Game plan

Blaz Kavcic v Camilo Ugo Carabelli

Every number combines what Blaz Kavcic does well with what Camilo Ugo Carabelli allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Blaz Kavcic wins, best of 3 26%90%: 5%–63% · best of 5: 21%

Serve points won 59.0% / 64.0% Blaz / Camilo · tour 63.8%

Strengths only, no similarity priors 26%serve 59.0% / 64.0%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Blaz Kavcic's record against Camilo Ugo Carabelli'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.

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.

Blaz Kavcic serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Blaz wins	v Camilo	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	47%	65%	70%	61.1%±11.6	41% ▼
Body	13%	61%	67%	64.8%±15.1	6% ▼
T	40%	68%	74%	67.1%±11.7	53% ▲

Optimal v Camilo Ugo Carabelli: +0.4±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serve	Now	Blaz wins	v Camilo	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	44%	66%	67%	60.3%±12.0	31% ▼
Body	12%	62%	58%	56.8%±17.0	12%
T	44%	67%	71%	65.8%±12.3	57% ▲

Optimal v Camilo Ugo Carabelli: +0.3±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.5 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Camilo Ugo Carabelli serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Camilo wins	v Blaz	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	31%	75%	77%	78.6%±9.7	44% ▲
Body	28%	62%	58%	56.5%±15.7	15% ▼
T	41%	68%	77%	70.7%±11.2	41%

Optimal v Blaz Kavcic: +1.0±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +9.5 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serve	Now	Camilo wins	v Blaz	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	33%	68%	80%	75.9%±10.6	46% ▲
Body	14%	59%	64%	59.9%±16.8	1% ▼
T	52%	67%	70%	65.2%±12.0	53%

Optimal v Blaz Kavcic: +0.7±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +7.9 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.

Blaz Kavcic returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Camilo	Value
FH through the middle	57%	+4.3	+2.0	−0.3	+6.0±3.0
FH down the line	20%	+1.7	+1.2	+0.3	+3.2±4.1
FH slice through the middle	14%	−4.2	+0.9	−0.4	−3.6±1.8
FH crosscourt	9%	+5.5	+1.6	+2.2	+9.3±3.7

Lean FH through the middle: +1.6±1.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (65 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Camilo	Value
BH through the middle	35%	+6.4	−0.1	−1.0	+5.3±2.7
BH slice through the middle	32%	−4.2	−1.4	−1.3	−6.9±2.1
BH crosscourt	14%	+8.8	−2.6	−0.9	+5.3±3.1
BH down the line	9%	+4.2	+2.5	−1.4	+5.3±3.7
BH slice crosscourt	9%	+0.5	−1.8	−0.6	−1.8±2.1

Lean BH through the middle: +4.6±2.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (65 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Camilo	Value
BH through the middle	68%	−2.9	+0.3	+0.6	−2.0±2.6
BH crosscourt	23%	+1.0	−0.2	−0.9	±0.0±3.0
BH down the line	9%	−0.2	−1.3	−0.7	−2.2±3.8

Lean BH through the middle: −0.4±1.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (56 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Camilo Ugo Carabelli returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Blaz	Value
FH through the middle	39%	+4.3	±0.0	+1.3	+5.6±3.1
FH slice through the middle	25%	−4.2	−1.2	±0.0	−5.4±1.6
FH down the line	15%	+1.7	−2.2	+2.8	+2.2±4.2
FH crosscourt	9%	+5.5	+0.1	+2.6	+8.3±3.7
FH slice down the line	8%	−4.3	−1.2	±0.0	−5.4±1.7

Lean FH through the middle: +4.2±2.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (137 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Blaz	Value
BH through the middle	42%	+6.4	+1.5	−0.8	+7.1±2.8
BH crosscourt	27%	+8.8	+0.5	+1.0	+10.3±3.1
BH down the line	21%	+4.2	−0.4	+2.2	+5.9±3.8
BH slice down the line	3%	−8.4	+0.2	±0.0	−8.2±1.6
BH slice through the middle	3%	−4.2	+0.4	−0.9	−4.8±2.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.7±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (172 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Blaz	Value
FH through the middle	65%	−3.5	−0.6	+0.4	−3.7±2.7
FH down the line	19%	−1.8	+0.2	+2.5	+0.9±3.7
FH crosscourt	16%	−0.2	+0.9	+2.5	+3.2±2.7

Lean FH through the middle: −2.0±1.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (43 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Blaz	Value
BH crosscourt	33%	+1.0	±0.0	−1.0	±0.0±2.9
BH through the middle	22%	−2.9	−2.0	+0.7	−4.1±2.2
FH through the middle	19%	−2.9	+0.2	+0.4	−2.3±2.2
FH inside-out	18%	+1.0	+1.0	+2.5	+4.5±3.2
BH down the line	7%	−0.2	−3.6	±0.0	−3.8±2.3

Lean FH inside-out: +5.3±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (94 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.

Blaz Kavcic

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to the middle · rally	+4.4±3.5	+3.6	+0.9
BH to their backhand · rally	+2.0±3.6	+0.9	+1.1
BH to the middle · rally	−0.1±3.1	+0.6	−0.7
BH to the middle · return	−2.7±3.7	−2.4	−0.3
FH to their forehand · rally	−3.5±4.5	+1.1	−4.6
FH to their backhand · rally	−6.2±4.6	−4.0	−2.2

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their backhand · rally	−6.2±4.6	−4.0	−2.2
FH to their forehand · rally	−3.5±4.5	+1.1	−4.6
BH to the middle · return	−2.7±3.7	−2.4	−0.3
BH to the middle · rally	−0.1±3.1	+0.6	−0.7
BH to their backhand · rally	+2.0±3.6	+0.9	+1.1

Camilo Ugo Carabelli

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to the middle · rally	+5.5±3.4	+3.2	+2.3
FH to their forehand · rally	+4.8±4.6	+2.5	+2.2
BH to the middle · rally	+1.6±3.2	+0.9	+0.6
FH to the middle · return	+1.2±4.1	−1.2	+2.4
FH to their backhand · rally	+0.8±4.2	+1.2	−0.4
BH to their backhand · rally	+0.5±3.7	+1.8	−1.2

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their backhand · serve +1	−2.7±5.6	−2.3	−0.4
BH slice to their backhand · rally	−0.6±3.6	−0.6	±0.0
BH to their backhand · rally	+0.5±3.7	+1.8	−1.2
FH to their backhand · rally	+0.8±4.2	+1.2	−0.4
FH to the middle · return	+1.2±4.1	−1.2	+2.4

Against Camilo Ugo Carabelli-like opponents

Blaz Kavcic v	Matches	Serve pts won	Return pts won
All charted opponents	–	54.2%	31.2%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Jesper De Jong, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Alex De Minaur, Botic Van De Zandschulp, Miomir Kecmanovic, Taro Daniel, Emil Ruusuvuori, Juan Martin Del Potro, David Ferrer, Guillermo Canas. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.