In the above data, Net Points % is the percentage of how frequently the player approaches the net. The Net Points Won % is the percentage of points they win when they approach the net.

Both Federer’s Win% & Points % have a direct correlation with his performance at Wimbledon. In 2017, he came to the net 11.6% and won 76% of those points helping him win the tournament. While in 2018, when he lost of Kevin Anderson in the Quarter finals, he approached the net only 6.3% and winning only 65% of those points. In 2016, even though he used the net a lot more & slightly less successfully than 2017 he lost a 5 set match in the Semi finals and it was a close match. Another point to note is that Federer has adjusted his game in the last few years to be more attacking due to age & fitness and thus net point percentage is a reflection. Federer will turn 38 in August this year.

On the other hand, Djokovic has an inverse correlation between Netpoint percentage and performance at Wimbledon. The lesser he comes to the net the better it is for him. In 2018, he approached the net only 5.48% and ended up winning the tournament for the 4th time. In prior years, his percentage was above 10 and even though he has had a 75%+ Won% he was not successful in those tournament. Another aspect that needs to be noted is that in 2017 (also 2016 to a lesser extent) he was affected by an elbow injury for which he went through a surgery in January 2018.

Drawing conclusions from this data is made possible by technology & amazing people like https://github.com/JeffSackmann (Thanks!). One wishes that this data was available for the serve and volley golden era of 80’s and 90’s. What would a comparison of Becker & Edberg show in those 3 successive years when they played each other in the Wimbledon finals.