Miami Masters · F · Hard · 3 Apr 2016
Novak Djokovic v Kei Nishikori
65–44 in points · Novak Djokovic won
Why it went the way it did
Novak Djokovic won 13.8 more points than Kei Nishikori relative to what the serve alone predicted. Kei Nishikori's biggest leaks: serve 1st execution −3.0, slice execution −1.9, serve 2nd execution −1.3.
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 | Novak Djokovic | Kei Nishikori | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | |
| Serve 1st | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −1.2 | −1.2 | −0.7 | −0.1 | −3.0 | −3.7 |
| Serve 2nd | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −1.3 | −1.3 |
| Return | +0.2 | +0.6 | −0.8 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.3 | +0.6 | ±0.0 |
| Forehand | +0.3 | +0.8 | +2.3 | +3.3 | +0.2 | +1.4 | −0.4 | +1.2 |
| Backhand | +0.2 | +0.7 | +6.7 | +7.6 | +0.4 | −0.1 | +0.7 | +0.9 |
| Slice | +0.2 | −0.9 | −0.2 | −1.0 | +0.1 | −1.2 | −1.9 | −3.0 |
| Net | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.7 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.3 |
| Touch | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.1 | −0.4 | +0.1 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 |
| All shots | +1.0 | +0.6 | +5.8 | +7.4 | −0.2 | −0.6 | −5.5 | −6.4 |
Set by set
| Set | Novak Djokovic | Kei Nishikori | Net, Novak | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +4.3 | −1.6 | +5.9 | |
| 2 | +3.2 | −4.7 | +7.9 |
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.
Novak Djokovic serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 59% 69% | 5% 0% | 36% 63% |
| 2 | 52% 82% | 10% 50% | 38% 88% |
Within sets +0.33 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games
Kei Nishikori serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40% 30% | 16% 50% | 44% 45% |
| 2 | 24% 40% | 37% 47% | 39% 69% |
Within sets +0.13 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
4.4 points left on the table across 273 shots 1.60 per 100 shots
- Long rally, 9+: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×6; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.33 pts
- Return +1: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×8; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.31 pts
- Long rally, 9+: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×5; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.21 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×5; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.19 pts
Kei Nishikori
5.0 points left on the table across 265 shots 1.90 per 100 shots
- Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit BH slice down the line ×2; BH slice crosscourt rates higher · 0.34 pts
- Return +1: slice to your forehand side, opponent at net hit FH through the middle ×1; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.29 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×5; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.25 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your middle hit FH through the middle ×3; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.17 pts