RallyIQ

Game plan

Tommy Haas v Roger Federer

Every number combines what Tommy Haas does well with what Roger Federer allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Tommy Haas wins, best of 3 10%90%: 6%–15% · best of 5: 5%
Serve points won 59.7% / 70.2% Tommy / Roger · tour 63.8%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 6%serve 58.4% / 71.1%

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 At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers.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 Tommy Haas's record against Roger Federer's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: +0.8 on serve, +7.5 on return vs expectation (481 points); head-to-head: +3.0 on serve, −0.2 on return vs expectation (1984 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

CareerTommyRoger
Direction choice+0.12 ±0.07
better than 84%
+0.04 ±0.02
better than 68%
Shot selection−0.59 ±0.12
better than 9%
+0.18 ±0.03
better than 72%
Execution−0.02 ±0.38
better than 67%
+0.08 ±0.09
better than 72%
Points left on the table2.57 ±0.14
lower than 52%
2.74 ±0.04
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.

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.

Tommy Haas serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowTommy winsv RogerMatchupOptimal
Wide38%72%69%68.4%±3.651% ▲
Body4%62%63%61.0%±8.60% ▼
T57%69%70%64.3%±3.249% ▼

Optimal v Roger Federer: +0.2±0.4 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +2.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowTommy winsv RogerMatchupOptimal
Wide53%73%68%68.4%±3.466% ▲
Body6%57%61%54.4%±8.55% ▼
T41%66%67%60.0%±3.929% ▼

Optimal v Roger Federer: +0.6±0.4 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +4.3 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Roger Federer serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowRoger winsv TommyMatchupOptimal
Wide46%76%72%75.8%±3.041% ▼
Body8%68%63%67.8%±6.40% ▼
T46%81%77%83.3%±2.459% ▲

Optimal v Tommy Haas: +0.6±0.4 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving T every time would read +4.6 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowRoger winsv TommyMatchupOptimal
Wide56%78%79%83.7%±2.469% ▲
Body6%64%67%67.4%±7.60% ▼
T38%76%75%78.4%±3.231% ▼

Optimal v Tommy Haas: +0.9±0.4 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix. Serving wide every time would read +3.0 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.

Tommy Haas returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RogerValue
FH through the middle42%+4.3+0.8−0.9+4.1±1.6
FH crosscourt22%+5.5−0.4−0.8+4.3±2.8
FH down the line17%+1.7+1.4−2.0+1.1±3.0
FH slice through the middle12%−4.2+3.3−0.4−1.3±1.7
FH slice down the line4%−4.3+1.0−0.4−3.6±2.6

Lean FH crosscourt: +1.9±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (729 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RogerValue
BH slice through the middle38%−4.2+3.4−0.8−1.6±1.3
BH slice crosscourt22%+0.5+4.2±0.0+4.7±2.0
BH through the middle15%+6.4+3.0−1.4+8.1±1.9
BH slice down the line9%−8.4+3.5−1.9−6.8±2.8
BH crosscourt8%+8.8+2.1−0.8+10.2±2.6

Lean BH crosscourt: +8.3±2.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (754 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RogerValue
FH through the middle47%−3.5+1.2−1.3−3.5±2.0
FH crosscourt25%−0.2−2.8−1.5−4.6±3.3
FH down the line23%−1.8−1.3−1.4−4.5±3.5
FH slice through the middle5%−12.7+1.3−0.1−11.5±1.9

Lean FH through the middle: +0.9±1.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (204 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv RogerValue
BH through the middle28%−2.9−1.1−0.7−4.6±1.6
BH crosscourt23%+1.0+0.6−0.9+0.7±2.1
BH slice crosscourt20%−4.0+0.5−2.5−6.0±2.0
BH slice through the middle13%−11.3−1.2−1.9−14.5±2.0
BH down the line12%−0.2+1.5−1.0+0.3±3.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.4±1.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (585 returns charted)

Roger Federer returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TommyValue
FH through the middle49%+4.3+0.3+0.2+4.7±1.5
FH down the line25%+1.7−0.4−1.0+0.3±2.6
FH crosscourt17%+5.5−0.6+2.5+7.4±3.0
FH slice through the middle5%−4.2+2.8+0.7−0.7±1.9
FH slice down the line2%−4.3+1.9+0.7−1.6±2.9
BH inside-in0%+7.7−1.6+3.3+9.3±3.4

Lean BH inside-in: +5.7±3.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (11918 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TommyValue
BH slice through the middle26%−4.2+2.2+2.3+0.3±1.4
BH through the middle25%+6.4−0.8+0.8+6.4±1.5
BH slice crosscourt23%+0.5+3.3+2.5+6.3±1.8
BH crosscourt14%+8.8−2.0+3.3+10.1±2.1
BH down the line8%+4.2+1.0+0.4+5.6±3.4

Lean BH crosscourt: +5.4±2.0 per 100 returns v the current mix (16185 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TommyValue
FH through the middle45%−3.5+0.5+1.4−1.6±1.8
FH down the line28%−1.8+1.2−3.0−3.6±3.4
FH crosscourt20%−0.2−1.5−0.8−2.5±3.5
BH slice through the middle2%−6.9+1.5−0.8−6.2±2.2
BH through the middle1%+0.1+0.3+1.0+1.4±1.8

Lean BH through the middle: +4.0±2.3 per 100 returns v the current mix (3030 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv TommyValue
BH slice crosscourt25%−4.0+1.4−1.6−4.2±1.8
BH through the middle22%−2.9−1.4+1.0−3.3±1.4
BH slice through the middle16%−11.3+1.0−0.8−11.1±1.7
BH crosscourt14%+1.0−2.3−1.2−2.5±1.9
BH down the line8%−0.2−0.3+1.7+1.1±3.6

Lean BH down the line: +5.3±3.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (11907 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 hard. Each player's hard record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Tommy Haas

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH slice to the middle · return+3.9±2.4+4.5−0.6
BH slice to their backhand · return+1.7±1.9+2.6−1.0
BH slice to the middle · return +1+1.4±2.5+2.9−1.5
BH slice to their backhand · return +1+0.9±2.2+1.9−1.1
FH to the middle · return+0.5±1.6+1.3−0.8
BH to their backhand · return +1+0.2±2.5+0.5−0.2

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH drop shot to their forehand · rally−11.6±6.4−3.8−7.8
BH volley to their forehand · rally−6.5±6.3+0.8−7.3
BH to their forehand · serve +1−5.9±4.0−1.9−4.0
FH to their backhand · return +1−5.9±3.2−2.9−3.0
BH to their forehand · rally−5.4±2.5−1.8−3.5

Roger Federer

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH volley to their backhand · rally+10.7±6.0+2.1+8.6
FH volley to their forehand · rally+5.5±6.0+2.4+3.1
BH volley to their forehand · rally+5.1±6.3+3.5+1.6
FH slice to the middle · return+4.7±2.6+2.8+1.9
BH slice to their forehand · return+4.5±3.8+0.4+4.2
FH to their backhand · serve +1+4.1±1.9+3.2+0.9

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their forehand · rally−2.9±2.8−0.7−2.2
FH to the middle · return +1−2.3±2.4−1.8−0.5
FH to the middle · rally−1.9±1.4−2.0+0.1
BH to the middle · rally−1.7±1.4−0.8−0.9
BH to their forehand · return +1−1.6±4.6+0.2−1.8

Against Roger Federer-like opponents

Tommy Haas vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–61.6%32.5%
Players most similar to Roger Federer2 63.6%42.4%
Roger Federer (charted head-to-head)10 63.7%29.7%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, Stan Wawrinka, Alexei Popyrin, Dominic Thiem, Tim Van Rijthoven, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Ivan Ljubicic, James Blake. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.

Charted head-to-head