RallyIQ

Game plan

Bernard Tomic v Marcos Baghdatis

Every number combines what Bernard Tomic does well with what Marcos Baghdatis allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Bernard Tomic wins, best of 3 22%90%: 11%–37% · best of 5: 17%
Serve points won 60.4% / 66.6% Bernard / Marcos · tour 63.8%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 24%serve 60.8% / 66.3%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Bernard Tomic's record against Marcos Baghdatis's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −13.1 on serve, −7.7 on return vs expectation (94 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

CareerBernardMarcos
Direction choice−0.04 ±0.07
better than 47%
+0.06 ±0.08
better than 73%
Shot selection−0.84 ±0.21
better than 4%
+0.03 ±0.14
better than 56%
Execution+0.36 ±0.52
better than 81%
+0.25 ±0.57
better than 78%
Points left on the table2.40 ±0.12
lower than 72%
2.25 ±0.14
lower than 89%

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.

Bernard Tomic serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowBernard winsv MarcosMatchupOptimal
Wide52%70%68%64.7%±5.446% ▼
Body7%68%66%70.6%±10.50% ▼
T41%74%75%74.2%±5.254% ▲

Optimal v Marcos Baghdatis: +0.4±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +5.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowBernard winsv MarcosMatchupOptimal
Wide60%73%71%71.7%±5.256% ▼
Body9%55%61%53.5%±12.10% ▼
T31%72%72%72.0%±5.844% ▲

Optimal v Marcos Baghdatis: +1.0±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +1.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Marcos Baghdatis serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowMarcos winsv BernardMatchupOptimal
Wide44%70%75%71.5%±5.557% ▲
Body4%56%70%63.7%±11.90% ▼
T52%79%77%80.3%±4.643% ▼

Optimal v Bernard Tomic: +0.2±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +4.5 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowMarcos winsv BernardMatchupOptimal
Wide47%77%78%81.6%±4.860% ▲
Body5%54%66%57.2%±12.90% ▼
T49%72%74%74.1%±5.540% ▼

Optimal v Bernard Tomic: +0.4±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.

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.

Bernard Tomic returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarcosValue
FH through the middle38%+4.3+1.6−0.1+5.8±2.6
FH down the line26%+1.7+6.4+2.7+10.8±4.2
FH crosscourt16%+5.5+4.2−5.0+4.7±4.3
FH slice through the middle15%−4.2+0.7+2.8−0.7±2.4
FH slice down the line4%−4.3−0.2+2.0−2.5±2.9

Lean FH down the line: +5.2±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (396 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarcosValue
BH through the middle31%+6.4+2.3−0.9+7.9±2.6
BH slice through the middle23%−4.2+2.2+1.9−0.2±2.4
BH crosscourt19%+8.8+1.8+1.6+12.2±3.5
BH slice crosscourt11%+0.5−0.2+1.8+2.1±3.0
BH down the line9%+4.2+5.8−0.3+9.7±4.6

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.7±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (390 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarcosValue
FH through the middle49%−3.5+1.1+0.3−2.1±2.9
FH down the line37%−1.8−1.8+1.7−1.9±4.6
FH crosscourt14%−0.2+2.5+4.5+6.8±4.1

Lean FH down the line: −1.2±3.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (100 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarcosValue
BH through the middle37%−2.9+2.8+0.9+0.8±2.1
BH crosscourt29%+1.0+1.7+0.7+3.4±2.8
BH down the line10%−0.2−0.3+0.5±0.0±4.8
BH slice crosscourt7%−4.0−0.5+2.1−2.4±2.5
BH slice through the middle5%−11.3+0.7+0.6−9.9±2.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.8±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (369 returns charted)

Marcos Baghdatis returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BernardValue
FH through the middle33%+4.3+3.3+3.3+10.9±2.5
FH slice through the middle22%−4.2+2.2+2.2+0.2±2.2
FH down the line21%+1.7+1.1+4.6+7.5±4.3
FH slice down the line10%−4.3+1.1+3.0−0.2±3.2
FH crosscourt9%+5.5−0.9+2.7+7.3±4.3

Lean FH through the middle: +5.1±2.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (539 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BernardValue
BH through the middle41%+6.4+0.6+1.7+8.6±2.3
BH crosscourt25%+8.8+2.6+4.1+15.5±3.2
BH down the line16%+4.2+3.5+5.9+13.6±4.6
BH slice through the middle10%−4.2−2.4+3.1−3.5±2.3
BH slice crosscourt4%+0.5+0.3+3.4+4.2±2.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.2±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (528 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BernardValue
FH through the middle54%−3.5+0.6+0.7−2.1±2.8
FH down the line36%−1.8−0.4+4.1+1.9±4.7
FH crosscourt10%−0.2+0.7+3.6+4.1±3.9

Lean FH down the line: +2.0±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (112 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BernardValue
BH through the middle44%−2.9+0.6+1.3−1.0±2.2
BH crosscourt33%+1.0+0.9+5.3+7.3±3.0
BH down the line19%−0.2+2.7+2.9+5.5±5.0
FH through the middle4%−2.9−0.8+0.7−3.0±2.1

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.4±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (324 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 hard. Each player's hard record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Bernard Tomic

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return+8.6±4.6+6.0+2.6
FH to their forehand · return+5.7±5.6+6.7−1.0
BH to the middle · serve +1+4.7±3.3+2.0+2.7
BH to their forehand · return+4.2±5.6+3.8+0.5
BH to their backhand · return +1+2.6±4.0+1.4+1.2
BH slice to their backhand · return+2.4±4.1−0.1+2.4

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return +1−7.5±6.8−6.8−0.7
FH to their backhand · return +1−3.1±4.6−2.7−0.4
BH to the middle · return +1−2.2±3.4−0.1−2.1
FH to their forehand · serve +1−2.0±3.6−1.2−0.8
BH to their forehand · serve +1−1.6±6.1−5.8+4.1

Marcos Baghdatis

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return+12.8±5.5+2.8+10.1
FH to their backhand · return+8.4±4.6+2.3+6.1
BH to their backhand · return+8.3±3.2+2.8+5.5
FH to their forehand · return+7.5±6.2+1.9+5.6
FH to the middle · return+6.5±2.6+2.9+3.6
BH to the middle · serve +1+5.3±3.2+1.2+4.1

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH slice to their forehand · rally−6.9±4.6−4.1−2.8
BH to their forehand · rally−3.4±3.8−1.9−1.5
FH to their backhand · serve +1−3.0±3.4−2.9−0.1
BH to their forehand · serve +1−2.9±6.4−1.9−1.1
FH to their backhand · return +1−2.5±4.5−1.2−1.3

Against Marcos Baghdatis-like opponents

Bernard Tomic vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–63.7%32.8%
Players most similar to Marcos Baghdatis1 48.9%26.0%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Frances Tiafoe, Jack Draper, Benjamin Bonzi, Richard Gasquet, Otto Virtanen, Andy Murray, Andreas Seppi, Janko Tipsarevic, David Nalbandian, Marat Safin. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.