RallyIQ

Game plan

Marcelo Rios v Andrei Medvedev

Every number combines what Marcelo Rios does well with what Andrei Medvedev allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Marcelo Rios wins, best of 3 61%90%: 33%–85% · best of 5: 64%
Serve points won 67.0% / 64.7% Marcelo / Andrei · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 61%serve 67.0% / 64.7%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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

CareerMarceloAndrei
Direction choice+0.13 ±0.05
better than 87%
−0.19 ±0.15
better than 16%
Shot selection−0.23 ±0.19
better than 28%
−0.13 ±0.26
better than 35%
Execution−0.40 ±0.62
better than 48%
−0.34 ±0.63
better than 52%
Points left on the table2.60 ±0.15
lower than 50%
3.04 ±0.22
lower than 18%

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.

Marcelo Rios serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowMarcelo winsv AndreiMatchupOptimal
Wide46%67%82%78.3%±6.659% ▲
Body6%65%72%73.0%±11.90% ▼
T48%72%68%64.2%±8.341% ▼

Optimal v Andrei Medvedev: ±0.0±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +7.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowMarcelo winsv AndreiMatchupOptimal
Wide62%70%67%63.6%±7.857% ▼
Body8%65%64%65.9%±12.90% ▼
T30%75%72%75.2%±8.343% ▲

Optimal v Andrei Medvedev: +0.5±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +7.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Andrei Medvedev serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAndrei winsv MarceloMatchupOptimal
Wide55%67%68%62.0%±7.142% ▼
Body6%66%66%68.6%±13.06%
T39%79%75%79.1%±7.252% ▲

Optimal v Marcelo Rios: +0.2±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +10.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAndrei winsv MarceloMatchupOptimal
Wide64%69%72%68.4%±7.477% ▲
Body7%64%66%67.0%±12.07%
T29%68%69%65.3%±9.416% ▼

Optimal v Marcelo Rios: +0.4±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +1.0 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.

Marcelo Rios returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreiValue
FH through the middle45%+4.3−2.6−0.9+0.8±2.8
FH crosscourt30%+5.5−0.1−0.7+4.7±4.3
FH down the line21%+1.7−3.6−0.3−2.2±4.5
FH slice through the middle2%−4.2+0.1−0.4−4.5±1.7
FH slice crosscourt2%−4.3+0.6±0.0−3.7±1.2

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.5±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (327 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreiValue
BH through the middle33%+6.4−2.5−0.9+3.0±2.6
BH down the line20%+4.2+0.1−0.5+3.8±4.5
BH crosscourt20%+8.8−2.5−1.7+4.7±3.3
BH slice through the middle15%−4.2+0.4+1.2−2.6±2.5
BH slice down the line7%−8.4+1.0+0.6−6.8±3.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.8±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (493 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreiValue
FH crosscourt50%−0.2+1.1+2.4+3.3±4.4
FH through the middle35%−3.5−0.6−0.8−4.8±2.8
FH down the line15%−1.8−0.3+2.6+0.5±4.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.2±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (147 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreiValue
BH through the middle33%−2.9+1.2+0.8−0.8±2.5
BH down the line32%−0.2+1.8−1.2+0.4±4.8
BH crosscourt26%+1.0+1.3−1.7+0.6±2.8
FH inside-in2%+0.6+0.9+2.4+3.8±3.8
FH inside-out2%+1.0+1.1+2.6+4.7±3.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +0.8±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (356 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Andrei Medvedev returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarceloValue
FH through the middle55%+4.3−3.6−1.0−0.4±2.8
FH down the line22%+1.7+1.2−1.3+1.5±4.5
FH crosscourt14%+5.5+0.1+1.5+7.1±4.1
FH slice through the middle7%−4.2−0.7−1.0−5.9±2.0
BH through the middle3%+6.6−0.5−1.2+4.8±1.9

Lean FH crosscourt: +6.2±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (183 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarceloValue
BH through the middle40%+6.4−0.6−1.2+4.5±2.5
BH crosscourt33%+8.8+1.3−0.3+9.8±3.5
BH down the line14%+4.2−3.0−2.5−1.2±4.5
BH slice through the middle7%−4.2+1.0+2.0−1.1±2.2
BH slice crosscourt3%+0.5−0.5+1.9+1.9±2.5

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.1±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (206 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarceloValue
FH through the middle52%−3.5−0.2−0.2−3.9±2.7
FH crosscourt29%−0.2−2.4±0.0−2.6±3.9
FH down the line20%−1.8+0.2−5.3−6.8±4.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.5±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (66 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarceloValue
BH through the middle53%−2.9+0.2+0.9−1.8±2.4
BH crosscourt32%+1.0−0.6−0.2+0.3±3.2
BH down the line14%−0.2−0.6−1.5−2.3±4.6

Lean BH crosscourt: +1.5±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (105 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.

Marcelo Rios

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return +1+4.4±3.6+0.5+3.9
FH to the middle · return +1+2.1±2.8+1.4+0.7
FH to their forehand · return+1.2±4.4±0.0+1.2
BH slice to the middle · return+1.2±2.5+0.8+0.4
FH to their backhand · return+0.7±3.5−0.2+0.9
FH to their backhand · rally+0.4±2.3−0.6+1.0

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return +1−6.0±3.3−3.7−2.4
FH to their forehand · return +1−4.7±4.1−3.2−1.5
BH to their backhand · rally−4.7±2.1−3.5−1.2
FH to the middle · return−3.6±2.2−2.2−1.5
FH to their forehand · rally−3.4±2.6−1.3−2.1

Andrei Medvedev

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · serve +1+3.5±3.6+2.9+0.6
BH to their backhand · return +1+3.1±3.5+3.6−0.5
BH to their backhand · serve +1+1.5±3.2+1.7−0.2
FH to their backhand · return+1.1±3.7+0.6+0.4
BH to the middle · serve +1+0.8±2.6−0.9+1.7
FH to their backhand · serve +1+0.8±3.3+0.6+0.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return−5.5±4.6−0.6−5.0
FH to the middle · return−5.2±2.3−3.5−1.6
BH to their backhand · return−3.3±3.1−1.0−2.3
BH to their backhand · rally−2.7±2.2−0.6−2.1
FH to their backhand · rally−2.7±2.5−3.1+0.4

Against Andrei Medvedev-like opponents

Marcelo Rios vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–63.6%39.0%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Jannik Sinner, Thomaz Bellucci, Egor Gerasimov, Tennys Sandgren, Paul Henri Mathieu, Ivan Ljubicic, Andrei Pavel, Jiri Novak, Sergi Bruguera. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.