Buenos Aires · SF · Clay · 13 Feb 2016
Rafael Nadal v Dominic Thiem
107–112 in points · Dominic Thiem won
Why it went the way it did
Dominic Thiem won 1.9 more points than Rafael Nadal relative to what the serve alone predicted. Rafael Nadal's biggest leaks: forehand execution −2.8, slice shot selection −1.9, serve 1st direction choices −0.5.
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 | Rafael Nadal | Dominic Thiem | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | |
| Serve 1st | −0.5 | −0.1 | +0.5 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +1.2 | +1.7 |
| Serve 2nd | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| Return | +0.2 | +2.8 | −0.5 | +2.5 | −0.6 | +0.5 | +4.1 | +4.0 |
| Forehand | +1.3 | +3.2 | −2.8 | +1.6 | +0.6 | +4.0 | +2.7 | +7.2 |
| Backhand | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +1.4 | −0.6 | +1.2 | ±0.0 | +0.5 |
| Slice | −0.3 | −1.9 | +0.7 | −1.6 | +0.1 | −4.4 | +1.0 | −3.3 |
| Net | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +1.1 | −0.2 | +0.3 | −0.5 | −0.4 |
| Touch | +0.1 | +0.7 | −0.1 | +0.7 | −0.2 | −0.6 | −1.6 | −2.4 |
| Other | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.5 |
| All shots | +1.3 | +6.1 | −1.6 | +5.8 | −0.9 | +0.8 | +7.8 | +7.7 |
Set by set
| Set | Rafael Nadal | Dominic Thiem | Net, Rafael | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +1.0 | +4.0 | −3.0 | |
| 2 | +2.5 | +3.1 | −0.6 | |
| 3 | +2.3 | +0.6 | +1.7 |
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.
Rafael Nadal serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35% 55% | 29% 67% | 35% 45% |
| 2 | 50% 53% | 18% 57% | 32% 83% |
| 3 | 42% 88% | 24% 56% | 34% 62% |
Set to set −0.31 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets −0.19 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games
Dominic Thiem serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55% 65% | 10% 33% | 35% 73% |
| 2 | 45% 54% | – | 55% 75% |
| 3 | 52% 63% | 6% 33% | 42% 73% |
Set to set +0.16 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets +0.92 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.
Rafael Nadal
10.2 points left on the table across 390 shots 2.61 per 100 shots
- Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit FH crosscourt ×13; FH inside-out rates higher · 1.12 pts
- Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit FH down the line ×4; FH inside-out rates higher · 0.88 pts
- Return of a 2nd serve, T, ad court hit BH through the middle ×5; BH inside-in rates higher · 0.59 pts
- Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit FH through the middle ×3; FH inside-out rates higher · 0.38 pts
Dominic Thiem
10.3 points left on the table across 389 shots 2.65 per 100 shots
- Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit BH through the middle ×12; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.47 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×12; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.46 pts
- Return +1: drive to your backhand side hit BH slice through the middle ×4; BH slice crosscourt rates higher · 0.33 pts
- Return +1: drive to your forehand side hit FH down the line ×7; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.31 pts