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Player DNA: Former champions face early test

  • Game Insight Group

Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova are two of the greats of the game - but both players will step onto Rod Laver Arena on Monday with an air of uncertainty surrounding them.

Sharapova, the champion in 2008, takes on unseeded Harriet Dart in her first match since withdrawing because of a thigh injury in Shenzhen. The Russian ended her 2018 season early with a shoulder injury.

Nadal withdrew from his season opener in Brisbane, the latest in a long line of absences from hard-court tournaments. He faces Australia’s James Duckworth in round one.

So does Nadal remain the most powerful tennis athlete, pound for pound, on the planet?

And can Sharapova regain the forehand potency that made her a multiple Grand Slam champion?

Game Insight Group in partnership with Infosys examines the data.

Nadal

  • He has the number-one ranked forehand in men’s tennis according to our Player DNA. He hit the fifth fastest forehand (at 179kmh) at AO 2018, shading the speed of some of his first serves!

  • GIG rated his backhand as the second best in the game. His biggest backhand in 2018 was 160kmh, the second-fastest overall.

  • He’s our most physical athlete on the planet, rating in the top 10 for speed, acceleration, endurance and agility.
     
  • He has struggled to complete hard-court tournaments over the last year - albeit winning the title when he made it all the way through the draw in Canada last August.
     
  • Can the knees and body of the most powerful athlete in men’s tennis withstand another seven-match AO journey, starting with James Duckworth?

 

Can Sharapova regain the forehand potency that made her a multiple Grand Slam champion?

Sharapova

  • The serve and return are the cornerstones of Sharapova’s game when at her best. She rates as the number three server and one returner in GIG’s Player DNA.
     
  • Sharapova is also among the most forehand dominant female players on the planet (70%).
     
  • In AO 2018, her forehand speed, accuracy and potency fell away (54th out of 59). This will need to change if she’s to stand a chance in 2019. It also raises the question of whether the shoulder has fully recovered from the injury that drew a premature close to her 2018.
     
  • Sharapova has also always tried to own the baseline. Her lateral movement and ability to change direction quickly allows her to win points when most other players of her height would not. The recent thigh complaint in Shenzhen may threaten her speed around the court.