RallyIQ

Game plan

Arthur Fils v Leonardo Mayer

Every number combines what Arthur Fils does well with what Leonardo Mayer allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Arthur Fils wins, best of 3 77%90%: 55%–92% · best of 5: 83%
Serve points won 69.4% / 63.2% Arthur / Leonardo · tour 63.4%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 68%serve 68.7% / 64.8%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Arthur Fils's record against Leonardo Mayer's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: +3.2 on serve, +6.5 on return vs expectation (905 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

CareerArthurLeonardo
Direction choice+0.18 ±0.06
better than 92%
+0.08 ±0.10
better than 78%
Shot selection−0.04 ±0.13
better than 48%
+0.64 ±0.21
better than 97%
Execution+0.20 ±0.45
better than 75%
−1.77 ±0.69
better than 6%
Points left on the table2.31 ±0.10
lower than 83%
2.47 ±0.19
lower than 66%

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.

Arthur Fils serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowArthur winsv LeonardoMatchupOptimal
Wide56%73%77%77.4%±5.348% ▼
Body5%59%65%60.7%±10.90% ▼
T39%79%74%78.5%±4.852% ▲

Optimal v Leonardo Mayer: +0.6±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowArthur winsv LeonardoMatchupOptimal
Wide53%74%80%80.2%±4.766% ▲
Body5%57%65%59.2%±11.90% ▼
T42%73%76%77.3%±5.834% ▼

Optimal v Leonardo Mayer: +0.6±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Leonardo Mayer serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowLeonardo winsv ArthurMatchupOptimal
Wide52%74%72%73.0%±5.165% ▲
Body9%57%67%60.2%±11.50% ▼
T40%73%73%71.2%±6.235% ▼

Optimal v Arthur Fils: +0.4±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +1.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowLeonardo winsv ArthurMatchupOptimal
Wide49%67%71%64.6%±6.146% ▼
Body10%60%66%63.0%±11.30% ▼
T41%69%71%67.3%±6.654% ▲

Optimal v Arthur Fils: +0.5±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.7 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.

Arthur Fils returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LeonardoValue
FH through the middle39%+4.3+1.2−1.2+4.2±2.3
FH slice through the middle22%−4.2+0.6−0.5−4.1±2.0
FH crosscourt15%+5.5+6.2+2.4+14.0±4.2
FH down the line12%+1.7+0.4−1.1+1.0±4.2
FH slice crosscourt6%−4.3±0.0+0.4−4.0±2.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +11.5±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (963 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LeonardoValue
BH through the middle42%+6.4+1.3−1.5+6.2±2.2
BH crosscourt34%+8.8+2.4−0.7+10.5±3.0
BH down the line10%+4.2+2.6−1.0+5.8±4.4
BH slice through the middle9%−4.2−0.1+1.9−2.4±2.4
BH slice down the line3%−8.4−0.9+3.5−5.7±3.1

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.2±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (1115 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LeonardoValue
FH through the middle44%−3.5+1.7−1.9−3.7±2.7
FH crosscourt38%−0.2+0.2−1.9−2.0±4.2
FH down the line15%−1.8+1.5−1.4−1.7±4.7
FH slice through the middle3%−12.7+0.5+0.7−11.4±1.8

Lean FH down the line: +1.3±4.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (287 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LeonardoValue
BH through the middle37%−2.9−2.7−0.2−5.8±2.1
BH crosscourt33%+1.0−0.7−0.2+0.1±2.8
FH through the middle12%−2.9+0.2−1.9−4.6±2.3
BH down the line7%−0.2+1.5+0.9+2.2±4.8
FH inside-in6%+0.6−2.9−1.9−4.3±4.4

Lean BH down the line: +5.1±4.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (914 returns charted)

Leonardo Mayer returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ArthurValue
FH through the middle49%+4.3−1.1+3.0+6.1±2.4
FH down the line26%+1.7−2.3+0.9+0.3±4.0
FH crosscourt14%+5.5−0.8+3.8+8.5±3.9
FH slice through the middle11%−4.2+0.3+0.8−3.2±2.2

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.6±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (208 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ArthurValue
BH through the middle31%+6.4−2.0+3.4+7.8±2.3
BH crosscourt24%+8.8+0.2+2.7+11.7±3.0
BH slice through the middle19%−4.2+1.4+0.5−2.3±2.4
BH down the line13%+4.2+0.9−0.9+4.2±4.5
BH slice crosscourt8%+0.5+0.9+0.8+2.2±3.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.6±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (336 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ArthurValue
FH through the middle39%−3.5+1.3+0.9−1.2±2.4
FH crosscourt33%−0.2−1.0+0.1−1.2±4.1
FH down the line28%−1.8−1.5−2.2−5.5±4.1

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.2±3.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (54 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ArthurValue
BH through the middle34%−2.9−2.2−0.8−6.0±2.1
BH crosscourt32%+1.0−1.5−2.1−2.6±2.7
FH through the middle10%−2.9−1.8+0.9−3.8±2.0
FH inside-in8%+0.6−0.8+0.1−0.1±3.9
FH inside-out8%+1.0−0.5−2.2−1.7±3.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +0.5±2.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (156 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.

Arthur Fils

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally+4.8±3.5+0.7+4.1
FH to their forehand · serve +1+4.0±2.8+0.5+3.5
FH to their forehand · rally+2.0±2.3+0.3+1.7
BH to their forehand · return +1+1.9±4.6+0.6+1.2
FH to their forehand · return+1.7±3.9+1.5+0.2
BH to their forehand · serve +1+1.4±4.3−2.1+3.6

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to the middle · serve +1−4.2±2.4−2.1−2.1
FH to their backhand · return−3.0±3.4−1.7−1.2
BH to the middle · return−1.5±1.8−0.3−1.2
BH to the middle · return +1−1.4±2.3−1.1−0.3
BH to the middle · rally−1.1±1.6−1.6+0.5

Leonardo Mayer

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH slice to the middle · return+3.2±2.4+2.2+1.0
FH to the middle · return+2.1±2.0−0.8+2.9
FH to their forehand · return+1.9±3.9−1.5+3.3
BH to their forehand · return+1.5±4.2+0.8+0.7
BH to their backhand · return+1.3±2.5+1.7−0.4
BH to their backhand · serve +1+1.0±2.8+0.3+0.7

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return +1−5.7±4.7−3.5−2.1
FH to their forehand · rally−4.3±2.2−3.5−0.8
FH to their backhand · return−4.0±3.3−3.8−0.2
BH to their forehand · rally−3.9±3.3−3.3−0.5
FH to their backhand · serve +1−3.0±2.5−0.2−2.8

Against Leonardo Mayer-like opponents

Arthur Fils vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–65.3%35.9%
Players most similar to Leonardo Mayer6 70.1%39.9%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tallon Griekspoor, Felix Auger Aliassime, Alexei Popyrin, Zizou Bergs, Marin Cilic, Roman Safiullin, Lloyd Harris, Thomaz Bellucci. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.