RallyIQ

ATP · Right-handed · 12 charted matches · 1990–2008

Fabrice Santoro

Archetype: Blocks returns short · Works the corners

Against an average opponent

Serve points won 60.9% ±3.2 raw 54.6% · tour 63.4% · 1,110 points
Return points won 37.7% ±3.2 raw 36.7% · tour 36.6% · 1,054 points

Serve and return points won, refitted against every opponent at once so a record built on weak or strong opposition is put on the same scale. Career, all surfaces, with a 90% margin. Raw is the plain share of points won.

Value per 100 shots

Direction choice +0.19 ±0.11 better than 93% of ATP · raw +0.18
Shot selection −1.89 ±0.57 better than 0% of ATP · raw −1.89
Execution +2.60 ±0.69 better than 100% of ATP · raw +2.51
Tactical adaptability +0.13 first serves toward what's working, set to set · 12 matches
Adaptation speed +0.16 same, every two to three service games · per 100 first serves
Points left on the table 2.94 per 100 shots vs best direction · lower than 23% of ATP

Points gained per 100 shots compared with an average tour player in the same position, adjusted for the strength of the opponents faced, with a 90% margin (shots clustered by match). Raw is before the opponent adjustment. Built on 6,478 shots.

Shot expected value

The share of points Fabrice Santoro goes on to win after each option in the positions they face most often, shrunk toward tour average when the sample is small. Showing the 8 most-used options; teal marks the best one with at least 30 shots.

Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your forehand side

position worth 44% to the average player · 407 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
FH slice through the middle 20% 40.9%±8.1 24.5%
FH slice down the line 19% 48.6%±8.3 25.6%
FH slice crosscourt 18% 40.4%±8.4 30.9%
FH down the line 14% 50.6%±9.3 44.7%
FH through the middle 13% 43.6%±9.5 41.5%
FH crosscourt 12% 50.5%±10.0 46.6%

Long rally, 9+: drive to your forehand side

position worth 44% to the average player · 359 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
FH slice crosscourt 23% 33.9%±7.7 31.2%
FH slice through the middle 19% 35.7%±8.5 25.4%
FH crosscourt 16% 45.9%±9.3 46.9%
FH slice down the line 15% 43.4%±9.4 27.8%
FH through the middle 13% 43.7%±10.0 41.4%
FH down the line 13% 46.2%±10.0 44.8%

Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side

position worth 46% to the average player · 345 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
BH crosscourt 60% 49.8%±5.5 47.6%
BH through the middle 26% 43.3%±7.8 43.7%
BH down the line 11% 49.6%±10.9 46.4%

Long rally, 9+: drive to your backhand side

position worth 46% to the average player · 316 shots

OptionUsedWin %Tour
BH crosscourt 56% 48.5%±5.9 48.0%
BH through the middle 21% 42.3%±8.7 43.8%
BH down the line 14% 45.8%±10.2 46.5%

Serve under pressure

Pressure predictability index +10 How much less varied Fabrice Santoro's first-serve direction gets on break points. Positive means easier to read. Based on 135 break-point first serves.

Deuce court

1st serveUsageBreak ptWon when in
Wide 50% 41% ▼ 61% / 73%
Body 11% 5% 58% / 63%
T 40% 54% ▲ 64% / 75%

522 normal · 39 break-point 1st serves

Ad court

1st serveUsageBreak ptWon when in
Wide 54% 65% ▲ 65% / 73%
Body 9% 7% 62% / 63%
T 37% 28% ▼ 61% / 72%

412 normal · 96 break-point 1st serves

Is the serve mix in equilibrium?

Game theory says a well-mixed server wins equally often with every direction they use. If one direction wins more, it's underused and points are being left behind. This is the minimax test Walker and Wooders ran on Wimbledon finals, applied to every charted first serve. Win rates include faults. "Optimal" allows for returners reading a habit. No measurable response (−0.05 ± 0.15 points per 100 serves for every 10 points of habitual usage), measured from ATP servers whose mix drifted between matches. Shifts stay within the range servers' habits actually vary, the only range that response was measured over.

Deuce court

1st serveUsagePoints wonOptimal
Wide49% 57.9%±4.7 n=275 62% ▲
Body10% 53.1%±8.8 n=57 0% ▼
T41% 52.4%±5.1 n=229 38% ▼

Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.32).
Optimal mix: +0.4 per 100 first serves.

Ad court

1st serveUsagePoints wonOptimal
Wide56% 56.7%±4.6 n=284 69% ▲
Body9% 54.4%±9.5 n=44 9%
T35% 49.1%±5.7 n=180 22% ▼

Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.17).
Optimal mix: +0.3 per 100 first serves.

Exploitability 0.35 points per 100 first serves What the optimal mix would win over the current one, both courts. More exploitable than 100% of ATP servers. Tested on matches they weren't fitted on, ATP mixes picked this way win 0.33 per 100 first serves on average.

Repeating the previous direction to the same court: −3.0±6.5 points per 100 against switching. Negative means returners read repeats. Tour-wide, repeating costs women about 0.4 points per 100 and costs men nothing, so men's returners don't measurably anticipate direction. (480 repeats, 565 switches.)

Return by serve direction

Return points won against each serve direction, compared with the tour average.

ServeCourtDirectionPointsWonvs tour
1stAd courtBody 22 44% +7.4±11.3
1stAd courtT 129 34% +6.2±6.2
1stAd courtWide 145 24% −3.1±5.3
1stDeuce courtBody 29 41% +4.0±10.5
1stDeuce courtT 120 21% −4.1±5.5
1stDeuce courtWide 167 27% −0.2±5.2
2ndAd courtBody 51 50% +1.0±9.1
2ndAd courtT 64 52% +2.6±8.5
2ndAd courtWide 76 43% −5.4±7.9
2ndDeuce courtBody 74 53% +3.6±8.1
2ndDeuce courtT 71 48% −1.3±8.2
2ndDeuce courtWide 70 51% +3.3±8.2

Signature patterns

Recurring sequences that win more than Fabrice Santoro's own baseline, ranked by edge weighted by how often they're used.

Serve → +1

  1. Wide serve (ad court) → BH through the middle used 2.9% · won 62% · +1.7±11.3 vs own baseline
  2. Wide serve (deuce court) → BH through the middle used 2.9% · won 58% · −2.3±11.5 vs own baseline
  3. Body serve (deuce court) → BH crosscourt used 3.7% · won 58% · −3.2±10.9 vs own baseline
  4. T serve (deuce court) → BH crosscourt used 4.0% · won 56% · −5.2±10.7 vs own baseline
  5. Wide serve (deuce court) → BH crosscourt used 3.2% · won 49% · −12.3±11.4 vs own baseline

Return

  1. vs T serve (deuce court) → BH through the middle, mid used 5.5% · won 50% · +9.9±11.0 vs own baseline
  2. vs T serve (ad court) → FH slice through the middle, mid used 5.1% · won 45% · +4.3±11.2 vs own baseline
  3. vs T serve (deuce court) → BH through the middle, deep used 6.4% · won 43% · +3.2±10.5 vs own baseline
  4. vs wide serve (deuce court) → FH slice through the middle, mid used 5.5% · won 41% · +1.0±10.8 vs own baseline
  5. vs wide serve (ad court) → BH crosscourt, short used 5.3% · won 38% · −1.9±10.8 vs own baseline

Rally, consecutive own shots

  1. FH slice down the line → BH crosscourt used 4.6% · won 57% · +12.1±8.4 vs own baseline
  2. BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt used 6.1% · won 49% · +4.2±7.6 vs own baseline
  3. FH through the middle → FH down the line used 1.6% · won 51% · +6.0±11.4 vs own baseline
  4. FH slice crosscourt → FH slice through the middle used 1.5% · won 51% · +6.0±11.7 vs own baseline
  5. FH slice through the middle → BH crosscourt used 3.3% · won 49% · +3.7±9.4 vs own baseline

Discovered sequences

Mined from every me → opponent → me run of three shots, with no templates. Ranked by how much more often Fabrice Santoro wins the point once the sequence happens, weighted by how often it happens. Think of them as chess openings.

  1. BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt used 2.2% · won 53% · +7.6±8.5 vs own baseline · +7.5 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Jiri Novak (1/6), Arnaud Clement (3/11)
  2. FH slice down the line → BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt used 2.2% · won 53% · +7.6±8.5 vs own baseline · +8.8 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by David Nalbandian (3/7), Arnaud Clement (7/14)
  3. BH through the middle → FH crosscourt → FH slice crosscourt used 0.7% · won 55% · +9.7±12.1 vs own baseline · +33.6 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by David Nalbandian (3/7)
  4. FH slice through the middle → BH crosscourt → BH crosscourt used 0.9% · won 54% · +8.1±11.3 vs own baseline · +17.1 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Arnaud Clement (3/6), Andre Agassi (5/7)
  5. BH crosscourt → BH through the middle → BH crosscourt used 0.5% · won 55% · +9.1±12.8 vs own baseline · +19.5 vs tour on the same sequence
  6. FH slice down the line → BH crosscourt → BH through the middle used 1.1% · won 51% · +6.0±10.7 vs own baseline · +13.9 vs tour on the same sequence

Strengths and vulnerabilities

Value per 100 shots compared with the average player hitting (strengths) or facing (vulnerabilities) the same shot. Only shot types seen at least 120 times.

Hurts opponents most with

FH slice to their forehand · rally+5.4188
FH slice to the middle · rally+5.4189
FH slice to their backhand · rally+5.3230
BH to their forehand · rally+3.2213
FH slice to the middle · return+2.8133

Most exposed to

FH to their forehand · return +1−3.3170
BH to their backhand · return−2.9158
FH to their backhand · serve +1−2.2146
FH to their forehand · return−1.8152
BH to the middle · return−1.2142

Active players who are best at the shot in the top weakness: Sebastian Baez, Jaume Munar, Miomir Kecmanovic, Jan Lennard Struff, Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Tactical fingerprint

Each bar shows how far a style trait is from the ATP average, in standard deviations.

Avg rally length5.3
Points at net22%
FH down the line38%
Chipped returns33%
Wide serves · deuce49%
Wide serves · ad56%
BH down the line22%
Serve & volley13%
Deep returns29%
Through the middle24%
Drop shots / shot1.3%
1st serve in60%
T serves · ad35%
T serves · deuce41%
Forehand share49%
Backhand slice6%
Run-around forehands1%
Point-ending shots14.1%
Unforced errors / shot4.2%

Plays most like

  1. Richard Gasquet 2002–2025 plan v
  2. Jaume Munar 2018–2026 plan v
  3. Novak Djokovic 2005–2026 plan v
  4. Mikhail Kukushkin 2014–2022 plan v
  5. Jenson Brooksby 2021–2026 plan v
  6. Andy Murray 2005–2024 plan v
  7. Daniil Medvedev 2017–2026 plan v
  8. Damir Dzumhur 2015–2023 plan v

Closest from another era

  1. Jaume Munar 2018–2026
  2. Novak Djokovic 2005–2026
  3. Mikhail Kukushkin 2014–2022

Charted matches