RallyIQ

Game plan

Nicolas Almagro v Jaume Munar

Every number combines what Nicolas Almagro does well with what Jaume Munar allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Nicolas Almagro wins, best of 3 17%90%: 2%–52% · best of 5: 11%
Serve points won 62.1% / 70.0% Nicolas / Jaume · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 18%serve 62.1% / 69.7%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Nicolas Almagro's record against Jaume Munar's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −0.3 on serve, −2.1 on return vs expectation (526 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

CareerNicolasJaume
Direction choice+0.12 ±0.06
better than 84%
−0.01 ±0.08
better than 53%
Shot selection+0.19 ±0.11
better than 72%
−0.31 ±0.21
better than 22%
Execution−0.16 ±0.52
better than 59%
+0.60 ±0.36
better than 86%
Points left on the table2.18 ±0.11
lower than 94%
2.55 ±0.11
lower than 55%

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.

Nicolas Almagro serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowNicolas winsv JaumeMatchupOptimal
Wide38%71%72%69.7%±6.030% ▼
Body5%63%54%54.5%±12.70% ▼
T57%80%71%77.1%±5.370% ▲

Optimal v Jaume Munar: +0.4±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +4.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowNicolas winsv JaumeMatchupOptimal
Wide47%74%70%71.2%±6.160% ▲
Body12%55%63%55.9%±11.60% ▼
T41%69%69%66.4%±7.040%

Optimal v Jaume Munar: +0.6±0.8 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +3.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Jaume Munar serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowJaume winsv NicolasMatchupOptimal
Wide55%68%78%73.7%±5.968% ▲
Body10%65%69%70.6%±10.00% ▼
T35%73%78%75.9%±5.832% ▼

Optimal v Nicolas Almagro: +0.6±0.8 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.

Ad court

1st serveNowJaume winsv NicolasMatchupOptimal
Wide51%68%74%69.0%±6.051%
Body14%64%64%64.8%±11.91% ▼
T35%66%80%74.6%±6.448% ▲

Optimal v Nicolas Almagro: +0.3±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +4.2 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.

Nicolas Almagro returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JaumeValue
FH through the middle51%+4.3−0.1+1.2+5.4±2.4
FH crosscourt34%+5.5−2.7+2.3+5.1±4.0
FH down the line14%+1.7−3.3+0.3−1.4±4.2
FH slice through the middle2%−4.2−0.1−0.5−4.8±1.9

Lean FH through the middle: +1.2±1.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (259 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JaumeValue
BH through the middle38%+6.4+1.0−0.8+6.6±2.3
BH crosscourt27%+8.8+0.3+0.3+9.4±3.2
BH down the line16%+4.2−2.2+1.6+3.6±4.5
BH slice through the middle12%−4.2−0.8−1.1−6.1±2.5
BH slice crosscourt4%+0.5−0.8−1.9−2.2±2.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.9±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (341 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv JaumeValue
BH through the middle40%−2.9+0.7−1.6−3.8±2.3
BH crosscourt33%+1.0+1.1−1.1+1.0±3.0
BH down the line17%−0.2−0.1+3.3+3.0±5.0
FH inside-out4%+1.0+0.9−0.2+1.7±3.0
FH inside-in4%+0.6+0.4+0.3+1.3±3.5

Lean BH down the line: +3.6±4.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (235 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Jaume Munar returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv NicolasValue
FH through the middle44%+4.3−0.4+1.7+5.6±2.5
FH slice through the middle22%−4.2+0.7+0.2−3.3±2.0
FH down the line13%+1.7−0.2−0.5+0.9±4.4
FH crosscourt11%+5.5+2.3+2.9+10.7±4.4
FH slice down the line7%−4.3+1.8−0.4−2.8±2.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +8.0±4.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (701 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv NicolasValue
BH through the middle42%+6.4+2.3−2.1+6.6±2.3
BH crosscourt27%+8.8+1.2+1.7+11.7±3.2
BH slice through the middle13%−4.2−0.1−0.7−4.9±2.4
BH down the line10%+4.2+1.9−2.5+3.7±4.6
BH slice crosscourt6%+0.5−1.6+2.7+1.6±3.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.1±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (760 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv NicolasValue
FH through the middle44%−3.5+2.5+0.4−0.5±2.9
FH crosscourt25%−0.2+0.4+4.8+5.0±4.4
FH down the line21%−1.8+0.8−0.4−1.4±4.7
FH slice through the middle6%−12.7+0.8±0.0−11.9±1.3
FH slice down the line4%−9.4+0.6±0.0−8.8±1.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +5.3±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (170 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv NicolasValue
BH through the middle47%−2.9−0.7+1.0−2.6±2.0
BH crosscourt29%+1.0+1.3+0.3+2.6±2.9
BH down the line13%−0.2+2.2+1.2+3.1±5.0
FH through the middle6%−2.9−1.1+0.4−3.6±2.4
FH inside-in3%+0.6−0.1+4.8+5.3±4.1

Lean FH inside-in: +5.4±4.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (456 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.

Nicolas Almagro

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · rally+3.7±4.5±0.0+3.7
BH to their forehand · rally+3.5±3.1+1.0+2.5
FH to their backhand · rally+2.8±4.2−0.7+3.5
BH to the middle · return +1+2.0±2.3+0.8+1.2
FH to their forehand · return +1+1.8±3.4+0.4+1.4
FH to their forehand · return+1.8±4.8−0.1+1.9

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to the middle · serve +1−3.4±3.0−0.9−2.5
BH to their forehand · return +1−2.9±4.8−2.4−0.5
FH to their backhand · serve +1−1.9±3.8+1.1−3.0
FH to their backhand · return−1.6±4.5−1.9+0.3
FH to their forehand · serve +1−1.4±4.4−0.9−0.5

Jaume Munar

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · serve +1+7.4±4.1+5.2+2.2
BH to their backhand · rally+5.1±2.7+2.9+2.2
BH to their backhand · serve +1+5.1±2.9+2.5+2.6
FH to their forehand · return+4.2±4.2−0.8+5.0
FH to their forehand · return +1+4.1±4.4+1.8+2.3
FH to their backhand · rally+3.9±3.5+1.9+2.0

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to the middle · return−4.2±2.7−2.7−1.5
BH slice to the middle · rally−3.5±2.1−0.8−2.7
FH to their backhand · serve +1−1.9±3.8−3.6+1.7
BH slice to the middle · return−0.2±2.4−0.1−0.1
FH to their backhand · return +1+0.5±3.6+0.9−0.4

Against Jaume Munar-like opponents

Nicolas Almagro vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–60.8%32.1%
Players most similar to Jaume Munar4 59.3%28.9%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Brandon Nakashima, Novak Djokovic, Jenson Brooksby, Karen Khachanov, Pablo Carreno Busta, Andy Murray, Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Mikhail Kukushkin, Carlos Berlocq, Guillermo Coria. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.