Barcelona · QF · Clay · 25 Apr 2014
Nicolas Almagro v Rafael Nadal
102–110 in points · Nicolas Almagro won
Why it went the way it did
Rafael Nadal won 8.2 more points than Nicolas Almagro relative to what the serve alone predicted. Nicolas Almagro's biggest leaks: return execution −3.2, forehand execution −3.2, serve 1st execution −2.6.
Each shot moves its hitter's chance of winning the point. Those moves are split into direction choice, shot selection and execution, and summed here. Read both columns together: one player's gain is the other's loss.
| Shot | Nicolas Almagro | Rafael Nadal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | |
| Serve 1st | −0.1 | −0.1 | −2.6 | −2.9 | −0.4 | −0.1 | −0.5 | −1.0 |
| Serve 2nd | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +1.4 | +1.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | −0.6 |
| Return | ±0.0 | +0.3 | −3.2 | −2.9 | ±0.0 | +3.7 | −1.5 | +2.2 |
| Forehand | +1.3 | +3.7 | −3.2 | +1.8 | +0.5 | +3.1 | −3.5 | ±0.0 |
| Backhand | +0.1 | −2.5 | +4.6 | +2.2 | +0.3 | −1.1 | +11.3 | +10.5 |
| Slice | −0.1 | −2.4 | +0.5 | −2.1 | −0.6 | −3.2 | −0.3 | −4.1 |
| Net | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.8 | −0.8 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 |
| Touch | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −1.0 | −0.9 | −2.1 |
| All shots | +1.0 | −1.2 | −3.0 | −3.3 | −0.3 | +1.3 | +3.9 | +4.9 |
Set by set
| Set | Nicolas Almagro | Rafael Nadal | Net, Nicolas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | −2.6 | +3.0 | −5.6 | |
| 2 | −2.4 | +2.1 | −4.5 | |
| 3 | +1.8 | −0.1 | +1.9 |
Adaptation
First-serve direction mix set by set, with the share of points each direction won. The scores measure whether the server moved toward the directions that had been winning earlier in this match, set to set and every two to three service games, in points per 100 first serves. Read them as a habit, not a gain: across the tour, a direction's edge in early sets barely predicts the later ones. Whether the returner responded can't be told apart from noise within one match.
Nicolas Almagro serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32% 38% | 20% 80% | 48% 33% |
| 2 | 40% 63% | 7% 50% | 53% 66% |
| 3 | 37% 46% | 23% 63% | 40% 50% |
Set to set +1.00 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets +0.82 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games
Rafael Nadal serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29% 86% | 21% 80% | 50% 50% |
| 2 | 39% 79% | 19% 57% | 42% 87% |
| 3 | 40% 33% | 27% 63% | 33% 40% |
Set to set +0.33 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets +1.64 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games
Counterfactual: the best direction every time
If each shot had gone in the direction that is usually worth most for that stroke and position, this is how many more points each player would expect to win. It's an upper bound: the best direction isn't always on, and the chart can't see the ball's pace or position.
Nicolas Almagro
9.0 points left on the table across 387 shots 2.33 per 100 shots
- Serve +1: deep return to your unknown spot hit FH crosscourt ×18; FH down the line rates higher · 0.91 pts
- Serve +1: deep return to your unknown spot hit FH through the middle ×5; FH down the line rates higher · 0.75 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×18; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.70 pts
- Serve +1: mid-depth return to your unknown spot hit FH through the middle ×5; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.65 pts
Rafael Nadal
8.7 points left on the table across 351 shots 2.49 per 100 shots
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×16; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.62 pts
- Long rally, 9+: drive to your backhand side hit BH slice through the middle ×7; BH slice crosscourt rates higher · 0.49 pts
- Serve +1: deep return to your unknown spot hit FH through the middle ×3; FH down the line rates higher · 0.45 pts
- Serve +1: short return to your unknown spot hit BH through the middle ×2; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.43 pts