RallyIQ

Game plan

Andreas Seppi v Aaron Krickstein

Every number combines what Andreas Seppi does well with what Aaron Krickstein allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Andreas Seppi wins, best of 3 54%90%: 20%–85% · best of 5: 55%
Serve points won 62.7% / 61.9% Andreas / Aaron · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 57%serve 63.4% / 62.0%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Andreas Seppi's record against Aaron Krickstein's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −18.5 on serve, +4.8 on return vs expectation (109 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

CareerAndreasAaron
Direction choice−0.08 ±0.05
better than 36%
+0.07 ±0.18
better than 76%
Shot selection−0.27 ±0.12
better than 26%
−0.77 ±0.21
better than 5%
Execution−0.27 ±0.42
better than 54%
+1.53 ±0.89
better than 99%
Points left on the table2.46 ±0.08
lower than 67%
2.54 ±0.18
lower than 57%

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.

Andreas Seppi serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAndreas winsv AaronMatchupOptimal
Wide48%68%76%71.5%±8.361% ▲
Body4%62%64%63.4%±12.84%
T49%72%74%71.9%±7.735% ▼

Optimal v Aaron Krickstein: +0.5±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +0.5 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAndreas winsv AaronMatchupOptimal
Wide49%72%72%70.6%±7.342% ▼
Body6%55%68%59.4%±13.80% ▼
T45%67%69%63.0%±9.658% ▲

Optimal v Aaron Krickstein: +0.4±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Aaron Krickstein serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAaron winsv AndreasMatchupOptimal
Wide45%69%72%67.8%±7.642% ▼
Body10%64%64%65.1%±12.40% ▼
T45%68%78%70.9%±8.058% ▲

Optimal v Andreas Seppi: +0.5±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAaron winsv AndreasMatchupOptimal
Wide40%65%79%72.1%±7.653% ▲
Body11%63%65%65.6%±12.80% ▼
T49%63%75%67.4%±7.847% ▼

Optimal v Andreas Seppi: +0.5±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +3.0 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.

Andreas Seppi returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AaronValue
FH through the middle50%+4.3+0.8−1.0+4.1±2.7
FH down the line21%+1.7−0.7+3.1+4.2±4.4
FH crosscourt19%+5.5−0.1−0.4+5.0±4.4
FH slice through the middle5%−4.2−0.8+0.5−4.5±1.9
FH slice down the line2%−4.3−3.1±0.0−7.3±1.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.6±3.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (470 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AaronValue
BH through the middle34%+6.4±0.0−1.8+4.6±2.7
BH slice through the middle25%−4.2−2.3+2.4−4.1±2.4
BH crosscourt18%+8.8+1.4+0.9+11.1±3.3
BH slice crosscourt8%+0.5−1.5+3.2+2.3±3.0
BH slice down the line8%−8.4−1.8+3.2−7.0±3.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +8.6±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (479 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AaronValue
FH through the middle50%−3.5+1.4+2.4+0.4±2.9
FH down the line28%−1.8−0.1+2.7+0.8±4.7
FH crosscourt22%−0.2−1.0+0.8−0.4±4.3

Lean FH down the line: +0.5±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (127 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AaronValue
BH through the middle43%−2.9−0.3+3.0−0.2±2.4
BH crosscourt37%+1.0+2.2+0.6+3.8±3.1
BH down the line13%−0.2+2.4+1.3+3.5±5.0
BH slice through the middle2%−11.3−2.1+3.2−10.2±2.0
FH inside-in2%+0.6−0.5+0.8+0.8±3.6

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.3±2.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (338 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Aaron Krickstein returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreasValue
FH crosscourt40%+5.5±0.0+0.8+6.3±4.3
FH through the middle40%+4.3+0.3+1.9+6.4±2.7
FH down the line20%+1.7+0.5−1.5+0.8±4.1

Lean FH through the middle: +1.1±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (102 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreasValue
BH through the middle47%+6.4+1.3−1.2+6.5±2.5
BH crosscourt39%+8.8+1.0+6.1+15.9±3.5
BH down the line10%+4.2+1.2+1.9+7.3±4.4
BH slice through the middle4%−4.2+0.7+0.2−3.3±2.1

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.0±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (196 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreasValue
BH crosscourt39%+1.0+2.0+1.4+4.5±3.0
BH through the middle28%−2.9+0.6+1.2−1.1±2.3
BH down the line14%−0.2−2.1+2.9+0.6±4.7
FH through the middle13%−2.9+0.9−1.0−3.0±2.2
FH inside-in6%+0.6−0.3+1.3+1.6±3.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.2±2.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (122 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 on grass. Each player's grass record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Andreas Seppi

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1+6.9±5.1+3.3+3.6
BH to their forehand · return +1+4.8±5.1+0.2+4.6
FH to their backhand · return+4.7±4.7+0.9+3.8
BH to their forehand · rally+2.4±4.7−0.1+2.5
FH to their backhand · return +1+2.3±5.0+1.6+0.8
BH to their backhand · return +1+2.1±4.2+2.6−0.5

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · rally−1.3±3.2−0.2−1.1
FH to their backhand · rally−1.2±3.6−1.7+0.6
FH to their forehand · serve +1−0.9±4.8−3.4+2.5
FH to their forehand · rally−0.7±3.8−1.0+0.3
BH to the middle · rally−0.6±2.6+0.8−1.4

Aaron Krickstein

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return+8.2±4.1+2.9+5.4
BH to their forehand · return+5.1±4.4+2.3+2.9
FH to their backhand · return +1+4.9±4.8+1.9+3.0
FH to the middle · return+3.8±3.3+1.2+2.5
BH to their backhand · serve +1+3.7±3.7−0.3+4.0
BH slice to the middle · rally+3.6±2.8+3.2+0.4

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to the middle · serve +1−2.0±3.1+0.3−2.3
BH to the middle · rally−1.2±2.5−0.5−0.6
FH to their backhand · rally−0.9±3.7+0.8−1.7
FH to their forehand · rally−0.5±3.8+0.6−1.2
FH to their forehand · serve +1+0.1±4.6−1.4+1.6

Against Aaron Krickstein-like opponents

Andreas Seppi vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–61.2%34.1%
Players most similar to Aaron Krickstein1 44.8%37.3%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Andy Murray, John Millman, Gilles Simon, Marcos Baghdatis, David Ferrer, Andy Roddick, Guillermo Canas, Michael Chang, Bjorn Borg. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.