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You don’t need to search far down an Infosys Return Stats LEADERBOARD to find just how impressive 2018 has been for the youth of our game returning serve on hard courts.

The ATP World Tour calendar has seven more weeks of hard court tournaments to complete the 2018 season, so one final push through Asia and back to Europe can help elevate a good season to a great one.


An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis identifies that the following four players, all aged 22 and under, occupy half of the top eight positions with Return Games Won On Hard in 2018.

Return Games Won On Hard Court Ranking
No. 5 = 22-year-old Borna Coric (27.95%)
No. 6 = 22-year-old Hyeon Chung (27.75%)
No. 7 = 19-year-old Alex de Minaur (27.33%)
No. 8 = 20-year-old Andrey Rublev (27.30%)

Just think about that for a moment…

The average age of the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings this week is 27.4 years of age, but the average age of these four players is just 20.7. Their maturity returning serve on hard court is well beyond their years.



Below is a breakdown of their current and best ATP Ranking, with both Coric and De Minaur both at their career best this week.

Current & Best Ranking
No, 18 Coric - best ranking No. 18 (this week)
No. 23 Chung - best ranking No. 19 (April 2018)
No. 38 De Minaur - best ranking No. 38 (this week)
No. 68 Rublev - best ranking No. 31 (Feb 2018)

Overall, David Goffin leads the Return Games Won category in 2018, winning 30.08 per cent of his return games. But this quartet of young guns is hot on his heels.

See Who's Pushing Goffin By Visiting The ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS

Coric’s game exploded on hard courts in March this year, reaching the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, followed by the quarter-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The strong showings vaulted his ATP Ranking from No. 49 to No. 28. Coric has averaged winning 39 per cent of his return points this season, but that jumped up to 43 per cent (177/414) at Indian Wells.

When you look at the other side of the ledger – Service Games Won in 2018 – it's a fresh set of young players who lead this specific category. The following list shows the best four players aged 22 or younger, and their ranking in the specific category of Service Games Won On Hard Court in 2018.

Service Games Won On Hard Court Ranking
No. 7 = 22-year-old Karen Khachanov (87.87%)
No. 14 = 21-year-old Alexander Zverev (84.53%)
No. 22 = 19-year-old Denis Shapovalov (83.19%)
No. 23 = 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas (83.02%)

Roger Federer leads the Service Games Won category in 2018 on hard, winning 92.86 per cent of his service games. More than a third (34) of the Top 100 is thirty years of age or older. These young players are more than holding their own against their more experienced opponents.

Croatian to go for his second Masters 1000 SF of 2018
Borna Coric advanced to his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season on Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The Croatian reached the last eight when Juan Martin del Potro retired because of right knee pain after Coric took the first set 7-5.

The third-seeded Argentine slipped in the 10th game when trying to change directions and retrieve a Coric drop shot. Del Potro landed on his right kneecap, and never regained full movement after the fall.

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He was broken at 5-5 and then received a medical timeout, during which his knee was heavily bandaged and taped. But Del Potro was still limited, especially when on the stretch, and Coric served out the set before the Argentine walked to the net to shake hands.

Del Potro, 2013 Shanghai finalist, qualified for his fifth Nitto ATP Finals last week during his run to the China Open final (l. to Basilashvili).

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Coric, who reached the quarter-finals in Indian Wells and Miami, will try to make his second Masters 1000 semi-final of 2018 (Indian Wells) when he faces Matthew Ebden.

The Aussie advanced to the Shanghai quarter-finals for the second time – and the first since 2011 – by beating German Peter Gojowczyk 6-2, 6-3. Ebden hit 15 aces and won 88 per cent of his first-serve points (28/32) against the 2017 Metz titlist.

Croat to face Federer in semis

The best season of Borna Coric's young career continues to get better.

Coric defeated Aussie Matthew Ebden 7-5, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, advancing to the last four of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the second time. The Croatian will next face top seed Roger Federer, the defending champion.

Heading into 2018, Coric was 19-21 in Masters 1000, having made the quarter-finals at the elite level three times. But this year, the 21-year-old is 17-7 at the elite level, including two trips to the last four and his first two semi-finals. Thanks to his efforts in Shanghai, Coric is projected to crack the Top 15 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, and he can climb as high as No. 13 if he captures the title.

Coric’s victory over Ebden is his 35th match win of the season. His previous career-best came in 2015, when, then a teenager, he earned 26 victories. Coric will try to add another triumph to his tally against Federer in a rematch of the championship match at the Gerry Weber Open in June, where Coric lifted the biggest trophy of his career.

While the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier entered that grass-court event with just a 2-7 tour-level record on the surface, Coric ousted Alexander Zverev in the first round and then Federer in the final, becoming the tournament’s youngest titlist in its 26-year-history. Federer still leads the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1, including a win against Coric in the Indian Wells semi-finals.

While Coric got through his quarter-final in straight sets, it was not easy. Ebden got off to the best possible start, seven years on from reaching his first Masters 1000 quarter-final as a World No. 124-ranked qualifier in Shanghai (l. to Murray). Aggressive on return in Coric’s first service game, the Australian struck a big forehand down the line and readjusted well for a backhand volley winner to take a 2-0 lead.

But Coric responded immediately to break to 15, with Ebden hitting a forehand volley into the net. Ebden, who often serve and volleyed, gifted Coric a second break of serve at 5-5, 30/40, with another forehand volley error. Coric went onto complete the 45-minute set with an ace.

And the World No. 19 maintained his momentum early in the second set, hitting a crosscourt forehand at 1-1 that Ebden could not handle to earn another break. Ebden later double-faulted another break away, and while the Aussie battled back to within 3-4 in the set, Coric held on to advance after one hour and ___ minutes.

Croatian to face Djokovic in Sunday's final
Borna Coric advanced to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Saturday, upsetting top seed and defending champion Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 to reach the championship match at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The 21-year-old will face Novak Djokovic on Sunday as he pursues the biggest title of his career.

This was just the Croatian’s second semi-final at this elite level. Earlier this year, Coric advanced to the last four at the BNP Paribas Open, where Federer put his run to an end in a three-set thriller. But the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier stunned the Swiss at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, where Federer has triumphed nine times, to lift his biggest trophy yet. With his one-hour, 14-minute victory against the 98-time tour-level champion in China, Coric knotted the pair's FedEx ATP Head2Head series at 2-2.


Only two players have won more matches than Coric at the Masters 1000 level this season: Alexander Zverev (22-7) and Djokovic (19-6). Coric is now 8-14 against opponents inside the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings, with four of those victories coming this year.

The Croatian came out of the gate firing in the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, standing in on the baseline and taking the action to Federer. Coric broke in the first game of the match and did not look back, winning 80 per cent of his service points en route to taking the opening set.

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And while one might have expected Federer to assert himself early in the second set, Coric once again broke in the first game. Throughout the match, the 21-year-old relentlessly attacked neutral balls in baseline rallies, doing his best to force Federer to go for low-percentage shots. And when Federer did manage to gain control of rallies, his younger opponent played strong, neutralising defence to stay in points. Coric closed the match out with a clean forehand passing shot, turning around to show a wide smile to his camp.

"I thought he was better. I think he had more punch on the ball. He served better. I think that's it," said Federer, who did not earn a break point against Coric. "The rest, he had more chances than I had. I got off to a bad start in both sets. That combination is plenty here in Shanghai with [the] fast conditions."

Coric will confront arguably the hottest player on the ATP World Tour in Djokovic on Sunday. Not only does the Serbian lead the pair's FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0, without dropping a set, but Djokovic carries a 17-match winning streak into the final.

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Federer’s loss sends him to 39-7 in 2018, a season during which he has captured three tour-level titles. The 37-year-old was previously 3-1 in Shanghai semi-finals, and he was trying to join Djokovic and former World No. 1 Andy Murray as the only players to earn three championships at the tournament.

Did You Know?
Coric, whose previous career-high ATP Ranking was No. 18, will climb to No. 13 on Monday, regardless of his result in the final against Djokovic.

Shanghai

2018

Borna Coric

Player Features
21-year-old defeats Federer to reach maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final
Borna Coric reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Saturday, beating defending champion Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Here are 10 things to know about the 21-year-old who denied Federer in the Shanghai semi-finals.

1. Twice an ATP World Tour champion
Coric also defeated Federer to hoist his second ATP World Tour title in Halle. The Croatian won the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech in April 2017 for his maiden title. Coric saved five match points against German Philipp Kohlschreiber in that title match.

2. Big-Match Borna
He improved to 8-14 against Top 5 players with his win against Federer. Coric also counts wins against Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray among those. Coric has lost both of his FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings with Novak Djokovic, who he will meet in Sunday's final. “I love the big stage,” Coric told ATP World Tour Uncovered earlier this year.


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3. Early Riser
Coric had beaten Nadal and Murray before he was even 19 years old. Coric beat the Spaniard when he was 17 (Basel 2014) and Murray when he was 18 (Dubai 2015). The Croatian was the 2014 ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates for being the youngest player to finish in the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings.

4. Career-High ATP Ranking
Coric will rise to a career-high No. 13 in the ATP Rankings on 15 October. He arrived in Shanghai at No. 19, one place short of his current career-high No. 18 position achieved on 10 September.

Watch: Coric Returns To His Home Croatia


5. Worth The Wait
Coric entered Shanghai with an 0-2 record in Asia this year. The 21-year-old lost his opening match in Chengdu (l. to Norrie) and Beijing (l. to Lopez) before stunning Federer en route to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 championship match in Shanghai.

6. Former #NextGenATP Star
The 21-year-old Coric will turn 22 on 14 November, making him ineligible for the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 6-10 November in Milan. But the Croatian had success during the inaugural event last year, going unbeaten in group play before falling in the semi-finals to Russian Andrey Rublev.

7. New Team, New Borna
Coric had worked with a number of coaches during the past few years. Earlier this year, he talked about how the frequent changes had hurt his tennis.

But this year Coric has been working with Kristijan Schneider and Riccardo Piatti and, judging by the results, the partnership has worked. Piatti is the main coach who doesn't travel to every event; Schneider travels to most tournaments. Coric's countryman Ivan Ljubicic is also on his team as his manager.

Watch Uncovered: Borna Back On Track


8. Fewer The Goals, The Better
Coric believes in goals but is now focused on having the right goals. The past two seasons, Coric wrote his goals down and focused on them throughout the year. But he was never hitting the marks, such as reaching the Top 20. This year, Coric changed his goal-setting outlook: No goals, only hard work concentrated on improving his game.

“I'm going to work on my game and we'll see where it's going to get me,” Coric told ATPWorldTour.com.

9. Not A Fan Of 'Ordinary'
On his right bicep, Coric has a tattoo that reflects one of his life philosophies: 'There is nothing worse in life than being ordinary'. He has showed it off on his Instagram.

10. The Camping Life
Coric played his first tournament outside of Croatia in Rome in 2005. He lost in the final, and his parents and sister went with him and stayed in a camper van.