RallyIQ

Game plan

Aleksandar Vukic v Roberto Bautista Agut

Every number combines what Aleksandar Vukic does well with what Roberto Bautista Agut allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Aleksandar Vukic wins, best of 3 20%90%: 7%–43% · best of 5: 14%
Serve points won 61.8% / 68.7% Aleksandar / Roberto · tour 63.4%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 21%serve 62.0% / 68.5%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Aleksandar Vukic's record against Roberto Bautista Agut's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −1.5 on serve, −3.4 on return vs expectation (263 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

CareerAleksandarRoberto
Direction choice−0.13 ±0.20
better than 24%
+0.03 ±0.06
better than 65%
Shot selection+0.04 ±0.24
better than 58%
+0.08 ±0.08
better than 62%
Execution−0.89 ±0.39
better than 28%
+1.23 ±0.28
better than 98%
Points left on the table2.44 ±0.25
lower than 68%
2.30 ±0.09
lower than 85%

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.

Structural compatibility

Expected edge per 100 rally shots from style alone: Aleksandar Vukic +0.06, Roberto Bautista Agut +1.71. Each player's shot mix weighted by their own skill with each shot and by how much the other gives up against it. This is why some rankings gaps don't hold in a given matchup.

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.

Aleksandar Vukic serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAleksandar winsv RobertoMatchupOptimal
Wide44%70%74%70.5%±5.940% ▼
Body9%56%60%53.1%±11.30% ▼
T47%78%76%78.7%±5.360% ▲

Optimal v Roberto Bautista Agut: +1.0±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +5.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAleksandar winsv RobertoMatchupOptimal
Wide53%77%77%80.2%±4.967% ▲
Body5%62%53%52.4%±13.30% ▼
T41%72%72%72.2%±6.433% ▼

Optimal v Roberto Bautista Agut: +0.6±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Roberto Bautista Agut serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowRoberto winsv AleksandarMatchupOptimal
Wide45%70%75%72.4%±6.440% ▼
Body9%64%59%59.3%±9.70% ▼
T47%72%86%84.1%±5.060% ▲

Optimal v Aleksandar Vukic: +0.9±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +7.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowRoberto winsv AleksandarMatchupOptimal
Wide56%70%73%69.8%±5.951% ▼
Body9%61%62%59.1%±11.40% ▼
T36%72%81%81.2%±6.049% ▲

Optimal v Aleksandar Vukic: +0.8±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +8.2 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.

Aleksandar Vukic returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RobertoValue
FH through the middle52%+4.3−0.5+2.6+6.4±2.4
FH crosscourt22%+5.5+2.7−1.2+7.0±3.7
FH down the line21%+1.7−2.5+4.3+3.6±3.8
FH slice through the middle5%−4.2−0.7+2.1−2.8±1.8

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.5±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (126 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RobertoValue
BH through the middle46%+6.4+0.1+1.2+7.8±2.1
BH crosscourt26%+8.8−2.5+2.2+8.5±3.0
BH down the line13%+4.2−4.2+1.3+1.4±4.3
BH slice through the middle9%−4.2−1.5+3.1−2.6±2.1
BH slice down the line4%−8.4−1.8−1.3−11.5±3.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.3±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (224 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RobertoValue
BH through the middle44%−2.9±0.0+2.3−0.6±2.1
BH crosscourt29%+1.0−1.5+0.2−0.3±2.7
BH down the line10%−0.2−1.1+2.5+1.3±4.0
FH through the middle7%−2.9−0.5−0.4−3.7±1.7
FH inside-out6%+1.0+0.5+1.5+3.0±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +0.1±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (104 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Roberto Bautista Agut returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AleksandarValue
FH through the middle47%+4.3+2.4±0.0+6.7±2.4
FH down the line19%+1.7+2.4−0.9+3.2±4.0
FH crosscourt15%+5.5+1.8±0.0+7.3±4.0
FH slice through the middle13%−4.2+0.4−0.6−4.4±2.1
FH slice crosscourt3%−4.3+0.3+0.3−3.8±2.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.3±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1224 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AleksandarValue
BH through the middle42%+6.4+2.7−0.9+8.2±2.2
BH crosscourt20%+8.8+2.4−2.9+8.3±3.1
BH slice through the middle17%−4.2−0.1−1.7−6.0±2.3
BH down the line11%+4.2+4.9+1.9+11.0±4.4
BH slice crosscourt6%+0.5−1.2+0.4−0.3±2.9

Lean BH down the line: +6.2±4.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (1218 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AleksandarValue
FH through the middle48%−3.5+0.4+0.2−2.9±2.7
FH crosscourt24%−0.2+0.7+1.9+2.4±4.4
FH down the line24%−1.8+0.9−0.3−1.2±4.7
FH slice through the middle4%−12.7±0.0±0.0−12.7±1.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.0±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (289 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AleksandarValue
BH through the middle48%−2.9+0.6+0.1−2.1±2.0
BH crosscourt33%+1.0+1.7−1.3+1.4±2.8
BH down the line12%−0.2+0.8+2.9+3.5±4.8
FH through the middle3%−2.9−0.4+0.2−3.1±2.4
FH inside-out2%+1.0±0.0−0.3+0.7±3.5

Lean BH down the line: +3.8±4.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (961 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

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.

Aleksandar Vukic

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1+4.1±3.5+2.9+1.1
FH to the middle · rally+2.3±1.8+0.1+2.2
BH to the middle · return+2.1±1.7−0.3+2.4
FH to the middle · return+1.8±2.1−0.9+2.6
FH to their forehand · rally+1.4±2.1+0.6+0.8
FH to the middle · serve +1+0.7±2.3+0.1+0.7

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · serve +1−3.2±2.9−3.5+0.3
FH to their backhand · return +1−2.5±3.4−1.4−1.1
BH to their backhand · return−2.1±2.5−3.5+1.4
FH to their backhand · rally−1.5±2.0−1.8+0.3
BH to their backhand · return +1−1.4±2.8−1.5+0.1

Roberto Bautista Agut

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return+6.3±4.0+3.0+3.4
FH to their forehand · serve +1+5.4±3.0+2.6+2.8
FH to their forehand · return+3.4±4.0+2.2+1.2
FH to their forehand · return +1+3.3±3.6+0.5+2.9
FH to their forehand · rally+3.2±2.2+2.9+0.3
FH to the middle · rally+3.1±1.7+1.3+1.9

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return−1.5±2.6+1.9−3.4
BH slice to their backhand · rally−1.4±2.1+1.1−2.5
FH to their backhand · return +1−1.4±3.4−1.2−0.2
FH to their backhand · return+0.3±3.4+1.3−1.1
BH to the middle · return+0.4±1.8+1.2−0.8

Against Roberto Bautista Agut-like opponents

Aleksandar Vukic vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–62.3%30.7%
Players most similar to Roberto Bautista Agut2 56.8%25.8%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Casper Ruud, Brandon Nakashima, Gael Monfils, Mariano Navone, Novak Djokovic, Karen Khachanov, Pablo Carreno Busta, Francisco Cerundolo, Roberto Carballes Baena, Bernabe Zapata Miralles. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.