RallyIQ

Game plan

Pedro Martinez v Viktor Troicki

Every number combines what Pedro Martinez does well with what Viktor Troicki allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Pedro Martinez wins, best of 3 67%90%: 25%–94% · best of 5: 71%
Serve points won 64.5% / 60.9% Pedro / Viktor · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 70%serve 64.7% / 60.6%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Pedro Martinez's record against Viktor Troicki's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: −7.3 on serve, −7.6 on return vs expectation (112 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

CareerPedroViktor
Direction choice−0.06 ±0.08
better than 43%
−0.13 ±0.20
better than 24%
Shot selection−0.06 ±0.23
better than 46%
−0.05 ±0.46
better than 47%
Execution+0.23 ±0.43
better than 77%
−0.81 ±1.09
better than 32%
Points left on the table2.66 ±0.12
lower than 43%
2.48 ±0.18
lower than 65%

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.

Pedro Martinez serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowPedro winsv ViktorMatchupOptimal
Wide41%65%77%70.0%±7.939% ▼
Body11%59%66%62.1%±12.20% ▼
T48%68%77%69.6%±8.761% ▲

Optimal v Viktor Troicki: +0.6±0.9 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +1.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowPedro winsv ViktorMatchupOptimal
Wide54%63%79%71.0%±8.867% ▲
Body16%59%68%63.9%±11.63% ▼
T30%62%68%57.3%±9.830%

Optimal v Viktor Troicki: +0.3±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +5.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Viktor Troicki serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowViktor winsv PedroMatchupOptimal
Wide38%72%75%74.4%±7.551% ▲
Body15%60%70%66.3%±11.92% ▼
T47%67%76%68.5%±7.947%

Optimal v Pedro Martinez: +0.4±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.0 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowViktor winsv PedroMatchupOptimal
Wide47%69%71%68.0%±8.147%
Body14%56%56%49.2%±13.11% ▼
T39%67%73%68.9%±8.552% ▲

Optimal v Pedro Martinez: +0.8±1.0 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.2 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.

Pedro Martinez returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ViktorValue
FH through the middle43%+4.3+2.1+0.7+7.1±2.8
FH crosscourt21%+5.5+1.1+1.1+7.8±4.0
FH slice through the middle13%−4.2+1.7−0.8−3.3±2.2
FH down the line12%+1.7+1.9+0.9+4.4±4.4
FH slice crosscourt8%−4.3+0.6±0.0−3.7±2.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.4±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (426 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ViktorValue
BH through the middle41%+6.4+2.2+1.1+9.7±2.6
BH crosscourt27%+8.8−3.4−0.2+5.2±3.4
BH down the line13%+4.2−0.4−1.0+2.7±4.3
BH slice through the middle12%−4.2−1.5−0.2−5.9±2.5
BH slice crosscourt4%+0.5−1.5+1.2+0.2±2.4

Lean BH through the middle: +5.0±1.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (517 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ViktorValue
FH through the middle52%−3.5+1.2+1.4−0.9±2.9
FH crosscourt37%−0.2−0.4+3.1+2.4±4.4
FH down the line10%−1.8+0.6+2.7+1.6±4.1

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.8±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (107 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ViktorValue
BH through the middle41%−2.9−0.2−0.6−3.7±2.4
BH crosscourt30%+1.0±0.0+1.2+2.2±3.2
BH down the line14%−0.2+5.2+0.3+5.3±4.7
FH inside-out7%+1.0−0.7+2.7+3.0±3.5
FH through the middle5%−2.9−0.7+1.4−2.2±2.3

Lean BH down the line: +5.2±4.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (340 returns charted)

Viktor Troicki returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv PedroValue
FH through the middle46%+4.3+3.0+1.7+9.0±2.7
FH down the line26%+1.7+2.5+1.6+5.8±4.4
FH crosscourt15%+5.5−0.5+6.1+11.1±4.1
FH slice through the middle8%−4.2−0.1+1.7−2.6±2.1
FH slice down the line4%−4.3−0.8+0.8−4.3±2.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.1±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (142 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv PedroValue
BH through the middle54%+6.4−2.1+1.6+5.9±2.4
BH crosscourt24%+8.8+2.2+1.7+12.7±3.0
BH slice through the middle10%−4.2−0.3−1.4−5.9±2.2
BH down the line6%+4.2+2.9+4.4+11.5±3.8
BH slice down the line6%−8.4−0.8+1.5−7.8±2.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +6.9±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (99 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv PedroValue
BH down the line34%−0.2−0.4−0.8−1.4±4.9
BH crosscourt33%+1.0−1.3+1.2+0.9±3.0
BH through the middle33%−2.9−2.2+1.0−4.1±2.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.5±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (82 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.

Pedro Martinez

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to the middle · rally+6.3±2.7+3.8+2.5
FH to their forehand · rally+5.6±4.3+2.7+2.9
BH to their forehand · rally+4.8±3.9+3.9+0.9
BH to the middle · rally+3.6±2.4+2.3+1.3
FH to their backhand · serve +1+3.2±4.0+0.1+3.1
FH to their forehand · serve +1+2.7±3.8+1.3+1.5

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · rally+0.1±3.6−0.8+0.9
BH to their backhand · return +1+0.9±3.4+1.6−0.8
FH to the middle · return+1.6±2.3+0.9+0.6
BH to their backhand · return+1.6±3.9+0.7+0.9
BH to the middle · return+1.9±3.4+1.8+0.1

Viktor Troicki

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to the middle · return+5.2±3.6+0.7+4.5
BH to the middle · return+2.9±3.5−2.7+5.7
FH to the middle · rally+2.6±2.8+2.2+0.4
BH to their backhand · return+2.2±3.8+0.4+1.8
BH to their backhand · rally+1.8±2.9−0.9+2.7
FH to their backhand · serve +1+1.8±4.1−0.8+2.6

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally−6.1±4.8−5.5−0.7
FH to their backhand · rally−5.4±3.6−5.6+0.2
BH to their backhand · serve +1−2.5±3.1−1.0−1.5
BH to the middle · rally+0.1±1.8−0.5+0.5
FH to their forehand · rally+0.4±4.0−0.7+1.2

Against Viktor Troicki-like opponents

Pedro Martinez vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–58.3%34.6%
Players most similar to Viktor Troicki1 56.9%31.5%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Tomas Machac, Alexandre Muller, Benjamin Bonzi, Fabio Fognini, Kei Nishikori, Taro Daniel, Denis Kudla, Janko Tipsarevic, Jarkko Nieminen, Nikolay Davydenko. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.