RallyIQ

Game plan

J J Wolf v Milos Raonic

Every number combines what J J Wolf does well with what Milos Raonic allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

J J Wolf wins, best of 3 15%90%: 5%–34% · best of 5: 9%
Serve points won 64.9% / 73.8% J / Milos · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 15%serve 64.9% / 73.8%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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

CareerJMilos
Direction choice−0.12 ±0.22
better than 26%
+0.11 ±0.05
better than 82%
Shot selection+0.48 ±0.32
better than 91%
+0.70 ±0.10
better than 97%
Execution−1.36 ±1.07
better than 13%
−0.74 ±0.34
better than 35%

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.

J J Wolf serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowJ winsv MilosMatchupOptimal
Wide47%70%76%73.4%±7.060% ▲
Body8%64%69%68.8%±11.80% ▼
T45%75%78%77.9%±6.940% ▼

Optimal v Milos Raonic: +0.4±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowJ winsv MilosMatchupOptimal
Wide48%72%78%77.6%±6.861% ▲
Body10%60%66%62.9%±13.00% ▼
T42%60%76%64.6%±8.339% ▼

Optimal v Milos Raonic: +0.9±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +6.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Milos Raonic serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowMilos winsv JMatchupOptimal
Wide49%77%76%80.1%±6.543% ▼
Body7%74%62%72.7%±10.40% ▼
T44%85%74%83.8%±5.157% ▲

Optimal v J J Wolf: +0.8±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +2.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowMilos winsv JMatchupOptimal
Wide55%84%73%83.6%±5.050% ▼
Body7%67%65%69.3%±12.10% ▼
T37%80%69%77.4%±7.250% ▲

Optimal v J J Wolf: +0.8±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide 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.

J J Wolf returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MilosValue
FH through the middle46%+4.3−0.3−1.3+2.7±2.5
FH crosscourt40%+5.5−1.7−3.1+0.6±4.0
FH down the line14%+1.7−0.3−1.5±0.0±3.5

Lean FH through the middle: +1.2±2.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (83 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MilosValue
BH through the middle45%+6.4+1.9−2.1+6.2±2.4
BH crosscourt29%+8.8−1.7−1.8+5.3±3.2
BH down the line17%+4.2+0.9−4.6+0.6±4.2
BH slice through the middle9%−4.2−0.3−0.2−4.7±1.8

Lean BH through the middle: +2.2±1.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (124 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MilosValue
BH crosscourt46%+1.0−2.0−1.6−2.6±2.6
BH through the middle43%−2.9−2.6−0.4−5.9±2.0
BH down the line12%−0.2−1.9−2.8−4.9±3.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +1.7±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (68 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Milos Raonic returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JValue
FH through the middle48%+4.3−0.8±0.0+3.4±2.4
FH crosscourt27%+5.5−3.8+1.1+2.7±3.6
FH down the line17%+1.7−2.5−0.3−1.1±3.8
FH slice through the middle5%−4.2−1.8+0.3−5.6±2.3
FH slice crosscourt1%−4.3−1.3±0.0−5.7±1.9

Lean FH through the middle: +1.6±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1484 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JValue
BH through the middle39%+6.4−0.5+1.0+7.0±2.3
BH crosscourt24%+8.8−2.9+0.9+6.8±2.9
BH slice through the middle14%−4.2−1.5−1.0−6.7±2.1
BH down the line12%+4.2−0.9+2.1+5.3±3.7
BH slice crosscourt7%+0.5−1.5−1.3−2.3±2.4

Lean BH through the middle: +3.5±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1719 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JValue
FH through the middle46%−3.5−0.4+0.4−3.5±2.7
FH crosscourt32%−0.2+0.3−4.7−4.7±3.9
FH down the line19%−1.8−1.0+0.7−2.1±4.5
FH slice through the middle2%−12.7+0.2±0.0−12.5±1.1
FH slice down the line1%−9.4−0.6±0.0−10.0±1.3

Lean FH down the line: +1.7±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (383 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JValue
BH through the middle38%−2.9−1.5+0.4−4.0±2.2
BH crosscourt30%+1.0−3.3+0.1−2.2±2.8
BH down the line10%−0.2+0.3+0.8+0.9±4.4
FH through the middle8%−2.9+0.1+0.4−2.4±2.4
FH inside-in4%+0.6−2.7−4.7−6.9±4.1

Lean BH down the line: +4.0±4.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (1074 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.

J J Wolf

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to the middle · return+1.2±2.9−0.6+1.8
FH to their backhand · rally+1.0±3.6−0.8+1.7
BH to the middle · return−0.4±2.7−0.5±0.0
FH to their forehand · rally−0.5±3.8−0.2−0.3
BH to the middle · rally−0.7±2.6−1.2+0.4
FH to their backhand · serve +1−0.9±3.8−1.1+0.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return−6.8±3.8−2.4−4.4
FH to the middle · rally−4.8±3.0−2.5−2.3
FH to their forehand · serve +1−3.0±4.3−4.1+1.1
BH to their backhand · rally−1.6±3.2−0.4−1.2
FH to their backhand · serve +1−0.9±3.8−1.1+0.2

Milos Raonic

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · rally+2.2±4.1−0.9+3.1
FH to their backhand · serve +1+1.3±3.9−0.8+2.1
BH to the middle · return+0.3±2.6−0.4+0.7
BH to their backhand · return−0.2±3.8−0.5+0.4
FH to the middle · return−0.9±2.7−0.9±0.0
FH to the middle · rally−2.0±3.0−2.1+0.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally−6.7±5.1−10.1+3.4
BH to the middle · rally−3.7±2.7−4.4+0.8
FH to their backhand · rally−3.4±3.5−4.0+0.6
BH to their backhand · rally−3.2±3.4−3.9+0.7
FH to the middle · rally−2.0±3.0−2.1+0.2

Against Milos Raonic-like opponents

J J Wolf vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–57.6%33.2%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Alexei Popyrin, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Reilly Opelka, Thanasi Kokkinakis, John Isner, Jeremy Chardy, Sam Querrey, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Jack Sock, Fernando Gonzalez. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.