Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 in the Monte Carlo semi-final, 2015 on clay
Djokovic would go onto beat Tomas Berdych in the final to win his second title at the event. Nadal would win the title the next 3 years. The two would go onto meet in the quarter-finals of the upcoming French Open, with Djokovic winning again
Djokovic won 69 points, Nadal 54
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (43/57) 75%
- 1st serve points won (31/43) 72%
- 2nd serve points won (8/14) 57%
- Aces 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (12/57) 21%
Nadal....
- 1st serve percentage (43/66) 65%
- 1st serve points won (25/43) 58%
- 2nd serve points won (11/23) 48%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (10/66) 15%
Serve Patterns
Djokovic served...
- to FH 46%
- to BH 53%
- to Body 2%
Nadal served...
- to FH 29%
- to BH 68%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 53 (22 FH, 31 BH), including 6 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 5 Forced (1 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (53/63) 84%
Nadal made...
- 45 (24 FH, 21 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 11 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- 5 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (45/57) 79%
Break Points
Djokovic 4/10 (5 games)
Nadal 1/3 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Djokovic 22 (11 FH, 5 BH, 2 BHV, 4 OH)
Nadal 18 (7 FH, 4 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 4 OH)
Djokovic's FHs - 6 dtl (1 return), 3 inside-out (1 return, 1 at net), 1 inside-in and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl, 1 drop shot and 2 running-down-drop-shot cc at net
- 1 BHV was a lob
- all 4 OHs were on the bounce - 1 at net, 2 from no-man's land (not net shots - 1 was from a forced back net point) and 1 from baseline
Nadal's FHs - 3 dtl (1 pass), 3 inside-out (1 turnaround pass) and 1 inside-in at net
- BHs - 3 cc (2 passes) and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Djokovic 26
- 20 Unforced (11 FH, 9 BH)... with 1 FH at net
- 6 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH, 1 BHV)... with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47
Nadal 32
- 20 Unforced (16 FH, 4 BH)
- 12 Forced (6 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Djokovic was...
- 14/25 (56%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 2nd serve
---
- 2/3 (67%) forced back/retreated
Nadal was...
- 14/20 (70%) at net, with...
- 1/3 (33%) forced back
Match Report
Djokovic does pretty much whatever he wants to all match and Nadal does his best to control the damage on a low-for-clay bouncing court. Most balls are hit hip to waist height and very few get up as high as the shoulder
As feeble as he's made to look, Nadal doesn't actually play too badly by a general standard. Djoko's though, is a very high one - seemingly a plane above Nadal
Nadal's 18 winners, 20 UEs is a good ratio for clay. In fact, its near enough to Djoko's 22 winners, 20 UEs. What loads things heavily Djoko's way is his forcing 12 errors to Nadal managing just 6... that's a fair indicator of the difference between the two. Djoko hits the ball, with much greater authority off the baseline
This hasn't come through in the stats. UEFI is not all only identical, even the breakdown is (neutral errors - both 11, attacking errors - both 4, winner attempt errors - both 5)
Given the way they play - Djokovic commanding and doing whatever he wants, Nadal counter-punching without much punch - this is unexpected. Relative to a standard Djoko-Nadal clay match, Nadal is error prone and misses regulation shots at high rate. Djoko is decent with scope for improvement, but his neutral shots skirt line between being forceful and not, especially with regards to direction. Nadal's shots by contrast are weak... lots of short balls, lots of not hard hit ones. Almost just plopping ball back in court
Djoko being the more aggressive and commanding is norm for the match up and Nadal generally has 2 compensations. He's more consistent (not true here) and he defends with gusto (i.e. gets forceful shots back in play, with possibilities of Djoko eventually missing going for too much)
The latter also doesn't happen here. Djoko's the faster player, stronger on the run and better able to withstand his opponents attacks. On top of said attacks being tame compared to his own, Nadal's high 12 FEs aren't too difficult to draw. Its significantly easier to force an error out of Nadal than it is out of Djokovic - and Djokovic's shots are at least twice as likely (almost certainly more) likely to force errors
So what is Nadal's compensation, given his shots have no punch, he's as error prone and he's slower of foot? Net points
Nadal wins 70% at net, Djoko 56%. And both are net a lot - with 123 points in match, Djoko's in forecourt 20%, Nadal 16% of all points. That's mostly about drop shots and not volleying... Djoko's in such control that he's allowed to indulge drop shotting. He does well in that he doesn't make as many UEs trying, but probably still comes off net negative on the whole
Note the care Djoko's put into his OHs. all 4 of his winners are on the bounce, including 1 from the baseline. He also puts a difficult BHOH in play while forced back
There are no crosscourt rallies, to exaggerate a touch. Djokovic habitually goes longline, especially off the BH. I'd estimate he plays BH longline as often as BH cc from neutral position, so much so that calling the longline shots a 'change-up' is inaccurate. Its as normal as cc for this match. It doesn't seem to be about targetting a side or even moving Nadal around... basically, Djoko's just doing whatever he wants to
One gets the sense he could outhit or outlast Nadal both FH - BH and BH - FH
Match Progression
Match opens with a bang with Nadal breaking to 15 with 3 winners - a FH dtl pass, a FH inside-out and a BHV. After holding, he has another break point next game on back of 3 successive Djoko BH UEs, but is overpowered and can't make the pass with Djoko taking net
Djoko breaks to level match, with Nadal giving up neutral errors as he's outplayed from baseline. Djoko does throw in a lovely lob BHV winner after drop shotting Nadal to net
There's a terrific 14 point Djoko game where the 2 players share 8 winners and both are at net regularly (Nadal 8 times, Djoko 5), mostly due to drop shots
Djokovic plays a perfect finely angled BH cc running-down-drop-shot winner. Few points later, he drop shots Nadal in, lob volleys Nadal's run-down shot forcing him back from net, Nadal's makes an over-shoulder retrieve lob and Djoko finishes with OH on bounce winner from no-man's land
Couple points after that, its Nadal who drop shots Djoko in, Djoko makes the lob, Nadal's forced back but hits a turnaround FH inside-out pass winner
For all the fireworks of that game, Djoko holds. And breaks next more mundanely, via errors from Nadal
Second set is more one sided. Djoko loses 3 points in 4 service games while constantly threatening on return. Nadal serves 45 points in the set, to Djoko's 19. The 6 points in game 6 - a Djoko hold - has 5 winners and a forced error. Extended to games on either side, the passage of play sees 8 winners in 9 points and 11 points in a row that end with winners or forced errors. Djoko's at his best in the set and in control of action
Match ends with Djoko's second break, the last 2 points being a FH dtl return winner and a BH cc winner. The latter sums up the match. Djoko's mostly played BH longlines all match, though looking more than able to dominate with cc's. It looks very much like he could have pulled of winning cc plays just as easily
Summing up, one of Djokovic's most commanding wins over Nadal on clay and his shots are a lot harder, vastly more varied, taken earlier and supported by better movement than his opponent. Nadal's shot strength is down - especially the FH - but doesn't play badly by a general standard. Too good from Djoko
Stats for pair's previous finals -
- 2013 - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...kovic-vs-nadal-monte-carlo-final-2013.670108/
- 2012 - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...djokovic-monte-carlo-rome-finals-2012.668158/
- 2009 - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...al-vs-djokovic-monte-carlo-final-2009.672223/
Djokovic would go onto beat Tomas Berdych in the final to win his second title at the event. Nadal would win the title the next 3 years. The two would go onto meet in the quarter-finals of the upcoming French Open, with Djokovic winning again
Djokovic won 69 points, Nadal 54
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (43/57) 75%
- 1st serve points won (31/43) 72%
- 2nd serve points won (8/14) 57%
- Aces 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (12/57) 21%
Nadal....
- 1st serve percentage (43/66) 65%
- 1st serve points won (25/43) 58%
- 2nd serve points won (11/23) 48%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (10/66) 15%
Serve Patterns
Djokovic served...
- to FH 46%
- to BH 53%
- to Body 2%
Nadal served...
- to FH 29%
- to BH 68%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 53 (22 FH, 31 BH), including 6 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 5 Forced (1 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (53/63) 84%
Nadal made...
- 45 (24 FH, 21 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 11 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- 5 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (45/57) 79%
Break Points
Djokovic 4/10 (5 games)
Nadal 1/3 (3 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Djokovic 22 (11 FH, 5 BH, 2 BHV, 4 OH)
Nadal 18 (7 FH, 4 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 4 OH)
Djokovic's FHs - 6 dtl (1 return), 3 inside-out (1 return, 1 at net), 1 inside-in and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl, 1 drop shot and 2 running-down-drop-shot cc at net
- 1 BHV was a lob
- all 4 OHs were on the bounce - 1 at net, 2 from no-man's land (not net shots - 1 was from a forced back net point) and 1 from baseline
Nadal's FHs - 3 dtl (1 pass), 3 inside-out (1 turnaround pass) and 1 inside-in at net
- BHs - 3 cc (2 passes) and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Djokovic 26
- 20 Unforced (11 FH, 9 BH)... with 1 FH at net
- 6 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH, 1 BHV)... with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47
Nadal 32
- 20 Unforced (16 FH, 4 BH)
- 12 Forced (6 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Djokovic was...
- 14/25 (56%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 2nd serve
---
- 2/3 (67%) forced back/retreated
Nadal was...
- 14/20 (70%) at net, with...
- 1/3 (33%) forced back
Match Report
Djokovic does pretty much whatever he wants to all match and Nadal does his best to control the damage on a low-for-clay bouncing court. Most balls are hit hip to waist height and very few get up as high as the shoulder
As feeble as he's made to look, Nadal doesn't actually play too badly by a general standard. Djoko's though, is a very high one - seemingly a plane above Nadal
Nadal's 18 winners, 20 UEs is a good ratio for clay. In fact, its near enough to Djoko's 22 winners, 20 UEs. What loads things heavily Djoko's way is his forcing 12 errors to Nadal managing just 6... that's a fair indicator of the difference between the two. Djoko hits the ball, with much greater authority off the baseline
This hasn't come through in the stats. UEFI is not all only identical, even the breakdown is (neutral errors - both 11, attacking errors - both 4, winner attempt errors - both 5)
Given the way they play - Djokovic commanding and doing whatever he wants, Nadal counter-punching without much punch - this is unexpected. Relative to a standard Djoko-Nadal clay match, Nadal is error prone and misses regulation shots at high rate. Djoko is decent with scope for improvement, but his neutral shots skirt line between being forceful and not, especially with regards to direction. Nadal's shots by contrast are weak... lots of short balls, lots of not hard hit ones. Almost just plopping ball back in court
Djoko being the more aggressive and commanding is norm for the match up and Nadal generally has 2 compensations. He's more consistent (not true here) and he defends with gusto (i.e. gets forceful shots back in play, with possibilities of Djoko eventually missing going for too much)
The latter also doesn't happen here. Djoko's the faster player, stronger on the run and better able to withstand his opponents attacks. On top of said attacks being tame compared to his own, Nadal's high 12 FEs aren't too difficult to draw. Its significantly easier to force an error out of Nadal than it is out of Djokovic - and Djokovic's shots are at least twice as likely (almost certainly more) likely to force errors
So what is Nadal's compensation, given his shots have no punch, he's as error prone and he's slower of foot? Net points
Nadal wins 70% at net, Djoko 56%. And both are net a lot - with 123 points in match, Djoko's in forecourt 20%, Nadal 16% of all points. That's mostly about drop shots and not volleying... Djoko's in such control that he's allowed to indulge drop shotting. He does well in that he doesn't make as many UEs trying, but probably still comes off net negative on the whole
Note the care Djoko's put into his OHs. all 4 of his winners are on the bounce, including 1 from the baseline. He also puts a difficult BHOH in play while forced back
There are no crosscourt rallies, to exaggerate a touch. Djokovic habitually goes longline, especially off the BH. I'd estimate he plays BH longline as often as BH cc from neutral position, so much so that calling the longline shots a 'change-up' is inaccurate. Its as normal as cc for this match. It doesn't seem to be about targetting a side or even moving Nadal around... basically, Djoko's just doing whatever he wants to
One gets the sense he could outhit or outlast Nadal both FH - BH and BH - FH
Match Progression
Match opens with a bang with Nadal breaking to 15 with 3 winners - a FH dtl pass, a FH inside-out and a BHV. After holding, he has another break point next game on back of 3 successive Djoko BH UEs, but is overpowered and can't make the pass with Djoko taking net
Djoko breaks to level match, with Nadal giving up neutral errors as he's outplayed from baseline. Djoko does throw in a lovely lob BHV winner after drop shotting Nadal to net
There's a terrific 14 point Djoko game where the 2 players share 8 winners and both are at net regularly (Nadal 8 times, Djoko 5), mostly due to drop shots
Djokovic plays a perfect finely angled BH cc running-down-drop-shot winner. Few points later, he drop shots Nadal in, lob volleys Nadal's run-down shot forcing him back from net, Nadal's makes an over-shoulder retrieve lob and Djoko finishes with OH on bounce winner from no-man's land
Couple points after that, its Nadal who drop shots Djoko in, Djoko makes the lob, Nadal's forced back but hits a turnaround FH inside-out pass winner
For all the fireworks of that game, Djoko holds. And breaks next more mundanely, via errors from Nadal
Second set is more one sided. Djoko loses 3 points in 4 service games while constantly threatening on return. Nadal serves 45 points in the set, to Djoko's 19. The 6 points in game 6 - a Djoko hold - has 5 winners and a forced error. Extended to games on either side, the passage of play sees 8 winners in 9 points and 11 points in a row that end with winners or forced errors. Djoko's at his best in the set and in control of action
Match ends with Djoko's second break, the last 2 points being a FH dtl return winner and a BH cc winner. The latter sums up the match. Djoko's mostly played BH longlines all match, though looking more than able to dominate with cc's. It looks very much like he could have pulled of winning cc plays just as easily
Summing up, one of Djokovic's most commanding wins over Nadal on clay and his shots are a lot harder, vastly more varied, taken earlier and supported by better movement than his opponent. Nadal's shot strength is down - especially the FH - but doesn't play badly by a general standard. Too good from Djoko
Stats for pair's previous finals -
- 2013 - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...kovic-vs-nadal-monte-carlo-final-2013.670108/
- 2012 - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...djokovic-monte-carlo-rome-finals-2012.668158/
- 2009 - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...al-vs-djokovic-monte-carlo-final-2009.672223/
Here are all the rest of Djokovic's clay wins over Nadal
