Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 in the US Open semi-final, 2008 on hard court
The result saw Murray reach his first Slam final, where he would lose to Roger Federer. Nadal had won French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympics and would go on to win the next Australian Open
Murray won 149 points, Nadal 126
Serve Stats
Murray...
- 1st serve percentage (70/108) 65%
- 1st serve points won (55/70) 79%
- 2nd serve points won (24/38) 63%
- Aces 22 (1 not clean), Service Winners 3
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (47/108) 44%
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (120/167) 72%
- 1st serve points won (71/120) 59%
- 2nd serve points won (26/47) 55%
- Aces 7, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (33/167) 20%
Serve Pattern
Murray served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 63%
Nadal served...
- to FH 36%
- to BH 58%
- to Body 7%
Return Stats
Murray made...
- 132 (51 FH, 81 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 2 Winners (2 BH)
- 25 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (3 FH, 1 BH)
- 21 Forced (2 FH, 19 BH)
- Return Rate (132/165) 80%
Nadal made...
- 58 (23 FH, 35 BH), including 6 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 BH)
- 22 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (5 FH, 3 BH), including 3 runaround FH attempts
- 14 Forced (5 FH, 9 BH)
- Return Rate (58/105) 55%
Break Points
Murray 4/20 (10 games)
Nadal 2/3 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Murray 37 (14 FH, 11 BH, 4 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 2 OH)
Nadal 25 (11 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV, 5 BHV, 3 OH)
Murray's FHs - 3 cc, 4 dtl (1 pass), 4 inside-out, 1 longline, 2 running-down-drop-shots at net (1 dtl, 1 longline pass)
- BHs - 6 cc (2 returns), 2 dtl (1 pass), 1 inside-out/dtl, 1 running-down-drop-shot at net pass and 1 net chord dribbler
- 4 first volleys from serve-volley points (3 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 BHV was a lob, played from behind the service line and has not been counted a net point
- the BH1/2V was played from no-man's land
Nadal's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass), 2 dtl passes, 4 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 longline pass
- BHs - 1 cc return pass, 3 dtl (2 passes - 1 of them a return) and 1 at net
- 2 first volleys from serve-volley points (1 BHV, 1 OH) and 3 second volleys (1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Murray 65
- 49 Unforced (27 FH, 20 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 16 Forced (9 FH, 4 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.5
Nadal 63
- 29 Unforced (17 FH, 10 BH, 2 FHV)
- 34 Forced (17 FH, 15 BH, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.6
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: The 'Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is a measure of how aggressive of intent the average UE made was. 60 is maximum, 20 is minimum. This match has been scored using a four point scale - 2 defensive, 4 neutral, 5 attacking, 6 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Murray was...
- 29/41 (71%) at net, including...
- 12/18 (67%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 9/13 (69%) off 1st serve and..
- 3/5 (60%) off 2nd serve
--
- 0/1 return-approaching
Nadal was...
- 17/29 (59%) at net, including...
- 6/9 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
Match Report
Possibly Andy Murray finest performance as he virtually shuts down Nadal. Nerves is the only area Nadal has an advantage and he utilizes it to keep the match more competitive than it looks
Serve & Return
Murray cruises through serve throughout, Nadal struggles almost throughout. Statistically, this comes shining through with Murray serving 108 points (Nadal 167) and having break points in 10 games (Nadal 3). Murray is serves particularly well, banging down 25 unreturnable serves and finishing with a very high 44% unreturned serves. Noteworthy is Nadal only makes 22 return errors.... its very rare for a player to have fewer return errors than his opponent has aces/service winners, though more likely to happen to Nadal, who's forte on return is getting balls back in play few others could. This is an indication of how well Murray served and also, that Nadal returned surely
On the flip side, Murray takes a leaf out of Nadal's book and returns first serves from about as far back as you can stand. He's so far back that there's a risk of him hitting the line judge with his racquet swing. He mixes up how he takes the second serve... sometimes staying further back than usual, sometimes returning normally. Most often, he stands a couple steps behind baseline but hops forward as he makes the return
Whatever he does, it works. 80% return rate and a fair number of initiative grabbingly forceful returns. And it shapes the playing action...
Play - Baseline & Net
You'll often hear people wonder why players don't serve-volley against Nadal returning from a deep position. Clearly, Nadal himself knows how to deal with a deep returner. He - one of the most reluctant serve-volleyers in the game - follows his serve to net now and then (but a lot for him) to capitilize on Murray's deep return position. With reasonable success, but he doesn't do it much (9 times). Murray does the same, off both serves. A bold move for a usually non-S'Ver against the heavy Nadal return.... off first serve, his serve is strong enough to come in behind and off second serve, he's able to get closer to the net
Both players win 67% serve volleying
Baseline play (the bulk of the action) is characterized by Murray's clean ball striking. Off both wings, he hits clean as a whistle, even when making errors. Initially, he focuses his attack to Nadal's FH with great success... as the match goes on, Nadal holds up better
Murray returning from well back gives Nadal the chance to step up and take charge of baseline points. He usually declines and is content to play from behind the baseline himself. Murray generally rallies from behind the baseline, but edges forward during rallies, especially off short balls (Nadal doesn't do much against short balls). He is the more aggressive baseliner and forces many errors with clean hit shots (power a greater factor than placement)
On Murray's service games, the dynamic is enhanced still more. Again Murray generally looks to move forward, Nadal is content to stay well back.... only now, Murray extends his attack to taking the net too
Stats cover how well play went. Virtually the same number of errors (Murray 65, Nadal 63), but Murray forcing many more errors (34 to 16), while making a lot more unforced errors (49 to 29)…. hitting more winners though (37 to 25), puts Murray well into the net positives in play situations (i.e. when return is made). And of course, he's winning a lot more points with unreturned serves (44% to 20%)
A note on movement. Nadal's seems to be down from his norm. Not that he's slow, but there's a dearth of 'miraculous' gets that are typical of Nadal's play - which is 1 reason for the relatively high number of errors he's forced into, (the other being how cleanly Murray hits). In fact, I'd say Murray probably has a thin advantage in court coverage and defence... he seems to move faster but of course, but is up against a less ferocious attack (Nadal plays relatively safe with his attacking groundstrokes, keeping them more safely in play than usual)
The result saw Murray reach his first Slam final, where he would lose to Roger Federer. Nadal had won French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympics and would go on to win the next Australian Open
Murray won 149 points, Nadal 126
Serve Stats
Murray...
- 1st serve percentage (70/108) 65%
- 1st serve points won (55/70) 79%
- 2nd serve points won (24/38) 63%
- Aces 22 (1 not clean), Service Winners 3
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (47/108) 44%
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (120/167) 72%
- 1st serve points won (71/120) 59%
- 2nd serve points won (26/47) 55%
- Aces 7, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (33/167) 20%
Serve Pattern
Murray served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 63%
Nadal served...
- to FH 36%
- to BH 58%
- to Body 7%
Return Stats
Murray made...
- 132 (51 FH, 81 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 2 Winners (2 BH)
- 25 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (3 FH, 1 BH)
- 21 Forced (2 FH, 19 BH)
- Return Rate (132/165) 80%
Nadal made...
- 58 (23 FH, 35 BH), including 6 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 BH)
- 22 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (5 FH, 3 BH), including 3 runaround FH attempts
- 14 Forced (5 FH, 9 BH)
- Return Rate (58/105) 55%
Break Points
Murray 4/20 (10 games)
Nadal 2/3 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Murray 37 (14 FH, 11 BH, 4 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 2 OH)
Nadal 25 (11 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV, 5 BHV, 3 OH)
Murray's FHs - 3 cc, 4 dtl (1 pass), 4 inside-out, 1 longline, 2 running-down-drop-shots at net (1 dtl, 1 longline pass)
- BHs - 6 cc (2 returns), 2 dtl (1 pass), 1 inside-out/dtl, 1 running-down-drop-shot at net pass and 1 net chord dribbler
- 4 first volleys from serve-volley points (3 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 BHV was a lob, played from behind the service line and has not been counted a net point
- the BH1/2V was played from no-man's land
Nadal's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass), 2 dtl passes, 4 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 longline pass
- BHs - 1 cc return pass, 3 dtl (2 passes - 1 of them a return) and 1 at net
- 2 first volleys from serve-volley points (1 BHV, 1 OH) and 3 second volleys (1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Murray 65
- 49 Unforced (27 FH, 20 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 16 Forced (9 FH, 4 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.5
Nadal 63
- 29 Unforced (17 FH, 10 BH, 2 FHV)
- 34 Forced (17 FH, 15 BH, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.6
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: The 'Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is a measure of how aggressive of intent the average UE made was. 60 is maximum, 20 is minimum. This match has been scored using a four point scale - 2 defensive, 4 neutral, 5 attacking, 6 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Murray was...
- 29/41 (71%) at net, including...
- 12/18 (67%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 9/13 (69%) off 1st serve and..
- 3/5 (60%) off 2nd serve
--
- 0/1 return-approaching
Nadal was...
- 17/29 (59%) at net, including...
- 6/9 (67%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
Match Report
Possibly Andy Murray finest performance as he virtually shuts down Nadal. Nerves is the only area Nadal has an advantage and he utilizes it to keep the match more competitive than it looks
Serve & Return
Murray cruises through serve throughout, Nadal struggles almost throughout. Statistically, this comes shining through with Murray serving 108 points (Nadal 167) and having break points in 10 games (Nadal 3). Murray is serves particularly well, banging down 25 unreturnable serves and finishing with a very high 44% unreturned serves. Noteworthy is Nadal only makes 22 return errors.... its very rare for a player to have fewer return errors than his opponent has aces/service winners, though more likely to happen to Nadal, who's forte on return is getting balls back in play few others could. This is an indication of how well Murray served and also, that Nadal returned surely
On the flip side, Murray takes a leaf out of Nadal's book and returns first serves from about as far back as you can stand. He's so far back that there's a risk of him hitting the line judge with his racquet swing. He mixes up how he takes the second serve... sometimes staying further back than usual, sometimes returning normally. Most often, he stands a couple steps behind baseline but hops forward as he makes the return
Whatever he does, it works. 80% return rate and a fair number of initiative grabbingly forceful returns. And it shapes the playing action...
Play - Baseline & Net
You'll often hear people wonder why players don't serve-volley against Nadal returning from a deep position. Clearly, Nadal himself knows how to deal with a deep returner. He - one of the most reluctant serve-volleyers in the game - follows his serve to net now and then (but a lot for him) to capitilize on Murray's deep return position. With reasonable success, but he doesn't do it much (9 times). Murray does the same, off both serves. A bold move for a usually non-S'Ver against the heavy Nadal return.... off first serve, his serve is strong enough to come in behind and off second serve, he's able to get closer to the net
Both players win 67% serve volleying
Baseline play (the bulk of the action) is characterized by Murray's clean ball striking. Off both wings, he hits clean as a whistle, even when making errors. Initially, he focuses his attack to Nadal's FH with great success... as the match goes on, Nadal holds up better
Murray returning from well back gives Nadal the chance to step up and take charge of baseline points. He usually declines and is content to play from behind the baseline himself. Murray generally rallies from behind the baseline, but edges forward during rallies, especially off short balls (Nadal doesn't do much against short balls). He is the more aggressive baseliner and forces many errors with clean hit shots (power a greater factor than placement)
On Murray's service games, the dynamic is enhanced still more. Again Murray generally looks to move forward, Nadal is content to stay well back.... only now, Murray extends his attack to taking the net too
Stats cover how well play went. Virtually the same number of errors (Murray 65, Nadal 63), but Murray forcing many more errors (34 to 16), while making a lot more unforced errors (49 to 29)…. hitting more winners though (37 to 25), puts Murray well into the net positives in play situations (i.e. when return is made). And of course, he's winning a lot more points with unreturned serves (44% to 20%)
A note on movement. Nadal's seems to be down from his norm. Not that he's slow, but there's a dearth of 'miraculous' gets that are typical of Nadal's play - which is 1 reason for the relatively high number of errors he's forced into, (the other being how cleanly Murray hits). In fact, I'd say Murray probably has a thin advantage in court coverage and defence... he seems to move faster but of course, but is up against a less ferocious attack (Nadal plays relatively safe with his attacking groundstrokes, keeping them more safely in play than usual)
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