Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the Year End Championship (ATP Finals) round robin, 2019 on indoor hard court in London, England
The match was effectively a knock-out encounter, with the winner advancing to the semis and the loser eliminated. Federer would go onto lose in the semis to eventual winner Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic needed to win the tournament to finish year end number 1. It was Federer's first win over Djokovic in 4 years
Federer won 67 points, Djokovic 44
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (36/49) 73%
- 1st serve points won (29/36) 81%
- 2nd serve points won (9/13) 69%
- Aces 12 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (28/49) 57%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (46/62) 74%
- 1st serve points won (26/46) 57%
- 2nd serve points won (7/16) 44%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/62) 15%
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 51%
- to BH 45%
- to Body 4%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 46%
- to BH 42%
- to Body 12%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 50 (23 FH, 27 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 7 Errors, all forced...
- 7 Forced (4 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (50/59) 85%
Djokovic made...
- 19 (11 FH, 8 BH)
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (5 FH, 3 BH)
- 8 Forced (4 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (19/47) 40%
Break Points
Federer 3/6 (4 games)
Djokovic 0/1
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 11 (6 FH, 1 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV)
Djokovic 12 (7 FH, 3 BH, 2 BHV)
Federer's FHs - 2 cc (1 return), 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 longline at net
- BH - 1 cc
- 1 from serve-volley points - a first volley, BHV
- 1 other FHV was a swinging, inside-out shot
Djokovic's FHs - 2 dtl, 3 inside-out and 2 inside-in
- BHs (all passes) - 3 cc
- 1 BHV was a stop
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 21
- 7 Unforced (4 FH, 3 BH)
- 14 Forced (7 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHV, 1 Behind-Back)... the Behind-Back was at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.1
Djokovic 25
- 17 Unforced (11 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHV)
- 8 Forced (4 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50
(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...
- 9/13 (69%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
---
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 5/7 (71%) at net, including...
- 0/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
Match Report
Near flawless from Federer on a fast court, while Djokovic is off on both serve and to lesser extent, return
Serve-return complex decides matters. Look at the unreturned rates - Federer 57%, Djoko 15%... its practically impossible to overcome such a discrepancy from Djoko's point of view. He doesn't threaten to
Serve & Return
Its a fast court and Federer serves outstandingly... but not 57% unreturned serves outstandingly. I don't know if there's even such a thing as "57% unreturned serves outstanding", so some discredit to Djoko's returning for this
73% first serves in for Fed is top class. The quality of those serves are good, but short of his best. He served better in Wimbledon final earlier in the year. He mixes up pace of first serves - some are medium of power - and relies more on placement than power to be effective. Its a smart and deadly combo... no need to go for too much and lower percentage when job is getting done with something a little less
And good second serves to back it up too - some genuinely forceful and at least, not easy to attack second serves in general
Note Djoko with 8 return UEs. These are regulation returns, not easy to put in play on fast court, but still regulation. And his 40% return rate is one of the lowest I've seen (from anybody and against anybody). Misses a good chunk of regulation returns (and he doesn't see many of them to start with), no success poking back the odd wide serve in play either
He makes his errors going for depth and going long
Bigger problem for Djoko is his own serve. He's serving at 74%, only 15% unreturned. Only 9 serves don't come back (Fed has 12 aces, to put that in perspective)
His serve is placed conservatively in first set but with decent power. For the set, his unreturned rate is 25%, which reflects both his ordinary placement and Fed's consistency
Something goes haywire in second set, where he has just 1 unreturned serve. Federer returns the last 21 serves he faces - 19 of them first serves. Its true that Fed makes it look easy but deceptive to say so because it is easy. Djoko serves very ordinarily in second set - below average power, directed within Fed's reach... overwhelmingly more a black mark against Djoko's serve than credit to Fed's return here. Not damaging returning from Fed either - just putting ball back in play
Djoko grimaces and tends to his right elbow early in the set when he's stretched for a ball. I imagine he was having some trouble with said elbow and that would go some ways to explaining his serving quality
With the normal standard of serving and returning each player has, I'd estimate appropriate unreturned rates for this surface to be 35% for both players, and upper limits (against typical returning performance) about 45% for Fed, 40% for Djoko with lower limits of Fed 25%, Djoko 20%
Instead, we get Fed well beyond estimate and Djoko well below it. This is a very extreme outcome
In nutshell - great serving and adequate/decent returning by Fed, weak serving and below norm returning from Djoko
Play - Baseline
Points in play are close - Fed 36, Djoko 33
The overwhelming bulk of these are of course, on Djoko's serve - so he's coming off well behind
Breakdowns are the opposite of what you usually see in the match up - Djoko with 1 more winner, forcing 6 more errors and making 10 more UEs. Throw in Djoko with UEFI of 50 to Fed's middle-to-high 47.1... it looks like Djoko is the aggressive shot maker, Fed the counter-puncher, doesn't it?
Djoko does play a balanced attacking game. Not going for too much, but enough to end points. Hence the high 14 errors he forces out of Fed... its not due to Fed being exceptional in defence and getting racquets on would-be winners
Fed hits a well placed neutral ball. Less than attacking, but not easy to cope with on this court. A very good way to approach play
And Fed's more efficient with his attacking shots (just 1 attacking UE), Djoko getting some back in play (more so than Fed) and Fed finishing with winners
Djoko's main problem is lack of attacking efficiency. Of neutral errors, both are about the same (Fed 4, Djoko 6). But Djoko has 5 attacking errors and 6 winner attempts (Fed 2)
In nutshell, the two are about even neutrally - and its the kind of court where that isn't too important. Of attack though, Fed finishes regularly. Djoko ends up missing significantly more (though still usually winning the point)
Match Progression
Fed's serve couldn't be safer in first set. 17/23 serves go unreturned or 74% - not a sniff for Djoko on return
Djoko's pretty secure too. He's taken to deuce in opening game and has to save a break point. Play is good - just 1 UE, Djoko missing a reaction volley + a Djoko double - otherwise, points are ended forcefully
Next service game, Djoko opens with a pair of doubles and Fed follows with angled BH cc's to force 2 errors to break to love
Djoko gets a bit more counter-play in second set (it would be very difficult to have got less), taking Fed to deuce a couple of times. He tends to his elbow after stretching for a ball first point of second game... and doesn't have an unreturned serve after that. His serving becomes decidedly mediocre after that, and Fed's not challenged to put returns in play
Poor game by Djoko to get broken - missing a very ambitious BH inside-out winner attempt, a FH approach and a not easy third ball BH - before Fed forces an error with FH cc
He plays a bit rashly thereafter, but that's not unusual for him when under pressure. Generally, he tends to come out ahead when he does. Not here though
Fed breaks to love to end match with Djoko playing careless looking, somewhat random attacking shots from neutral positions
Summing up, outstanding serving and consistent returning from Fed, while Djoko is below par to weak on both shots. Play is still lively and appropriate to fast conditions with Fed the more efficient in attacking
Stats for pair's previous encounter, '19 Wimbledon final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...kovic-vs-federer-wimbledon-final-2019.654951/
The match was effectively a knock-out encounter, with the winner advancing to the semis and the loser eliminated. Federer would go onto lose in the semis to eventual winner Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic needed to win the tournament to finish year end number 1. It was Federer's first win over Djokovic in 4 years
Federer won 67 points, Djokovic 44
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (36/49) 73%
- 1st serve points won (29/36) 81%
- 2nd serve points won (9/13) 69%
- Aces 12 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (28/49) 57%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (46/62) 74%
- 1st serve points won (26/46) 57%
- 2nd serve points won (7/16) 44%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (9/62) 15%
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 51%
- to BH 45%
- to Body 4%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 46%
- to BH 42%
- to Body 12%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 50 (23 FH, 27 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 7 Errors, all forced...
- 7 Forced (4 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (50/59) 85%
Djokovic made...
- 19 (11 FH, 8 BH)
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (5 FH, 3 BH)
- 8 Forced (4 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (19/47) 40%
Break Points
Federer 3/6 (4 games)
Djokovic 0/1
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 11 (6 FH, 1 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV)
Djokovic 12 (7 FH, 3 BH, 2 BHV)
Federer's FHs - 2 cc (1 return), 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 longline at net
- BH - 1 cc
- 1 from serve-volley points - a first volley, BHV
- 1 other FHV was a swinging, inside-out shot
Djokovic's FHs - 2 dtl, 3 inside-out and 2 inside-in
- BHs (all passes) - 3 cc
- 1 BHV was a stop
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 21
- 7 Unforced (4 FH, 3 BH)
- 14 Forced (7 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHV, 1 Behind-Back)... the Behind-Back was at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.1
Djokovic 25
- 17 Unforced (11 FH, 5 BH, 1 BHV)
- 8 Forced (4 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 50
(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...
- 9/13 (69%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
---
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 5/7 (71%) at net, including...
- 0/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
Match Report
Near flawless from Federer on a fast court, while Djokovic is off on both serve and to lesser extent, return
Serve-return complex decides matters. Look at the unreturned rates - Federer 57%, Djoko 15%... its practically impossible to overcome such a discrepancy from Djoko's point of view. He doesn't threaten to
Serve & Return
Its a fast court and Federer serves outstandingly... but not 57% unreturned serves outstandingly. I don't know if there's even such a thing as "57% unreturned serves outstanding", so some discredit to Djoko's returning for this
73% first serves in for Fed is top class. The quality of those serves are good, but short of his best. He served better in Wimbledon final earlier in the year. He mixes up pace of first serves - some are medium of power - and relies more on placement than power to be effective. Its a smart and deadly combo... no need to go for too much and lower percentage when job is getting done with something a little less
And good second serves to back it up too - some genuinely forceful and at least, not easy to attack second serves in general
Note Djoko with 8 return UEs. These are regulation returns, not easy to put in play on fast court, but still regulation. And his 40% return rate is one of the lowest I've seen (from anybody and against anybody). Misses a good chunk of regulation returns (and he doesn't see many of them to start with), no success poking back the odd wide serve in play either
He makes his errors going for depth and going long
Bigger problem for Djoko is his own serve. He's serving at 74%, only 15% unreturned. Only 9 serves don't come back (Fed has 12 aces, to put that in perspective)
His serve is placed conservatively in first set but with decent power. For the set, his unreturned rate is 25%, which reflects both his ordinary placement and Fed's consistency
Something goes haywire in second set, where he has just 1 unreturned serve. Federer returns the last 21 serves he faces - 19 of them first serves. Its true that Fed makes it look easy but deceptive to say so because it is easy. Djoko serves very ordinarily in second set - below average power, directed within Fed's reach... overwhelmingly more a black mark against Djoko's serve than credit to Fed's return here. Not damaging returning from Fed either - just putting ball back in play
Djoko grimaces and tends to his right elbow early in the set when he's stretched for a ball. I imagine he was having some trouble with said elbow and that would go some ways to explaining his serving quality
With the normal standard of serving and returning each player has, I'd estimate appropriate unreturned rates for this surface to be 35% for both players, and upper limits (against typical returning performance) about 45% for Fed, 40% for Djoko with lower limits of Fed 25%, Djoko 20%
Instead, we get Fed well beyond estimate and Djoko well below it. This is a very extreme outcome
In nutshell - great serving and adequate/decent returning by Fed, weak serving and below norm returning from Djoko
Play - Baseline
Points in play are close - Fed 36, Djoko 33
The overwhelming bulk of these are of course, on Djoko's serve - so he's coming off well behind
Breakdowns are the opposite of what you usually see in the match up - Djoko with 1 more winner, forcing 6 more errors and making 10 more UEs. Throw in Djoko with UEFI of 50 to Fed's middle-to-high 47.1... it looks like Djoko is the aggressive shot maker, Fed the counter-puncher, doesn't it?
Djoko does play a balanced attacking game. Not going for too much, but enough to end points. Hence the high 14 errors he forces out of Fed... its not due to Fed being exceptional in defence and getting racquets on would-be winners
Fed hits a well placed neutral ball. Less than attacking, but not easy to cope with on this court. A very good way to approach play
And Fed's more efficient with his attacking shots (just 1 attacking UE), Djoko getting some back in play (more so than Fed) and Fed finishing with winners
Djoko's main problem is lack of attacking efficiency. Of neutral errors, both are about the same (Fed 4, Djoko 6). But Djoko has 5 attacking errors and 6 winner attempts (Fed 2)
In nutshell, the two are about even neutrally - and its the kind of court where that isn't too important. Of attack though, Fed finishes regularly. Djoko ends up missing significantly more (though still usually winning the point)
Match Progression
Fed's serve couldn't be safer in first set. 17/23 serves go unreturned or 74% - not a sniff for Djoko on return
Djoko's pretty secure too. He's taken to deuce in opening game and has to save a break point. Play is good - just 1 UE, Djoko missing a reaction volley + a Djoko double - otherwise, points are ended forcefully
Next service game, Djoko opens with a pair of doubles and Fed follows with angled BH cc's to force 2 errors to break to love
Djoko gets a bit more counter-play in second set (it would be very difficult to have got less), taking Fed to deuce a couple of times. He tends to his elbow after stretching for a ball first point of second game... and doesn't have an unreturned serve after that. His serving becomes decidedly mediocre after that, and Fed's not challenged to put returns in play
Poor game by Djoko to get broken - missing a very ambitious BH inside-out winner attempt, a FH approach and a not easy third ball BH - before Fed forces an error with FH cc
He plays a bit rashly thereafter, but that's not unusual for him when under pressure. Generally, he tends to come out ahead when he does. Not here though
Fed breaks to love to end match with Djoko playing careless looking, somewhat random attacking shots from neutral positions
Summing up, outstanding serving and consistent returning from Fed, while Djoko is below par to weak on both shots. Play is still lively and appropriate to fast conditions with Fed the more efficient in attacking
Stats for pair's previous encounter, '19 Wimbledon final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...kovic-vs-federer-wimbledon-final-2019.654951/
