RallyIQ

Game plan

Karolina Muchova v Jennifer Capriati

Every number combines what Karolina Muchova does well with what Jennifer Capriati allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Karolina Muchova wins, best of 3 71%90%: 32%–94% · best of 5: 76%
Serve points won 62.8% / 58.4% Karolina / Jennifer · tour 58.1%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 71%serve 62.8% / 58.4%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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

CareerKarolinaJennifer
Direction choice−0.01 ±0.05
better than 52%
−0.23 ±0.16
better than 14%
Shot selection−0.17 ±0.09
better than 30%
+0.02 ±0.08
better than 47%
Execution+0.22 ±0.28
better than 70%
+0.09 ±0.84
better than 65%
Points left on the table2.88 ±0.08
lower than 18%
2.76 ±0.26
lower than 26%

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.

Karolina Muchova serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowKarolina winsv JenniferMatchupOptimal
Wide40%68%63%65.7%±6.740%
Body22%58%59%59.7%±9.27% ▼
T38%74%66%72.6%±6.853% ▲

Optimal v Jennifer Capriati: +1.4±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +5.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowKarolina winsv JenniferMatchupOptimal
Wide48%68%67%69.9%±6.863% ▲
Body14%57%60%60.0%±9.90% ▼
T39%67%63%66.4%±7.537% ▼

Optimal v Jennifer Capriati: +0.7±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Jennifer Capriati serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowJennifer winsv KarolinaMatchupOptimal
Wide50%64%65%63.4%±6.665% ▲
Body26%55%58%55.3%±8.710% ▼
T25%63%69%63.7%±9.825%

Optimal v Karolina Muchova: +1.1±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +2.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowJennifer winsv KarolinaMatchupOptimal
Wide24%59%66%59.1%±9.024%
Body38%56%54%53.6%±8.123% ▼
T38%69%64%68.6%±7.553% ▲

Optimal v Karolina Muchova: +0.8±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +8.0 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.

Karolina Muchova returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
FH through the middle41%+4.2+1.1−1.3+4.0±2.5
FH slice through the middle18%−6.7+3.0+0.7−3.0±2.0
FH crosscourt15%+5.3−0.7−2.5+2.2±4.0
FH down the line14%+1.5−2.9+2.8+1.5±4.3
FH slice crosscourt9%−6.6+2.2±0.0−4.5±1.9

Lean FH through the middle: +3.1±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1182 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
BH through the middle46%+6.0−0.4−2.2+3.4±2.2
BH crosscourt20%+7.7+0.9−1.2+7.5±3.2
BH slice through the middle14%−6.2+0.2+1.1−4.9±2.3
BH down the line12%+2.2−1.2−4.1−3.1±4.4
BH slice crosscourt5%−4.2−0.8+0.8−4.2±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.0±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (1188 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
FH through the middle43%−3.2−1.4+1.2−3.4±3.0
FH crosscourt28%+0.5−0.4−1.0−0.9±4.5
FH down the line21%−0.6−1.9+0.1−2.4±5.2
FH slice through the middle5%−15.2+0.1±0.0−15.1±1.5
FH slice crosscourt3%−14.9+1.3±0.0−13.6±1.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.5±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (247 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JenniferValue
BH through the middle40%−2.6+1.0+0.2−1.4±2.4
BH crosscourt31%+1.5−0.4±0.0+1.1±3.2
BH down the line20%−0.5−0.3+4.3+3.5±4.7
FH inside-in5%+0.7−1.9−1.0−2.2±4.7
FH through the middle3%−2.7+1.7+1.2+0.2±2.5

Lean BH down the line: +3.1±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (582 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Jennifer Capriati returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KarolinaValue
FH through the middle58%+4.2+0.4−0.1+4.4±2.4
FH down the line26%+1.5+1.2−0.7+2.0±4.1
FH crosscourt17%+5.3+2.5−1.4+6.4±3.9

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.3±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (200 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KarolinaValue
BH through the middle59%+6.0−1.4+0.1+4.7±2.2
BH crosscourt23%+7.7−3.8+0.3+4.2±3.0
BH down the line18%+2.2+2.0+0.2+4.4±4.2

Lean BH through the middle: +0.1±1.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (181 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KarolinaValue
FH crosscourt41%+0.5−1.2−3.9−4.5±3.9
FH through the middle41%−3.2+0.2+0.5−2.5±2.6
FH down the line19%−0.6±0.0−1.0−1.6±4.3

Lean FH down the line: +1.5±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (79 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv KarolinaValue
BH through the middle53%−2.6−0.6−0.7−3.8±2.3
BH crosscourt32%+1.5−1.5−1.3−1.3±2.9
BH down the line15%−0.5+1.1−2.0−1.4±4.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +1.4±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (62 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.

Karolina Muchova

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH slice to their backhand · rally+7.2±3.7+2.3+4.9
BH slice to the middle · rally+4.8±3.0+1.2+3.6
BH to their backhand · serve +1+4.1±4.2+2.4+1.7
BH to their backhand · return+2.0±4.1+2.7−0.7
BH to their forehand · rally+1.6±5.5+2.3−0.7
FH to their backhand · return +1+1.4±4.8−0.1+1.6

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return +1−7.5±5.3−2.0−5.5
FH to their forehand · return−5.3±5.6−3.3−2.0
FH to their forehand · return +1−3.2±4.6−4.3+1.1
FH to their backhand · rally−2.9±5.1−2.1−0.7
BH to the middle · rally−1.5±2.7+0.4−1.8

Jennifer Capriati

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return +1+2.3±4.7+1.9+0.4
BH to the middle · serve +1+1.8±3.0−0.3+2.1
BH to the middle · return+1.5±3.4+1.2+0.3
FH to the middle · return +1+1.4±3.1+0.5+0.8
FH to their backhand · return+1.1±4.8+1.3−0.2
FH to the middle · return+1.0±3.7+0.3+0.7

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally−12.2±5.1−7.2−5.0
FH to their forehand · return−6.3±4.9+1.8−8.1
BH to the middle · rally−4.1±3.1−2.3−1.8
FH to their backhand · serve +1−3.0±4.6−2.0−1.0
FH to the middle · serve +1−2.5±3.1+0.5−3.0

Against Jennifer Capriati-like opponents

Karolina Muchova vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–61.6%42.9%
Players most similar to Jennifer Capriati1 80.0%100.0%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Marie Bouzkova, Sloane Stephens, Varvara Gracheva, Lin Zhu, Alize Cornet, Carla Suarez Navarro, Agnieszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli, Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.