RallyIQ

Game plan

Thomas Enqvist v Tomas Berdych

Every number combines what Thomas Enqvist does well with what Tomas Berdych allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Thomas Enqvist wins, best of 3 24%90%: 6%–55% · best of 5: 19%
Serve points won 64.7% / 70.5% Thomas / Tomas · tour 65.7%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 24%serve 64.7% / 70.5%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Thomas Enqvist's record against Tomas Berdych's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads. 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

CareerThomasTomas
Direction choice+0.16 ±0.14
better than 90%
+0.03 ±0.05
better than 65%
Shot selection−0.49 ±0.18
better than 11%
+0.23 ±0.08
better than 74%
Execution−0.02 ±0.73
better than 67%
−0.28 ±0.28
better than 53%
Points left on the table2.26 ±0.26
lower than 87%
2.33 ±0.07
lower than 82%

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.

Thomas Enqvist serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowThomas winsv TomasMatchupOptimal
Wide48%71%76%74.3%±5.050% ▲
Body8%63%68%67.6%±10.70% ▼
T44%79%80%82.7%±4.650% ▲

Optimal v Tomas Berdych: +0.7±0.5 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +5.2 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowThomas winsv TomasMatchupOptimal
Wide41%81%79%85.6%±4.754% ▲
Body10%67%60%64.4%±10.90% ▼
T49%74%76%78.0%±4.946% ▼

Optimal v Tomas Berdych: +1.3±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +5.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Tomas Berdych serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowTomas winsv ThomasMatchupOptimal
Wide48%77%74%77.7%±4.661% ▲
Body10%62%65%64.4%±10.60% ▼
T42%77%78%79.5%±4.939% ▼

Optimal v Thomas Enqvist: +0.7±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +2.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowTomas winsv ThomasMatchupOptimal
Wide43%75%72%74.3%±5.530% ▼
Body7%65%65%67.2%±10.77%
T50%73%75%76.5%±5.663% ▲

Optimal v Thomas Enqvist: +0.3±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +1.6 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.

Thomas Enqvist returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
FH through the middle50%+4.3±0.0−0.9+3.4±2.2
FH crosscourt29%+5.5−0.2−0.7+4.6±3.9
FH down the line22%+1.7+1.2−1.9+1.0±3.9

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.4±3.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (270 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
BH through the middle39%+6.4−2.0−1.9+2.5±2.3
BH crosscourt32%+8.8−0.1+0.4+9.1±3.1
BH down the line16%+4.2−1.1−1.5+1.6±4.5
BH slice through the middle6%−4.2−1.6+0.7−5.1±1.9
BH slice down the line3%−8.4+0.4−1.7−9.6±3.0

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.5±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (272 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
FH through the middle42%−3.5−1.7+1.6−3.6±2.5
FH crosscourt37%−0.2−0.1+1.0+0.7±4.1
FH down the line21%−1.8−4.3+1.7−4.4±4.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.9±2.9 per 100 returns v the current mix (107 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
BH crosscourt45%+1.0−0.3+0.5+1.2±2.5
BH through the middle41%−2.9+0.9−0.1−2.1±2.0
BH down the line15%−0.2+2.7+1.3+3.7±4.4

Lean BH down the line: +3.5±4.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (219 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Tomas Berdych returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
FH through the middle49%+4.3+1.8+0.2+6.3±2.2
FH down the line26%+1.7−0.7−3.0−2.0±3.7
FH crosscourt17%+5.5+0.4+1.0+6.9±3.9
FH slice through the middle4%−4.2−0.2+2.2−2.2±2.1
FH slice down the line2%−4.3+1.5+1.5−1.3±2.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +3.3±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (1497 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
BH through the middle38%+6.4−0.3−2.7+3.3±2.3
BH crosscourt21%+8.8+0.4−1.3+7.9±3.1
BH slice through the middle15%−4.2+0.1−0.5−4.5±2.2
BH down the line14%+4.2+2.8−3.1+3.9±3.9
BH slice crosscourt8%+0.5+0.6+0.9+2.1±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.4±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1553 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
FH through the middle49%−3.5−0.1+0.3−3.2±2.7
FH crosscourt27%−0.2+1.5−0.1+1.2±4.3
FH down the line24%−1.8+2.1−1.0−0.6±4.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.6±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (336 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
BH through the middle40%−2.9+0.5+0.3−2.1±2.0
BH crosscourt34%+1.0±0.0+1.8+2.8±2.7
BH down the line20%−0.2+0.3−3.2−3.1±4.5
BH slice through the middle2%−11.3−2.7+3.3−10.7±2.3
BH slice crosscourt2%−4.0−0.8−0.4−5.2±2.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.6±2.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (992 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.

Thomas Enqvist

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · serve +1+4.1±4.1−1.2+5.4
FH to their forehand · return+4.1±5.0+0.2+3.9
BH to their forehand · serve +1+3.9±5.4+2.8+1.1
BH to their backhand · return +1+3.2±4.1+2.0+1.3
BH to their backhand · return+2.7±4.3+1.7+1.0
FH to their backhand · return +1+2.6±4.8−0.4+3.0

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · return−5.4±5.9−2.2−3.1
BH to the middle · return−3.8±3.1−1.9−1.9
FH to the middle · return−3.7±3.5−4.0+0.2
FH to their backhand · serve +1−3.4±4.6−2.9−0.6
FH to their forehand · return +1−3.4±4.8−2.3−1.2

Tomas Berdych

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · serve +1+3.2±3.7+1.3+2.0
BH slice to their backhand · return +1+2.7±3.3−0.1+2.8
BH slice to their backhand · return+2.3±4.3+3.7−1.4
FH to their forehand · return +1+2.2±4.9+0.9+1.2
BH to their backhand · return+1.6±3.8+1.7−0.1
BH to the middle · return+1.5±2.5+3.8−2.3

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · return +1−5.8±4.8−5.0−0.8
FH to their backhand · return−5.5±4.4−2.9−2.6
FH to the middle · rally−3.9±2.7−1.8−2.1
BH slice to the middle · rally−3.7±2.7−2.9−0.8
FH to their backhand · rally−3.6±3.3−1.8−1.8

Against Tomas Berdych-like opponents

Thomas Enqvist vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–65.2%37.3%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Felix Auger Aliassime, Rinky Hijikata, Roman Safiullin, Fabio Fognini, Lucas Pouille, Kyle Edmund, Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.