US Open · R128 · Hard · 27 Aug 2018
Venus Williams v Svetlana Kuznetsova
122–114 in points · Venus Williams won
Why it went the way it did
Venus Williams won 3.7 more points than Svetlana Kuznetsova relative to what the serve alone predicted. Svetlana Kuznetsova's biggest leaks: slice shot selection −4.6, forehand execution −2.2, forehand direction choices −1.4.
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 | Venus Williams | Svetlana Kuznetsova | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | |
| Serve 1st | −1.6 | +0.1 | −2.5 | −4.0 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +2.1 | +2.0 |
| Serve 2nd | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −1.0 | −1.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | −0.4 |
| Return | ±0.0 | +1.5 | −0.3 | +1.3 | −0.3 | −0.7 | ±0.0 | −0.9 |
| Forehand | −0.5 | +3.0 | +3.3 | +5.8 | −1.4 | +1.8 | −2.2 | −1.7 |
| Backhand | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.3 | −0.5 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +1.8 |
| Slice | ±0.0 | −1.3 | −1.1 | −2.3 | ±0.0 | −4.6 | ±0.0 | −4.6 |
| Net | −0.3 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | ±0.0 |
| Touch | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.4 | −0.7 | ±0.0 | −0.8 | −0.1 | −0.9 |
| All shots | −2.7 | +3.2 | −1.6 | −1.1 | −2.3 | −2.9 | +0.4 | −4.8 |
Set by set
| Set | Venus Williams | Svetlana Kuznetsova | Net, Venus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +0.2 | −3.0 | +3.3 | |
| 2 | −2.5 | +1.9 | −4.4 | |
| 3 | +1.2 | −3.7 | +4.9 |
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.
Venus Williams serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15% 40% | 47% 69% | 38% 54% |
| 2 | 13% 33% | 55% 42% | 32% 67% |
| 3 | 13% 33% | 48% 64% | 39% 33% |
Set to set +1.33 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets +1.38 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games
Svetlana Kuznetsova serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47% 50% | 24% 56% | 29% 45% |
| 2 | 56% 70% | 12% 60% | 32% 38% |
| 3 | 41% 33% | 34% 60% | 25% 27% |
Set to set −0.22 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets −0.08 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
10.6 points left on the table across 367 shots 2.90 per 100 shots
- Serve +1: mid-depth return to your middle hit BH through the middle ×8; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.49 pts
- Serve +1: mid-depth return to your middle hit FH through the middle ×5; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.42 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your middle hit BH through the middle ×9; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.42 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your middle, you at net hit BH volley through the middle ×2; BH volley crosscourt rates higher · 0.41 pts
Svetlana Kuznetsova
11.5 points left on the table across 345 shots 3.34 per 100 shots
- Serve +1: mid-depth return to your middle hit FH through the middle ×8; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.68 pts
- Return of a 2nd serve, body, ad court hit FH through the middle ×10; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.56 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×11; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.47 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your middle hit BH through the middle ×10; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.47 pts