RallyIQ

Game plan

Thomas Johansson v Tomas Berdych

Every number combines what Thomas Johansson 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 Johansson wins, best of 3 71%90%: 37%–92% · best of 5: 76%
Serve points won 65.9% / 61.4% Thomas / Tomas · tour 61.3%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 74%serve 65.7% / 60.5%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Johansson's record against Tomas Berdych's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: +1.8 on serve, −10.1 on return vs expectation (298 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

CareerThomasTomas
Direction choice+0.21 ±0.10
better than 95%
+0.03 ±0.05
better than 65%
Shot selection−0.32 ±0.24
better than 21%
+0.23 ±0.08
better than 74%
Execution−0.41 ±0.55
better than 48%
−0.28 ±0.28
better than 53%
Points left on the table2.34 ±0.29
lower than 80%
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 Johansson serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowThomas winsv TomasMatchupOptimal
Wide57%76%76%78.0%±4.670% ▲
Body4%57%68%61.4%±12.80% ▼
T40%81%80%84.9%±5.130% ▼

Optimal v Tomas Berdych: +0.5±0.6 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +4.8 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowThomas winsv TomasMatchupOptimal
Wide50%75%79%80.6%±5.242% ▼
Body5%65%60%62.3%±13.20% ▼
T45%79%76%82.7%±5.058% ▲

Optimal v Tomas Berdych: +0.6±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +2.1 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Tomas Berdych serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowTomas winsv ThomasMatchupOptimal
Wide48%77%74%77.5%±4.961% ▲
Body10%62%57%55.8%±11.70% ▼
T42%77%74%75.9%±5.639% ▼

Optimal v Thomas Johansson: +1.1±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +2.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowTomas winsv ThomasMatchupOptimal
Wide43%75%78%80.5%±5.337% ▼
Body7%65%60%62.1%±11.80% ▼
T50%73%76%77.3%±5.263% ▲

Optimal v Thomas Johansson: +0.2±0.7 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.9 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 Johansson returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
FH through the middle40%+4.3−0.7−0.9+2.6±2.3
FH down the line28%+1.7+1.7−1.9+1.5±3.8
FH crosscourt23%+5.5−1.7−0.7+3.1±4.0
FH slice through the middle7%−4.2−0.8+2.2−2.7±1.9
FH slice down the line3%−4.3−2.0+0.5−5.8±2.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.2±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (261 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
BH through the middle37%+6.4−0.9−1.9+3.6±2.3
BH crosscourt29%+8.8−1.0+0.4+8.2±3.2
BH slice crosscourt13%+0.5+1.0+1.4+3.0±2.6
BH down the line11%+4.2+0.8−1.5+3.5±4.3
BH slice through the middle7%−4.2−2.7+0.7−6.2±1.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +4.6±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (214 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
FH down the line43%−1.8+1.2+1.7+1.0±4.1
FH through the middle40%−3.5+0.4+1.6−1.5±2.4
FH crosscourt17%−0.2+0.2+1.0+1.0±3.6

Lean FH down the line: +1.0±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (75 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TomasValue
BH through the middle48%−2.9−2.0−0.1−5.0±2.0
BH crosscourt43%+1.0−0.6+0.5+1.0±2.7
BH down the line9%−0.2−0.4+1.3+0.6±3.9

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.9±1.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (117 returns charted)

Tomas Berdych returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
FH through the middle49%+4.3+1.8−0.6+5.4±2.3
FH down the line26%+1.7−0.7−0.6+0.4±3.8
FH crosscourt17%+5.5+0.4−2.5+3.4±3.9
FH slice through the middle4%−4.2−0.2+1.7−2.8±2.3
FH slice down the line2%−4.3+1.5−0.7−3.5±2.8

Lean FH through the middle: +2.3±1.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (1497 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
BH through the middle38%+6.4−0.3±0.0+6.1±2.3
BH crosscourt21%+8.8+0.4−1.4+7.9±3.0
BH slice through the middle15%−4.2+0.1+1.3−2.7±2.2
BH down the line14%+4.2+2.8−0.2+6.7±3.9
BH slice crosscourt8%+0.5+0.6−0.1+1.0±2.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.7±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (1553 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
FH through the middle49%−3.5−0.1−0.9−4.4±2.7
FH crosscourt27%−0.2+1.5+2.3+3.6±4.2
FH down the line24%−1.8+2.1+1.2+1.5±4.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.4±3.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (336 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv ThomasValue
BH through the middle40%−2.9+0.5+1.1−1.3±2.1
BH crosscourt34%+1.0±0.0+1.8+2.9±2.7
BH down the line20%−0.2+0.3−2.5−2.4±4.5
BH slice through the middle2%−11.3−2.7+2.3−11.7±2.3
BH slice crosscourt2%−4.0−0.8+3.5−1.2±2.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +3.1±2.2 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 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.

Thomas Johansson

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · serve +1+3.4±3.1+0.2+3.2
BH to their backhand · return +1+2.5±3.3+1.2+1.3
FH to their backhand · return+2.1±3.8+1.1+1.0
FH to their forehand · rally+2.0±2.6−0.8+2.8
FH to their backhand · return +1+1.7±4.7+0.1+1.5
BH to their backhand · rally+1.7±2.7+0.3+1.4

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to the middle · return−4.3±2.8−2.3−2.0
BH to their backhand · return−4.1±3.4−2.8−1.3
FH to the middle · return−2.4±2.9−1.5−0.9
FH to their forehand · return−1.6±4.7−1.2−0.4
BH to their forehand · rally−1.2±4.1−2.8+1.5

Tomas Berdych

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their backhand · serve +1+3.0±4.0+0.5+2.5
BH slice to their backhand · return+2.2±3.3+0.3+1.9
FH to their forehand · serve +1+2.2±3.8+1.7+0.5
FH to their forehand · return +1+1.8±4.4+4.1−2.3
FH to the middle · return+0.8±2.5+1.2−0.3
BH to their backhand · return +1+0.7±3.3+0.1+0.6

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH slice to their backhand · rally−5.7±2.8−5.5−0.2
BH to the middle · rally−4.3±2.5−1.4−2.9
FH to their backhand · rally−3.7±3.3−3.8±0.0
BH to the middle · return−3.0±2.2−2.1−0.8
FH to their backhand · return +1−2.4±4.0−2.4±0.0

Against Tomas Berdych-like opponents

Thomas Johansson vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–63.7%34.2%
Players most similar to Tomas Berdych1 67.1%23.1%

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.