RallyIQ

Game plan

Sebastian Baez v Lorenzo Musetti

Every number combines what Sebastian Baez does well with what Lorenzo Musetti allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Sebastian Baez wins, best of 3 7%90%: 1%–33% · best of 5: 3%
Serve points won 54.1% / 65.4% Sebastian / Lorenzo · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 6%serve 53.6% / 66.0%

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. Both were charted enough in the last three seasons, so those carry the most weight. The result is then nudged by Sebastian Baez's record against Lorenzo Musetti's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: +5.3 on serve, +4.2 on return vs expectation (534 points); head-to-head: −5.3 on serve, −0.9 on return vs expectation (149 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

CareerSebastianLorenzo
Direction choice−0.08 ±0.10
better than 34%
−0.02 ±0.04
better than 50%
Shot selection+0.02 ±0.14
better than 54%
−0.57 ±0.10
better than 9%
Execution−0.04 ±0.36
better than 66%
+0.48 ±0.22
better than 83%
Points left on the table2.58 ±0.13
lower than 51%
2.74 ±0.06
lower than 35%

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.

Structural compatibility

Expected edge per 100 rally shots from style alone: Sebastian Baez −0.15, Lorenzo Musetti +0.96. Each player's shot mix weighted by their own skill with each shot and by how much the other gives up against it. This is why some rankings gaps don't hold in a given matchup.

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.

Sebastian Baez serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowSebastian winsv LorenzoMatchupOptimal
Wide46%66%72%64.8%±3.859% ▲
Body22%61%61%59.1%±6.022%
T32%59%71%55.0%±4.719% ▼

Optimal v Lorenzo Musetti: +0.3±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +4.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowSebastian winsv LorenzoMatchupOptimal
Wide30%60%68%54.6%±4.617% ▼
Body19%62%63%61.9%±6.919%
T51%64%71%63.2%±4.064% ▲

Optimal v Lorenzo Musetti: +0.4±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Lorenzo Musetti serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowLorenzo winsv SebastianMatchupOptimal
Wide41%70%68%64.6%±4.028% ▼
Body9%64%61%61.1%±7.210%
T49%72%73%70.5%±3.862% ▲

Optimal v Sebastian Baez: +0.7±0.5 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +3.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowLorenzo winsv SebastianMatchupOptimal
Wide55%69%70%65.5%±3.850% ▼
Body8%61%56%54.3%±8.20% ▼
T37%69%73%70.1%±4.350% ▲

Optimal v Sebastian Baez: +0.9±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +3.8 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.

Sebastian Baez returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LorenzoValue
FH through the middle39%+4.3+0.6+0.8+5.7±1.8
FH down the line20%+1.7+2.2−2.1+1.9±3.4
FH slice through the middle17%−4.2−0.5+0.4−4.4±2.1
FH crosscourt13%+5.5+0.4+0.4+6.3±3.7
FH slice crosscourt6%−4.3+1.3−0.2−3.3±2.8

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.0±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (679 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LorenzoValue
BH through the middle47%+6.4+0.4+0.5+7.3±1.5
BH crosscourt27%+8.8−1.3−0.9+6.5±2.3
BH down the line10%+4.2+2.6−0.7+6.1±3.9
BH slice through the middle7%−4.2−1.8−0.8−6.8±2.2
BH slice crosscourt5%+0.5−2.1−1.0−2.5±2.8

Lean BH through the middle: +2.3±1.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (748 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LorenzoValue
FH through the middle58%−3.5+2.8−0.8−1.4±2.2
FH crosscourt23%−0.2−0.4+1.1+0.5±3.9
FH down the line18%−1.8+0.7−0.5−1.6±3.9

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.5±3.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (226 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LorenzoValue
BH through the middle32%−2.9+0.1+0.2−2.5±1.7
BH crosscourt23%+1.0−1.1−0.7−0.8±2.3
FH inside-out16%+1.0−2.1−0.5−1.6±3.0
FH through the middle13%−2.9−0.4−0.8−4.1±1.9
BH down the line9%−0.2−2.9−0.8−3.9±4.5
FH inside-in6%+0.6−0.4+1.1+1.2±3.8

Lean FH inside-in: +3.2±3.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (566 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Lorenzo Musetti returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SebastianValue
FH through the middle40%+4.3−0.5+2.0+5.8±1.5
FH down the line24%+1.7−1.4+2.8+3.0±3.1
FH slice through the middle15%−4.2−0.4−0.6−5.2±2.0
FH crosscourt10%+5.5+2.3+5.7+13.6±3.4
FH slice down the line8%−4.3+0.2−0.1−4.2±2.5

Lean FH crosscourt: +10.4±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (2257 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SebastianValue
BH slice through the middle27%−4.2+1.4+0.4−2.5±1.9
BH through the middle25%+6.4+1.1+1.9+9.4±1.6
BH crosscourt20%+8.8+1.4+2.2+12.4±2.2
BH slice crosscourt11%+0.5−0.6−0.9−1.0±2.5
BH down the line9%+4.2±0.0+3.5+7.8±4.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +8.0±2.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (2587 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SebastianValue
FH through the middle47%−3.5+1.1−1.2−3.7±2.3
FH down the line25%−1.8−1.0+0.7−2.1±4.3
FH crosscourt23%−0.2−1.2±0.0−1.4±4.2
FH slice through the middle3%−12.7−0.7−0.5−13.9±1.8
FH slice down the line2%−9.4+1.2±0.0−8.3±1.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.8±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (600 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SebastianValue
BH through the middle33%−2.9+1.0+0.1−1.8±1.7
BH crosscourt27%+1.0+1.4−0.7+1.8±2.3
BH down the line14%−0.2−1.8+0.8−1.2±4.4
FH through the middle10%−2.9+1.2−1.2−2.9±2.1
FH inside-out6%+1.0−1.1+0.7+0.5±3.5
FH inside-in3%+0.6+1.7±0.0+2.3±4.4

Lean FH inside-in: +3.5±4.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (1827 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.

Sebastian Baez

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to the middle · return+6.2±2.0+1.6+4.6
BH to their backhand · return +1+5.9±3.6+2.6+3.3
FH to the middle · return+4.2±2.1+0.3+3.9
FH to their forehand · rally+2.5±3.6+2.7−0.2
BH volley to their forehand · rally+2.1±6.8+0.4+1.7
BH to their backhand · serve +1+1.7±3.8+1.1+0.6

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · serve +1−6.3±3.2−1.2−5.1
BH to their forehand · rally−3.1±3.8+0.8−3.9
BH slice to their backhand · return +1−2.5±3.2+0.6−3.0
FH to their backhand · return +1−2.4±4.1+0.3−2.7
BH to their forehand · return +1−2.2±5.7+1.0−3.2

Lorenzo Musetti

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return +1+6.6±4.3+6.0+0.6
FH to their forehand · return+5.8±4.7+0.3+5.5
FH to the middle · return+5.1±3.0+1.1+4.0
BH to their forehand · serve +1+4.8±5.1+2.9+1.9
BH to their forehand · rally+4.3±3.8+4.6−0.4
BH slice to their forehand · rally+4.1±3.6+4.1±0.0

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH volley to their forehand · rally−7.5±6.7−6.0−1.6
BH volley to their backhand · rally−6.1±6.6−3.5−2.6
BH to their backhand · serve +1−2.2±3.3−1.7−0.5
FH slice to the middle · return−1.8±2.6−1.1−0.7
BH to their forehand · return +1−1.4±5.5−1.9+0.5

Against Lorenzo Musetti-like opponents

Sebastian Baez vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–57.8%39.7%
Players most similar to Lorenzo Musetti3 64.9%42.6%
Lorenzo Musetti (charted head-to-head)1 51.4%37.7%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Learner Tien, Novak Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Marton Fucsovics, Pedro Martinez, Dusan Lajovic, Dominic Thiem, Robin Haase, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Guillermo Garcia Lopez. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.

Charted head-to-head