RallyIQ

Game plan

Agnieszka Radwanska v Jennifer Capriati

Every number combines what Agnieszka Radwanska does well with what Jennifer Capriati allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Agnieszka Radwanska wins, best of 3 52%90%: 23%–80% · best of 5: 53%
Serve points won 56.6% / 56.1% Agnieszka / Jennifer · tour 56.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 57%serve 57.3% / 56.0%

Each player's serve and return strength is fitted against every opponent they were charted against, so a record built on weak opponents counts for less. At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers. The result is then nudged by Agnieszka Radwanska's record against Jennifer Capriati's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −12.3 on serve, −2.6 on return vs expectation (176 points)). A game-by-game Markov chain turns point odds into match odds; the 90% range covers the uncertainty in the two strengths, not the nudges. Charted matches lean toward big events, so treat this as a scouting estimate, not a betting line.

Head to head, per 100 shots

CareerAgnieszkaJennifer
Direction choice+0.03 ±0.09
better than 57%
−0.23 ±0.16
better than 14%
Shot selection−0.08 ±0.09
better than 36%
+0.02 ±0.08
better than 47%
Execution+1.79 ±0.28
better than 98%
+0.09 ±0.84
better than 65%
Points left on the table2.59 ±0.12
lower than 53%
2.76 ±0.26
lower than 26%

Each player's career against an average tour player in the same position, adjusted for opponent strength, with a 90% margin (shots clustered by match). Points left on the table is the gap to the best-value direction for the same stroke, so lower is better. Percentiles are within each player's own tour. A side is highlighted only when the gap is larger than the margin on the difference.

Serve plan

The share of points the server wins when a first serve lands in that direction (hover a rate for its 90% interval; ± is the 90% margin). "Matchup" combines the server's rate with how this returner handles that serve. "Optimal" is the mix that wins most against this returner once they start reading a habit, at the response measured across the tour, and only within the range servers' habits actually vary. The gain over the current mix is how exploitable that mix is.

Agnieszka Radwanska serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAgnieszka winsv JenniferMatchupOptimal
Wide43%61%63%58.4%±7.242%
Body18%57%59%58.8%±9.63% ▼
T40%71%66%68.8%±7.555% ▲

Optimal v Jennifer Capriati: +0.7±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +6.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAgnieszka winsv JenniferMatchupOptimal
Wide36%70%67%71.8%±7.151% ▲
Body17%58%60%61.6%±9.82% ▼
T47%60%63%58.9%±8.047%

Optimal v Jennifer Capriati: +0.4±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +7.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Jennifer Capriati serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowJennifer winsv AgnieszkaMatchupOptimal
Wide50%64%69%67.6%±6.665% ▲
Body26%55%57%54.7%±9.210% ▼
T25%63%66%61.0%±10.425%

Optimal v Agnieszka Radwanska: +1.2±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +4.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowJennifer winsv AgnieszkaMatchupOptimal
Wide24%59%63%56.2%±9.524%
Body38%56%52%52.5%±8.323% ▼
T38%69%64%69.2%±7.653% ▲

Optimal v Agnieszka Radwanska: +0.9±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +9.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Return plan

Value of each return, in points per 100 returns against an average return of the same serve (direction, court, surface): the tour's result with that return, the returner's own edge with it, and what this server gives up when it comes back to that side. Returns with no charted direction are left out, so values compare with each other rather than with zero. Depth isn't a choice here: missed returns have no depth. Serve quality isn't charted, so a block through the middle partly reflects the serve that forced it.

Agnieszka Radwanska returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
FH through the middle44%+4.2+2.5−1.3+5.4±2.6
FH down the line22%+1.5+3.6+2.8+7.9±4.3
FH crosscourt16%+5.3+2.3−2.5+5.2±4.2
FH slice through the middle11%−6.7+0.9+0.7−5.1±2.3
FH slice crosscourt5%−6.6−1.2±0.0−7.8±2.0

Lean FH down the line: +4.1±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (762 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
BH through the middle44%+6.0+2.4−2.2+6.3±2.4
BH crosscourt27%+7.7+3.1−1.2+9.7±3.4
BH slice through the middle12%−6.2+1.5+1.1−3.6±2.5
BH down the line8%+2.2+0.9−4.1−1.0±4.7
BH slice crosscourt5%−4.2+1.0+0.8−2.5±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.3±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (669 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
FH through the middle36%−3.2+0.2+1.2−1.8±3.1
FH down the line34%−0.6+2.0+0.1+1.6±5.2
FH crosscourt24%+0.5−0.6−1.0−1.1±4.5
FH slice through the middle3%−15.2−1.0±0.0−16.2±1.2
FH slice crosscourt3%−14.9−0.9±0.0−15.8±1.3

Lean FH down the line: +3.0±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (204 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
BH crosscourt36%+1.5+3.6±0.0+5.1±3.4
BH through the middle34%−2.6+2.0+0.2−0.4±2.6
BH down the line28%−0.5+3.8+4.3+7.6±4.8
FH inside-out3%+1.4−1.6+0.1−0.2±3.7

Lean BH down the line: +3.8±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (297 returns charted)

Jennifer Capriati returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AgnieszkaValue
FH through the middle58%+4.2+0.4+0.7+5.2±2.4
FH down the line26%+1.5+1.2+3.6+6.4±4.3
FH crosscourt17%+5.3+2.5+2.5+10.3±3.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.9±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (200 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AgnieszkaValue
BH through the middle59%+6.0−1.4+1.1+5.7±2.3
BH crosscourt23%+7.7−3.8−0.8+3.1±3.3
BH down the line18%+2.2+2.0+3.2+7.4±4.3

Lean BH down the line: +2.0±3.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (181 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AgnieszkaValue
FH crosscourt41%+0.5−1.2+3.8+3.1±4.1
FH through the middle41%−3.2+0.2+0.3−2.7±2.9
FH down the line19%−0.6±0.0+4.7+4.2±4.5

Lean FH down the line: +3.2±4.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (79 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AgnieszkaValue
BH through the middle53%−2.6−0.6+0.4−2.7±2.4
BH crosscourt32%+1.5−1.5+3.5+3.5±3.0
BH down the line15%−0.5+1.1+8.2+8.7±4.1

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.6±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (62 returns charted)

Rally plan

Edge, in points per 100 shots: the hitter's skill with the shot (own) plus how much the receiver usually gives up against it (theirs), both measured against the tour average.

Agnieszka Radwanska

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH slice to their backhand · rally+5.2±2.4+1.0+4.2
FH to the middle · rally+4.4±2.0+2.5+1.9
BH slice to the middle · rally+4.4±2.1+1.9+2.5
BH to their backhand · serve +1+4.3±3.2+2.6+1.7
FH to their backhand · return+4.0±3.4+2.1+1.9
FH to their forehand · return +1+3.6±3.5+2.4+1.1

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return +1−4.2±4.5+1.3−5.5
BH to their forehand · rally−2.0±3.4+0.1−2.2
BH to their backhand · rally−0.1±2.1+3.2−3.2
FH to their forehand · return±0.0±3.8+2.4−2.5
BH to the middle · rally+0.3±1.8+2.2−1.8

Jennifer Capriati

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return+5.9±3.7+1.3+4.6
FH to their forehand · return+5.4±3.7+1.8+3.6
BH to their forehand · return+5.1±4.0−1.2+6.3
FH to the middle · return +1+2.3±2.5+0.5+1.8
BH to their backhand · serve +1+2.0±2.9−0.7+2.7
FH to the middle · return+2.0±2.1+0.5+1.4

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally−1.8±2.6−2.1+0.2
FH to their forehand · return +1−1.5±3.4−2.3+0.8
FH to the middle · rally−1.3±1.8−1.4+0.1
BH to the middle · serve +1−0.8±2.2−0.3−0.5
BH to the middle · return +1−0.6±2.2−1.3+0.8

Against Jennifer Capriati-like opponents

Agnieszka Radwanska vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–57.1%44.4%
Players most similar to Jennifer Capriati1 46.7%42.9%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Marie Bouzkova, Sloane Stephens, Varvara Gracheva, Lin Zhu, Alize Cornet, Carla Suarez Navarro, Marion Bartoli, Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.