RallyIQ

Wimbledon · SF · Grass · 7 Jul 2016

Venus Williams v Angelique Kerber

58–63 in points · Angelique Kerber won

Why it went the way it did

Angelique Kerber won 4.1 more points than Venus Williams relative to what the serve alone predicted. Venus Williams's biggest leaks: backhand execution −1.4, slice execution −1.1, forehand execution −1.0.

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.

ShotVenus WilliamsAngelique Kerber
DirSelExecTotalDirSelExecTotal
Serve 1st −0.3 ±0.0 −0.9 −1.2 ±0.0 ±0.0 ±0.0 ±0.0
Serve 2nd ±0.0 ±0.0 +0.8 +0.8 −0.1 ±0.0 −1.1 −1.2
Return ±0.0 +0.4 +0.8 +1.1 +1.1 +2.0 ±0.0 +3.1
Forehand +0.9 +2.8 −1.0 +2.7 +0.6 +1.0 +3.1 +4.7
Backhand +0.4 +2.8 −1.4 +1.8 +0.3 +1.5 +0.5 +2.2
Slice −0.2 −0.6 −1.1 −1.9 ±0.0 −1.5 ±0.0 −1.5
Net −0.6 +0.1 +0.7 +0.3 +0.1 ±0.0 +0.3 +0.3
Touch ±0.0 ±0.0 ±0.0 ±0.0 ±0.0 ±0.0 ±0.0 +0.1
All shots +0.2+5.4 −2.0+3.6 +1.9+3.0 +2.8+7.7

Set by set

SetVenus WilliamsAngelique KerberNet, Venus
1+0.9+2.9 −1.9
2+2.6+4.8 −2.1

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.

Venus Williams serving

SetWideBodyT
1 19% 43% 30% 9% 51% 58%
2 22% 71% 22% 86% 56% 61%

Set to set +0.51 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets +1.06 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games

Angelique Kerber serving

SetWideBodyT
1 56% 47% 22% 33% 22% 33%
2 68% 82% 20% 80% 12% 67%

Within sets −0.55 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.

Venus Williams

4.8 points left on the table across 210 shots 2.29 per 100 shots

  1. Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit BH down the line ×3; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.32 pts
  2. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side, you at net hit FH volley down the line ×2; FH volley crosscourt rates higher · 0.27 pts
  3. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your middle, you at net hit FH volley through the middle ×1; FH volley crosscourt rates higher · 0.24 pts
  4. Rally, shots 5–8: slice to your backhand side, opponent at net, you at net hit BH volley through the middle ×1; BH volley down the line rates higher · 0.24 pts

Angelique Kerber

4.3 points left on the table across 209 shots 2.04 per 100 shots

  1. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×6; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.33 pts
  2. Return of a 2nd serve, T, ad court hit BH through the middle ×5; BH down the line rates higher · 0.30 pts
  3. Return +1: slice to your backhand side, opponent at net hit BH through the middle ×1; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.28 pts
  4. Return +1: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×5; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.24 pts