RallyIQ

Game plan

Christopher Oconnell v Roberto Carballes Baena

Every number combines what Christopher Oconnell does well with what Roberto Carballes Baena allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Christopher Oconnell wins, best of 3 53%90%: 24%–80% · best of 5: 53%
Serve points won 62.1% / 61.6% Christopher / Roberto · tour 63.4%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 53%serve 62.1% / 61.6%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Christopher Oconnell's record against Roberto Carballes Baena'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

CareerChristopherRoberto
Direction choice+0.35 ±0.06
better than 99%
−0.06 ±0.09
better than 41%
Shot selection−0.54 ±0.24
better than 10%
+0.14 ±0.19
better than 68%
Execution−0.86 ±0.46
better than 30%
+0.70 ±0.38
better than 89%
Points left on the table2.34 ±0.14
lower than 80%
2.61 ±0.12
lower than 48%

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.

Structural compatibility

Expected edge per 100 rally shots from style alone: Christopher Oconnell +0.40, Roberto Carballes Baena +0.91. Each player's shot mix weighted by their own skill with each shot and by how much the other gives up against it. This is why some rankings gaps don't hold in a given matchup.

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.

Christopher Oconnell serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowChristopher winsv RobertoMatchupOptimal
Wide39%67%71%64.6%±6.852% ▲
Body4%63%62%61.4%±14.80% ▼
T57%73%75%73.1%±6.348% ▼

Optimal v Roberto Carballes Baena: +0.2±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowChristopher winsv RobertoMatchupOptimal
Wide49%74%73%74.8%±6.262% ▲
Body4%52%63%51.3%±16.00% ▼
T48%69%73%70.0%±7.038% ▼

Optimal v Roberto Carballes Baena: +0.2±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +3.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Roberto Carballes Baena serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowRoberto winsv ChristopherMatchupOptimal
Wide46%68%78%73.3%±6.545%
Body12%56%62%54.7%±11.70% ▼
T42%72%80%78.3%±6.055% ▲

Optimal v Christopher Oconnell: +1.1±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +5.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowRoberto winsv ChristopherMatchupOptimal
Wide61%63%72%62.1%±6.848% ▼
Body15%61%59%57.0%±11.914%
T25%63%74%65.5%±8.738% ▲

Optimal v Christopher Oconnell: +0.7±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.3 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.

Christopher Oconnell returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RobertoValue
FH through the middle37%+4.3+1.0+1.6+6.9±2.7
FH down the line28%+1.7−3.0−1.2−2.4±4.5
FH crosscourt25%+5.5−0.4+3.3+8.4±4.4
FH slice through the middle7%−4.2−2.4−0.6−7.3±2.1
FH slice crosscourt3%−4.3−1.2−1.2−6.7±1.8

Lean FH crosscourt: +5.1±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (239 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RobertoValue
BH slice through the middle42%−4.2−0.4−1.2−5.9±2.4
BH slice crosscourt35%+0.5+0.6−2.1−1.0±2.9
BH through the middle10%+6.4−0.4+1.3+7.3±2.5
BH crosscourt5%+8.8−1.9+0.6+7.6±3.1
BH slice down the line5%−8.4−1.7−1.7−11.8±3.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +9.8±3.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (317 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RobertoValue
FH through the middle40%−3.5−0.1+0.4−3.1±2.8
FH crosscourt39%−0.2+1.3+0.8+2.0±4.3
FH down the line20%−1.8−0.2±0.0−2.0±4.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.9±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (84 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RobertoValue
BH slice crosscourt49%−4.0−1.7−2.1−7.8±2.2
BH slice through the middle21%−11.3−2.2±0.0−13.5±1.7
BH through the middle7%−2.9−1.5+1.1−3.3±2.2
BH crosscourt5%+1.0−0.6+0.6+1.1±2.8
FH inside-out5%+1.0+0.8±0.0+1.8±3.2

Lean BH slice crosscourt: −0.8±1.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (189 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Roberto Carballes Baena returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ChristopherValue
FH through the middle48%+4.3+1.9−0.6+5.5±2.5
FH down the line28%+1.7+2.6−1.7+2.6±4.3
FH crosscourt10%+5.5+0.3+3.1+8.9±4.4
FH slice through the middle9%−4.2−0.8−1.0−6.0±2.3
FH slice down the line4%−4.3+1.3−0.1−3.0±2.5

Lean FH crosscourt: +5.4±4.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (452 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ChristopherValue
BH through the middle44%+6.4+0.1+0.9+7.5±2.5
BH crosscourt37%+8.8+2.0−0.2+10.6±3.3
BH slice through the middle9%−4.2+0.4−1.2−5.1±2.5
BH down the line8%+4.2+0.4−1.8+2.7±4.5
BH slice crosscourt3%+0.5−0.1−1.5−1.0±2.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.7±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (393 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ChristopherValue
FH through the middle45%−3.5+0.9+2.3−0.3±2.8
FH down the line43%−1.8−0.8+0.3−2.3±4.7
FH crosscourt13%−0.2+1.0+3.4+4.2±4.2

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.7±4.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (148 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ChristopherValue
BH crosscourt38%+1.0−0.9+0.1+0.2±2.9
BH through the middle33%−2.9+0.9+2.1+0.2±2.4
FH inside-out11%+1.0−0.1+0.3+1.1±3.7
FH through the middle11%−2.9+0.9+2.3+0.3±2.4
BH down the line4%−0.2−0.3±0.0−0.5±4.5

Lean FH inside-out: +0.8±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (297 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.

Christopher Oconnell

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to the middle · return +1+6.1±2.8+3.5+2.6
FH to their forehand · return +1+3.9±3.7+0.5+3.4
FH to the middle · serve +1+3.0±2.6+1.5+1.5
BH to their backhand · return +1+2.7±3.0+1.5+1.1
FH to their backhand · serve +1+2.7±2.9−0.6+3.3
BH slice to their backhand · rally+2.3±1.8+0.6+1.6

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally−4.9±3.8−3.2−1.6
BH slice to their backhand · return−4.3±2.5−1.9−2.5
FH to their backhand · return +1−3.4±3.9−3.3−0.1
FH to their backhand · return−3.2±3.7−2.2−1.0
BH to the middle · rally−1.8±2.0−1.1−0.7

Roberto Carballes Baena

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return+5.7±4.4+1.2+4.5
FH to the middle · return +1+3.6±2.7+1.1+2.5
FH to the middle · rally+3.4±1.9+2.6+0.8
BH to the middle · return +1+3.4±2.5+1.4+1.9
FH to their forehand · rally+3.0±2.2+2.9+0.1
FH to their backhand · rally+2.8±2.0+1.6+1.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · serve +1−3.8±2.7−0.9−2.9
BH slice to their backhand · rally−2.0±2.5−1.8−0.2
FH to their forehand · serve +1−1.5±3.4−0.4−1.1
FH to their backhand · return +1−1.5±3.8−0.5−1.0
BH to their backhand · serve +1−1.3±2.9+1.5−2.8

Against Roberto Carballes Baena-like opponents

Christopher Oconnell vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–60.0%33.9%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Mariano Navone, Novak Djokovic, Jaume Munar, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pedro Martinez, Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Pablo Andujar, Mikhail Kukushkin, Guillermo Coria, Sergi Bruguera. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.