzi, Gianluca         52,2 % (69/63)
Ljubicic, Ivan		52,1 % (225/207)
Youzhny, Mikhail	52,1 % (137/126)
Lapentti, Nicolas       51,9 % (122/113)
Bjorkman, Jonas		51,6 % (130/122)
Mathieu, Paul-Henri     51,6 % (97/91)
Jarryd, Anders          51,6 % (94/88)
Dosedel, Slava          51,5 % (66/62)
Carlsen, Kenneth	51,4 % (144/136)
Berasategui, Alberto    51,4 % (74/70)  
[COLOR="blue"]Davydenko, Nikolay[/COLOR]	51,3 % (118/112)
Cash, Pat               51,3 % (97/92)
[COLOR="blue"]Montanes, Albert[/COLOR]	51,3 % (79/75)
[COLOR="blue"]Clement, Arnaud[/COLOR]		51,2 % (128/122)
Hlasek, Jakob		51,1 % (173/165)
Krajicek, Richard	51,1 % (172/164)
Mansdorf, Amos          51,1 % (107/102)
Fibak, Wojtek           51,1 % (92/88)
[COLOR="blue"]Tipsarevic, Janko[/COLOR]	51,1 % (89/85)
Kulti, Nicklas          51,0 % (53/51)
Corretja, Alex		50,9 % (132/127)
Costa, Albert           50,9 % (115/111)
[COLOR="blue"]Gasquet, Richard[/COLOR]	50,9 % (88/85)
Kucera, Karol           50,8 % (95/92)
Gaudenzi, Andrea        50,8 % (66/64)
Martin, Alberto         50,7 % (74/72)
Johansson, Thomas	50,6 % (165/161)
Ancic, Mario            50,6 % (83/81)
Curren, Kevin		50,5 % (144/141)
Sanchez, Javier         50,5 % (131/128)
Gustafsson, Magnus      50,4 % (116/114)
Canas, Guillermo        50,3 % (83/82)
Amritraj, Vijay         50,3 % (82/81)
Teltscher, Elliot       50,3 % (78/77)
Wheaton, David          50,2 % (95/94)
Boetsch, Arnaud         50,2 % (93/92)
Krishnan, Ramesh        50,2 % (84/83)
Hrbaty, Dominik         50,0 % (124/124)
[COLOR="blue"]Monaco, Juan[/COLOR]		50,0 % (64/64)
Alami, Karim		50,0 % (58/58)

Masur, Wally            49,8 % (139/140)
Sanchez, Emilio     	49,8 % (130/131)
Kuerten, Gustavo       	49,8 % (135/136)
Woodforde, Mark         49,8 % (126/127)
Karlovic, Ivo		49,5 % (198/202)
Chang, Michael         	49,4 % (153/157)
Pavel, Andrei           49,4 % (116/119)
Vacek, Daniel           49,4 % (88/90)
[COLOR="blue"]Ferrer, David[/COLOR]		49,4 % (85/87)
[COLOR="blue"]Kohlschreiber, Philipp[/COLOR]	49,4 % (83/85)
Clavet, Francisco       49,3 % (113/116)
Schalken, Sjeng         49,3 % (99/102)
[COLOR="blue"]Soderling, Robin[/COLOR]	49,3 % (106/109)
[COLOR="blue"]Simon, Gilles[/COLOR]		49,3 % (69/71)
Ferreira, Wayne         49,2 % (169/174)
Forget, Guy        	49,2 % (151/156)
Black, Byron            49,1 % (111/115)
Alexander, John     	49,0 % (178/185)
Enqvist, Thomas       	48,9 % (152/159)
Volkov, Alexander       48,6 % (106/112)
McNamara, Peter      	48,6 % (51/54)
Verdasco, Fernando	48,5 % (113/120)
[COLOR="blue"]Fish, Mardy[/COLOR]		48,4 % (104/111)
Calleri, Agustin        48,4 % (78/83)
Annacone, Paul     	48,3 % (72/77)
Melzer, Jurgen		48,2 % (110/118)
[COLOR="blue"]Acasuso, Jose[/COLOR]		47,8 % (65/71)
Gambill, Jan-Michael    47,7 % (84/92)
Schuettler, Rainer	47,6 % (118/130)
Chela, Juan Ignacio	47,5 % (96/106)
[COLOR="blue"]Andreev, Igor[/COLOR]		47,4 % (92/102)
Taroczy, Balazs         47,4 % (74/82)
Haarhuis, Paul          47,0 % (96/108)
[COLOR="blue"]Almagro, Nicolas[/COLOR]	47,0 % (95/107)
Damm, Martin            47,0 % (79/89)         
Haarhuis, Paul          46,9 % (82/93)
Querrey, Sam		46,7 % (56/64)
Hanescu, Victor		46,6 % (89/102)
Novak, Jiri         	46,4 % (103/119)
Vicente, Fernando       46,3 % (62/72)
Cherkasov, Andrei       46,2 % (75/87)
McEnroe, Patrick        46,2 % (61/71)
[COLOR="blue"]Llodra, Michael[/COLOR]		45,9 % (85/100)
Portas, Albert          45,8 % (49/58)
Stoltenberg, Jason      45,7 % (97/115)
[COLOR="blue"]Cilic, Marin[/COLOR]		45,7 % (58/69)
Fromberg, Richard       45,6 % (121/144)
Ulihrach, Bohdan        45,4 % (64/77)
Arthurs, Wayne          45,3 % (117/141)
Barazzutti, Conrado    	44,8 % (52/64)
Sanguinetti, Davide     44,3 % (78/98)
Rochus, Olivier		43,1 % (84/111)
Gimelstob, Justin       43,0 % (52/69)
[COLOR="blue"]Wawrinka, Stanislas[/COLOR]	42,9 % (73/97)
Spadea, Vincent         41,9 % (99/137)
Goellner, Mark-Kevin    41,4 % (67/95)
Tarango, Jeff 		41.1 % (74/106)
[COLOR="Blue"]Seppi, Andreas[/COLOR]		40,8 % (62/90)

Anders Gomez.

His mother was Swedish, his father Spanish.

 

[krosero]

Tiebreaks in Grand Slam finals

Tiebreak records in Grand Slam finals:

Federer is 19-6
Nadal is 6-6
Sampras 8-6
Ivanisevic 2-3
Courier 0-2
Agassi 2-4
Becker 5-3
Edberg 2-2
Cash 2-0
Wilander 3-5
Lendl 5-4
McEnroe 5-3
Borg 1-8
Connors 3-4
Vilas 2-1
Newcombe 2–2
Rosewall 2-0

 

[World Beater]

Tiebreak records in Grand Slam finals:

Federer is 19-6
Nadal is 6-6
Sampras 8-6
Ivanisevic 2-3
Courier 0-2
Agassi 2-4
Becker 5-3
Edberg 2-2
Cash 2-0
Wilander 3-5
Lendl 5-4
McEnroe 5-3
Borg 1-8
Connors 3-4
Vilas 2-1
Newcombe 2–2
Rosewall 2-0

wow.

borg at 1-8.
sampras good but not great at 8-6.
federer at a whopping 19-6?

 

[abmk]

Mildly surprised at the order of the list. If I'd had to guess, I'd have put Nadal ahead of Federer, and Sampras at the top of the order. I don't know if that's subjective perception, or maybe just the way they played tie-breaks on the big occasion. Despite the cited stats, if I had to pick one guy to play a TB for my life, it'd be a toss-up between Pistol Pete and Rafa.


Regards,
MDL

not astute observations, not astute at all ......

federer is by some distance better in TBs than sampras and rafa .....

there are no BPs to choke away while returning, so federer's return% points go up considerably in TBs ,

federer when concentrating well returns easily better than rafa and is easily the better server.

lesser server overall when it comes to free points when compared to sampras, but he's just as clutch, and is easily the better returner

in slam finals for example:

federer is :

19-6

nadal is:

6-6

sampras is:

8-6

its not even close ...


federer is 6-5 vs nadal in TBs in grand slam matches
federer is 6-2 vs djokovic in TBs in grand slam matches

I'd wager federer's record in TBs in GS matches is considerably better than both sampras'/nadal's .....

 

[abmk]

by my count :

federer in TBs :

@ AO:21-8
@ FO:23-10
@ wimbledon:39-12
@ USO:21-12

so overall record of

104-42 ( 71.23%)

since his first slam in wimbledon 2003:

@AO:16-6
@FO:20-7
@wimbledon:36-7
@USO:19-9

that's a record of

91-29 ( 75.83%)

 

[abmk]

by my count

nadal in TBs:

AO: 8-9
FO: 13-4
wimbledon:19-8
USO: 17-6

record of 57-27(67.85%)

since winning his first slam @ RG 2005

AO: 8-6
FO:13-4
wimbledon:19-8
USO:17-4

57-22 ( 72.15%)

 

[abmk]

by my count , Sampras in TBs:

@ AO : 19-15
@ FO : 8-11
@ wimbledon:32-17
@ USO:27-13

a record of 86-56 (60.56%)

he didn't play any TB before he won his first slam in USO 90

if we were to count only till 2000:

@ AO:12-14
@ FO:8-9
@ wimbledon:29-15
@ USO: 16-9

a record of 65-47 (58.03%) ... it actually drops off as he won a lot of TBs at the AO and USO in those 2 years ....

 

[abmk]

What surprises me the most in that list is borg's win % in TBs being that low .....only 55% ?

 

[krosero]

borg at 1-8.

The tiebreak he won was one he had to have, down two sets to McEnroe at the USO in 1980.

He did take two other "had to have" tiebreaks from McEnroe, at the 1979 and 1980 Masters. Both were ultimate third-set tiebreaks.

 

[piece]

Voo's list at the end of 2011 :

[COLOR="Blue"]Federer, Roger[/COLOR]		66,1 % (306/157)
Ashe, Arthur        	64,5 % (162/89)
[COLOR="blue"]Djokovic, Novak[/COLOR]		64,2 % (120/67)
Gomez, Anders       	63,5 % (183/105)
Newcombe, John      	63,3 % (112/65)
Sampras, Pete       	62,8 % (328/194)
[COLOR="blue"]Roddick, Andy[/COLOR]		62,5 % (292/175)
[COLOR="blue"]Nadal, Rafael[/COLOR]		62,5 % (139/85)
[COLOR="blue"]Isner, John[/COLOR]		62,2 % (120/73)
McEnroe, John     	61,9 % (187/115)
Lendl, Ivan      	60,5 % (240/157)
[COLOR="blue"]Murray, Andy[/COLOR]		60,5 % (92/60)
[COLOR="blue"]Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried[/COLOR]	60,4 % (96/63)
Edberg, Stefan        	60,0 % (249/166)

Eltingh, Jacco          59,8 % (79/53)
Becker, Boris        	59,7 % (241/163)
Muster, Thomas        	59,7 % (166/112)
[COLOR="blue"]Gonzalez, Fernando[/COLOR]	59,3 % (150/103)
[COLOR="blue"]Nalbandian, David[/COLOR]	59,3 % (118/81)
Escude, Nicolas         59,2 % (84/58)
Stich, Michael        	59,0 % (167/116)
Courier, Jim       	58,9 % (185/129)
Rios, Marcelo          	58,9 % (132/92)
Rosewall, Ken      	58,7 % (71/50)
Ramirez, Raul    	58,6 % (136/96)
Okker, Tom     	    	58,5 % (117/83)
[COLOR="blue"]Monfils Gael[/COLOR]		58,5 % (96/68)
Panatta, Adriano       	58,4 % (94/67)
[COLOR="blue"]Baghdatis, Marcos[/COLOR]	58,4 % (90/64)
Mayer, Sandy            58,3 % (70/50)
Clerc, Jose-Luis        58,1 % (64/46)
Connors, Jimmy      	58,0 % (214/155)
Bruguera, Sergi         58,0 % (122/88)
Nastase, Ilie      	57,9 % (135/98)
Moya, Carlos		57,6 % (223/164)
Gilbert, Brad      	57,5 % (146/108)
Grosjean, Sebastien     57,4 % (139/103)
Jaite, Martin           57,3 % (74/55)
Nyström, Joakim       	57,3 % (59/44)
Clerc, Jose-Luis        57,1 % (64/48)
Ivanisevic, Goran    	57,1 % (276/207)
Kriek, Johan        	57,0 % (126/95)
Rosset, Marc       	56,9 % (203/154)
Smith, Stan        	56,9 % (165/125)
Chesnokov, Andrei       56,9 % (107/81)
Martin, Todd       	56,7 % (195/149)
Vilas, Guillermo        56,6 % (155/119)
Wilander, Mats      	56,6 % (125/96)
Koubek, Stefan          56,6 % (90/69)
[COLOR="blue"]Robredo, Tommy[/COLOR]		56,4 % (137/106)
Kiefer, Nicolas         56,4 % (119/92)
Larsson, Magnus       	56,3 % (142/110)
Agassi, Andre        	56,3 % (206/160)
Kafelnikov, Yevgeny    	56,1 % (217/170)
[COLOR="blue"]Muller, Gilles[/COLOR]		56,1 % (64/50)
Coria, Guillermo        56,1 % (55/43)
Dibbs, Eddie         	56,1 % (110/86)
Tanner, Roscoe       	56,0 % (201/158)
[COLOR="blue"]Ferrero, Juan Carlos[/COLOR]	56,0 % (168/132)
Yzaga, Jaime            56,0 % (102/80)
[COLOR="blue"]Berdych, Tomas[/COLOR]		55,8 % (111/88)
Dent, Phil              55,8 % (62/49)
El Aynaoui, Younes      55,7 % (131/104)
Kodes, Jan         	55,6 % (65/52)
Medvedev, Andrei      	55,5 % (111/89)
[COLOR="blue"]Lopez, Feliciano[/COLOR]	55,4 % (173/139)
Rusedski, Greg      	55,4 % (257/207)
Arias, Jimmy         	55,3 % (110/89)
Srichaphan, Paradorn    55,3 % (110/89)
Norman, Magnus          55,3 % (88/71)
Karbacher, Bernd        55,3 % (57/46)
Gerulaitis, Vitas    	55,2 % (132/107)
Higueras, Jose      	55,1 % (65/53)
Borg, Bjorn          	55,0 % (93/76)
[COLOR="blue"]Nieminen, Jarkko[/COLOR]	54,7 % (122/101)
[COLOR="blue"]Tursunov, Dmitry[/COLOR]	54,4 % (86/72)
Teacher, Brian          54,1 % (112/95)
Haas, Tommy		54,0 % (168/143)
Korda, Petr             54,0 % (139/118)
Noah, Yannick           53,9 % (143/122)
Rafter, Patrick         53,9 % (137/117)
Pioline, Cedric		53,8 % (161/138)
Mantilla, Felix         53,8 % (107/92)
[COLOR="blue"]Malisse, Xavier[/COLOR]		53,7 % (101/87)
Henman, Tim             53,6 % (171/148)
Gottfried, Brian	53.4 % (131/114)
Pecci, Victor           53,3 % (71/62)
[COLOR="blue"]Blake, James[/COLOR]		53,2 % (133/117)
Safin, Marat            53,2 % (206/181)
Mayotte, Tim            53,2 % (122/107)
[COLOR="blue"]Benneteau, Julien[/COLOR]	53,2 % (67/59)
Siemerink, Jan          53,1 % (136/120)
Woodbridge, Todd        53,1 % (102/90)
Philippoussis, Mark	53,0 % (161/143)
Mirnyi, Max		53,0 % (157/139)
Santoro, Fabrice        52,9 % (147/131)
Krickstein, Aaron       52,8 % (122/109)
Reneberg, Richey        52,8 % (111/99)
Smid, Tomas             52,7 % (114/102)
[COLOR="blue"]Massu, Nicolas[/COLOR]		52,7 % (107/96)	
Costa, Carlos           52,4 % (74/67)
[COLOR="blue"]Mayer, Florian[/COLOR]		52,4 % (55/50)
[COLOR="blue"]Hewitt, Lleyton[/COLOR]		52,3 % (147/134)
[COLOR="blue"]Stepanek, Radek[/COLOR]		52,2 % (128/117)
Leconte, Henri          52,2 % (115/105)
Arazi, Hicham		52,2 % (83/76)
Pozzi, Gianluca         52,2 % (69/63)
Ljubicic, Ivan		52,1 % (225/207)
Youzhny, Mikhail	52,1 % (137/126)
Lapentti, Nicolas       51,9 % (122/113)
Bjorkman, Jonas		51,6 % (130/122)
Mathieu, Paul-Henri     51,6 % (97/91)
Jarryd, Anders          51,6 % (94/88)
Dosedel, Slava          51,5 % (66/62)
Carlsen, Kenneth	51,4 % (144/136)
Berasategui, Alberto    51,4 % (74/70)  
[COLOR="blue"]Davydenko, Nikolay[/COLOR]	51,3 % (118/112)
Cash, Pat               51,3 % (97/92)
[COLOR="blue"]Montanes, Albert[/COLOR]	51,3 % (79/75)
[COLOR="blue"]Clement, Arnaud[/COLOR]		51,2 % (128/122)
Hlasek, Jakob		51,1 % (173/165)
Krajicek, Richard	51,1 % (172/164)
Mansdorf, Amos          51,1 % (107/102)
Fibak, Wojtek           51,1 % (92/88)
[COLOR="blue"]Tipsarevic, Janko[/COLOR]	51,1 % (89/85)
Kulti, Nicklas          51,0 % (53/51)
Corretja, Alex		50,9 % (132/127)
Costa, Albert           50,9 % (115/111)
[COLOR="blue"]Gasquet, Richard[/COLOR]	50,9 % (88/85)
Kucera, Karol           50,8 % (95/92)
Gaudenzi, Andrea        50,8 % (66/64)
Martin, Alberto         50,7 % (74/72)
Johansson, Thomas	50,6 % (165/161)
Ancic, Mario            50,6 % (83/81)
Curren, Kevin		50,5 % (144/141)
Sanchez, Javier         50,5 % (131/128)
Gustafsson, Magnus      50,4 % (116/114)
Canas, Guillermo        50,3 % (83/82)
Amritraj, Vijay         50,3 % (82/81)
Teltscher, Elliot       50,3 % (78/77)
Wheaton, David          50,2 % (95/94)
Boetsch, Arnaud         50,2 % (93/92)
Krishnan, Ramesh        50,2 % (84/83)
Hrbaty, Dominik         50,0 % (124/124)
[COLOR="blue"]Monaco, Juan[/COLOR]		50,0 % (64/64)
Alami, Karim		50,0 % (58/58)

Masur, Wally            49,8 % (139/140)
Sanchez, Emilio     	49,8 % (130/131)
Kuerten, Gustavo       	49,8 % (135/136)
Woodforde, Mark         49,8 % (126/127)
Karlovic, Ivo		49,5 % (198/202)
Chang, Michael         	49,4 % (153/157)
Pavel, Andrei           49,4 % (116/119)
Vacek, Daniel           49,4 % (88/90)
[COLOR="blue"]Ferrer, David[/COLOR]		49,4 % (85/87)
[COLOR="blue"]Kohlschreiber, Philipp[/COLOR]	49,4 % (83/85)
Clavet, Francisco       49,3 % (113/116)
Schalken, Sjeng         49,3 % (99/102)
[COLOR="blue"]Soderling, Robin[/COLOR]	49,3 % (106/109)
[COLOR="blue"]Simon, Gilles[/COLOR]		49,3 % (69/71)
Ferreira, Wayne         49,2 % (169/174)
Forget, Guy        	49,2 % (151/156)
Black, Byron            49,1 % (111/115)
Alexander, John     	49,0 % (178/185)
Enqvist, Thomas       	48,9 % (152/159)
Volkov, Alexander       48,6 % (106/112)
McNamara, Peter      	48,6 % (51/54)
Verdasco, Fernando	48,5 % (113/120)
[COLOR="blue"]Fish, Mardy[/COLOR]		48,4 % (104/111)
Calleri, Agustin        48,4 % (78/83)
Annacone, Paul     	48,3 % (72/77)
Melzer, Jurgen		48,2 % (110/118)
[COLOR="blue"]Acasuso, Jose[/COLOR]		47,8 % (65/71)
Gambill, Jan-Michael    47,7 % (84/92)
Schuettler, Rainer	47,6 % (118/130)
Chela, Juan Ignacio	47,5 % (96/106)
[COLOR="blue"]Andreev, Igor[/COLOR]		47,4 % (92/102)
Taroczy, Balazs         47,4 % (74/82)
Haarhuis, Paul          47,0 % (96/108)
[COLOR="blue"]Almagro, Nicolas[/COLOR]	47,0 % (95/107)
Damm, Martin            47,0 % (79/89)         
Haarhuis, Paul          46,9 % (82/93)
Querrey, Sam		46,7 % (56/64)
Hanescu, Victor		46,6 % (89/102)
Novak, Jiri         	46,4 % (103/119)
Vicente, Fernando       46,3 % (62/72)
Cherkasov, Andrei       46,2 % (75/87)
McEnroe, Patrick        46,2 % (61/71)
[COLOR="blue"]Llodra, Michael[/COLOR]		45,9 % (85/100)
Portas, Albert          45,8 % (49/58)
Stoltenberg, Jason      45,7 % (97/115)
[COLOR="blue"]Cilic, Marin[/COLOR]		45,7 % (58/69)
Fromberg, Richard       45,6 % (121/144)
Ulihrach, Bohdan        45,4 % (64/77)
Arthurs, Wayne          45,3 % (117/141)
Barazzutti, Conrado    	44,8 % (52/64)
Sanguinetti, Davide     44,3 % (78/98)
Rochus, Olivier		43,1 % (84/111)
Gimelstob, Justin       43,0 % (52/69)
[COLOR="blue"]Wawrinka, Stanislas[/COLOR]	42,9 % (73/97)
Spadea, Vincent         41,9 % (99/137)
Goellner, Mark-Kevin    41,4 % (67/95)
Tarango, Jeff 		41.1 % (74/106)
[COLOR="Blue"]Seppi, Andreas[/COLOR]		40,8 % (62/90)

It's interesting that even in this list active players seem to be over-represented in the upper ranks, with five of the top ten players being currently active.

 

[BTURNER]

Can't find similar stats on the women.

 

[robow7]

Though a couple of exceptions, those at the top either had a big serve or a big return. Makes sense really.

 

[Moose Malloy]

Andres Gomez. Go figure.

 

[TennisLovaLova]

Where can we have an idea of Federer's TB record per year?

 

[mandy01]

not astute observations, not astute at all ......

federer is by some distance better in TBs than sampras and rafa .....

there are no BPs to choke away while returning, so federer's return% points go up considerably in TBs ,

federer when concentrating well returns easily better than rafa and is easily the better server.

Can anyone explain why Roger is so poor on BPs but plays so well in tiebreaks? I would think tie-breaks present more of a do or die situation than breakpoints :-? I've been wondering about this for a while.

 

[shakes1975]

not astute observations, not astute at all ......

federer is by some distance better in TBs than sampras and rafa .....

there are no BPs to choke away while returning, so federer's return% points go up considerably in TBs ,

federer when concentrating well returns easily better than rafa and is easily the better server.

lesser server overall when it comes to free points when compared to sampras, but he's just as clutch, and is easily the better returner

in slam finals for example:

federer is :

19-6

nadal is:

6-6

sampras is:

8-6

its not even close ...


federer is 6-5 vs nadal in TBs in grand slam matches
federer is 6-2 vs djokovic in TBs in grand slam matches

I'd wager federer's record in TBs in GS matches is considerably better than both sampras'/nadal's .....

While stats are good, you have to understand the context. It's easier to lose t/b's against guys like Ivanisevic, Krajicek, Becker, Stich esp. on the faster surfaces - which is where Sampras played most of them.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

Tiebreak records in Grand Slam finals:

Federer is 19-6
Nadal is 6-6
Sampras 8-6
Ivanisevic 2-3
Courier 0-2
Agassi 2-4
Becker 5-3
Edberg 2-2
Cash 2-0
Wilander 3-5
Lendl 5-4
McEnroe 5-3
Borg 1-8
Connors 3-4
Vilas 2-1
Newcombe 2–2
Rosewall 2-0

19-6 sounds good.

and if we break it down per slam (still in finals), it's:
AO: 3-1
RG: 1-2
W: 11-1 (!)
USO: 4-2

 

[Bursztyn]

It's interesting that even in this list active players seem to be over-represented in the upper ranks, with five of the top ten players being currently active.

I think it is a bit unfair (not proper) to compare the percentage of tiebreaks won by active and inactive players; players tend to decline towards the end of their career and the percentage of tiebreaks they won inevitably drops.

In light of this Borg's record seems to be even poorer; he withdraw from professional tennis at about 26 while being still a top player.

 

[abmk]

While stats are good, you have to understand the context. It's easier to lose t/b's against guys like Ivanisevic, Krajicek, Becker, Stich esp. on the faster surfaces - which is where Sampras played most of them.

I don't think it makes that much of a difference. federer faced nadal and roddick in the majority of his slam finals and both of them have excellent TB records.

oh and krajicek's TB success record is just about 51%

I had posted stats slam wise as well . federer's record in TBs at the AO and the FO are significantly better

 

[kOaMaster]

Tiebreaks in Grand Slam finals

Tiebreak records in Grand Slam finals:

Federer is 19-6
Nadal is 6-6
Sampras 8-6
Ivanisevic 2-3
Courier 0-2
Agassi 2-4
Becker 5-3
Edberg 2-2
Cash 2-0
Wilander 3-5
Lendl 5-4
McEnroe 5-3
Borg 1-8
Connors 3-4
Vilas 2-1
Newcombe 2–2
Rosewall 2-0

Where did you get that Data?
In my counts, Federer ist 21-3 in Grand Slam finals!

 

[The Green Mile]

Where did you get that Data?
In my counts, Federer ist 21-3 in Grand Slam finals!

Fed's TB record in Major finals is 21-8.

http://www.tennisabstract.com/cgi-bin/player.cgi?p=RogerFederer&f=ACareerqqC0E0Q0

 

[kOaMaster]

****, I should use filters correctly. Of course you are right. Still damn impressive! Until Wimbledon 2009 it was 12-2. From there on still 9-6 which would still be the best result of all multi-slam players.

 

[Waspsting]

Fed's TB record in Major finals is 21-8.

http://www.tennisabstract.com/cgi-bin/player.cgi?p=RogerFederer&f=ACareerqqC0E0Q0

Indeed it is.

And he won the first 7 - when the record for most won was 8 by Sampras... a bit like how he reached 18/19 finals in a row when the record was 19. I'd say phenomenal, but with tiebreaks, there's always an element of luck involved.

Tiebreaks in Grand Slam finals
Borg 1-8

Truly bizarre.

I suppose he's a bit handicapped in that not many people could reach a tie-break with him on clay.

I can imagine his prospective opponents muttering -

"Tie-break? Tie-break? I'm trying not to get bagelled here and your telling me it'll be easy in the bloody tie-break???

(He actually lost all the tie-breaks he played on clay too - Orantes 74 French, Connors 76 US and Pecci 79 French)

 

[Flash O'Groove]

Can anyone explain why Roger is so poor on BPs but plays so well in tiebreaks? I would think tie-breaks present more of a do or die situation than breakpoints :-? I've been wondering about this for a while.

Federer's return game is pretty good and he can regularly go deep in many of his opponent's service game. But he is poor at converting the break opportunities, especially in recent time (meaning the last 10 years ;-)). In a TB, winning one, two or three points can be enough if he can hold serve. In a normal game you have to win four points.

Another factor is the strength of his second serve. Second serve in tie-break are particularly important because they are sometimes the only opportunity to win a point (especially against a big server). One return point won on a second serve can be enough to win a TB. Coincidently, winning those second serve is decisive.

Federer is tied with Nadal for best second serve points won at 57%. Sampras ranks 17 at 53%. Mights be why he perform poorly in tie-break in comparison than with normal point. Winning four return points to break Sampras is pretty hard, but winning 1 second serve return points in a TB is doable. As long as you can hold, which is doable too.

 

[KG1965]

Painful and inexplicable Borg's data.
A disaster...

 

[Mazz Retic]

IBM started gathering stats more accurately in 1990 after it became the tour's title sponsor. I think it was the first time the ATP had real-time, electronic data-harvesting, and I'd be pretty confident in most of the stats since then. Big Blue knows what it's doing.

Prior to that things are a bit ropey. Looking at the list, the ATP's restricted things to the last 20-odd years to ensure a degree of accuracy. In fact you can probably work things out exactly, since Edberg has 178 tie-breaks listed. I'm pretty confident he'll have played more than that over his whole career, so count back his last 178 TBs to see when the stat-gathering began. I'd guess you'll land at 1990.

Mildly surprised at the order of the list. If I'd had to guess, I'd have put Nadal ahead of Federer, and Sampras at the top of the order. I don't know if that's subjective perception, or maybe just the way they played tie-breaks on the big occasion. Despite the cited stats, if I had to pick one guy to play a TB for my life, it'd be a toss-up between Pistol Pete and Rafa.


Regards,
MDL

I'd throw in Roddicks name but he was never as clutch as those two or three. For just a normal match though he's a safe bet.

 

[xFedal]

Needs updating!