ATP · Left-handed · 56 charted matches · 1990–2001
Goran Ivanisevic
Archetype: Serve-and-volleyer · Net rusher
Against an average opponent
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
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 22,923 shots.
Shot expected value
The share of points Goran Ivanisevic 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 backhand side
position worth 46% to the average player · 518 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH through the middle | 35% | 45.1%±5.8 | 43.7% |
| BH down the line | 20% | 41.8%±7.3 | 46.4% |
| BH crosscourt | 15% | 46.5%±8.2 | 47.6% |
| BH slice through the middle | 10% | 32.9%±9.2 | 35.1% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 6% | 35.7%±11.3 | 42.5% |
| BH slice down the line | 5% | 37.0%±11.6 | 37.1% |
| FH inside-out | 3% | 45.5%±13.7 | 51.8% |
Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your middle
position worth 51% to the average player · 472 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| FH crosscourt | 22% | 50.8%±7.4 | 52.7% |
| FH through the middle | 20% | 38.1%±7.5 | 47.0% |
| FH down the line | 17% | 40.3%±8.1 | 51.5% |
| BH through the middle | 15% | 43.3%±8.5 | 46.8% |
| BH down the line | 13% | 38.1%±8.8 | 48.3% |
| BH crosscourt | 4% | 42.8%±13.4 | 49.1% |
Return +1: volley to your backhand side, opponent at net
position worth 33% to the average player · 437 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH down the line | 27% | 36.6%±6.7 | 39.2% |
| BH crosscourt | 23% | 46.4%±7.5 | 43.4% |
| BH through the middle | 11% | 18.7%±7.7 | 25.6% |
| BH lob through the middle | 11% | 15.9%±7.4 | 17.4% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 8% | 24.6%±9.6 | 22.7% |
| BH slice down the line | 6% | 13.0%±8.3 | 19.3% |
| BH lob down the line | 5% | 16.5%±9.2 | 21.4% |
| BH lob crosscourt | 4% | 19.4%±10.6 | 26.9% |
Return +1: drive to your backhand side
position worth 44% to the average player · 371 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH through the middle | 29% | 51.6%±7.2 | 43.0% |
| BH down the line | 20% | 41.3%±8.4 | 44.2% |
| BH crosscourt | 15% | 42.1%±9.3 | 46.9% |
| BH slice through the middle | 14% | 34.9%±9.2 | 32.6% |
| BH slice down the line | 10% | 43.3%±10.8 | 33.3% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 9% | 38.8%±11.1 | 40.9% |
Serve under pressure
Pressure predictability index +5 How much less varied Goran Ivanisevic's first-serve direction gets on break points. Positive means easier to read. Based on 391 break-point first serves.
Deuce court
| 1st serve | Usage | Break pt | Won when in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 42% | 48% | 82% / 73% |
| Body | 5% | 2% | 63% / 63% |
| T | 53% | 50% | 81% / 75% |
3,058 normal · 96 break-point 1st serves
Ad court
| 1st serve | Usage | Break pt | Won when in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 54% | 52% | 81% / 73% |
| Body | 3% | 2% | 66% / 63% |
| T | 43% | 46% | 88% / 72% |
2,543 normal · 295 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 serve | Usage | Points won | Optimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 43% | 65.9%±2.1 n=1,344 | 34% ▼ |
| Body | 5% | 60.3%±6.1 n=142 | 0% ▼ |
| T | 53% | 67.9%±1.9 n=1,668 | 66% ▲ |
Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.43).
Optimal mix: +0.5 per 100 first serves.
Ad court
| 1st serve | Usage | Points won | Optimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 54% | 68.8%±1.9 n=1,525 | 44% ▼ |
| Body | 3% | 69.5%±6.9 n=89 | 0% ▼ |
| T | 43% | 72.4%±2.1 n=1,224 | 56% ▲ |
Off equilibrium (p = 0.040): serve T more. Gap 1.9 points per 100 first serves.
Optimal mix: +0.5 per 100 first serves.
Exploitability 0.52 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: +1.1±2.0 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. (3,038 repeats, 2,842 switches.)
Return by serve direction
Return points won against each serve direction, compared with the tour average.
| Serve | Court | Direction | Points | Won | vs tour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ad court | Body | 232 | 37% | +0.4±4.9 | |
| 1st | Ad court | T | 795 | 22% | −5.9±2.4 | |
| 1st | Ad court | Wide | 654 | 22% | −5.6±2.6 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | Body | 201 | 32% | −4.2±5.1 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | T | 671 | 16% | −9.3±2.3 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | Wide | 1,041 | 21% | −5.9±2.1 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | Body | 400 | 49% | −0.4±4.0 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | T | 501 | 47% | −2.1±3.6 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | Wide | 287 | 47% | −0.9±4.6 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | Body | 325 | 43% | −6.0±4.3 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | T | 169 | 50% | +0.5±5.8 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | Wide | 747 | 43% | −4.8±2.9 |
Signature patterns
Recurring sequences that win more than Goran Ivanisevic's own baseline, ranked by edge weighted by how often they're used.
Serve → +1
- Wide serve (ad court) → BH volley crosscourt used 2.3% · won 69% · −5.4±6.1 vs own baseline
- Wide serve (ad court) → FH volley down the line used 2.1% · won 65% · −9.0±6.5 vs own baseline
Return
- vs T serve (ad court) → BH through the middle, mid used 3.1% · won 46% · +14.5±6.1 vs own baseline
- vs wide serve (ad court) → FH crosscourt, mid used 2.0% · won 49% · +17.5±7.3 vs own baseline
- vs wide serve (deuce court) → BH crosscourt, mid used 2.2% · won 44% · +13.1±7.0 vs own baseline
- vs T serve (ad court) → BH through the middle, short used 2.2% · won 41% · +9.7±6.9 vs own baseline
- vs wide serve (deuce court) → BH through the middle, mid used 4.8% · won 38% · +6.5±4.9 vs own baseline
Rally, consecutive own shots
- FH crosscourt → FH crosscourt used 6.5% · won 56% · +10.6±6.1 vs own baseline
- BH through the middle → FH crosscourt used 6.0% · won 50% · +5.3±6.4 vs own baseline
- BH down the line → BH through the middle used 1.2% · won 56% · +11.2±10.9 vs own baseline
- BH through the middle → BH through the middle used 3.7% · won 51% · +5.9±7.8 vs own baseline
- FH through the middle → BH crosscourt used 2.0% · won 52% · +7.1±9.7 vs own baseline
Discovered sequences
Mined from every me → opponent → me run of three shots, with no templates. Ranked by how much more often Goran Ivanisevic wins the point once the sequence happens, weighted by how often it happens. Think of them as chess openings.
- FH crosscourt → BH through the middle → FH crosscourt used 0.7% · won 61% · +12.7±9.6 vs own baseline · +15.3 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Boris Becker (5/9), Ivan Lendl (8/14)
- FH crosscourt → BH slice crosscourt → FH crosscourt used 0.6% · won 59% · +10.6±10.2 vs own baseline · +12.5 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Boris Becker (14/22)
- Wide serve → FH through the middle return, mid → FH volley crosscourt used 0.4% · won 59% · +10.7±11.3 vs own baseline · +0.6 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Andre Agassi (3/7)
- Wide serve → BH slice down the line return, short → BH volley crosscourt used 0.2% · won 61% · +12.9±12.5 vs own baseline · +5.4 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Richard Krajicek (7/8)
- BH through the middle → BH down the line → BH through the middle used 0.2% · won 61% · +12.9±12.5 vs own baseline · +34.3 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Yevgeny Kafelnikov (5/6)
- Wide serve → BH through the middle return, mid → BH volley crosscourt used 0.5% · won 57% · +9.0±10.9 vs own baseline · −3.6 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
| BH volley to their forehand · serve +1 | +5.4 | 247 |
| BH slice to their forehand · return | +5.2 | 217 |
| T 1st serve · ad court | +5.2 | 1,224 |
| Wide 1st serve · ad court | +4.2 | 1,525 |
| Wide 1st serve · deuce court | +2.0 | 1,344 |
Most exposed to
| BH volley to their forehand · rally | −7.7 | 152 |
| FH volley to their backhand · rally | −5.6 | 120 |
| BH volley to their forehand · serve +1 | −5.1 | 334 |
| BH slice to their forehand · rally | −4.4 | 166 |
| BH slice to their forehand · return | −2.7 | 222 |
Active players who are best at the shot in the top weakness: Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz, Alex De Minaur, Dominic Thiem
Tactical fingerprint
Each bar shows how far a style trait is from the ATP average, in standard deviations.
| Serve & volley | 56% | |
| BH down the line | 33% | |
| Point-ending shots | 33.6% | |
| Through the middle | 31% | |
| Points at net | 19% | |
| T serves · deuce | 53% | |
| Unforced errors / shot | 12.2% | |
| T serves · ad | 43% | |
| Backhand slice | 29% | |
| Wide serves · ad | 54% | |
| Chipped returns | 20% | |
| Forehand share | 54% | |
| Wide serves · deuce | 43% | |
| Drop shots / shot | 1.0% | |
| Run-around forehands | 9% | |
| 1st serve in | 56% | |
| FH down the line | 23% | |
| Avg rally length | 2.7 | |
| Deep returns | 11% |
Plays most like
- Guy Forget 1991–1996 plan v
- Todd Martin 1992–2001 plan v
- Michael Stich 1990–1997 plan v
- Mardy Fish 2003–2012 plan v
- David Wheaton 1990–1994 plan v
- Malivai Washington 1992–1996 plan v
- John Mcenroe 1978–1992 plan v
- Andrei Pavel 1999–2006 plan v
Closest from another era
- Pierre Hugues Herbert 2014–2025
- Kevin King 2019–2019
- Jan Lennard Struff 2014–2025
Charted matches
- Goran Ivanisevic v Gustavo Kuerten W Masters Cup RR · Hard · 16 Nov 2001
- Goran Ivanisevic v Filippo Volandri L Davis Cup World Group PO RR · Clay · 21 Sep 2001
- Goran Ivanisevic v Gustavo Kuerten L Cincinnati Masters R16 · Hard · 9 Aug 2001
- Goran Ivanisevic v Patrick Rafter W Wimbledon F · Grass · 9 Jul 2001
- Goran Ivanisevic v Tim Henman W Wimbledon SF · Grass · 7 Jul 2001
- Carlos Moya v Goran Ivanisevic W Wimbledon R64 · Grass · 29 Jun 2001
- Goran Ivanisevic v Yevgeny Kafelnikov L Moscow F · Hard · 15 Nov 1998
- Goran Ivanisevic v Pete Sampras L Wimbledon F · Grass · 5 Jul 1998
- Goran Ivanisevic v Richard Krajicek W Wimbledon SF · Grass · 4 Jul 1998
- Goran Ivanisevic v Jan Siemerink Wimbledon QF · Grass · 1 Jul 1998
- Greg Rusedski v Goran Ivanisevic W Vienna F · Hard · 12 Oct 1997
- Boris Becker v Goran Ivanisevic L Grand Slam Cup F · Hard · 8 Dec 1996