Australian Open · R128 · Hard · 18 Jan 2022
Alex Molcan v Roman Safiullin
156–148 in points · Alex Molcan won
Why it went the way it did
Alex Molcan won 5.2 more points than Roman Safiullin relative to what the serve alone predicted. Roman Safiullin's biggest leaks: slice shot selection −3.8, net execution −1.2, serve 1st execution −1.2.
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 | Alex Molcan | Roman Safiullin | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | Dir | Sel | Exec | Total | |
| Serve 1st | −0.5 | −0.3 | −2.1 | −2.9 | +0.2 | −0.3 | −1.2 | −1.3 |
| Serve 2nd | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.7 | −0.7 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +2.0 | +2.1 |
| Return | −0.3 | −1.5 | +2.9 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +1.3 |
| Forehand | +1.0 | +4.3 | +9.2 | +14.5 | +1.8 | +5.6 | −0.3 | +7.0 |
| Backhand | −0.4 | +1.9 | +6.0 | +7.5 | −0.3 | +2.7 | +4.0 | +6.5 |
| Slice | −0.9 | −5.2 | +4.3 | −1.8 | +0.1 | −3.8 | −0.1 | −3.7 |
| Net | +0.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.5 | −1.2 | −0.4 |
| Touch | +0.1 | −2.4 | +1.2 | −1.1 | −0.1 | −0.7 | +0.8 | ±0.0 |
| All shots | −0.9 | −3.3 | +20.8 | +16.7 | +2.3 | +5.0 | +4.1 | +11.5 |
Set by set
| Set | Alex Molcan | Roman Safiullin | Net, Alex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +5.2 | −0.7 | +6.0 | |
| 2 | +7.3 | +7.2 | +0.1 | |
| 3 | −0.8 | +1.8 | −2.7 | |
| 4 | +5.1 | +3.2 | +1.8 |
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.
Alex Molcan serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25% 67% | 21% 100% | 54% 85% |
| 2 | 35% 59% | 10% 80% | 54% 65% |
| 3 | 39% 56% | 15% 67% | 46% 68% |
| 4 | 33% 92% | 22% 50% | 44% 69% |
Set to set −0.24 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets −0.82 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games
Roman Safiullin serving
| Set | Wide | Body | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63% 65% | 7% 0% | 30% 63% |
| 2 | 33% 50% | 14% 50% | 52% 77% |
| 3 | 40% 50% | 5% 50% | 55% 86% |
| 4 | 40% 72% | 4% 100% | 56% 60% |
Set to set +2.83 per 100 first serves in sets 2+
Within sets +1.75 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.
Alex Molcan
20.6 points left on the table across 791 shots 2.60 per 100 shots
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×30; BH crosscourt rates higher · 1.16 pts
- Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit FH through the middle ×9; FH inside-out rates higher · 0.94 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×17; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.86 pts
- Return of a 1st serve, T, ad court hit BH slice through the middle ×7; BH slice inside-in rates higher · 0.68 pts
Roman Safiullin
13.5 points left on the table across 795 shots 1.69 per 100 shots
- Long rally, 9+: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×28; BH crosscourt rates higher · 1.17 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×17; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.66 pts
- Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×12; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.61 pts
- Return +1: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×12; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.47 pts