Match Stats/Report - Chang vs Chesnokov, Indian Wells final, 1992

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Michael Chang beat Andrei Chesnokov 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the Indian Wells final, 1992 on hard court

Chang would follow-up by winning Miami. Chesnokov was unseeded and this would be his only final at the event

Chang won 108 points, Chesnokov 83

(Note: I’m missing serve direction and corresponding return data for 2 points -
Set 1, Game 3, Point 9
Set 1, Game 7, Point 6)

Serve Stats
Chang...
- 1st serve percentage (57/86) 66%
- 1st serve points won (38/57) 67%
- 2nd serve points won (19/29) 66%
- Aces 4
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (15/86) 17%

Chesnokov...
- 1st serve percentage (57/105) 54%
- 1st serve points won (30/57) 53%
- 2nd serve points won (24/48) 50%
- Aces 1, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (13/105) 12%

Serve Patterns
Chang served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 60%
- to Body 2%

Chesnokov served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 43%
- to Body 12%

Return Stats
Chang made...
- 90 (48 FH, 41 BH, 2 ??), including 1 runaround FH & 8 return-approaches
- 11 Errors, comprising...
- 7 Unforced (5 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach attempt
- 4 Forced (4 BH)
- Return Rate (90/104) 88%

Chesnokov made...
- 70 (36 FH, 34 BH), including 9 runaround FHs
- 11 Errors, comprising...
- 9 Unforced (6 FH, 3 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 2 Forced (1 FH, 1 BH)
- Return Rate (70/85) 82%

Break Points
Chang 7/14 (9 games)
Chesnokov 3/7 (5 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Chang 24 (13 FH, 4 BH, 3 FHV, 2 BHV, 2 OH)
Chesnokov 11 (3 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)

Chang FHs - 4 cc, 3 dtl (2 passes), 1 dtl/inside-out, 3 inside-out, 1 inside-in, 1 inside-in/cc
- BH passes - 2 cc, 1 dtl, 1 lob

- 2 from return-approach points (1 BHV, 1 OH)

Chesnokov's FHs - 1 cc, 1 cc/inside-in, 1 inside-out
- BHs - 3 dtl (1 at net, 2 passes), 2 drop shots (1 at net), 1 lob

- 1 FHV was a non-net, swinging cc

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Chang 58
- 46 Unforced (20 FH, 22 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 OH)... the FHV was a swinging, baseline shot & 1 OH was on the bounce from the baseline
- 12 Forced (6 FH, 5 BH, 1 FH1/2V)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net & 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.3

Chesnokov 68
- 46 Unforced (22 FH, 23 BH, 1 BHOH)
- 22 Forced (8 FH, 13 BH, 1 FHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.1

(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 are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)

Net Points & Serve-Volley
Chang was 27/38 (71%) at net, with...
- 6/8 (75%) return-approching
- 4/7 (57%) forced back

Chesnokov was 10/20 (50%) at net, with...
- 0/2 forced back/retreated

Match Report
Amidst staple of slow, who-blinks-first passive baseline rallying, Chang is more aggressive and that aggression is the only difference between the two players; The blink-rate ends almost identical, though it varies across the match. Court is slow

Rarely has a match come out so perfectly in numbers
First serve points won - Chang 67%, Ches 54%
Second serve points won - Chang 66%, Ches 50%

For starters, and deducible from the above, serve and return are non-factors. Hence the two players winning same lot of points across their two serves. Hence, in count is also not important (though it does cutely end in line with points won across serves for both players - Chang 66%, Ches 54%)

Next, those basic stats nicely sum up who has better of things and by how much

Finally, what makes up that difference has come out beautifully. In context of staple passive rallying -

UEs - both 46 (both have just 1 net UE)
Neutral UEs - Chang 30, Ches 31

UEs by shot -
- Chang FH 20
- Chang BH & Ches FH 22
- Ches BH 23
(Chang also has a couple of baseline errors from FHV and OH on bounce)

As even as you can get. Leaving difference to be made up from -

Winners - Chang 24, Ches 11
Errors forced - Chang 22, Ches 12

Net points of Chang 38, Ches 20 (Chang wins 71%, Ches 50%) play into the above numbers

Serve -return unimportant
Staple passive rallying, ending up virtually equal
Chang a lot more attacking and successful at it, with Ches being on low end of aggressive intent. And to be clear, that in context of general passivity from both players. Tune into match at a random point and most likely you’ll hit upon a passive, who-blinks rally

Weak serves from both players and court is slow. Returns are easy to make
Low freebies of Chang 17%, Ches 12%. 16/22 return errors have been marked UEs
Chang occasionally following a thumped return to net, Ches just putting the return in play

5% freebie advantage doesn’t seem like much (and isn’t). In light of Chang with more return aggression (he wins 6/8 return-approach points - hard hit shots that he follows to net, not chip-charges and always against second serves), nice for Chang to have it in his favour
 

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Then they rally, making sense of which begins with the UEs

At different stages of the match, one player or the other has better of blink rate and this or that shot of one of the players is particularly secure or a bit loose. With this kind of action, quality of play is simply matter of how long rallies are; shot tolerance/handling opponents force of shot isn’t an issue, nor is movement. Neither player looks to move the other around, balls are easily covered; Just plain ol’ who can hit one more ball in play. The quality is good, the rallies are long. Not exactly rock and roll but good, long rallies

Its funny that its all come out so even, the 4 groundies ranging beween 20-23 UEs, with a difference of 1 in neutral UEs. As implied by all the groundies being clusterd together, rallies are dual winged. Chang plays little closer to baseline, maybe hits negligibly harder. Not with an eye to attacking most of the time

Rest of baseline rallies -
Winners - Chang 11, Ches 4 (the only BH is a drop shot by Ches)
Errors Forced - Chang 5, Ches 4

Not a whole lot in ocean of 87 UEs, but that ocean split down the middle, clearly in Chang’s favour. Now and then he moves forward to attack off the FH. Ches almost never

Attacking UEs - Chang 12, Ches 11
Winner Attempt UEs - both 4

No difference there either

Rallying to net - Chang 21/30 or 70%, Ches 10/20 or 50%
Note how proportion of approaches is almost exactly in line with basic stats of first serve in, first serve won, second serve won (Chang about 2/3, Ches around 1/2). Cute

Chang has 7 volley winners, 2 UEs, 1 FE, while forcing 15 passing errors. Ches has 3 passing winners
Ches has 1 genuine, at net volley winner, 2 errors (a UE, a FE), Chang has 6 passing winners for 7 errors

Just another way or reporting the net winnings. Success of Chang’s net game is due to mix of coming in of strong approach and knowing what he’s doing once at net. Its more an extension of moderate baseline aggression (stepping in a bit, hitting a bit harder or wider) than it is some great feat of volleying. The 12 attacking UEs he has is sort of shots that get him on the road to being able to come in to finish, and he’s got good value for it

Ches has a little phase of net rushing and otherwise shows no interest in net. His 11 attacking UEs are largely a waste by contrast. Kinds of shots that might push Chang back or out of position - but has no regular way to finish points. Chang isn’t particularly defensively stout, but also, isn’t tested much by Ches’ lukewarm and rare offence

Gist - slow baseline action with honours evenly split
Chang attacking some, Ches very rarely
Chang successful most of the time he attacks

Match Progression
In first set, amidst slow rallies, Chang hits harder, plays closer to baseline is is more willing to attack by occasionally moving in to overpower opponent. Ches reacts or plays neutrally

Chang breaks twice in 12 and 10 point games to move to 4-1
9/12 points in the first break are UEs (including a return) and 9/10 in the second. They don’t come easily, but they come. All 4 of the aggressively ended points (2 winners, 2 FEs) are won by Chang

Chang has break/set point returning at 1-5, but misses dtl BH. Ches not only goes on to hold but snatches a break back
No matter as Chang breaks again to wrap things up in an all UE game (1 double fault, 1 return). Ches appears to hurt himself in running for a ball in the middle of the game and takes a medical time out at end of game/set

He’s a tough nut Ches. Removes the body taping that trainers put on him during the very first game of second set. Chang’s FH gets loose with errors aroudn this period, and Ches breaks to open
Set goes on normally on serve but ends weirdly. It looks like Ches just gives up and plays feebly in winning1 point in last 3 games (2 of them service games, both of them love breaks)

Doesn’t move as Chang smacks a FH inside-out winner that’s worth moving for. Makes no effort to anticipate a return-approaching smash winner. Plays an even softer game to get broken and lose the set next go around. Weird, and looks like a tank job

But Ches again breaks to open the third set in a blinky game and holds onto break upto middle of set as action carries on as before

Somewhat out of the blue, Ches ups his aggression with more net play, more powerful, surprising dtl/inside-out FH shot choices. He doesn’t display tiredness ine or weariness with rallying either

It sees him reach break point in game 7, but he misses routine return before Chang goes on to hold for 3-4. And Chang breaks right after, winning points with FH dtl pass and BHV winner after an effective FH inside-out return approach

Couple games later, Chang breaks again to end the set in a 10 point game. Ches is at net 4 times in it - losing 3 to passing winners (FH dtl against a bad approach, BH cc after making tough volleys and BH lob against a bad plonked volley), and 1 after being forced back from net

Chang wraps up with couple of approaches of his own to force passing errors

Summing up, somewhat dull match of slow, unenterprising dual winged baseline rallying but both players are good at it and rallies are long before someone blinks up the error. And they end up blinking up almost the same number off both wings to stay even

Chang though also attacks some by occasionally stepping in and overpowering opponent and/or taking net to finish. He’s usually successful when he does. Chesnokov by contrast, very rarely does anything more than keep the ball in play and wait for errors

With consistency a wash, Chang’s attacking forays are enough to see him move ahead to comfortable superiority and victory
 
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