RallyIQ

Game plan

Gilles Simon v Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Every number combines what Gilles Simon does well with what Tomas Martin Etcheverry allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Gilles Simon wins, best of 3 49%90%: 25%–73% · best of 5: 48%
Serve points won 57.1% / 57.3% Gilles / Tomas · tour 61.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 49%serve 57.5% / 57.6%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Gilles Simon's record against Tomas Martin Etcheverry's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −5.1 on serve, +3.7 on return vs expectation (286 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

CareerGillesTomas
Direction choice−0.03 ±0.06
better than 49%
−0.03 ±0.09
better than 49%
Shot selection−0.07 ±0.08
better than 44%
+0.41 ±0.17
better than 87%
Execution+1.17 ±0.30
better than 97%
+0.75 ±0.38
better than 90%
Points left on the table2.26 ±0.09
lower than 88%
2.46 ±0.11
lower than 66%

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.

Gilles Simon serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowGilles winsv TomasMatchupOptimal
Wide53%66%73%65.3%±5.058% ▲
Body7%57%58%52.2%±10.90% ▼
T41%72%77%73.8%±5.342% ▲

Optimal v Tomas Martin Etcheverry: +0.3±0.4 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +6.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowGilles winsv TomasMatchupOptimal
Wide40%67%71%65.4%±6.138% ▼
Body9%64%64%64.8%±10.022% ▲
T52%65%68%60.5%±5.740% ▼

Optimal v Tomas Martin Etcheverry: +0.2±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowTomas winsv GillesMatchupOptimal
Wide54%76%72%74.9%±4.367% ▲
Body11%62%55%53.5%±9.70% ▼
T35%71%76%71.9%±5.733% ▼

Optimal v Gilles Simon: +0.9±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +3.5 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowTomas winsv GillesMatchupOptimal
Wide44%72%70%68.7%±5.638% ▼
Body7%60%62%58.5%±11.60% ▼
T49%73%69%70.9%±5.262% ▲

Optimal v Gilles Simon: +0.6±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.8 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.

Gilles Simon returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
FH through the middle48%+4.3+2.2−1.0+5.5±2.0
FH crosscourt17%+5.5+2.3+0.5+8.3±3.9
FH down the line15%+1.7+1.1−1.0+1.7±4.0
FH slice through the middle12%−4.2+0.1−1.7−5.8±2.2
FH slice down the line5%−4.3−3.6+0.7−7.2±2.8

Lean FH crosscourt: +5.2±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (1104 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
BH through the middle44%+6.4+3.1+0.3+9.8±2.1
BH crosscourt32%+8.8+2.3−2.2+8.8±3.0
BH down the line12%+4.2+3.3−1.5+6.1±4.5
BH slice through the middle5%−4.2−0.4±0.0−4.6±2.5
BH slice crosscourt4%+0.5−4.2+0.2−3.5±2.9

Lean BH through the middle: +2.6±1.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (935 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
FH through the middle55%−3.5+1.7+0.1−1.7±2.6
FH crosscourt34%−0.2−1.1−0.7−2.0±4.3
FH down the line10%−1.8−0.5+1.5−0.8±4.6

Lean FH down the line: +0.9±4.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (294 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
BH crosscourt44%+1.0+2.0−0.5+2.5±2.5
BH through the middle36%−2.9+1.5+1.1−0.3±2.0
BH down the line11%−0.2−0.7−0.8−1.7±4.9
FH through the middle5%−2.9+0.8+0.1−2.0±2.3
FH inside-in3%+0.6+1.0−0.7+0.9±4.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +1.8±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (719 returns charted)

Tomas Martin Etcheverry returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv GillesValue
FH through the middle50%+4.3+0.5+3.6+8.4±2.0
FH down the line23%+1.7+1.3+2.8+5.8±3.7
FH crosscourt19%+5.5−0.3+3.9+9.0±3.7
FH slice through the middle6%−4.2−0.9+0.9−4.2±2.2
FH slice down the line2%−4.3−1.4−0.1−5.8±2.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.2±3.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (491 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv GillesValue
BH through the middle42%+6.4−0.3+2.5+8.6±2.2
BH crosscourt26%+8.8−2.0+4.0+10.8±3.2
BH down the line16%+4.2−0.6+2.3+5.9±4.6
BH slice through the middle7%−4.2−0.1+3.5−0.7±2.2
BH slice crosscourt5%+0.5−1.3+1.8+1.0±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.8±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (415 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv GillesValue
FH through the middle54%−3.5+2.3−0.4−1.6±2.6
FH down the line25%−1.8+3.8+1.5+3.6±4.2
FH crosscourt21%−0.2−0.6+1.7+0.9±4.0

Lean FH down the line: +3.4±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (140 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv GillesValue
BH through the middle37%−2.9+1.8+2.4+1.3±2.0
BH crosscourt29%+1.0+0.8+2.1+3.9±2.6
FH through the middle14%−2.9−1.8−0.4−5.1±2.2
FH inside-out10%+1.0−0.4+1.5+2.1±3.3
BH down the line6%−0.2−0.8+1.3+0.3±4.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.7±2.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (334 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 clay. Each player's clay record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Gilles Simon

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return +1+5.6±6.3+3.0+2.5
FH to their forehand · rally+5.3±2.4+2.6+2.7
FH to their forehand · return +1+4.7±4.8+1.7+3.0
FH to their forehand · serve +1+4.4±3.9+0.9+3.5
BH to their forehand · rally+4.3±3.7+1.2+3.1
FH to their backhand · rally+4.2±2.3+1.4+2.8

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH volley to their forehand · rally−11.8±8.8−5.7−6.1
BH slice to their backhand · rally−3.0±3.5−3.5+0.4
BH slice to the middle · rally−1.8±3.3+0.4−2.1
FH to their backhand · return−1.7±4.5+0.2−2.0
BH to their backhand · return−1.7±3.0+0.8−2.5

Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return+6.3±4.9+1.3+5.0
FH to their backhand · return+5.8±3.9+3.9+1.9
FH to their forehand · rally+4.7±2.3+2.7+2.0
FH to their forehand · return +1+4.4±4.6+3.5+0.9
FH to the middle · return +1+4.3±3.4+2.7+1.6
BH to the middle · return+3.9±2.4+2.0+1.9

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH slice to their backhand · rally−1.0±3.0−2.0+1.1
BH to their backhand · serve +1±0.0±3.8−0.2+0.3
BH slice to the middle · rally+0.1±2.8−3.0+3.1
FH to their backhand · serve +1+0.6±3.2+1.3−0.7
BH to the middle · serve +1+0.8±3.3−0.1+0.8

Against Tomas Martin Etcheverry-like opponents

Gilles Simon vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–59.7%38.1%
Players most similar to Tomas Martin Etcheverry1 55.9%44.1%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Casper Ruud, Sebastian Baez, Jaume Munar, Pablo Carreno Busta, Miomir Kecmanovic, Diego Schwartzman, Carlos Berlocq, David Ferrer, Guillermo Canas. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.