Game plan

Richard Gasquet v Denis Istomin

Every number combines what Richard Gasquet does well with what Denis Istomin allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Richard Gasquet wins, best of 3 73%90%: 45%–91% · best of 5: 78%

Serve points won 67.0% / 62.0% Richard / Denis · tour 61.3%

Strengths only, no similarity priors 69%serve 66.8% / 62.7%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Richard Gasquet's record against Denis Istomin's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: +0.5 on serve, +1.5 on return vs expectation (2336 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

Career	Richard	Denis
Direction choice	+0.17 ±0.05 better than 91%	+0.03 ±0.13 better than 67%
Shot selection	−0.47 ±0.11 better than 12%	−0.41 ±0.13 better than 16%
Execution	+0.78 ±0.25 better than 91%	+0.13 ±1.35 better than 73%
Points left on the table	2.45 ±0.09 lower than 68%	2.37 ±0.24 lower than 76%

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.

Richard Gasquet serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Richard wins	v Denis	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	50%	68%	77%	72.3%±6.4	42% ▼
Body	5%	62%	63%	61.3%±12.1	0% ▼
T	45%	75%	76%	75.4%±6.4	58% ▲

Optimal v Denis Istomin: +0.4±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serve	Now	Richard wins	v Denis	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	52%	71%	81%	80.0%±6.0	44% ▼
Body	5%	56%	60%	52.6%±12.9	0% ▼
T	43%	69%	75%	72.7%±7.1	56% ▲

Optimal v Denis Istomin: +0.6±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.5 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Denis Istomin serving

Deuce court

1st serve	Now	Denis wins	v Richard	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	44%	74%	74%	75.2%±6.0	57% ▲
Body	10%	57%	70%	63.6%±10.6	0% ▼
T	46%	71%	78%	75.1%±5.7	43% ▼

Optimal v Richard Gasquet: +0.6±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +1.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serve	Now	Denis wins	v Richard	Matchup	Optimal
Wide	49%	71%	78%	76.5%±5.8	62% ▲
Body	7%	62%	63%	61.9%±12.6	0% ▼
T	45%	70%	71%	68.4%±6.7	38% ▼

Optimal v Richard Gasquet: +0.5±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.6 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.

Richard Gasquet returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Denis	Value
FH through the middle	49%	+4.3	−0.4	+1.3	+5.2±2.3
FH crosscourt	28%	+5.5	−2.1	+0.4	+3.8±3.5
FH down the line	17%	+1.7	+3.3	−1.0	+4.0±4.0
FH slice through the middle	4%	−4.2	+2.2	+1.0	−1.1±2.2
FH slice down the line	1%	−4.3	+2.2	+0.9	−1.2±2.5

Lean FH through the middle: +0.9±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1536 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Denis	Value
BH slice through the middle	30%	−4.2	+3.4	+0.2	−0.6±2.1
BH slice crosscourt	22%	+0.5	+1.1	+0.4	+2.0±2.6
BH crosscourt	18%	+8.8	−1.0	+1.7	+9.4±3.1
BH through the middle	18%	+6.4	−2.2	−1.3	+3.0±2.5
BH slice down the line	6%	−8.4	+2.3	−0.1	−6.2±2.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +7.2±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1628 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Denis	Value
FH through the middle	42%	−3.5	+0.4	+0.2	−2.9±2.7
FH crosscourt	37%	−0.2	−2.2	−0.5	−2.9±4.0
FH down the line	17%	−1.8	+3.8	−0.6	+1.5±4.7
BH through the middle	2%	+0.1	+0.6	+0.6	+1.3±1.8
FH slice through the middle	1%	−12.7	+0.3	±0.0	−12.4±1.0

Lean FH down the line: +3.6±4.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (364 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Denis	Value
BH crosscourt	36%	+1.0	+0.4	+0.6	+2.1±2.6
BH through the middle	27%	−2.9	±0.0	+0.6	−2.3±2.2
BH slice crosscourt	15%	−4.0	−0.4	−0.5	−4.9±2.2
BH slice through the middle	11%	−11.3	+0.7	−0.3	−10.9±1.9
BH down the line	7%	−0.2	+2.2	+1.1	+3.1±4.7

Lean BH down the line: +4.8±4.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (1238 returns charted)

Denis Istomin returning

1st serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Richard	Value
FH through the middle	34%	+4.3	−0.3	+1.1	+5.1±2.4
FH down the line	21%	+1.7	−3.9	+2.1	−0.1±3.8
FH slice through the middle	18%	−4.2	−2.3	+0.7	−5.8±2.1
FH crosscourt	17%	+5.5	−0.5	+4.6	+9.6±3.6
FH slice crosscourt	8%	−4.3	−0.7	+1.5	−3.5±2.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +7.6±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (167 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Richard	Value
BH through the middle	32%	+6.4	+0.8	+0.5	+7.6±2.3
BH crosscourt	27%	+8.8	±0.0	+2.1	+10.9±3.0
BH slice through the middle	14%	−4.2	−0.4	+1.6	−2.9±2.0
BH slice crosscourt	12%	+0.5	±0.0	+3.4	+3.9±2.6
BH down the line	10%	+4.2	−3.0	+1.9	+3.2±4.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.4±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (154 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Richard	Value
FH crosscourt	41%	−0.2	−0.3	+1.5	+0.9±4.0
FH through the middle	33%	−3.5	−1.2	±0.0	−4.7±2.4
FH down the line	25%	−1.8	+0.9	+1.6	+0.7±4.1

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.9±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (51 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

Return	Now	Tour	Own	v Richard	Value
BH through the middle	44%	−2.9	+1.2	+1.0	−0.7±2.0
BH crosscourt	43%	+1.0	+1.1	+2.0	+4.2±2.6
BH down the line	7%	−0.2	−0.1	−0.1	−0.4±3.2
BH slice through the middle	6%	−11.3	−0.5	−1.1	−12.9±1.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.5±1.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (86 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 clay. Each player's clay record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Richard Gasquet

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
BH to their backhand · rally	+5.1±2.8	+2.7	+2.5
BH to the middle · rally	+4.0±2.6	+2.3	+1.6
FH to their backhand · return	+3.7±4.5	+3.2	+0.5
FH to their forehand · serve +1	+3.2±4.8	−0.4	+3.7
FH to their backhand · return +1	+3.2±4.8	−0.4	+3.5
FH to the middle · rally	+2.5±2.7	+0.7	+1.8

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
BH to their forehand · rally	−3.5±4.9	+1.2	−4.8
FH to their forehand · return +1	−2.7±5.0	−2.3	−0.4
BH to the middle · return	−2.6±2.9	−3.2	+0.6
BH slice to their backhand · return	−2.0±3.5	−0.7	−1.4
FH to their forehand · rally	−0.9±3.8	−0.5	−0.4

Denis Istomin

Favour

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to their backhand · serve +1	+3.3±4.1	+2.1	+1.2
BH to their forehand · serve +1	+3.1±6.1	+2.9	+0.2
BH to their backhand · return	+3.0±3.5	+1.0	+2.0
FH to their forehand · rally	+2.1±3.8	+1.3	+0.8
BH to their backhand · return +1	+2.1±3.0	+1.7	+0.4
FH to their forehand · serve +1	+1.7±4.7	+1.1	+0.5

Avoid

Shot	Edge	Own	Theirs
FH to the middle · return	−0.6±3.1	−1.5	+1.0
BH to their backhand · rally	−0.4±2.9	−0.2	−0.2
BH to their backhand · serve +1	−0.3±3.9	−1.8	+1.5
BH to the middle · return	+0.2±2.7	+1.8	−1.5
BH to the middle · rally	+0.8±2.4	±0.0	+0.9

Against Denis Istomin-like opponents

Richard Gasquet v	Matches	Serve pts won	Return pts won
All charted opponents	–	61.8%	33.4%
Players most similar to Denis Istomin	15	61.1%	34.6%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Learner Tien, Alexander Zverev, Hubert Hurkacz, Novak Djokovic, Karen Khachanov, Laslo Djere, Benjamin Bonzi, Filip Krajinovic, Jarkko Nieminen, Nikolay Davydenko. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.