NonP
Legend
Some of you already know about the ATP's double counting of aces and DFs at most 1992-99 GS editions for 1st- and 2nd-serve points respectively, but if not:
tt.tennis-warehouse.com
So what does that have to do with this thread, you ask? Unless you happen to be a complete newb you already know Goran played most of his career in the '90s, which means most of his service/return stats are skewed. But I bet you don't know just how skewed they are, because even I didn't realize it. Until now.
Hence this overview of Goran's Wimbledon career, which must exclude his 1988-90 runs due to lack of data but includes missing stats, removes every duplicate ace/DF (yes, mostly done by my diligent hand) and thus is more accurate than anything you've come across so far. Here it is, with aces/service points and 1st-serve %s (asterisks next to 1992-99 matches/numbers not verified with official/non-ATP stats, with inserted links where available):
1991
1R - 25.5% (25/98), 74.5% (73/98)
2R - 12.5% (13/104), 58.7% (61/104)
Total - 18.8% (38/202), 66.3% (134/202)
1992
1R* - 28.8% (17/59), 45.8% (27/59)
2R* - 30.4% (34/112), 67.0% (75/112)
3R* - 22.4% (22/98), 67.3% (66/98)
4R* - 32.9% (27/82), 67.1% (55/82)
QF - 21.9% (33/151), 68.9% (104*/151)
SF - 31.0% (36/116), 59.5% (69*/116)
F - 22.3% (37/166), 57.8% (96/166)
Total - 26.3% (206/784), 62.8% (492/784)
1993
1R* - 15.9% (27/170), 50% (85/170)
2R - N/A [FYI Goran fired 34 aces in this nail-biter vs. Chris Bailey... one of 'em on a 2nd serve to save a MP in the 5th!]
3R - N/A
1994
1R* - 19.0% (12/63), 65.1% (41/63)
2R* - 20.7% (18/87), 62.1% (54/87)
3R* - 37.9% (25/66), 63.6% (42/66)
4R* - 27.3% (36/132), 66.6% (88/132)
QF* - 26.6% (29/109), 50.5% (55/109)
SF - 25.8% (23/89), 62.9% (56/89)
F - 23.8% (25/105), 61.9% (65/105)
Total - 25.8% (168/651), 61.6% (401/651)
1995
1R* - 26.9% (21/78), 57.7% (45/78)
2R* - 28.7% (27/94), 52.1% (49/94)
3R* - 26.7% (20/75), 64% (48/75)
4R* - 21.1% (31/147), 51.0% (75/147)
QF* - 27.9% (31/111), 63.1% (70/111)
SF - 27.7% (38/137), 60.6% (83/137)
Total - 26.2% (168/642), 57.6% (370/642)
1996
1R - 34.6% (18/52), 67.3% (35/52)
2R - 26.6% (21/79), 58.2% (46/79)
3R - 30.1% (28/93), 62.4% (58/93) [missing from the ATP site]
4R - 19.7% (25/127), 51.2% (65/127)
QF - 16.5% (23/139), 56.8% (79/139)
Total - 23.5% (115/490), 57.8% (283/490)
1997
1R - 38.1% (24/63), 61.9% (39/63)
2R - 25.7% (46/179), 56.4% (101/179)
Total - 28.9% (70/242), 57.9% (140/242)
1998
1R* - 23.9% (17/71), 54.9% (39/71)
2R - 21.5% (26+2/130), 53.8% (70/130)
3R* - 31.2% (42+2/141), 56.0% (79/141)
4R* - 9.8% (16-1/150+3), 51.6% (86-7/150+3) [the additions and subtractions thru 4R are to match the reporting and the official pre-QF totals of 104 aces and 267 1st-serve points/495 service points per the Tampa Bay Times]
QF* - 21.6% (24+5/134), 59.7% (80/134)
SF - 14.1% (28/199), 50.3% (107*/199) [the 5 extra aces for the QF and the 107 1st-SPs in the SF reflect the official pre-F totals of 161 aces and 454 1st-SPs per the TBT (no exact SP total this time as only 55% is provided for 1st-serve %)]
F - 18.0% (32/178), 56.2% (100/178)
Total - 19.2% (193/1006), 55.1% (554/1006)
1999
1R* - 26.2% (22/84), 69.0% (58/84)
2R* - 25.4% (30/118), 61.0% (72/118)
3R* - 18.4% (21/114), 49.1% (56/114)
4R - 27.6% (24/87), 55.2% (48/87)
Total - 24.1% (97/403), 58.1% (234/403)
2000 1R - 32.3% (30/93), 60.2% (56/93)
2001
1R - 31.0% (22/71), 60.6% (43/71)
2R - 28.9% (35/121), 58.7% (71/121)
3R - 36.9% (41/111), 72.1% (80/111)
4R - 25.9% (22/85), 63.5% (54/85)
QF - 22.4% (30/134), 61.2% (82/134)
SF - 20.9% (36/172), 62.2% (107/172)
F - 16.5% (27/164), 55.5% (91/164)
Total - 24.8% (213/858), 61.5% (528/858)
2004
1R - 15.1% (13/86), 75.6% (65/86)
2R - 12.9% (19/147), 68.0% (100/147)
3R - 15.6% (15/96), 64.6% (62/96)
Total - 14.3% (47/329), 69.0% (227/329)
Career - 23.37% (1372/5870), 59.69% (3504/5870)
Judging by his 105 aces in '90 (including 14 vs. Boris in the SF) this adjusted career ace % is likely somewhat inflated by the absence of his '88-90 stats, but then his shoulder in '04 was clearly not what it used to be so it almost evens out.
Anyway notice how his ace % has shot up from 19.35% (per UTS) to 23.37%, only topped by Isner's career 24.31% (1072/4409) and Karlovic's 25.05% (1011/4036). So about one percentage point above Raonic's 22.10% (889/4023), just like I figured.
And that's despite getting under 60% of 1st serves in, vs. Milos' 67.61% (2720/4023), Ivo's 68.98% (2784/4036) and John's whopping 72.67% (3204/4409). In other words whatever perks Goran might have gained from S&V (I should add here that Ivo wasn't exactly a baseliner himself) are more than offset by the big benefits he'd enjoy from serving with today's jumbo racquets.
Now you know why I insist Ivanisevic's 1st serve is the single most unstoppable weapon I've seen in tennis. Mind you Sampras remains the GSOAT, but as a stand-alone shot even that storied serve takes a back seat to his rival's. (Of course Karlovic and Arthurs are no slouches themselves, though you'd still want Pistol in Slam finals vs. top opponents/returners.)
Edit on 8/23/23: updated Isner's career ace % in light of his imminent retirement and also Raonic's to include his latest (and possibly final) Wimbledon appearance.
Corrected %s of In-Play Service Points Won at the Majors
So this is that rarest of days... when you jokers are actually better than useless and find something new. That something comes from @rick kerr who astutely noted that UTS's Svc. In-play Pts. Won % - which excludes, naturally, aces and DFs - is another term/equation for % of rallies won on...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com
So what does that have to do with this thread, you ask? Unless you happen to be a complete newb you already know Goran played most of his career in the '90s, which means most of his service/return stats are skewed. But I bet you don't know just how skewed they are, because even I didn't realize it. Until now.
Hence this overview of Goran's Wimbledon career, which must exclude his 1988-90 runs due to lack of data but includes missing stats, removes every duplicate ace/DF (yes, mostly done by my diligent hand) and thus is more accurate than anything you've come across so far. Here it is, with aces/service points and 1st-serve %s (asterisks next to 1992-99 matches/numbers not verified with official/non-ATP stats, with inserted links where available):
1991
1R - 25.5% (25/98), 74.5% (73/98)
2R - 12.5% (13/104), 58.7% (61/104)
Total - 18.8% (38/202), 66.3% (134/202)
1992
1R* - 28.8% (17/59), 45.8% (27/59)
2R* - 30.4% (34/112), 67.0% (75/112)
3R* - 22.4% (22/98), 67.3% (66/98)
4R* - 32.9% (27/82), 67.1% (55/82)
QF - 21.9% (33/151), 68.9% (104*/151)
SF - 31.0% (36/116), 59.5% (69*/116)
F - 22.3% (37/166), 57.8% (96/166)
Total - 26.3% (206/784), 62.8% (492/784)
1993
1R* - 15.9% (27/170), 50% (85/170)
2R - N/A [FYI Goran fired 34 aces in this nail-biter vs. Chris Bailey... one of 'em on a 2nd serve to save a MP in the 5th!]
3R - N/A
1994
1R* - 19.0% (12/63), 65.1% (41/63)
2R* - 20.7% (18/87), 62.1% (54/87)
3R* - 37.9% (25/66), 63.6% (42/66)
4R* - 27.3% (36/132), 66.6% (88/132)
QF* - 26.6% (29/109), 50.5% (55/109)
SF - 25.8% (23/89), 62.9% (56/89)
F - 23.8% (25/105), 61.9% (65/105)
Total - 25.8% (168/651), 61.6% (401/651)
1995
1R* - 26.9% (21/78), 57.7% (45/78)
2R* - 28.7% (27/94), 52.1% (49/94)
3R* - 26.7% (20/75), 64% (48/75)
4R* - 21.1% (31/147), 51.0% (75/147)
QF* - 27.9% (31/111), 63.1% (70/111)
SF - 27.7% (38/137), 60.6% (83/137)
Total - 26.2% (168/642), 57.6% (370/642)
1996
1R - 34.6% (18/52), 67.3% (35/52)
2R - 26.6% (21/79), 58.2% (46/79)
3R - 30.1% (28/93), 62.4% (58/93) [missing from the ATP site]
4R - 19.7% (25/127), 51.2% (65/127)
QF - 16.5% (23/139), 56.8% (79/139)
Total - 23.5% (115/490), 57.8% (283/490)
1997
1R - 38.1% (24/63), 61.9% (39/63)
2R - 25.7% (46/179), 56.4% (101/179)
Total - 28.9% (70/242), 57.9% (140/242)
1998
1R* - 23.9% (17/71), 54.9% (39/71)
2R - 21.5% (26+2/130), 53.8% (70/130)
3R* - 31.2% (42+2/141), 56.0% (79/141)
4R* - 9.8% (16-1/150+3), 51.6% (86-7/150+3) [the additions and subtractions thru 4R are to match the reporting and the official pre-QF totals of 104 aces and 267 1st-serve points/495 service points per the Tampa Bay Times]
QF* - 21.6% (24+5/134), 59.7% (80/134)
SF - 14.1% (28/199), 50.3% (107*/199) [the 5 extra aces for the QF and the 107 1st-SPs in the SF reflect the official pre-F totals of 161 aces and 454 1st-SPs per the TBT (no exact SP total this time as only 55% is provided for 1st-serve %)]
F - 18.0% (32/178), 56.2% (100/178)
Total - 19.2% (193/1006), 55.1% (554/1006)
1999
1R* - 26.2% (22/84), 69.0% (58/84)
2R* - 25.4% (30/118), 61.0% (72/118)
3R* - 18.4% (21/114), 49.1% (56/114)
4R - 27.6% (24/87), 55.2% (48/87)
Total - 24.1% (97/403), 58.1% (234/403)
2000 1R - 32.3% (30/93), 60.2% (56/93)
2001
1R - 31.0% (22/71), 60.6% (43/71)
2R - 28.9% (35/121), 58.7% (71/121)
3R - 36.9% (41/111), 72.1% (80/111)
4R - 25.9% (22/85), 63.5% (54/85)
QF - 22.4% (30/134), 61.2% (82/134)
SF - 20.9% (36/172), 62.2% (107/172)
F - 16.5% (27/164), 55.5% (91/164)
Total - 24.8% (213/858), 61.5% (528/858)
2004
1R - 15.1% (13/86), 75.6% (65/86)
2R - 12.9% (19/147), 68.0% (100/147)
3R - 15.6% (15/96), 64.6% (62/96)
Total - 14.3% (47/329), 69.0% (227/329)
Career - 23.37% (1372/5870), 59.69% (3504/5870)
Judging by his 105 aces in '90 (including 14 vs. Boris in the SF) this adjusted career ace % is likely somewhat inflated by the absence of his '88-90 stats, but then his shoulder in '04 was clearly not what it used to be so it almost evens out.
Anyway notice how his ace % has shot up from 19.35% (per UTS) to 23.37%, only topped by Isner's career 24.31% (1072/4409) and Karlovic's 25.05% (1011/4036). So about one percentage point above Raonic's 22.10% (889/4023), just like I figured.
And that's despite getting under 60% of 1st serves in, vs. Milos' 67.61% (2720/4023), Ivo's 68.98% (2784/4036) and John's whopping 72.67% (3204/4409). In other words whatever perks Goran might have gained from S&V (I should add here that Ivo wasn't exactly a baseliner himself) are more than offset by the big benefits he'd enjoy from serving with today's jumbo racquets.
Now you know why I insist Ivanisevic's 1st serve is the single most unstoppable weapon I've seen in tennis. Mind you Sampras remains the GSOAT, but as a stand-alone shot even that storied serve takes a back seat to his rival's. (Of course Karlovic and Arthurs are no slouches themselves, though you'd still want Pistol in Slam finals vs. top opponents/returners.)
Edit on 8/23/23: updated Isner's career ace % in light of his imminent retirement and also Raonic's to include his latest (and possibly final) Wimbledon appearance.
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