Duel Match Stats/Reports - Federer vs Djokovic, Dubai semi-final & final, 2014 & 2015

[Waspsting]

Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the Dubai semi-final, 2014 on hard court

Federer would go onto beat Tomas Berdych in the final. Djokovic was the defending champion. This is the only match in the rivalry won by Federer after losing the first set. Djokovic has done so 7 times - 3 in best of 5 set matches, including once after losing first two sets

Federer won 84 points, Djokovic 79

Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (46/77) 60%
- 1st serve points won (35/46) 76%
- 2nd serve points won (18/31) 58%
- Aces 7, Service Winners 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/77) 39%

Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (53/86) 62%
- 1st serve points won (36/53) 68%
- 2nd serve points won (19/33) 58%
- Aces 5, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (31/86) 36%

Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 42%
- to BH 51%
- to Body 8%

Djokovic served...
- to FH 32%
- to BH 62%
- to Body 6%

Return Stats
Federer made...
- 53 (17 FH, 36 BH), including 3 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 11 Unforced (3 FH, 8 BH)
- 13 Forced (5 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (53/84) 63%

Djokovic made...
- 47 (19 FH, 28 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 21 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (3 FH, 5 BH)
- 13 Forced (6 FH, 13 BH)
- Return Rate (47/77) 61%

Break Points
Federer 3/7 (4 games)
Djokovic 1/6 (4 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 17 (8 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH)
Djokovic 16 (6 FH, 8 BH, 1 BHV, 1 OH)

Federer's FHs - 3 cc (1 return, 2 passes), 1 dtl, 1 inside-out, 1 inside-in, 1 inside-in/cc and 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 1 cc/longline pass, 1 dtl and 1 longline pas

- 1 from a serve-volley point - a first volley BHV

- 1 from a return-approach point, a BHV

Djokovic's FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl return pass, 3 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BHs - 6 cc (5 passes - 2 at net), 1 dtl and 1 inside-out

Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 32
- 21 Unforced (13 FH, 7 BH, 1 BHV)
- 11 Forced (5 FH, 4 BH, 2 BHV)... 1 BHV was on the FHV side
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.3

Djokovic 35
- 24 Unforced (13 FH, 11 BH)...with 1 FH at net
- 11 Forced (5 FH, 5 BH, 1 BH1/2V)...with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.6

(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
Federer was...
- 15/26 (58%) at net, including...
- 8/10 (80%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 6/7 (86%) off 1st serve and...
- 2/3 (67%) off 2nd serve
---
- 1/3 (33%) return-approaching
- 0/2 forced back

Djokovic was...
- 9/18 (50%) at net, with...
- 1/3 (33%) forced back/retreated

Match Report
A bland match. Save Federer's serving, everything is very unmemorable - not necessarily bad, but very basic

Court seems normal paced, maybe leaning towards quick but significantly slower than the following year. Regulation groundstrokes aren't damaging and mildly attacking ones can be comfortable dealt with. Its closer to fast than slow though... good paced serves aren't easy to return

Federer's serve is good throughout and as he gains in confidence, starts coming to net more in latter part of the match to. Its a big step up of aggression from the vanilla that characterizes action, but he's not particularly successful at it. Coming in from rallies, he wins just 6/13 points - mostly due to strong passing from Djoko. Fed's serve-volleying is the only real impressive playing offence - and that's mostly about strength of his serve - though he volleys well as needed

Other than that? Play is basic. Neutrally played neutral rallies, neither player looking to take attack (as Fed generally tends to do), neither player particularly heavy of shot (as Djoko tends to be), crosscourt angles neither sharp nor blunt, average frequency of longline change-ups

Yet rallies are short-ish on the whole. And errors are neutral ones. Djoko in particular is a step down from his norm, and gets the error bugs at different times in missing routine balls in short rallies, often the third ball

Note low UEFI for both players - Fed 44.3, Djoko 44.6

16/21 Fed's UEs are neutral shots, 17/24 Djoko ones are. Combine this with low winner rates (17 and 16 is low for 3 sets), low forced errors (combined 22, compared to 45 UEs), short rallies and throw in regulation shots being hit neutrally (as in, not particularly heavy but short of attacking - as both players, particularly Djoko are in habit of doing)... and you get bland action

Match Progression
Djoko wins 12 of first 14 points of the match to go up 3-0, with a break. There's a fantastic point in the opening game

an advancing Federer hits a near perfect drop shot. Djokovic somehow manages to reach it and hits a near perfect, very finely angled FH. Fed somehow manages to reach it and hits a near perfect dtl shot from very close to net. A retreating Djoko somehow reaches it and hits a near perfect lob. A backpedalling Fed manages to OH the ball neutrally as he retreats. Point ends with a Fed FH UE in baseline-to-baseline situation... but great stuff leading up to it

Fed takes Djoko to deuce in a couple of games, having a break point in one, but Djoko holds through without much strain to take set

Early in second set, Djoko hits terrific BH dtl winner while on the stretch against a hard hit, Fed FH inside-out

Terrible game by Djoko to get broken in second set. 3 neutral errors puts him down 0-40 (the last at least was to a deep-ish ball), though Fed finishes with an error forcing BH dtl. And Fed serves it out

Even more terrible game to get broken first game of the third by Djoko. From 30-15, he misses back to back regulation third ball, neutral BHs and then double faults. Generally, its unusual for even Fed to do things like that (when he misses third balls, they tend to be aggressive shots)

Djoko has 2 break points in following game. They're aced and service winner'd away

Play continues a little less blandly for Fed coming forward more regularly than before, but baseline action is still mundane. Djoko's broken a second time, the game finishing with a FH cc pass winner

Fed serves out the match with some difficulty. 3 neutral errors give Djoko 2 break points. He misses returns on both - the first a good wide serve, the second a regulation return to a second serve. Penultimate point is an exciting, completely open court rally that Fed ends with a BH dtl winner

Summing up, a match of uninspired play, with plenty of regulation misses against par regulation shots in short rallies from both players. For Djoko in particular, its a good step down. Good signs for Federer in that his movements seem to have returned to normal, following an injury affected 2013. Some good serving from Fed and some serve-volleying stand out a bit. Otherwise, a match you watch and don't remember much about a month later

Previous matches in Dubai between the two -
- '07 quarters - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-final-dubai-final-2011.655340/#post-13807043
- '11 final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-final-dubai-final-2011.655340/#post-13807043

 

[Waspsting]

In 2015, Federer beat Djokovic 6-3, 7-5 in the final

It was Federer's 7th title at the event. Djokovic was a former 4 time champion also

Federer won 75 points, Djokovic 66

Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (52/79) 66%
- 1st serve points won (41/52) 79%
- 2nd serve points won (11/27) 41%
- Aces 11, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (29/79) 37%

Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (39/62) 63%
- 1st serve points won (27/39) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (12/23) 52%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/62) 26%

Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 50%
- to BH 45%
- to Body 5%

Djokovic served...
- to FH 35%
- to BH 55%
- to Body 10%

Return Stats
Federer made...
- 44 (18 FH, 26 BH), including 2 return-approaches
- 15 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (3 FH, 1 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 11 Forced (5 FH, 6 BH)
- Return Rate (44/60) 73%

Djokovic made...
- 49 (20 FH, 29 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 17 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 16 Forced (10 FH, 6 BH)
- Return Rate (49/78) 63%

Break Points
Federer 2/2
Djokovic 0/7 (4 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 22 (11 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 4 OH)
Djokovic 17 (9 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)

Federer's FHs - 1 cc/longline pass (that Djokovic left), 4 dtl, 1 inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl, 2 inside-in (1 at net) and 2 longline (1 at net)
- BHs - 3 dtl

- 2 from serve-volley points - 1 first 'volley' BH1/2V and 1 second volley OH

- 1 other OH was on the bounce from the baseline, a forced back and serve-volley point

Djokovic's FHs - 3 cc (2 passes), 1 cc/inside-in, 1 dtl/inside-out pass, 1 inside-out pass, 2 inside-in (1 at net) and 1 longline/inside-out at net
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass), 2 dtl passes (1 return), 1 inside-out and 1 inside-out/dtl

Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 32
- 25 Unforced (12 FH, 12 BH, 1 BHV)...with 1 FH at net
- 7 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH, 1 BHV, 1 Over-Shoulder)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.6

Djokovic 22
- 15 Unforced (9 FH, 6 BH)
- 7 Forced (1 FH, 5 BH, 1 BH1/2V)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 43.3

(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 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
Federer was...
- 18/29 (62%) at net, including...
- 8/12 (67%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 7/8 (88%) off 1st serve and...
- 1/4 (25%) off 2nd serve
---
- 0/2 return-approaching
- 1/3 (33%) forced back/retreated

Djokovic was...
- 6/8 (75%) at net, with...
- 0/1 return-approaching

Match Report
Federer's serve dominates play on a quick court, with regular net play completing the attacking part of his game. Djoko counter-punches and is solid enough to remain equal, but Fed plays the big points much better

Seeing Federer play the big points better brings home just how rarely he has against Djokovic

In 2 his last 2 serve games while second set is still on serve, Fed falls 15-40 down but serves his way out of trouble (7/8 remaining points from 15-40 in both games combined are unreturned serves - 4 of them aces)

In serving out the match after gaining the break, Fed goes down 0-30 and later, has to save another break point

And Djokovic chokes too. He's broken 40-0 up - 3 groundstroke UEs in a row bring it to deuce, a double fault gives Fed break point though on it, Fed hits a deep wide return that gives him charge of point and finishes with a perfect FH inside-out winner

For that matter, the game after as Fed serves out the match, Djoko misses the easiest return he didn't make all match at 0-30. On break point, he nets a BH as Fed was retreating from net. I wouldn't call those chokes though, just not clutch

Worth noting, rare as it is for Federer to clutch as he does, Djoko choking isn't. Its just that usually when he does, Fed 'counter-chokes', so to speak

Fed's 2/2 on break points. Djoko is 0/7 from 4 games. Note Fed serving 79 points to Djoko's 62. Still court is quick enough that match coming down to who-plays-big-points-better is always on the cards. In play, Djoko is significantly the stronger and its Fed's serve that equalizes things for him

Serve & Return
First rate battle between Federer's serving and Djokovic's returning - both are tiptop and in quick conditions, that favours the server

12 aces, 1 service winner and 37% unreturned serves speaks to Fed's showing. Note also Djoko with 16 FEs to 1 UE... the FEs include a couple second serves, while the UE is a not easy first serve

Its the kind of court where returning powerful serves in swing zone isn't easy... and Djoko gets very little in swing zone. Even second serves, which are either wide or crampingly close to the body. What he can return, he manages to do firmly and deep

Fed's 41% second serve points won is best indicator of Djoko's superiority in play as well as quality of return. They're not neutral points, as second serve points tend to be. Good chunk are strong enough that Djoko's return still leaves Fed with mild initiative or Djoko hits strong returns against good serves to take it. Just looking at strength of Fed's second serve, one would expect him to win well over 50% with playing strength equal. Fed serve-volleys 4 times behind the second serve... a good surprise move. The first serves are strong enough that he can control points after the return (if there's a return), but good idea to mix it up off the second. Instead, Djoko hammers returns and wins 3 of those points

Good second serving from Djoko too, by his standard, as in its not easy to attack. The first serve though is relatively tame with conservative placement as just the 1 ace suggests. His unreturned rate of 26% is an indicator of court speed... even regulation returns aren't easy to make. Decent consistent returning from Fed. He chip-charges a couple times (loses both points), but like the 2nd serve-volleying, its a good change up. Should probably have done a bit more of it - though Djoko's serve is good enough that its not easy to

 

[Waspsting]

Play- Baseline & Net
The standout, though minority battle, is Fed at net vs Djoko on the pass. Both are very good

Generally, Fed's net showings tend to be based around strong approach shots (at least, against Djokovic) and volleying is relatively ordinary of placements. Here, approaches are still good, but the volleying is a step up. He punches them through with above norm force, volleys at short angles or places them wide. And just 2 errors on the volley (1 UE, 1 FE)

Another fine battle is between the Djoko lob and Fed OH. Pushed to reach wide volleys, lob is virtually forced choice for Djoko. Fed's 4 OH winners aren't easy. Djoko's passing is good enough that when he can get one off, it either goes for winner or Fed has to make reflex volleys

This is of course, the minority and majority of points are still played baseline-to-baseline. but regularity of Fed coming in and winning points at net gives him a cushion. From the back, Djoko remains better player due to greater solidity

Djoko with 15 baseline UEs to Fed's 23 is telling, as is UEFI (Djoko low 43.3, Fed high-ish 47.6). Djokovic is more solid by far, but... he's not able to forcefully end points, and it was very much do-able on this court. Just 5 baseline FEs from Fed - who's defence is nothing out of ordinary - is bad stat from Djoko's point of view and I would attribute it to Djoko not being punishing enough from the back, certainly not Fed defending stoutly or anything like that

Also, no attempt by Djoko to target Fed's BH, the obvious way to go to beat him down, when not looking to aggressively end points. Not a good choice from Djoko. Look at BH UEs - Djoko 6, Fed 12... and most of Fed's are neutral shots. Fed does hit back-to-back BH dtl winners, but that wasn't likely to continue happening

Some credit to Fed. To an extent, he forces action to a degree of lively making it awkward for Djoko to command play, but more discredit to Djoko for his approach from the baseline

Fed hangs in neutrally. Neutral UEs - Fed 13, Djoko 11. And looks to attack from regulation position. It fails slightly more often than it doesn't (he has 12 attacking or more UEs), but with cushion of net points won, is good enough. The attacking shots come off too, and there are a good number of blazing winners from regulation positions

FH dtl is Fed's best weapon in match. On top of 5 winners, he uses it with great effect to approach. It also keeps his court position central, relative to back away to play FH inside-outs as he generally tends to do

All in all, a terrific contest in play - Fed dynamic, Djoko though overall stronger, probably erring on side of passivity. Or to be more accurate, Fed's play warranted Djoko actually stepping up to be aggressive himself - but he sticks to solid

Match Progression
Good first set. Fed faces 2 break points in third game, but goes on to hold. No more break points til the end, but returners do manage to get into games

Weak game from Djoko to give up the break. Fed contributes a stunning FH dtl winner, but the rest is errors from Djoko - including a double fault and dumping a regulation BH into net early in rally on break point

Server continues to hold sway but chances are all Djoko's as outlined earlier. Remarkable run from of errors from Djoko to get broken from 40-0 up, though like the first set's break game, Fed throws in a brilliant combination ending with FH inside-out winner, this time on break point

Summing up, great serving is the starting point for Fed and he throws in very good net play, with acceptable cost for attacking baseline stuff. Djoko returns as well as possible and is solid enough to remain better player over a strong Federer. But, Fed turns out to be the clutch one in this match

Stats for pair's Indian Wells matches, that followed shortly on the Dubai ones - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...federer-indian-wells-finals-2014-2015.671629/

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Absolute gems on this forum

 

[BeatlesFan]

Absolute gems on this forum

I agree, Waspsting has a great user name and even greater info. I really appreciate the time it takes to compile all this. Thank you!