RallyIQ

Roland Garros · F · Clay · 8 Jun 2014

Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal

116–130 in points · Rafael Nadal won

Why it went the way it did

Rafael Nadal won 7.7 more points than Novak Djokovic relative to what the serve alone predicted. Novak Djokovic's biggest leaks: backhand shot selection −2.2, slice shot selection −1.5, touch shot selection −0.9.

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.

ShotNovak DjokovicRafael Nadal
DirSelExecTotalDirSelExecTotal
Serve 1st −0.2 +0.1 +1.6 +1.5 −1.0 −0.1 +0.6 −0.5
Serve 2nd ±0.0 ±0.0 +0.2 +0.2 +0.1 ±0.0 −0.7 −0.7
Return ±0.0 +0.8 +1.0 +1.7 ±0.0 +3.9 +2.3 +6.2
Forehand +1.8 +3.9 +3.5 +9.2 +2.0 +5.4 +4.5 +11.9
Backhand +0.2 −2.2 +0.6 −1.4 +0.5 +0.2 +2.9 +3.6
Slice +0.1 −1.5 −0.4 −1.9 −0.3 −2.8 +1.7 −1.4
Net +0.2 +0.3 +1.1 +1.6 −0.1 +0.1 +0.3 +0.3
Touch +0.1 −0.9 +0.6 −0.3 −0.2 −1.1 +0.3 −1.0
All shots +2.2+0.3 +8.2+10.7 +0.9+5.5 +12.0+18.4

Set by set

SetNovak DjokovicRafael NadalNet, Novak
1+4.0+1.4 +2.7
2+5.5+9.8 −4.3
3+1.9+4.5 −2.6
4−0.7+2.7 −3.5

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.

Novak Djokovic serving

SetWideBodyT
1 58% 72% 10% 67% 32% 70%
2 41% 50% 15% 67% 44% 59%
3 42% 70% 21% 40% 38% 44%
4 44% 64% 13% 25% 44% 57%

Set to set +0.24 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets +0.66 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games

Rafael Nadal serving

SetWideBodyT
1 25% 67% 42% 70% 33% 50%
2 28% 67% 28% 78% 44% 64%
3 36% 46% 33% 83% 31% 64%
4 36% 80% 36% 50% 29% 75%

Set to set +0.43 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets −0.12 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.

Novak Djokovic

9.0 points left on the table across 410 shots 2.20 per 100 shots

  1. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×21; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.81 pts
  2. Serve +1: deep return to your unknown spot hit FH through the middle ×5; FH down the line rates higher · 0.75 pts
  3. Serve +1: short return to your unknown spot hit FH down the line ×11; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.57 pts
  4. Serve +1: deep return to your unknown spot hit BH down the line ×5; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.54 pts

Rafael Nadal

9.9 points left on the table across 409 shots 2.42 per 100 shots

  1. Serve +1: deep return to your unknown spot hit FH through the middle ×12; FH down the line rates higher · 1.80 pts
  2. Serve +1: deep return to your unknown spot hit FH crosscourt ×12; FH down the line rates higher · 0.61 pts
  3. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×13; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.50 pts
  4. Return +1: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×7; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.41 pts