NEU » ues biggest stars over the pas

It wasnt so long ago that record-keeping in tennis consisted mainly of random, yellowing draw sheets tucked away in filing cabinets at various tennis clubs or tennis federation offices. As the pro game matured, those who run it have done their best to emulate companion spectator sports by creating a massive body of statistical knowledge.Stats in tennis -- as in all sports -- ought to come with a warning label: Do not extrapolate too much from these simple numbers. Its often said that statistics dont lie. Thats certainly true, but theyre pretty good at fibbing. Thats also part of what makes them fascinating. Stats raise as many puzzling questions as they answer -- and sometimes force us to re-examine our preconceptions.Here are half a dozen examples:Queen Sara of the ServeSara Errani put 85.5 percent of her first serves into play. Some will shrug and say, Big deal; her serve is a puffball, and she just makes sure to get the first one into play taking no risk. Fair enough, but consider this: The second best current percentage belongs to No. 64 Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey, and shes more than a full 12 percentage points behind. Thats a startling difference.No. 3 Annika Beck is just a hair over one percentage point behind Buyukakcay, and the women behind her are equally closely stacked. Thats typical of percentage-based stats, in both the mens and womens game, and in most departments. That makes Erranis enormous differential that much more impressive. Most players couldnt hit that percentage if they served underhand. Efficient as Errani is, she is ranked only No. 35 on tour.?That and a buck will get you a donutIts often said that second-serve return points won is one of the most crucial statistics, and theres significant evidence for that. Among players with 500 career matches or more, only one won more than 10,000 second-serve return points -- yet never won a Grand Slam title: The Little Beast, David Ferrer.Ferrer is one of 10 players tied for second place among crack returners, with a 55 percent career winning rate. That right behind seven-time Grand Slam champion and acknowledged return genius Andre Agassi. Among Ferrers equals: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Michael Chang.Moreover, Ferrer is the all-time leader in the sheer number of second-serve return points won with a whopping 17,015. All that, but never a major title.Sveta in the clutchSvetlana Kuznetsova is back in the top 10, at age 31. A two-time Grand Slam champion, ever-popular Sveta had to fight for every inch of her rankings progress. The only title she won this season was at Sydney in just her second tournament of the year. The key to her success: scraping through down-to-the-wire matches. Kuznetsova is 16-6 in three-setters this season -- more wins than any other WTA player. Did she make the most of her labors? Second on the list: Angelique Kerber, at 15-5, who won two Grand Slam titles and is presently ranked No. 1.Hall of ShameIn examining stats, we tend to look for top numbers -- leaders rather than laggards. But have you ever wondered who the worst second-serve returner is? Or the worst ace-producer? We are here to help.When it comes to break points saved, highly touted Borna Coric clearly has some work to do: He ranks No. 62, at 54 percent. Thats a full 20 percentage points behind the tour leader and fellow Croatian countryman Ivo Karlovic. The ATP stops keeping track beyond Coric. The good news for Coric fans: Hes just 19 years old and has time to work on it.John Isner holds 94 percent of his service games. No surprise there. Guess which big-serving lefty wins just 73 percent of his service games, and thus ranks a lowly No. 59 on the tour in that department? Brazils Thomaz Bellucci.Oh, and former US Open champion Samantha Stosur has quietly snuck into second place (behind Jelena Ostapenko) as the most prolific double-faulter (218 compared to Ostapenkos 235) on the WTA Tour.How soon they forgetWas any recent No. 1 better than Rafael Nadal at his best? Its an interesting question that will never be satisfactorily answered by statistics. The ATP has a relatively new Under Pressure rating, which is calculated by adding the percentage of break points converted and saved, percentage of tie-breaks won and percentage of deciding sets won.The ATP applied that formula to every year-end No. 1 since 1991 in an effort to quantify who had the most impressive year. Nadal scored 281.5 for his performance in 2013. Thats just better than the 275.2 Roger Federer tallied in 2006, but loads better than the 223.5 earned by vintage Pete Sampras, in 1995. Oddly enough, top-ranked Djokovics epic 2011 rated only a 251.7. Dirk Nowitzki Mavericks Jersey . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Jalen Brunson Jersey .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. http://www.officialmavericksfanstore.com/kids-jalen-brunson-mavericks-jersey/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Luka Doncic Jersey . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Jose Juan Barea Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks will be without Kent Bazemore for at least two games because of right knee soreness.The team announced that Bazemore wont play Wednesday night at home against the Miami Heat, nor will he make the trip to Milwaukee for a game against the Bucks on Friday.The 6-foot-5 guard was apparently hurt in a 102-99 setback to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which extended Atlantas losing streak to seven in a row. Coach Mike Budenholzer innitially downplayed the injury, but Bazemore underwent a precautionary MRI on Wednesday that showed no structural damage.ddddddddddddazemore is having a disappointing season after getting a $70 million contract to remain with the Hawks. He is shooting less than 36 percent from the field while averaging 10.7 points a game. ' ' '