RallyIQ

Doha · QF · Hard · 19 Feb 2026

Carlos Alcaraz v Karen Khachanov

105–97 in points · Carlos Alcaraz won

Why it went the way it did

Carlos Alcaraz won 7.0 more points than Karen Khachanov relative to what the serve alone predicted. Karen Khachanov's biggest leaks: forehand execution −5.9, slice shot selection −2.2, net execution −2.0.

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.

ShotCarlos AlcarazKaren Khachanov
DirSelExecTotalDirSelExecTotal
Serve 1st +0.1 +0.2 +0.5 +0.7 +0.5 −0.1 −0.8 −0.4
Serve 2nd ±0.0 ±0.0 +0.4 +0.5 ±0.0 ±0.0 +0.3 +0.3
Return +0.3 +0.7 −1.9 −1.0 +0.4 +1.1 +2.3 +3.8
Forehand +1.1 +3.4 −1.7 +2.8 +0.3 +2.3 −5.9 −3.3
Backhand +0.4 +0.7 +7.4 +8.5 +0.8 +1.1 +1.5 +3.4
Slice +0.3 −4.0 −1.0 −4.6 −0.1 −2.2 +0.5 −1.8
Net +0.4 +0.5 +1.2 +2.1 +0.4 +0.3 −2.0 −1.2
Touch −0.1 −2.3 −1.1 −3.5 −0.1 −1.6 −0.3 −2.1
All shots +2.5−0.7 +3.8+5.6 +2.2+0.8 −4.4−1.4

Set by set

SetCarlos AlcarazKaren KhachanovNet, Carlos
1+0.9+2.9 −2.1
2−1.5−4.7 +3.3
3+6.2+0.4 +5.8

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.

Carlos Alcaraz serving

SetWideBodyT
1 48% 73% 9% 100% 43% 55%
2 33% 67% 11% 100% 56% 73%
3 39% 100% – 61% 82%

Set to set −1.60 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets −1.08 per 100 first serves, every two to three service games

Karen Khachanov serving

SetWideBodyT
1 57% 71% 2% 100% 41% 70%
2 47% 60% – 53% 65%
3 53% 63% 3% 100% 43% 54%

Set to set −0.74 per 100 first serves in sets 2+

Within sets −0.17 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.

Carlos Alcaraz

6.5 points left on the table across 351 shots 1.86 per 100 shots

  1. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side, you at net hit FH volley through the middle ×1; FH volley crosscourt rates higher · 0.28 pts
  2. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side hit BH through the middle ×6; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.23 pts
  3. Serve +1: drive to your middle, you at net hit FH volley through the middle ×1; FH volley crosscourt rates higher · 0.22 pts
  4. Return of a 1st serve, wide, ad court hit BH through the middle ×7; BH crosscourt rates higher · 0.22 pts

Karen Khachanov

6.2 points left on the table across 332 shots 1.87 per 100 shots

  1. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side hit FH through the middle ×7; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.36 pts
  2. Serve +1: short return to your middle hit FH through the middle ×2; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.20 pts
  3. Return of a 2nd serve, T, ad court hit FH through the middle ×2; FH inside-out rates higher · 0.18 pts
  4. Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side hit FH down the line ×9; FH crosscourt rates higher · 0.16 pts