Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3 in the Indian Wells fourth round (round of 16), 2017 on hard court
Federer would go onto win a record equalling 5th title at the event, beating Stan Wawrinka in the final. He had recently beaten Nadal in the final of Australian Open, and would go onto do so again in the Miami final shortly afterwards
Federer won 57 points, Nadal 42
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (25/45) 56%
- 1st serve points won (19/25) 76%
- 2nd serve points won (15/20) 75%
- Aces 5, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/45) 40%
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (32/54) 59%
- 1st serve points won (18/32) 56%
- 2nd serve points won (13/22) 59%
- Aces 2 (1 second serve)
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (10/54) 19%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 52%
- to BH 48%
Nadal served...
- to FH 39%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 7%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 44 (20 FH, 24 BH), including 2 runaround FHs & 1 'sneak attack' return-approach
- 3 Winners (3 BH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 4 Forced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (44/54) 81%
Nadal made...
- 26 (15 FH, 11 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 8 Forced (5 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (26/44) 59%
Break Points
Federer 4/5 (4 games)
Nadal 0/1
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 20 (10 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
Nadal 8 (7 FH, 1 BH)
Federer's FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl, 6 inside-out and 2 inside-in
- BHs - 3 cc (1 return), 3 dtl (1 return) and 1 inside-in return
- 1 FHV was the first volley of a serve-volley point
Nadal's FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl pass, 1 inside-out, 3 inside-in and 1 longline/cc
- BH - 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 23
- 17 Unforced (6 FH, 11 BH)
- 6 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH, 1 BHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
Nadal 19
- 14 Unforced (8 FH, 6 BH)
- 5 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 42.9
(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...
- 6/9 (67%) at net, including...
- 3/5 (60%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 3/4 (75%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
--
- 1/1 return-approaching
Nadal was 1/1 at net
Match Report
"Beatdown", not a word one usually associates with Roger Federer, best describes this match. In virtually every area, he comes out not just ahead, but well ahead of Nadal
Serve & Return
Federer typically serves strongly, though this probably the worst return showing I've seen from Nadal. Court seems on the slow side of normal at least - and one wouldn't expect 40% unreturned serve rate like Federer has. Nadal fails to return 8 second serves - 4 of them being marked forced error indicates quality of Federer's serving - but Nadal typically returns Federer's strong first serves even on faster courts than this. His position is off... he tries returning some second serves from way behind baseline and gets pulled out of court. Good serving by Federer to make the most of Nadal's position, but poor on the return from Rafa.
Note the very high 75% second serves points won by Federer. That's not just about the quality of his serve or Nadal's returns - but both have a hand in it
By contrast, Federer is superb on return, probably the best I've seen from him against Nadal. Nadal's serve isn't particularly powerful, but he does serve second serves harder than usual (probably because he felt he had to) and doesn't have a single double fault. But Federer is belting returns of both wings all match. I don't think he chips a single one. With Fed being so strong on the BH return, Rafa wisely chooses a more even distribution - 39/54/7 across FH/BH/Body - than his usual 85-90% at BH pattern
It doesn't matter. Federer wallops returns of both wings anyway. If anything, harder of the BH. He not only has 3 return winners, but note there all being different types: 1 cc, 1 dtl and 1 inside-out. For good measure, Fed throws in a sneak attack return that forces a passing error. Should consider using it more against Nadal - combination of Nadal's second serve not being strong and usually very predictable makes it perfect for being targeted so
Play - Baseline & Net
Taking for granted Fed's FH prowess, its his BH that stands out. Particularly early in the match, he's taking them early and driving them hard. Mostly cc, but occasionally also dtl. I don't think he slices a single ball. For all that, he keeps his errors relatively low. 11 UEs is still the highest of the 4 groundstrokes on show - but there's also 7 winners (Nadal has 1 - and that was a net point), error forcing shots and otherwise, attacking play that pressures Nadal or gives Fed control of points
No problems with height. Its a high bouncing court with balls regularly rising to chest height. Fed gets on top of such balls and slaps BHs
Usually, Federer is apt to strike a lot of third ball FH winners off first serves. In this match, he hits a number of 3rd ball winners off both wings off second serves. And when rallies develop, continues hitting early, hard and deep to keep Nadal pinned back
Nadal seems rather flat. His movements - both footwork and court coverage seems a bit down, though I'm not sure if its to an unusual extent in 2017. The slow footwork is problematic, the court coverage wouldn't have mattered... Federer's winners and forcing plays would have won the points they did even with maximum fleet Nadal
He either doesn't try to step up and dictate baseline play - or isn't able to. It would have been difficult to against the kind of hitting he was up against
Usually in matches between the two, regardless of result, Nadal is the better baseliner. Not in this match. Nadal has a thin edge in consistency (14 UEs to Fed's 17), but note Fed's high 48.2 UEFI and Nadal's very low one of 42.9. Essentially, Nadal is beaten down from the baseline and just plops balls back in court passively best he can. The UEs he makes also are on the forced side for being UEs
A further indicator of Fed's superiority from the back is his barely coming to net. Sans serve-volleying and the SABR, he just comes in 3 times. He just doesn't need to - he's putting points away from behind. In fact, its probably Nadal who might have considered coming forward more. He doesn't at all. Just 1 trip forward - and that was a forced approach
Match Progression
First couple games are competitive. Fed announces his intentions with back to back winners in opening game - a FH inside-in and a BH cc - and goes on to break in a 10 point affair with error forcing deep, strong balls. Nadal has a point to break back in the next game, which he gains on back of a pair of Fed BH UEs - but that's service winner'd away - and another pair of winners sees Fed hold
Fed goes on to break a second time with 4 winners - 3 of them BHs, 2 of those returns. And serves out the set in a 5 point game ending only with winners - 4 third balls - 3 FHs, 1 FHV - plus a Nadal FH dtl pass
In second set, Fed loses just 3 points in 4 service games. Gains first break early with power returning and strong FHs. And ends the match with second break - appropriately, match ends with a step in, BH inside-in return winner
Summing up, as close to brutal as you'll see from the usually elegant Federer. His baseline play is reminiscent of a young Andre Agassi, with a strong serve thrown in. Nadal returns not well and can muster minimal counter-play
Stats for the pair's '17 Australian Open final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...erer-australian-open-finals-2009-2017.632715/
Federer would go onto win a record equalling 5th title at the event, beating Stan Wawrinka in the final. He had recently beaten Nadal in the final of Australian Open, and would go onto do so again in the Miami final shortly afterwards
Federer won 57 points, Nadal 42
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (25/45) 56%
- 1st serve points won (19/25) 76%
- 2nd serve points won (15/20) 75%
- Aces 5, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/45) 40%
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (32/54) 59%
- 1st serve points won (18/32) 56%
- 2nd serve points won (13/22) 59%
- Aces 2 (1 second serve)
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (10/54) 19%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 52%
- to BH 48%
Nadal served...
- to FH 39%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 7%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 44 (20 FH, 24 BH), including 2 runaround FHs & 1 'sneak attack' return-approach
- 3 Winners (3 BH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 4 Forced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (44/54) 81%
Nadal made...
- 26 (15 FH, 11 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 8 Forced (5 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (26/44) 59%
Break Points
Federer 4/5 (4 games)
Nadal 0/1
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 20 (10 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
Nadal 8 (7 FH, 1 BH)
Federer's FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl, 6 inside-out and 2 inside-in
- BHs - 3 cc (1 return), 3 dtl (1 return) and 1 inside-in return
- 1 FHV was the first volley of a serve-volley point
Nadal's FHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl pass, 1 inside-out, 3 inside-in and 1 longline/cc
- BH - 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 23
- 17 Unforced (6 FH, 11 BH)
- 6 Forced (2 FH, 3 BH, 1 BHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
Nadal 19
- 14 Unforced (8 FH, 6 BH)
- 5 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 42.9
(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...
- 6/9 (67%) at net, including...
- 3/5 (60%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 3/4 (75%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
--
- 1/1 return-approaching
Nadal was 1/1 at net
Match Report
"Beatdown", not a word one usually associates with Roger Federer, best describes this match. In virtually every area, he comes out not just ahead, but well ahead of Nadal
Serve & Return
Federer typically serves strongly, though this probably the worst return showing I've seen from Nadal. Court seems on the slow side of normal at least - and one wouldn't expect 40% unreturned serve rate like Federer has. Nadal fails to return 8 second serves - 4 of them being marked forced error indicates quality of Federer's serving - but Nadal typically returns Federer's strong first serves even on faster courts than this. His position is off... he tries returning some second serves from way behind baseline and gets pulled out of court. Good serving by Federer to make the most of Nadal's position, but poor on the return from Rafa.
Note the very high 75% second serves points won by Federer. That's not just about the quality of his serve or Nadal's returns - but both have a hand in it
By contrast, Federer is superb on return, probably the best I've seen from him against Nadal. Nadal's serve isn't particularly powerful, but he does serve second serves harder than usual (probably because he felt he had to) and doesn't have a single double fault. But Federer is belting returns of both wings all match. I don't think he chips a single one. With Fed being so strong on the BH return, Rafa wisely chooses a more even distribution - 39/54/7 across FH/BH/Body - than his usual 85-90% at BH pattern
It doesn't matter. Federer wallops returns of both wings anyway. If anything, harder of the BH. He not only has 3 return winners, but note there all being different types: 1 cc, 1 dtl and 1 inside-out. For good measure, Fed throws in a sneak attack return that forces a passing error. Should consider using it more against Nadal - combination of Nadal's second serve not being strong and usually very predictable makes it perfect for being targeted so
Play - Baseline & Net
Taking for granted Fed's FH prowess, its his BH that stands out. Particularly early in the match, he's taking them early and driving them hard. Mostly cc, but occasionally also dtl. I don't think he slices a single ball. For all that, he keeps his errors relatively low. 11 UEs is still the highest of the 4 groundstrokes on show - but there's also 7 winners (Nadal has 1 - and that was a net point), error forcing shots and otherwise, attacking play that pressures Nadal or gives Fed control of points
No problems with height. Its a high bouncing court with balls regularly rising to chest height. Fed gets on top of such balls and slaps BHs
Usually, Federer is apt to strike a lot of third ball FH winners off first serves. In this match, he hits a number of 3rd ball winners off both wings off second serves. And when rallies develop, continues hitting early, hard and deep to keep Nadal pinned back
Nadal seems rather flat. His movements - both footwork and court coverage seems a bit down, though I'm not sure if its to an unusual extent in 2017. The slow footwork is problematic, the court coverage wouldn't have mattered... Federer's winners and forcing plays would have won the points they did even with maximum fleet Nadal
He either doesn't try to step up and dictate baseline play - or isn't able to. It would have been difficult to against the kind of hitting he was up against
Usually in matches between the two, regardless of result, Nadal is the better baseliner. Not in this match. Nadal has a thin edge in consistency (14 UEs to Fed's 17), but note Fed's high 48.2 UEFI and Nadal's very low one of 42.9. Essentially, Nadal is beaten down from the baseline and just plops balls back in court passively best he can. The UEs he makes also are on the forced side for being UEs
A further indicator of Fed's superiority from the back is his barely coming to net. Sans serve-volleying and the SABR, he just comes in 3 times. He just doesn't need to - he's putting points away from behind. In fact, its probably Nadal who might have considered coming forward more. He doesn't at all. Just 1 trip forward - and that was a forced approach
Match Progression
First couple games are competitive. Fed announces his intentions with back to back winners in opening game - a FH inside-in and a BH cc - and goes on to break in a 10 point affair with error forcing deep, strong balls. Nadal has a point to break back in the next game, which he gains on back of a pair of Fed BH UEs - but that's service winner'd away - and another pair of winners sees Fed hold
Fed goes on to break a second time with 4 winners - 3 of them BHs, 2 of those returns. And serves out the set in a 5 point game ending only with winners - 4 third balls - 3 FHs, 1 FHV - plus a Nadal FH dtl pass
In second set, Fed loses just 3 points in 4 service games. Gains first break early with power returning and strong FHs. And ends the match with second break - appropriately, match ends with a step in, BH inside-in return winner
Summing up, as close to brutal as you'll see from the usually elegant Federer. His baseline play is reminiscent of a young Andre Agassi, with a strong serve thrown in. Nadal returns not well and can muster minimal counter-play
Stats for the pair's '17 Australian Open final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...erer-australian-open-finals-2009-2017.632715/
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