RallyIQ

Game plan

Daniela Hantuchova v Sabine Lisicki

Every number combines what Daniela Hantuchova does well with what Sabine Lisicki allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Daniela Hantuchova wins, best of 3 43%90%: 14%–76% · best of 5: 41%
Serve points won 58.9% / 60.3% Daniela / Sabine · tour 58.1%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 43%serve 58.9% / 60.3%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Daniela Hantuchova's record against Sabine Lisicki'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

CareerDanielaSabine
Direction choice+0.36 ±0.08
better than 97%
+0.02 ±0.12
better than 56%
Shot selection+0.10 ±0.14
better than 55%
+0.35 ±0.13
better than 83%
Execution+0.31 ±0.66
better than 73%
−1.31 ±0.65
better than 13%
Points left on the table2.27 ±0.10
lower than 87%
2.61 ±0.18
lower than 50%

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.

Daniela Hantuchova serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowDaniela winsv SabineMatchupOptimal
Wide49%70%69%72.7%±6.564% ▲
Body13%54%62%59.1%±10.70% ▼
T39%60%65%56.4%±8.636% ▼

Optimal v Sabine Lisicki: +0.4±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +8.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowDaniela winsv SabineMatchupOptimal
Wide47%70%67%71.1%±7.262% ▲
Body9%53%59%55.6%±11.60% ▼
T43%63%63%61.0%±8.238% ▼

Optimal v Sabine Lisicki: +0.5±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +5.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Sabine Lisicki serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowSabine winsv DanielaMatchupOptimal
Wide46%69%67%69.7%±7.050% ▲
Body18%60%57%60.1%±10.03% ▼
T36%75%76%82.0%±6.247% ▲

Optimal v Daniela Hantuchova: +0.8±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +9.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowSabine winsv DanielaMatchupOptimal
Wide40%73%68%75.2%±7.155% ▲
Body18%50%56%50.5%±11.43% ▼
T42%65%61%61.0%±8.142%

Optimal v Daniela Hantuchova: +1.3±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +10.5 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.

Daniela Hantuchova returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SabineValue
FH through the middle34%+4.2−1.1−0.1+3.0±2.9
FH crosscourt32%+5.3+2.2+0.4+7.8±4.3
FH down the line27%+1.5−1.4+1.2+1.4±4.6
FH slice through the middle7%−6.7+0.5+1.9−4.3±2.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.2±3.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (246 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SabineValue
BH through the middle33%+6.0+0.5−2.6+4.0±2.8
BH slice through the middle24%−6.2+0.8+0.6−4.8±2.4
BH crosscourt18%+7.7+0.2+0.3+8.3±3.5
BH down the line10%+2.2+1.3−2.4+1.1±4.4
BH slice crosscourt10%−4.2−2.6−0.4−7.1±2.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +8.0±3.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (188 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SabineValue
FH crosscourt39%+0.5+0.9−0.7+0.8±4.5
FH through the middle39%−3.2+0.8+0.8−1.6±3.0
FH down the line22%−0.6−1.1−0.7−2.4±5.1

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.6±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (105 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SabineValue
BH crosscourt47%+1.5+1.5+1.0+4.1±3.5
BH through the middle43%−2.6−0.5+0.5−2.6±2.7
BH down the line10%−0.5−0.1+1.0+0.3±4.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.2±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (110 returns charted)

Sabine Lisicki returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
FH through the middle44%+4.2−0.6−0.2+3.3±2.8
FH crosscourt24%+5.3−0.6−2.0+2.7±4.3
FH down the line21%+1.5+4.0−0.4+5.1±4.7
FH slice through the middle6%−6.7+1.6+0.2−5.0±2.4
FH slice crosscourt3%−6.6−0.1+1.2−5.5±2.0

Lean FH down the line: +2.6±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (340 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
BH through the middle46%+6.0+0.9+1.9+8.9±2.6
BH crosscourt25%+7.7−0.8−1.7+5.3±3.6
BH down the line22%+2.2+2.4−3.3+1.2±4.7
BH slice through the middle4%−6.2−0.1−0.8−7.2±2.3
BH slice crosscourt3%−4.2−0.5−1.6−6.3±2.1

Lean BH through the middle: +3.7±2.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (296 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
FH through the middle42%−3.2−0.9+1.3−2.7±3.0
FH down the line31%−0.6+2.0+3.3+4.8±4.9
FH crosscourt27%+0.5+2.3+1.2+4.1±4.0

Lean FH down the line: +3.4±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (64 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv DanielaValue
BH through the middle44%−2.6−1.5+0.6−3.6±2.7
BH crosscourt30%+1.5−3.0±0.0−1.5±3.6
BH down the line21%−0.5−3.3+2.2−1.6±5.2
FH through the middle4%−2.7+0.8+1.3−0.6±2.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +0.9±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (135 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.

Daniela Hantuchova

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · rally+6.8±4.8+3.9+3.0
BH to their backhand · return+6.8±4.9+3.0+3.7
FH to their forehand · return+2.2±5.9+1.6+0.7
BH to their forehand · serve +1+2.2±6.7+0.7+1.5
BH to their backhand · serve +1+1.3±5.1+0.7+0.6
FH to the middle · return+1.3±3.9+1.5−0.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1−6.3±5.9−5.1−1.2
FH to their backhand · return−4.5±5.9−4.3−0.2
BH to their forehand · return +1−4.1±6.2−3.1−1.0
FH to their forehand · serve +1−3.2±5.6−3.1−0.1
BH to their forehand · rally−3.0±6.5−2.1−1.0

Sabine Lisicki

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally+7.2±5.6+4.7+2.5
FH to their backhand · return+6.6±6.0+3.6+3.0
FH to their backhand · return +1+4.4±6.3+2.0+2.4
BH to their backhand · return +1+4.2±5.2+3.6+0.7
FH to their forehand · serve +1+3.2±5.6+0.5+2.7
FH to the middle · rally+2.6±3.2+1.7+0.9

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally−8.7±6.4−9.3+0.6
FH to their forehand · rally−7.4±4.5−3.7−3.7
BH to their backhand · serve +1−5.9±5.2−6.0+0.1
BH to the middle · return +1−3.6±3.3−3.8+0.2
FH to the middle · serve +1−3.5±3.9−3.4−0.1

Against Sabine Lisicki-like opponents

Daniela Hantuchova vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–56.6%41.8%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Madison Keys, Linda Noskova, Aryna Sabalenka, Clara Tauson, Viktoria Hruncakova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Veronika Kudermetova, Kristina Mladenovic. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.