ATP Dani Mérida Carlos Alcaraz

The incredible statistic from Mérida that is only surpassed by Alcaraz

Pedro de Pablos - 17 Aug 2026
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The incredible statistic of Mérida that is only surpassed by Alcaraz. Source: Getty Images.

Dani Mérida is one of the trending tennis players on the ATP circuit. 2026 is proving to be a year of vindication for the Spanish player, who has taken a huge step forward in his career and has become a regular at major tournaments. Moreover, during the ATP Cincinnati 2026, he published data that explains the reason for his success in recent months, where his return is the key to everything and only Carlos Alcaraz can surpass him.

 

 

Just a few minutes ago, Mérida shared a stat provided by his coach on the ATP circuit, showing that he is the second best player on return, with Alcaraz only ahead of him. In total points, Carlos has 162.8, while Mérida has 162.4, a number that sums several statistics and percentages. For example, Mérida wins 33.4% of points on return with his opponent's first serve, and 53.9% with the second serve. 

Mérida surpasses Alcaraz with a 44.4% break point conversion rate

In fact, his impressive numbers go further, as he wins 30.7% of games on return and converts 44.4% of break points, surpassing even Alcaraz, who has a 43.2% efficiency. It is true that Mérida sometimes struggles with his serve, but with his return skills, he can "afford" that luxury as long as he can find the cracks in his opponents' serves, which is something he typically does quite easily. 

The third on this list is Jannik Sinner with a 162.2, closely following Mérida, but the fact that Dani surpasses the world number 1 and the rest of the circuit in this statistic suggests that if he achieves more consistency with his serve, his ranking could be even higher. For now, the Spaniard is advancing at a rapid pace towards the top positions in the ranking, and he has practically secured leaving Cincinnati as the 39th player in the world, making him very close to being seeded in major tournaments.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La increíble estadística de Mérida que solo es superada por Alcaraz