RallyIQ

Game plan

Marin Cilic v Peter Gojowczyk

Every number combines what Marin Cilic does well with what Peter Gojowczyk allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Marin Cilic wins, best of 3 81%90%: 50%–96% · best of 5: 86%
Serve points won 70.2% / 63.1% Marin / Peter · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 80%serve 69.3% / 62.5%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Marin Cilic's record against Peter Gojowczyk's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: +5.8 on serve, −3.3 on return vs expectation (594 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

CareerMarinPeter
Direction choice+0.14 ±0.05
better than 87%
+0.06 ±0.12
better than 71%
Shot selection+0.28 ±0.08
better than 78%
+0.35 ±0.11
better than 83%
Execution−1.01 ±0.32
better than 25%
−2.25 ±0.64
better than 1%
Points left on the table2.18 ±0.08
lower than 93%
2.17 ±0.24
lower than 95%

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.

Marin Cilic serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowMarin winsv PeterMatchupOptimal
Wide50%73%80%80.3%±5.563% ▲
Body4%58%59%54.0%±12.20% ▼
T46%80%72%78.1%±6.037% ▼

Optimal v Peter Gojowczyk: +0.5±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowMarin winsv PeterMatchupOptimal
Wide53%76%74%76.6%±6.047% ▼
Body7%63%61%60.9%±11.30% ▼
T40%76%74%77.6%±6.053% ▲

Optimal v Peter Gojowczyk: +0.4±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Peter Gojowczyk serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowPeter winsv MarinMatchupOptimal
Wide46%66%74%66.9%±6.859% ▲
Body7%51%67%55.5%±12.60% ▼
T47%72%74%71.2%±6.741% ▼

Optimal v Marin Cilic: +0.3±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowPeter winsv MarinMatchupOptimal
Wide45%76%76%79.0%±6.158% ▲
Body6%50%59%45.8%±13.30% ▼
T49%70%71%69.7%±6.842% ▼

Optimal v Marin Cilic: +0.8±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +6.5 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.

Marin Cilic returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv PeterValue
FH through the middle54%+4.3−0.2−0.8+3.2±2.4
FH crosscourt24%+5.5−1.8+1.2+4.9±3.5
FH down the line21%+1.7−1.0−0.9−0.3±3.7
FH slice through the middle1%−4.2+1.3+0.9−2.0±2.1
FH slice crosscourt0%−4.3+0.1+0.7−3.5±2.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.1±3.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (1630 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv PeterValue
BH through the middle42%+6.4±0.0+2.3+8.8±2.2
BH crosscourt31%+8.8−4.3±0.0+4.5±2.9
BH slice through the middle10%−4.2−4.5+0.6−8.0±2.2
BH down the line8%+4.2+4.7−0.4+8.5±4.0
BH slice crosscourt8%+0.5−4.3−2.0−5.7±2.6

Lean BH through the middle: +4.4±1.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (1619 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv PeterValue
FH through the middle51%−3.5±0.0−1.5−5.0±2.6
FH down the line26%−1.8+1.0−0.8−1.5±4.4
FH crosscourt23%−0.2−1.1−1.8−3.2±4.2

Lean FH down the line: +2.1±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (484 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv PeterValue
BH crosscourt48%+1.0−2.7−2.3−4.0±2.6
BH through the middle40%−2.9+0.3−1.2−3.9±2.1
BH down the line6%−0.2+0.5+5.4+5.7±4.9
FH inside-in2%+0.6+1.2−1.8−0.1±4.1
FH inside-out2%+1.0+0.7−0.8+0.9±3.4

Lean BH down the line: +8.9±4.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (924 returns charted)

Peter Gojowczyk returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarinValue
FH through the middle51%+4.3−0.6−1.4+2.2±2.4
FH down the line37%+1.7−1.8−1.6−1.7±3.9
FH crosscourt12%+5.5−1.0−1.4+3.1±3.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.2±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (164 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarinValue
BH through the middle50%+6.4+1.9−0.5+7.8±2.3
BH crosscourt27%+8.8+2.2+1.5+12.5±3.1
BH down the line16%+4.2+0.2+0.1+4.5±4.2
BH slice through the middle7%−4.2−0.6±0.0−4.8±1.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.9±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (138 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarinValue
FH through the middle52%−3.5−3.0+0.8−5.7±2.3
FH down the line26%−1.8+0.9+1.0+0.2±3.7
FH crosscourt21%−0.2−2.0−1.5−3.7±3.5

Lean FH through the middle: −1.9±1.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (42 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv MarinValue
BH crosscourt45%+1.0+1.2+0.2+2.4±2.6
BH through the middle38%−2.9−0.2−0.6−3.7±2.0
BH down the line11%−0.2−2.2+1.2−1.3±3.8
FH through the middle5%−2.9+0.6+0.8−1.5±1.5

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.9±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (97 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 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.

Marin Cilic

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · serve +1+3.4±5.1+3.0+0.4
BH to the middle · rally+1.2±2.5−1.0+2.2
BH slice to their backhand · rally+0.4±2.9−0.6+1.0
BH to their forehand · rally+0.4±4.8−1.4+1.8
FH to their forehand · rally+0.3±4.2−2.6+2.9
BH to the middle · return−0.1±3.3+0.1−0.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return−9.8±4.4−3.0−6.8
FH to their backhand · serve +1−5.8±4.6−6.1+0.3
BH to the middle · serve +1−5.6±3.5−3.3−2.4
FH to the middle · return +1−5.2±3.3−5.4+0.3
BH to their backhand · rally−3.5±3.5−2.5−1.1

Peter Gojowczyk

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return +1+3.0±4.2+0.3+2.7
BH to their backhand · return+3.0±4.6+1.8+1.2
BH to the middle · rally+1.8±2.9+1.6+0.2
FH to their forehand · serve +1+1.8±4.4−1.0+2.8
BH to their backhand · rally+1.0±3.6+1.6−0.6
BH to the middle · serve +1+0.7±2.9−0.3+1.0

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally−6.1±3.6−5.3−0.9
BH to their forehand · rally−5.2±4.6−5.6+0.4
BH to their backhand · serve +1−5.0±4.5−1.9−3.1
FH to their forehand · rally−2.8±4.6−2.8±0.0
FH to their backhand · serve +1−2.7±4.8−1.7−1.0

Against Peter Gojowczyk-like opponents

Marin Cilic vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–63.5%34.3%
Players most similar to Peter Gojowczyk4 73.1%32.7%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Zhizhen Zhang, Alexander Shevchenko, Roman Safiullin, Sebastian Ofner, Otto Virtanen, Lucas Pouille, Aslan Karatsev, Jared Donaldson, Tomas Berdych. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.