RallyIQ

Australian Open · R64 · Hard · 18 Jan 2023

Rafael Nadal v Mackenzie Mcdonald

90–107 in points · Mackenzie Mcdonald won

Why it went the way it did

Mackenzie Mcdonald won 9.5 more points than Rafael Nadal relative to what the serve alone predicted. Rafael Nadal's biggest leaks: slice shot selection −3.4, serve 1st execution −1.0, backhand 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.

ShotRafael NadalMackenzie Mcdonald
DirSelExecTotalDirSelExecTotal
Serve 1st ±0.0 +0.1 −1.0 −0.9 +0.2 −0.2 +1.8 +1.8
Serve 2nd ±0.0 ±0.0 +0.9 +0.9 +0.1 ±0.0 +0.3 +0.3
Return −0.2 +0.3 +2.4 +2.5 −0.9 +1.7 +3.3 +4.1
Forehand +1.4 +4.4 +1.9 +7.6 −0.5 +3.6 +5.4 +8.6
Backhand −0.4 +0.3 −1.0 −1.1 −0.2 +0.9 +1.9 +2.7
Slice −0.8 −3.4 +1.0 −3.1 +0.1 −1.0 +0.7 −0.2
Net −0.1 +0.2 ±0.0 ±0.0 +0.1 −0.2 +0.5 +0.4
Touch ±0.0 ±0.0 +1.1 +1.1 −0.2 −1.2 +0.3 −1.1
All shots −0.1+1.9 +5.2+7.0 −1.3+3.7 +14.1+16.5

Set by set

SetRafael NadalMackenzie McdonaldNet, Rafael
1+3.3+4.4 −1.1
2+1.3+5.5 −4.2
3+2.4+6.7 −4.2

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.

Rafael Nadal serving

SetWideBodyT
1 50% 50% 11% 67% 39% 64%
2 47% 47% 11% 75% 42% 47%
3 37% 50% 8% 33% 55% 76%

Set to set +2.92 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets +1.98 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games

Mackenzie Mcdonald serving

SetWideBodyT
1 50% 71% 6% 50% 44% 53%
2 54% 67% 4% 100% 43% 50%
3 42% 79% – 58% 74%

Set to set −0.96 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets −0.36 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.

Rafael Nadal

14.0 points left on the table across 407 shots 3.44 per 100 shots

  1. Return of a 1st serve, T, deuce court hit FH down the line ×8; FH inside-out rates higher · 1.32 pts
  2. Return of a 1st serve, T, deuce court hit FH through the middle ×8; FH inside-out rates higher · 0.84 pts
  3. Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit FH through the middle ×6; FH inside-out rates higher · 0.63 pts
  4. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side, you at net hit FH volley through the middle ×2; FH volley crosscourt rates higher · 0.56 pts

Mackenzie Mcdonald

10.4 points left on the table across 402 shots 2.59 per 100 shots

  1. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×17; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.66 pts
  2. Long rally, 9+: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×13; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.54 pts
  3. Serve +1: mid-depth return to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×4; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.36 pts
  4. Return +1: drive to your middle hit FH through the middle ×6; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.35 pts