RallyIQ

Game plan

Bjorn Borg v Diego Schwartzman

Every number combines what Bjorn Borg does well with what Diego Schwartzman allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Bjorn Borg wins, best of 3 68%90%: 33%–91% · best of 5: 72%
Serve points won 63.1% / 59.5% Bjorn / Diego · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 68%serve 63.1% / 59.5%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Bjorn Borg's record against Diego Schwartzman's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads. 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

CareerBjornDiego
Direction choice−0.13 ±0.11
better than 23%
−0.08 ±0.08
better than 36%
Shot selection−0.06 ±0.27
better than 45%
−0.16 ±0.09
better than 33%
Execution+1.07 ±0.51
better than 96%
+0.13 ±0.29
better than 74%
Points left on the table3.05 ±0.34
lower than 18%
2.35 ±0.12
lower than 79%

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.

Bjorn Borg serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowBjorn winsv DiegoMatchupOptimal
Wide59%72%72%70.7%±4.872% ▲
Body8%65%52%53.0%±11.50% ▼
T33%73%74%71.6%±6.128% ▼

Optimal v Diego Schwartzman: +0.5±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowBjorn winsv DiegoMatchupOptimal
Wide38%70%75%72.6%±5.852% ▲
Body9%58%54%48.3%±11.20% ▼
T53%67%70%64.6%±5.648% ▼

Optimal v Diego Schwartzman: +1.0±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +6.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Diego Schwartzman serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowDiego winsv BjornMatchupOptimal
Wide53%66%66%58.6%±6.253%
Body17%62%62%60.6%±8.430% ▲
T30%66%60%50.2%±6.417% ▼

Optimal v Bjorn Borg: +0.8±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving body every time would read +4.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowDiego winsv BjornMatchupOptimal
Wide36%65%63%54.2%±5.823% ▼
Body16%63%55%55.1%±10.629% ▲
T48%61%67%54.8%±7.048%

Optimal v Bjorn Borg: +0.6±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving body every time would read +0.5 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.

Bjorn Borg returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DiegoValue
FH through the middle59%+4.3+1.1+2.6+7.9±2.1
FH crosscourt21%+5.5+2.2+3.0+10.6±4.0
FH down the line17%+1.7+0.4+0.7+2.7±3.9
BH through the middle2%+6.6+1.1+1.9+9.5±1.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.0±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (321 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DiegoValue
BH through the middle41%+6.4−0.3+1.9+8.0±1.8
BH crosscourt30%+8.8+2.9+1.3+13.0±2.7
BH down the line14%+4.2+3.7+0.5+8.4±4.3
BH slice through the middle7%−4.2+0.7+0.5−3.1±2.5
BH slice crosscourt3%+0.5+1.2−1.2+0.5±2.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.7±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (687 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DiegoValue
FH through the middle51%−3.5+1.9−0.4−2.0±2.5
FH crosscourt31%−0.2+2.2−0.8+1.1±4.2
FH down the line19%−1.8+3.0+1.8+3.0±4.1

Lean FH down the line: +3.1±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (108 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DiegoValue
BH crosscourt31%+1.0+2.2+2.0+5.2±2.9
BH through the middle27%−2.9−1.3+1.3−2.9±2.2
FH through the middle17%−2.9+2.0−0.4−1.3±2.1
FH inside-out11%+1.0+1.1+1.8+3.9±3.4
BH down the line8%−0.2+2.6+3.8+6.1±4.7

Lean BH down the line: +4.5±4.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (372 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Diego Schwartzman returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BjornValue
FH through the middle47%+4.3+0.3+2.0+6.6±2.2
FH crosscourt20%+5.5−0.1−1.0+4.4±4.1
FH slice through the middle16%−4.2−1.7+2.7−3.1±2.2
FH down the line11%+1.7−2.4+4.3+3.5±4.2
FH slice crosscourt4%−4.3−0.8+0.4−4.8±2.4

Lean FH through the middle: +2.9±1.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (870 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BjornValue
BH through the middle40%+6.4+1.3−1.2+6.5±2.2
BH crosscourt29%+8.8−1.1+0.8+8.5±3.1
BH slice through the middle17%−4.2−2.3+1.7−4.8±2.2
BH down the line6%+4.2+2.7−0.4+6.5±4.5
BH slice crosscourt5%+0.5+0.2+0.2+0.9±3.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.0±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (792 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BjornValue
FH through the middle61%−3.5+1.1+0.9−1.5±2.6
FH crosscourt27%−0.2−0.1+2.3+2.0±4.3
FH down the line12%−1.8+0.8−0.1−1.1±4.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.5±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (230 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv BjornValue
BH crosscourt49%+1.0−1.3+0.8+0.5±2.9
BH through the middle38%−2.9+2.8+0.8+0.7±2.2
BH down the line6%−0.2+0.8−1.0−0.5±4.9
FH through the middle3%−2.9−0.4+0.9−2.4±2.1
FH inside-in2%+0.6−0.8+2.3+2.0±3.7

Lean BH through the middle: +0.4±2.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (551 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 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.

Bjorn Borg

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return+11.5±4.7+9.0+2.5
BH to their backhand · return+6.3±4.5+4.1+2.2
BH to the middle · serve +1+5.5±3.4+3.0+2.5
FH to their backhand · return+5.3±4.5+4.0+1.3
BH to their backhand · rally+5.2±3.7+1.9+3.2
FH to the middle · return+4.9±3.5+0.6+4.3

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1−5.2±6.0−3.7−1.5
BH to their backhand · serve +1−3.5±4.4−0.7−2.8
FH volley to their forehand · rally−1.5±7.3−1.2−0.3
BH to the middle · rally−0.7±2.8−1.9+1.2
FH to the middle · rally−0.4±3.2−1.1+0.7

Diego Schwartzman

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH volley to their forehand · rally+10.7±7.3+4.2+6.5
FH to their forehand · return +1+6.9±5.9+1.1+5.8
FH to the middle · return +1+5.6±3.1+2.8+2.8
FH to the middle · rally+5.2±3.2+3.8+1.4
FH to the middle · serve +1+4.5±3.6+2.0+2.5
FH slice to the middle · return+4.2±2.7+0.9+3.3

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH volley to their forehand · rally−7.1±7.1−0.9−6.1
BH to their backhand · return +1−5.9±5.0−0.3−5.5
FH to their forehand · serve +1−2.1±5.4+1.6−3.7
BH slice to their backhand · rally−2.0±3.1−1.1−0.9
BH slice to their forehand · rally−2.0±3.8−2.2+0.3

Against Diego Schwartzman-like opponents

Bjorn Borg vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–64.1%43.9%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Daniil Medvedev, Sebastian Baez, Pablo Carreno Busta, Miomir Kecmanovic, Alexandre Muller, Gilles Simon, Carlos Berlocq, David Ferrer, Hyeon Chung. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.