Who Is The World's Best Returner Of Serve?

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The return of serve, as you all know, is a key element to anyone's game. And it's not just getting the ball back in play. Of course, when your opponent hits a 135mph serve down the T the ability to get it back and make him/her play one extra shot is important. However we have seen returning taken to new levels. Now not only is it a shot to ensure you are still in a point; a good return, of a fast first serve, could also enable you to take charge of the point.
Having looked at the ATP stats 4 players have consistently stood out in the percentage of returning games; unsurprisingly these 4 players are Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.
To investigate who is the best returner I will run through the top 4, and their returning skills.

Roger Federer:
1st Serve Return:
The World Number 1 is on top form at the moment; and his return of serve was crucial in his Wimbledon victory last month.
Federer actually has many variations on his first serve returns. Which return he uses his largely down to the pace of the serve. Normally if he gets a fast serve (130mph+) on his backhand side he will stick his racket and out and block it with a bit of slice. The ball will not necessarily land on the baseline, but the slice does mean the ball moves upon landing, so the put away is not a dolly drop. Meanwhile if he gets a fast serve to his forehand his reaction is totally different. Rather than block it Roger will take his racket back slightly and knock the ball back. He uses his fast racket-hand speed and agility to generate pace and depth on the ball, rather than a long take-back. However if a ball is hit with pace at his body Federer simply blocks the ball with his backhand. I do believe that Federer is the best in the world at this 'block' using his fast hand-eye co-ordination to get the ball back in play. This is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaIoB2RYKZg
However if a first serve was hit without as much pace (eg 115-125mph) Federer plays a normal ground-stroke. On the backhand he normally stands his ground and follows through the shot; while on his forehand he would sometimes take a step forward for extra propulsion.
2nd Serve Return:
For me Federer's second serve return is one of the poorer aspects of his game. His forehand return is not the problem when facing a second serve. He would, as expected, normally hit through his forehand when he can and try and take charge of the rally. However you will find that the majority of top players, especially Nadal, will send the topspin second serve to Federer's backhand. For a good reason. Federer loves slicing the ball back with the backhand, which gives his opponent the chance to take the initiative in the rally. Sometimes it works, the ball does slice low which can make it awkward, but as Del Potro showed today it can be punished. Federer's alternative, and for me a shot he doesn't use often enough, is when he runs around his backhand and sets up his forehand. Such is Federer's posture that the opponent cannot tell if Federer would steer the forehand down the line or cross-court; and hence Federer can take control of the point with a rocket forehand.
2012 Returning Games Won: 28%


Novak Djokovic:
1st Serve Return:
Novak Djokovic's return has always been one of his biggest strengths. Djokovic has a muscular but flexible body frame and a strong forehand and double handed backhand. I believe that in 2011 it was actually the key shot which helped him beat Rafael Nadal so many times in a row. As a Nadal fan I felt that Nadal's service games were not his service games; but just a 'game.' Nadal simply did not have any advantage on serve.
So how does Djokovic create this feeling? Well firstly as I said before his body is very very flexible. He can stretch and stretch and then make such a contact with the ball that it is returned with penetration. His double handed backhand return is the best shot in Djokovic's armoury for me, from nowhere he can hit the ball back right on the baseline. This is why I believe that the best tactic players can use against Djokovic is the body serve. Funnily enough Djokovic loves it when the ball is away from him but when the ball is right at him he can never return with the same penetration. However although the body serve against Djokovic will put you in charge of the point it will not deliver unreturnables or cheap points. Also if you use the body serve too much Novak will read it, get out of the way and take the ball on, so variety is key.
2nd serve return:
Djokovic likes standing up to these and hitting the ball back fast and hard. You will not see him step up the court to receive second serves, however he can deliver such power from the back of the court that this is not needed. Opponents know when they face Djokovic that if they do deliver a slow second serve Djokovic will be there to punish it.
2012 Returning Games Won: 35%


Andy Murray:
1st Serve Return:
Murray's 1st serve return, as Murray fans will know, is a key strength to Murray's game and one that will help him gain success in the present and future.
Like Djokovic, Murray has a double handed backhand return which Murray can play with depth and penetration, even when the ball is not near him. However the key difference between Murray's return and Djokovic's return is the footwork. While Djokovic likes to stand his ground and stretch towards the ball to get his depth, Murray takes a few short steps to the ball and sticks his racket out. Murray's timing his normally spectacular and hence he can use this return as a springboard. His reaction speeds are as quick as anyone's, and this is also crucial as well as his perfectionist timing. Like Djokovic though, Murray's backhand return of the first serve is slightly stronger than his second.
2nd Serve Return:
This is one area where I would like to see Murray get more aggressive and take charge of the point. Too often in the past I have seen Murray happy to sit back hand hit the ball back and start a 50-50 rally rather than trying to take the initiative. However to be fair to Murray I believe with Lendl Murray has improved this aspect of his game, and is now more aggressive on the second serve return. This, although a risk, is crucial for Andy; he must step up and hit through it!
2012 Returning Games Won: 31%


Rafael Nadal:
1st Serve Return:
Nadal likes to take a step back when up against a fast server, and naturally so, as this gives him more time. To fully understand Nadal's tactic in returning serve we must understand his approach to a returning game. His aim is, using his phenomenal defensive skills, to stay in as many rallies as possible. In-fact if not anything Nadal loves longer, more gruelling rallies where he is on the defence but turns it around using his counter-punching skills. On the forehand side he stands back and hits a topspin shot, with high net clearance. The high net clearance and topspin ensure Nadal buys enough time to get in the middle of the court and 'hold stall.' The high bounce can also make it awkward for the opposition to attack, however if you have a solid backhand like Djokovic who can take the ball on the rise, or are 6"7 like Del Potro who can blast it back, Nadal can find himself in trouble. His backhand return is slightly lower than his forehand, definitely lower net clearance, and this means there is a greater chance of him missing the return on the backhand. Although it does not have the topspin and height of the FH return, the backhand is generally more penetrating.
2nd Serve Return:
Nadal does stand further up the baseline when returning a second serve, but is rarely seen 'inside' the baseline. His return is quite similar to the 1st serve, but as he has slightly more time he can produce more depth, and use his forehand to create angles which open up the court. On his backhand return he tends to 'drive' the ball, and hence the shot is much flatter than his 1st serve BH return.
Overall on service return, even though Nadal probably gets the most balls back into play I do not feel it is as good as Murray, or Djokovic's as he does not use it to take the initiative. Nevertheless we must consider it fits Nadal's game very well, and the high bouncing topspin forehand not only buys time but can also make it awkward for some opponents (especially players with singles handed backhand).
2012 Returning Games Won: 38%

So: Who do think is the best returner of serve in the world?
Will be interesting to hear your views,
IMBL

socal1976 wrote:

It Must Be Love wrote:

hawkeye wrote:This question is easy as Nadal is obviously the best returner of serve. The stats of course prove this as he has won the highest percentage of return games. I am pretty sure his career percentage would be higher too.

HE, winning percentage of return games does not necessarily mean he is the best returner of serve.

I think Djokovic is the most aggressive returner, finding depth with regularity; but Nadal's return fits in with his game well which means he can win many return games- especially on clay.

That is true there is different ways to skin the cat. In my own game I usually try to flatten out the return and surprise the server by taking it earlier and keeping low and hard. But against certain players who serve really big I have learned the efficacy of the deep spinning return and taking a step back and taking a bigger swing on the return. It really drives a big server crazy to not get free points and have his power game blunted like that. But i think Nadal sometimes is too mechanical with his tactical variety and approach. And this lack of variety on the return is one example. The one minor critique I would have is when he finds a pattern or tactic that works well for him he beats that horse to the ground (ie cross court forehand v. one handers backhand or kick serve to backhand return) the return is another example of this. I think in today's game you have to both be able to blunt power and put the fear of god in the server on second serve by knowing you can hit winners on his return. But you are correct his return game suits his style of play perfectly. However the one kicker is that if you get to used to these patterns and all of sudden a guy comes along and exposes these patterns by having your attack feed into his strengths now all of sudden it creates doubt and an inability to adjust on the fly. I think that is what happened with Djoko last year the same patterns just didn't work.

I have to agree with that, Nadal's pattern is very effective in blunting out the attack and works well for the majority of the time.
In 2012 Nadal has had better performanced against Djoko compared to 2011, did he notice a difference in how Nadal returned or was Djokovic just not as consistent in the rallies?

I don't know I think Nadal did add a couple of wrinkles compared to last year, the one I really noticed was he is going up the line a little more frequently with Novak and using his slice backhand more frequently with Novak this year. But to me Djokovic has been a little loose with his forehand this year from neutral positions or when he is ahead that standard forehand has had an odd preponderance to go off the reservation for a couple of games here and there at the most inopportune times. So it is a bit of both Nadal adding some minor wrinkles and Novak being a little off form.

To me Nadal can do most anything he wants on a tennis court, but he is a creature of habit and he needs to use a little more guile and variety which he really does have to keep being successful. Being aggressive and going for some outright winners on second serve is going to be a big help for him. He basically should do this against all his overmatched opponents once he gets a lead. Just make a conscience decision ok I am up a break if I get a second ball that is remotely weak I am going to go up the line and hit flatter than I usually do up in the court. He needs to start doing that in matches that he isn't really under a lot of pressure so that if he needs against a Djoko or Federer in a crucial situation he can pull that trick out of his bag. Unfortunately, I have yet to see him make a consistent effort to do that.