Wimbledon · R16 · Grass · 10 Jul 2017

Gilles Muller v Rafael Nadal

191–198 in points · Gilles Muller won

Why it went the way it did

Rafael Nadal won 9.7 more points than Gilles Muller relative to what the serve alone predicted. Gilles Muller's biggest leaks: forehand execution −5.8, touch execution −4.2, slice shot selection −3.9.

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.

Shot	Gilles Muller				Rafael Nadal
Shot	Dir	Sel	Exec	Total	Dir	Sel	Exec	Total
Serve 1st	+1.8	+3.9	−1.4	+4.3	−0.1	−0.6	+2.5	+1.8
Serve 2nd	±0.0	+0.4	−1.1	−0.8	±0.0	−0.1	+1.8	+1.6
Return	±0.0	+0.1	+5.0	+5.1	+0.2	+2.0	+2.5	+4.8
Forehand	+1.1	+6.0	−5.8	+1.3	+0.6	+5.1	−0.8	+4.9
Backhand	+0.2	+1.5	−0.9	+0.7	+0.4	+2.0	+5.4	+7.8
Slice	−0.2	−3.9	−0.6	−4.7	+0.1	−3.7	+2.6	−1.1
Net	+2.6	+2.0	+2.5	+7.2	+0.5	+0.1	−1.7	−1.0
Touch	+0.1	+0.2	−4.2	−3.9	±0.0	+0.1	±0.0	±0.0
Other	−0.1	−0.4	+0.2	−0.3	±0.0	+0.1	−0.3	−0.2
All shots	+5.5	+9.8	−6.4	+8.9	+1.7	+5.0	+11.9	+18.6

Set by set

Set	Gilles Muller	Rafael Nadal	Net, Gilles
1	+2.9	+0.3	+2.6
2	−1.0	+1.4	−2.4
3	−1.5	+4.2	−5.7
4	−0.6	+6.2	−6.8
5	+9.1	+6.5	+2.6

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.

Gilles Muller serving

Set	Wide	Body	T
1	56% 80%	–	44% 75%
2	32% 60%	16% 60%	52% 75%
3	69% 61%	–	31% 50%
4	64% 57%	–	36% 69%
5	52% 73%	1% 100%	47% 67%

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

Within sets +0.29 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games

Rafael Nadal serving

Set	Wide	Body	T
1	27% 83%	14% 33%	59% 69%
2	43% 80%	–	57% 77%
3	40% 80%	4% 0%	56% 86%
4	57% 85%	4% 0%	39% 100%
5	54% 67%	14% 83%	32% 63%

Set to set +0.04 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets +0.59 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.

Gilles Muller

12.0 points left on the table across 459 shots 2.62 per 100 shots

Serve +1: mid-depth return to your backhand side, you at net hit BH volley through the middle ×2; BH volley crosscourt rates higher · 0.56 pts
Return of a 2nd serve, T, deuce court hit FH through the middle ×4; FH inside-in rates higher · 0.41 pts
Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit FH down the line ×3; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.41 pts
Return +1: drive to your backhand side hit BH slice through the middle ×4; BH slice crosscourt rates higher · 0.33 pts

Rafael Nadal

12.1 points left on the table across 463 shots 2.62 per 100 shots

Return of a 2nd serve, T, deuce court hit FH through the middle ×7; FH inside-in rates higher · 0.72 pts
Serve +1: deep return to your middle hit FH through the middle ×9; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.66 pts
Return of a 2nd serve, T, ad court hit BH through the middle ×5; BH down the line rates higher · 0.40 pts
Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×7; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.36 pts