Bjorn Borg beat Jimmy Connors 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final, 1977 on grass
Borg was the defending champion and he would go onto to win the next 3 editions also, including with wins over Connors in the following years final and the semi the year after
Borg won 155 points, Connors 133
Borg serve-volleyed off vast majority off first serves, Connors occasionally
Serve Stats
Borg...
- 1st serve percentage (98/133) 59%
- 1st serve points won (57/78) 73%
- 2nd serve points won (24/55) 44%
- Aces 8, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (41/133) 31%
Connors...
- 1st serve percentage (108/155) 70%
- 1st serve points won (63/108) 58%
- 2nd serve points won (18/47) 38%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (12/155) 8%
Serve Patterns
Borg served...
- to FH 21%
- to BH 68%
- to Body 11%
Connors served...
- to FH 27%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 8%
Return Stats
Borg made...
- 141 (65 FH, 76 BH), including 19 runaround FHs & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 10 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 6 Forced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (141/153) 92%
Connors made...
- 89 (27 FH, 62 BH), including 4 runaround FHs & 1 return-approach
- 3 Winners (2 FH, 1 BH)
- 32 Errors, comprising...
- 11 Unforced (5 FH, 6 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 21 Forced (3 FH, 18 BH)
- Return Rate (89/130) 68%
Break Points
Borg 9/19 (12 games)
Connors 6/14 (7 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Borg 30 (7 FH, 11 BH, 6 FHV, 3 BHV, 3 OH)
Connors 64 (17 FH, 18 BH, 8 FHV, 14 BHV, 7 OH)
Borg had 10 from serve-volley points
- 9 first volleys (5 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)... 1 FHV can reasonably be called an OH
- 1 second volley (1 OH)
- 15 passes (7 FH, 8 BH)
- FHs - 4 cc, 2 dtl and 1 longline
- BHs - 4 cc (1 return), 3 dtl and 1 inside-out
- regular BHs - 2 cc and 1 dtl
Connors had 16 passes (7 FH, 9 BH)
- FHs - 3 cc (1 net chord flicker) and 4 dtl (1 net chord flicker)
- BH - 4 cc (1 return), 2 dtl, 1 inside-out and 2 lobs
- regular FHs - 1 cc, 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 3 net chord dribblers (2 returns)
- regular BHs - 2 cc, 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl at net, 1 drop shot and 1 net chord dribbler at net
- 11 from serve-volley points
- 8 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH, 1 FH at net)... the OH can reasonably be called a swinging FHV and the FH at net was a drop shot
- 2 second volleys (1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 fifth volley (1 BHV)
- 2 other OHs were on the bounce (1 from the baseline)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Borg 54
- 16 Unforced (8 FH, 7 BH, 1 OH)... the OH was a baseline shot on the bounce
- 38 Forced (10 FH, 21 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV, 2 BHOH, 1 Back-to-Net)... 1 BHV was a lob
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 41.9
Connors 82
- 58 Unforced (27 FH, 23 BH, 6 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 24 Forced (8 FH, 7 BH, 4 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 2 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 non-net FHV from no-man's land
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.0
(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
Borg was...
- 50/76 (66%) at net, including...
- 40/56 (71%) serve-volleying, all 1stt serves
---
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 1/4 (25%) forced back/retreated
Connors was...
- 68/98 (69%) at net, including...
- 17/25 (68%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
--
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Good match of all court tennis, with bit of everything on show - serve-volleying (primarily from Borg), baseline rallying and approaching from baseline rallies (primarily from Connors). Borg is comfortably the better player on the whole due to substantial advantage in consistency in all areas, but particularly the return, on groundstrokes and the volley. The former 2 aren't surprising, so its the volleying that stands out the most. He also has much stronger serve - as much for Connors' being distinctly average as Borg's standing out as special - which is probably the biggest factor in outcome
Key stats include...
- Borg with return rate of 92%. Connors' serve is ordinary, but even so, Borg's clockwork consistency is extraordinary
- Borg with 0 UEs on the volley or in the forecourt(!)
- Baseline UEs - Borg 16, Connors 50. Speaks for itself but counter-balanced by...
- Net points rallying to net - Connors 50/72 at 69%, Borg 8/18 at 44%
The 2 take different approaches to play. Off first serves, Borg serve-volleys most of the time, Connors occasionally (Borg 81% of the time, Connors 24%). From baseline rallies, Connors rallies his way to net regularly, Borg occasionally (Connors 72 times, Borg 18). The volleying is considerably better than the passing from both men, and both win bulk of net points (Borg 66%, Connors 69%)
So action is two parts -
i) serve-volleying (most of Borg's first serve points, about a quarter of Connors')
ii) points starting baseline to baseline
Serve-Volleying
Off the 1st serve...
- Serve-volleying frequency - Borg 81%, Connors 24%
- points won serve-volleying - Borg 71%, Connors 68%
- points won staying back - Borg 8/13 at 62%, Connors 44/81 or 54% (sans aces and service winners)
Good move by Borg to serve-volley so regularly. He'd likely to better to do so all the time. With 0 UEs and just 6 FEs on the volley, he takes care of business up front. He stays back most in the final set (to his detriment), while Connors comes in most at the same time (to his benefit)
Numbers are also suggesting Connors would do well to serve-volley more. What might happen were he to do so more regularly is anyone's guess, but they're probably right
Borg with hefty serve but not too demanding to return. Sans serve-volleying, Connors could likely return around 80%. As is, he manages 68%. 11/32 return errors have been marked unforced - all points Borg stays back on, and almost all 2nd serves... plenty of room for improvement in Connors' returning
Returning against the serve-volleying though is a tricky balance to get right. Generally, Borg is the kind of volleyer you'd fancy testing on the regulation, net high volley. In other words, toning down power/wide placement to get more returns in around net high... and expect a few regulation volley misses
This isn't general. 0 volleying UEs from Borg. He doesn't miss anything that's routine
For that matter, just 6 FEs for him in forecourt. He's tested - particularly early on, he gets a lot of tough volleys that are powerfully hit and at least low-ish and occasionally right to his feet. Puts almost all of them back in play
With Borg being a wall on the volley, it falls on Connors to go the extra mile on the return. A lot of his return errors hit the very top of the tape - they'd be challenging if they made it over. He needs to return that well because the ones' that make it over aren't winning him points
Borg's not particularly destructive with the volley. Its odd that he has1 fewer winner serve-volleying than Connors does, despite 31 more serve-volley points (granted, far more of Borg's end with unreturned serves where he has no chance to hit a winner). 9/10 of his serve-volley winners are first volleys - easy balls and putaways. No problem dispatching those, which for him, isn't a given
To the regulation volley, he volleys away from Connors but not too far and without punching through much. Reasonable shots on the pass for Jimbo. He usually can't make them... this is normal. I'd say he passed particularly well if he made more, not hold it against him for not doing so. Its typical grass court where balls regularly around ankle height... making any pass is a tall order
So from Connors point of view -
- any weak returns are dispatched
- any regulation returns are volleyed in play, with odds on his not being able to make the pass
-powerful or/and low returns are not too common, but are almost always put in play too. He has better shot on the pass on those, but odds would still favour Borg from that position - and so it proves
All credit to Borg on the volley. He just doesn't miss
Borg returns from a normal position a bit behind the baseline, as opposed to well behind it as he often employed. With Connors serve not being powerful, he'd have time to see that when Connors is serve-volleying. In other words, Connors serve-volleying doesn't have that big a positive surprise element helping it. Borg returns the same way against serve-volleys as he does at other times. Very consistent, regulation returning
Connors, unlike Borg, is ferocious in dispatching the ball. Most of his volleys to balls above net are at least slightly swinging shots. Its not necessary and liable to unnecessarily raise errors, but that's just his way. He doesn't miss much regardless - he's got 8 UEs on the volley from 98 approaches - but a few sloppy easy misses
Would he have done better to serve-volley more? Clearly, the numbers suggest it and I'd say so. Points Connors starts on the baseline basically become 50-50 affairs after Borg's return. Points Connors serve-volleys behind start with Connors having a volley above net to whack. His serve, though not strong, is at least as strong as the approach shots he typically comes in behind from rallying - and there are the usual for him, relatively high approach errors that wouldn't apply to serve-volleying
Borg was the defending champion and he would go onto to win the next 3 editions also, including with wins over Connors in the following years final and the semi the year after
Borg won 155 points, Connors 133
Borg serve-volleyed off vast majority off first serves, Connors occasionally
Serve Stats
Borg...
- 1st serve percentage (98/133) 59%
- 1st serve points won (57/78) 73%
- 2nd serve points won (24/55) 44%
- Aces 8, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (41/133) 31%
Connors...
- 1st serve percentage (108/155) 70%
- 1st serve points won (63/108) 58%
- 2nd serve points won (18/47) 38%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (12/155) 8%
Serve Patterns
Borg served...
- to FH 21%
- to BH 68%
- to Body 11%
Connors served...
- to FH 27%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 8%
Return Stats
Borg made...
- 141 (65 FH, 76 BH), including 19 runaround FHs & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 10 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (1 FH, 3 BH)
- 6 Forced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (141/153) 92%
Connors made...
- 89 (27 FH, 62 BH), including 4 runaround FHs & 1 return-approach
- 3 Winners (2 FH, 1 BH)
- 32 Errors, comprising...
- 11 Unforced (5 FH, 6 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 21 Forced (3 FH, 18 BH)
- Return Rate (89/130) 68%
Break Points
Borg 9/19 (12 games)
Connors 6/14 (7 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Borg 30 (7 FH, 11 BH, 6 FHV, 3 BHV, 3 OH)
Connors 64 (17 FH, 18 BH, 8 FHV, 14 BHV, 7 OH)
Borg had 10 from serve-volley points
- 9 first volleys (5 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)... 1 FHV can reasonably be called an OH
- 1 second volley (1 OH)
- 15 passes (7 FH, 8 BH)
- FHs - 4 cc, 2 dtl and 1 longline
- BHs - 4 cc (1 return), 3 dtl and 1 inside-out
- regular BHs - 2 cc and 1 dtl
Connors had 16 passes (7 FH, 9 BH)
- FHs - 3 cc (1 net chord flicker) and 4 dtl (1 net chord flicker)
- BH - 4 cc (1 return), 2 dtl, 1 inside-out and 2 lobs
- regular FHs - 1 cc, 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 3 net chord dribblers (2 returns)
- regular BHs - 2 cc, 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl at net, 1 drop shot and 1 net chord dribbler at net
- 11 from serve-volley points
- 8 first 'volleys' (2 FHV, 4 BHV, 1 OH, 1 FH at net)... the OH can reasonably be called a swinging FHV and the FH at net was a drop shot
- 2 second volleys (1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 fifth volley (1 BHV)
- 2 other OHs were on the bounce (1 from the baseline)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Borg 54
- 16 Unforced (8 FH, 7 BH, 1 OH)... the OH was a baseline shot on the bounce
- 38 Forced (10 FH, 21 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV, 2 BHOH, 1 Back-to-Net)... 1 BHV was a lob
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 41.9
Connors 82
- 58 Unforced (27 FH, 23 BH, 6 FHV, 2 BHV)
- 24 Forced (8 FH, 7 BH, 4 FHV, 2 FH1/2V, 2 BHV, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 non-net FHV from no-man's land
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.0
(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
Borg was...
- 50/76 (66%) at net, including...
- 40/56 (71%) serve-volleying, all 1stt serves
---
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 1/4 (25%) forced back/retreated
Connors was...
- 68/98 (69%) at net, including...
- 17/25 (68%) serve-volleying, all 1st serves
--
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Good match of all court tennis, with bit of everything on show - serve-volleying (primarily from Borg), baseline rallying and approaching from baseline rallies (primarily from Connors). Borg is comfortably the better player on the whole due to substantial advantage in consistency in all areas, but particularly the return, on groundstrokes and the volley. The former 2 aren't surprising, so its the volleying that stands out the most. He also has much stronger serve - as much for Connors' being distinctly average as Borg's standing out as special - which is probably the biggest factor in outcome
Key stats include...
- Borg with return rate of 92%. Connors' serve is ordinary, but even so, Borg's clockwork consistency is extraordinary
- Borg with 0 UEs on the volley or in the forecourt(!)
- Baseline UEs - Borg 16, Connors 50. Speaks for itself but counter-balanced by...
- Net points rallying to net - Connors 50/72 at 69%, Borg 8/18 at 44%
The 2 take different approaches to play. Off first serves, Borg serve-volleys most of the time, Connors occasionally (Borg 81% of the time, Connors 24%). From baseline rallies, Connors rallies his way to net regularly, Borg occasionally (Connors 72 times, Borg 18). The volleying is considerably better than the passing from both men, and both win bulk of net points (Borg 66%, Connors 69%)
So action is two parts -
i) serve-volleying (most of Borg's first serve points, about a quarter of Connors')
ii) points starting baseline to baseline
Serve-Volleying
Off the 1st serve...
- Serve-volleying frequency - Borg 81%, Connors 24%
- points won serve-volleying - Borg 71%, Connors 68%
- points won staying back - Borg 8/13 at 62%, Connors 44/81 or 54% (sans aces and service winners)
Good move by Borg to serve-volley so regularly. He'd likely to better to do so all the time. With 0 UEs and just 6 FEs on the volley, he takes care of business up front. He stays back most in the final set (to his detriment), while Connors comes in most at the same time (to his benefit)
Numbers are also suggesting Connors would do well to serve-volley more. What might happen were he to do so more regularly is anyone's guess, but they're probably right
Borg with hefty serve but not too demanding to return. Sans serve-volleying, Connors could likely return around 80%. As is, he manages 68%. 11/32 return errors have been marked unforced - all points Borg stays back on, and almost all 2nd serves... plenty of room for improvement in Connors' returning
Returning against the serve-volleying though is a tricky balance to get right. Generally, Borg is the kind of volleyer you'd fancy testing on the regulation, net high volley. In other words, toning down power/wide placement to get more returns in around net high... and expect a few regulation volley misses
This isn't general. 0 volleying UEs from Borg. He doesn't miss anything that's routine
For that matter, just 6 FEs for him in forecourt. He's tested - particularly early on, he gets a lot of tough volleys that are powerfully hit and at least low-ish and occasionally right to his feet. Puts almost all of them back in play
With Borg being a wall on the volley, it falls on Connors to go the extra mile on the return. A lot of his return errors hit the very top of the tape - they'd be challenging if they made it over. He needs to return that well because the ones' that make it over aren't winning him points
Borg's not particularly destructive with the volley. Its odd that he has1 fewer winner serve-volleying than Connors does, despite 31 more serve-volley points (granted, far more of Borg's end with unreturned serves where he has no chance to hit a winner). 9/10 of his serve-volley winners are first volleys - easy balls and putaways. No problem dispatching those, which for him, isn't a given
To the regulation volley, he volleys away from Connors but not too far and without punching through much. Reasonable shots on the pass for Jimbo. He usually can't make them... this is normal. I'd say he passed particularly well if he made more, not hold it against him for not doing so. Its typical grass court where balls regularly around ankle height... making any pass is a tall order
So from Connors point of view -
- any weak returns are dispatched
- any regulation returns are volleyed in play, with odds on his not being able to make the pass
-powerful or/and low returns are not too common, but are almost always put in play too. He has better shot on the pass on those, but odds would still favour Borg from that position - and so it proves
All credit to Borg on the volley. He just doesn't miss
Borg returns from a normal position a bit behind the baseline, as opposed to well behind it as he often employed. With Connors serve not being powerful, he'd have time to see that when Connors is serve-volleying. In other words, Connors serve-volleying doesn't have that big a positive surprise element helping it. Borg returns the same way against serve-volleys as he does at other times. Very consistent, regulation returning
Connors, unlike Borg, is ferocious in dispatching the ball. Most of his volleys to balls above net are at least slightly swinging shots. Its not necessary and liable to unnecessarily raise errors, but that's just his way. He doesn't miss much regardless - he's got 8 UEs on the volley from 98 approaches - but a few sloppy easy misses
Would he have done better to serve-volley more? Clearly, the numbers suggest it and I'd say so. Points Connors starts on the baseline basically become 50-50 affairs after Borg's return. Points Connors serve-volleys behind start with Connors having a volley above net to whack. His serve, though not strong, is at least as strong as the approach shots he typically comes in behind from rallying - and there are the usual for him, relatively high approach errors that wouldn't apply to serve-volleying
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