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Build-a-Player: The makeup for the best current ATP player

By Brandon Daniels

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 02: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates with the men's singles trophy after beating Dominic Thiem of Austria in the final on day fourteen of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on February 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 02: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates with the men's singles trophy after beating Dominic Thiem of Austria in the final on day fourteen of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on February 02, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images) /
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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – SEPTEMBER 22: John Isner of Team World serves in his singles match against Roger Federer of Team Europe during Day Three of the Laver Cup 2019 at Palexpo on September 22, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Laver Cup will see six players from the rest of the World competing against their counterparts from Europe. Team World is captained by John McEnroe and Team Europe is captained by Bjorn Borg. The tournament runs from September 20-22. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – SEPTEMBER 22: John Isner of Team World serves in his singles match against Roger Federer of Team Europe during Day Three of the Laver Cup 2019 at Palexpo on September 22, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Laver Cup will see six players from the rest of the World competing against their counterparts from Europe. Team World is captained by John McEnroe and Team Europe is captained by Bjorn Borg. The tournament runs from September 20-22. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup) /

Category 3: Serve

1. John Isner

No one serves a tennis ball quite like John Isner. It’s a ruthless offensive attack complete with effortless power. He ranks second all-time in total aces with 12,523 (only behind the ageless Ivo Karlovic), which gives him a total of 18.39 aces per match. Alongside his unmatched power is his accuracy. He ranks first amongst all active players with a 69.11% first-serve percentage and ranks fifth in first-serve points won percentage (78.66).

He’s taken 7 of the last 10 yearly ace totals on tour and will likely retire as tennis’ greatest server. He faces the third-least break points per match and uses his serve to his utmost advantage whenever he does. He’s saved 71.1% of all break points face in his career.

While many might say Ivo Karlovic has a better serve from a statistical standpoint, Isner ultimately ranks on this list due to his overall winning percentage as a result of his serve. Both Karlovich and Isner are big-bodied players with limited baseline movement in comparison to other players, so their serves are crucial to their success.

2. Roger Federer

Federer’s serve is highly underrated in comparison to others. He ranks nowhere near the top of the list when it comes to service speed and usually sits around 120-130 MPH on average. Where he makes up for his lack of power, and what makes him one of the most talented servers on tour, is with his accuracy.

The 20-time major champion has incredible accuracy that simply doesn’t need the power of 140 MPH. He can place the ball up the middle or anywhere out wide. He ranks 7th and 2nd in first and second-serve percentages with 77.44 and 57.04, respectively. It’s clear that he’s one of the premier servers on tour and for the exact opposite reason that Isner is. His effectiveness and ability to place the ball anywhere he wants to give him one of the best offensive weapons in the game.

3. Ivo Karlovic

Karlovic is, from a statistical standpoint, the greatest server to ever play. In terms of serve speed, he’s easily among the very best, right alongside Andy Roddick and Isner. It’s easy to say, because of his raw power and ball speed, that he possesses the best serve on tour. While that’s certainly a fair statement, power isn’t the whole story, merely a single part.

The big-serving Croatian leads all active players in total aces and ace percentage but struggles when it comes to delivering accuracy-wise. His aces/double fault ratio is a paltry 5.6, which is a tough comparison to Isner’s 8.1 (1st). However, this shouldn’t take away from the fact that these three players are among the top ten servers of all-time in men’s tennis. In 2020, effectiveness is key, and both Isner and Federer both possess a more lethal serve in the current landscape of ATP tennis.

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