RallyIQ

Game plan

Sergi Bruguera v Andre Agassi

Every number combines what Sergi Bruguera does well with what Andre Agassi allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Sergi Bruguera wins, best of 3 41%90%: 24%–61% · best of 5: 39%
Serve points won 57.8% / 59.5% Sergi / Andre · tour 61.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 48%serve 58.5% / 58.8%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Sergi Bruguera's record against Andre Agassi's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (head-to-head: −5.5 on serve, −6.6 on return vs expectation (390 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

CareerSergiAndre
Direction choice+0.01 ±0.08
better than 60%
+0.32 ±0.03
better than 99%
Shot selection−0.31 ±0.17
better than 22%
−0.27 ±0.09
better than 26%
Execution+0.28 ±0.45
better than 79%
+0.69 ±0.17
better than 88%
Points left on the table2.58 ±0.24
lower than 51%
2.13 ±0.07
lower than 97%

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.

Sergi Bruguera serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowSergi winsv AndreMatchupOptimal
Wide48%68%72%67.3%±4.561% ▲
Body10%69%59%65.2%±8.10% ▼
T42%67%77%70.0%±4.539% ▼

Optimal v Andre Agassi: +0.4±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowSergi winsv AndreMatchupOptimal
Wide65%68%72%66.6%±4.260% ▼
Body8%54%58%48.5%±9.30% ▼
T27%70%70%68.2%±5.940% ▲

Optimal v Andre Agassi: +0.4±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Andre Agassi serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAndre winsv SergiMatchupOptimal
Wide50%71%72%70.2%±4.563% ▲
Body8%63%71%70.7%±7.09%
T41%73%73%70.4%±4.828% ▼

Optimal v Sergi Bruguera: +0.3±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving body every time would read +0.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAndre winsv SergiMatchupOptimal
Wide59%69%69%64.8%±4.746% ▼
Body4%67%64%67.9%±7.84%
T37%70%72%70.3%±5.450% ▲

Optimal v Sergi Bruguera: +0.5±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.4 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.

Sergi Bruguera returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreValue
FH slice through the middle26%−4.2−0.6+3.2−1.7±1.9
FH through the middle25%+4.3−0.8−0.2+3.2±2.2
FH down the line17%+1.7−3.4−1.3−3.0±3.4
FH slice down the line17%−4.3−1.4+4.1−1.6±3.0
FH crosscourt7%+5.5−1.6−0.6+3.2±3.3

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.4±3.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (409 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreValue
BH through the middle38%+6.4−2.2−0.8+3.5±1.8
BH crosscourt35%+8.8−0.1+1.6+10.4±2.4
BH down the line9%+4.2−2.3+0.5+2.4±3.8
BH slice through the middle9%−4.2+0.4+2.7−1.1±1.9
BH slice crosscourt6%+0.5−1.0+5.9+5.5±2.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.1±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (489 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreValue
FH through the middle45%−3.5+2.8+0.2−0.4±2.3
FH crosscourt26%−0.2+1.5+0.7+1.9±3.5
FH down the line17%−1.8+2.2+0.6+1.1±3.5
FH slice crosscourt7%−12.5−0.4−0.3−13.2±2.4
FH slice down the line4%−9.4+0.3+1.1−8.1±2.5

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.8±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (135 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AndreValue
BH crosscourt45%+1.0+2.0+1.1+4.1±2.2
BH through the middle34%−2.9−2.5+0.5−4.9±1.8
BH down the line7%−0.2−0.8+2.3+1.3±3.8
FH through the middle6%−2.9+0.2+0.2−2.5±1.8
FH inside-out5%+1.0+0.2+0.6+1.8±2.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.9±1.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (330 returns charted)

Andre Agassi returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SergiValue
FH through the middle48%+4.3−0.6−3.0+0.7±1.9
FH crosscourt28%+5.5+2.7+1.3+9.5±3.2
FH down the line23%+1.7+0.2−2.9−0.9±3.3
BH through the middle0%+6.6−0.5−1.1+4.9±2.5
BH inside-in0%+7.7+1.5+0.4+9.6±3.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +6.7±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (3807 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SergiValue
BH crosscourt39%+8.8+0.2+0.4+9.4±2.5
BH through the middle33%+6.4−2.4−1.1+2.9±2.0
BH down the line9%+4.2−3.3+1.9+2.8±3.8
BH slice through the middle8%−4.2−3.0+1.7−5.5±1.9
BH slice crosscourt8%+0.5−2.5+1.9−0.1±2.2

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.2±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (4263 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SergiValue
FH through the middle40%−3.5+1.6+1.6−0.3±2.3
FH crosscourt31%−0.2+1.5+2.5+3.7±3.6
FH down the line26%−1.8+1.8+1.7+1.7±3.8
BH through the middle2%+0.1−0.8+0.7+0.1±2.1
BH inside-in1%+2.5+1.2+0.9+4.7±3.2

Lean BH inside-in: +3.1±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (1567 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv SergiValue
BH crosscourt48%+1.0+0.5+0.9+2.5±2.3
BH through the middle26%−2.9−0.9+0.7−3.0±2.0
BH down the line8%−0.2+3.7+2.5+6.0±4.3
FH inside-out7%+1.0+1.8+1.7+4.5±3.2
FH through the middle5%−2.9−0.5+1.6−1.7±2.2
FH inside-in3%+0.6+4.0+2.5+7.0±4.2

Lean FH inside-in: +5.9±4.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (3764 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.

Sergi Bruguera

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH slice to the middle · return+5.3±2.7+1.6+3.7
FH to their forehand · serve +1+5.1±3.5+3.0+2.0
FH slice to their backhand · return+4.8±3.9−1.5+6.4
BH to their forehand · return+4.6±5.0+2.5+2.1
FH to the middle · serve +1+4.5±2.9+2.4+2.1
BH to their backhand · return+3.9±2.1+1.6+2.3

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return +1−7.4±5.2−5.7−1.7
FH to their forehand · return +1−3.7±4.2−2.2−1.5
BH to the middle · return−3.1±1.7−3.1±0.0
FH to their backhand · return−1.7±3.8−0.7−1.0
FH to their forehand · return−0.8±5.0+0.2−1.0

Andre Agassi

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH volley to their forehand · rally+13.0±7.2+3.1+9.9
BH volley to their backhand · rally+8.3±7.8+7.0+1.3
BH slice to their backhand · return +1+6.9±3.5+1.2+5.8
BH slice to their backhand · rally+5.9±2.3+3.6+2.2
FH to their forehand · return+5.8±4.1+2.8+3.0
BH to the middle · serve +1+2.0±3.1+2.3−0.3

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH volley to their forehand · serve +1−5.8±8.2−7.0+1.2
FH volley to their backhand · rally−4.1±7.7−0.2−3.9
BH to their forehand · return +1−3.7±5.7+2.0−5.7
FH to their forehand · rally−2.9±2.0−1.9−1.1
BH to their backhand · rally−2.6±1.5−2.0−0.7

Against Andre Agassi-like opponents

Sergi Bruguera vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–60.7%37.4%
Andre Agassi (charted head-to-head)3 53.6%28.5%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Valentin Vacherot, Tommy Paul, Novak Djokovic, Nishesh Basavareddy, Kei Nishikori, Paul Henri Mathieu, David Nalbandian, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marcelo Rios, Magnus Norman. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.

Charted head-to-head