Duel Match Stats/Reports - Federer vs Berdych & Federer vs Tipsarevic, Madrid final & semi-final, 2012

[Waspsting]

Roger Federer beat Tomas Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the Madrid Masters final, 2012 on clay

The event was played on artificially coloured blue clay. Federer would go onto win Wimbledon and briefly, hold the number ranking later in the year

Federer won 103 points, Berdych 101

Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (68/104) 65%
- 1st serve points won (51/68) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (15/34) 44%
- Aces 13 (1 second serve), Service Winners 4
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (41/104) 39%

Berdych...
- 1st serve percentage (55/100) 55%
- 1st serve points won (38/55) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (26/45) 58%
- Aces 9, Service Winners 3
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/100) 30%

Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 57%
- to Body 6%

Berdych served...
- to FH 33%
- to BH 64%
- to Body 3%

Return Stats
Federer made...
- 66 (26 FH, 40 BH), including 5 runaround FHs
- 5 Winners (1 FH, 4 BH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 14 Forced (4 FH, 10 BH)
- Return Rate (66/96) 69%

Berdych made...
- 61 (19 FH, 42 BH)
- 5 Winners (3 FH, 2 BH)
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- 21 Forced (7 FH, 14 BH)
- Return Rate (61/102) 60%

Break Points
Federer 4/11 (5 games)
Berdych 3/9 (7 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 26 (15 FH, 9 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)
Berdych 30 (20 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV)

Federer's FHs -5 cc, 3 dtl, 5 inside-out (1 return, 1 pass), 1 inside-in and 1 at net
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass) and 7 dtl (4 returns, 1 slice)

- the FHV was a swinging first volley off a delayed serve-volley point

Berdych's FHs - 4 cc, 4 dtl (1 return, 1 pass), 7 inside-out, 4 inside-in (1 return) and 1 longline return
- BHs - 2 cc (1 return) and 4 dtl (1 return, 1 pass)

- 1 FHV was a swinging shot, hit from well behind the service line and not a net point. Technically, its also a serve-volley point, but has not been counted as such

Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 39
- 20 Unforced (13 FH, 7 BH)
- 19 Forced (10 FH, 7 BH, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 42.5

Berdych 32
- 19 Unforced (13 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV)
- 13 Forced (9 FH, 4 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.4

(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 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
Federer was...
- 5/9 (56%) at net, including...
- 1/2 serve-volleying, both first serves (one 'delayed')

Berdych was...
- 7/13 (54%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a first serve
------

Match Report
A strange match on a strange surface, but highly competitive. 103 points for Federer, 101 for Berdych (and both serving about the same number of points) tells you that. Ultimately, its the serve that puts Federer over

A word about the surface. Blue coloured clay was supposed to be just that - a normal clay court that had been coloured blue for better television viewing and probably to be a bit different (Madrid is the tournament that has models acting as ball 'boys'). It does make for easier viewing and the variety in colour makes for a nice change... but they messed up the colouring process to the tune that the courts played very differently from normal clay. Its significantly fast for clay (which is fine), but its also very unduly slippery, making movement a tricky and potentially dangerous business

Both anomalies are on show in the action and some of it in the stats. Have a look at the unreturned serve numbers (Federer 39%, Berdych 30) and the aces/service winners (Federer 17, Berdych 12)…. these are not typical clay court stats. Rally length is also on the short side. The biggest problem though is in the players movements. One of the reasons there are so many winners (Federer strikes 26, Berdych 30) is that neither player makes much effort to run down balls

Essentially, it looks like shot making tennis where the person on the receiving end isn't willing to try to retrieve good shots. I imagine the reason for this is that both players had gauged that running full tilt on the surface was likely to lead to a nasty fall. Both players come close to falling at different points in the match, Berdych slides occasionally (Federer, rarely) and whenever he does, looks on the verge of tumbling. There are multiple bad bounces too

In short, its not a good tennis court - and deserves all the criticism it received. Nonetheless, credit to the finalists for adapting to the conditions. Not trying to run down balls is anti-clay tennis, but probably the smartest path to follow on this court. Those who were found wanting on the surface probably didn't realize this and got into trouble trying to play regular clay tennis

Neither Federer, nor Berdych play 'regular clay tennis'. Both look to serve big (Federer forces a number of return errors with second serves and even serves an ace on one), to keep the points short and to not push their luck in chasing balls down

Berdych plays a well nigh flawless first set, with 12 winners and just two UEs. The winners are of all sorts - FHs, BHs cc, dtl, inside out, inside in, returns. Federer serves at 71% and 38% unreturned serves, while Berdych can only manage 42%, but it doesn't matter. he wins 73% second serve points to go along with 82% on first serve.

Federer breaks early in the second but is unable to serve out the set. The break back is mostly due to Berdych's good play - he strikes a pair of dtl winners (1 of each side) and forces a volleying error to extend the set.
Federer though, remains calm. He holds his next service game in 69 seconds with 4 unreturned first serves (1 ace) and breaks next game. The decisive game features 2 FH inside-out winners from Federer (1 a pass, the other a return), and a couple of bad errors from Berdych (a FH at net and a double fault)…. the combination of clutch and choke play in this match is an odd mix

The final set goes on serve til near the end. Both players have a lot of unreturned serves in this part of the match. Federer breaks in game 8 in a strange affair. He wins the first three points by forcing 2 errors and striking an excellent BH dtl return winner. And how does Berdych reply? With 3 straight aces to take the game to deuce. And what happens next? Berdych double faults twice in a row to hand over the break and leave Federer serving for the match

And again, the Swiss can't do it. A pair of unforced errors and a lazy attempt to handle a powerful shot (even by the standards of this match), allows Berdych to restore parity.

At leas the final game where Federer break to take the match is good for quality of play. Federer's slices give Berdych a lot of trouble in them

Stats & Playing Dynamics
Berdych was the better court player. He has more winners (30 to 26), forces more errors (19 to 13) and commits fewer unforced errors (19 to 20). He has break points in 7 games (Federer 5). His shots are also more powerful. Look at the UEFI - Berdych 48.4, Federer 42.5 - is a huge difference and indicates that the Czech was significantly more aggressive. You'd expect him to be making a lot more errors than Federer in that light, but he doesn't

Federer's compensates for the slack by serving very well. 39% unreturned serves would be a healthy number for grass, let alone clay. His second serve in particular is good... some big serves and body serves thrown in that genuinely force errors

Summing up, a competitive match with some fine shot making, especially from Berdych and excellent serving - particularly from Federer. Little in it to decide the outcome. The way Berdych gets broken at inopportune times makes it look like a choke job... there's some truth to that, but Federer also raises his game slightly at these points. But the action is a bit disappointing to watch due to the lack of defensive gusto shown by both players... the result of a badly prepared court

 

[Waspsting]

Federer beat Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-final

Tipsarevis was seeded 7th and had beaten top seed Novak Djokovic among others in reaching the semi

Federer won 60 points, Tipsarevic 41

Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (36/51) 71%
- 1st serve points won (27/36) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (12/15) 80%
- Aces 8 (1 second serve), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (20/51) 39%

Tipsarevic...
- 1st serve percentage (22/50) 44%
- 1st serve points won (17/22) 77%
- 2nd serve points won (12/28) 43%
- Aces 5 (1 second serve - not clean)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (17/50) 34%

Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 42%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 4%

Tipsarevic served...
- to FH 18%
- to BH 80%
- to Body 2%

Return Stats
Federer made...
- 32 (7 FH, 25 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 2 BH)
- 9 Forced (2 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (32/49) 65%

Tipsarevic made...
- 28 (14 FH, 14 BH)
- 11 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 7 Forced (3 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (28/48) 58%

Break Points
Federer 3/5 (3 games)
Tipsarevic 0/1

Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 15 (8 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV, 2 OH)
Tipsarevic 5 (4 FH, 1 BH)

Federer's FHs - 2 cc, 3 inside-out (1 at net), 1 inside-in and 2 drop shots
- BHs - 2 dtl (1 at net)

- 1 from a serve-volley point, a second volley BHV

- 1 from a return-approach point, an OH

Tipsarevic's FHs - 1 cc pass, 1 dtl at net, 1 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BH - 1 cc

Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 16
- 10 Unforced (6 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV)
- 6 Forced (4 FH, 1 BH, 1 FHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50

Tipsarevic 24
- 13 Unforced (6 FH, 6 BH, 1 BHV)
- 11 Forced (5 FH, 6 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 52.3

(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 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
Federer was...
- 10/14 (71%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
---
- 1/1 return-approaching

Tipsarevic was 1/3 (33%) at net

Match Report
One sided, serve-dominated match. What happens when you put the surest footed of players against what looks like the clumsiest on a slippery surface, and throw in strong winds to boot

Its like a grass match, where 1st serve in count is likely to be crucial factor. Fed gets 71% in, serving within himself. Tipsarevic can manage just 44%. Tips actually leads first serve points won 77% to 75%

Even returning 2nd serves is tricky, and Fed serves well enough on on it. Gets ball a bit wide, and Tips doesn't move well to it, and is often off balance when making the return. How much of this is due quality of his movement and how much due to the slippery court remains to be seen

80% 2nd serve points won for Fed, higher than his 1st serve points won @krosero . In fact, all 3 second serve points he loses are double faults. Both players have a 2nd serve ace. Unreturned rates read 39% for Fed, 34% for Tips (serving at lowly 44%)

These figures accurately capture what the surface is like. Its closer to grass of pace than normal clay, and slippery on top of that

In play, balls struck slightly wide with normal force tend to draw errors out of Tips. Slightly wide and above average force does the job on Federer. A combination of pace of court and players being uncertain of their footing

The standout feature is how much Tips struggles in his movement. Fed plays a smart game of hitting just slightly wide of him, and in wrong footing direction. When dragged wide, Tips goes for the dtl winner, usually looking as if he's about to fall over - and almost always misses. Hence the very high UEFI of 52.3

Fed's movement aren't tested as much, with Tips hitting a bit harder than Fed does, but where ball can be reached without trouble. When he does have to move, no signs of undue trouble for Fed. Late in the match, when he's up a break in the second set, he even makes a couple full pace running efforts on return points

Standout positive would be Fed's returning of 2nd serves. Tips' serves 80% of the time to BH and his 2nd serve is a normal one. Court is quick enough that even that's not easy to return. Fed steps in and gives the odd BH return a wide swat, and its good enough to end points. Mostly, he chips the BHs back in play. They tend to stay on low side

Tips with just 43% 2nd serves won - in conjunction with low 44% in count is key to his struggling in match. Taking as a given complete helplessness on return

From ad court, Tips serves from particularly wide position, about half between center line and sideline. Usually when players do that, they look to serve out wide. Tips serves down the middle more often. With the angle created by his position, the serves tend to be closer to returner than one would want when serving aggressively down the T. I don't see the point of serving down the T from wide out position. It works because any kind of powerful serving works on this court. Fed reaching ball to return fairly comfortably is a win against first serves

Not a bad showing from Fed off the ground. He thumps short balls that pop up with the FH and slices a lot of BHs to keep them low. Throws in the odd firm dtl BH that tends to draw error. He's got 15 winners, 10 UEs and forces 11 errors. Flatteringly outstanding figures. For one thing, play is better thought of as grass tennis, where bigger chunk of points are ended forcefully than clay. For normal clay, the numbers would be first rate ones. For grass, still good, but not outrageously so

Second, Tips slow movement and inability to change directions has a a big hand

Its more a hopeless showing from Tips than a fine one from Federer. Fed does the needful, while resting on a good serve (which Tips is likewise somewhat helpless in coping with).

Tips struggles to move brings home how well Federer does. He's not called on to much side to side, but other than to wide returns, no signs of anything unduly slippery in the court from Federer's showing. Tips' by contrast makes it look an ice rink

Its very windy at start, and continues to be for most of first set. Don't see the ball holding up, but Federer and the spectators hair are blowing all over the place, as is Tipsarevic's tight shirt. A bit strange. Going by extent hair and shirts are flying about, I'd have expected ball to be blown about. It doesn't seem to be to a noticable extent, and Fed hits plenty of drop shots

Fed cruises through on serve all match. In second set, he eases up on power and placement of first serves. For that matter, he doesn't go all out with it before that either. Smart serving, just wide enough and not harder than it needs to be to draw errors and weak returns that Fed can punish. He's quick to come in from firm, slightly wide hit shots and finishes 10/14 at net

Chances to possibly break arise when Tipsarvic misses first serves. In first set, he's broken in games where he makes 7/14 and 2/6 first serves. Just 1 break in the 2nd set, where he makes 2/5. He also holds games with those kinds of in counts about as often as not

Summing up, strange match on strange court - slippery and very fast, with wind a hindrance to hitting for substantial part of match too. Smart, contained showing by Federer - good enough serving, odd attackingly wide hit return and keeping the ball in play while getting it a bit wide while ready to pounce and come in off short ball. Bigger determinant of the result though is Tipsarevic's poor showing, particularly off movement. He can't seem to take 3 steps without being off balance, probably beyond what's warranted on a a very difficult court. Fed by contrast moves surely enough