Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Federer Australian Open semifinal, 2016

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the Australian Open semifinal 2016 on hard court

Djokovic would go onto win this Australian Open and the French following it to become the first man to hold all 4 Grand Slam titles simultaneously since Rod Laver in 1969. He was already the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion (https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...jokovic-vs-federer-us-open-final-2015.633330/) from 2015, having beaten Federer in the finals of both (also at the World Tour Finals championship match)

Djokovic won 115 points, Federer 82

Serve Stats
Djokovic....
- 1st serve percentage (65/97) 67%
- 1st serve points won (50/65) 77%
- 2nd serve points won (21/32) 66%
- Aces 10, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (34/97) 35%

Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (57/100) 57%
- 1st serve points won (35/57) 61%
- 2nd serve points won (21/43) 49%
- Aces 4, Service Winners 3
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (28/100) 28%


Serve Pattern
Djokovic served...
- to FH 43%
- to BH 52%
- to Body 5%

Federer served...
- to FH 54%
- to BH 40%
- to Body 6%

Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 71 (38 FH, 33 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 20 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 FH)
- 18 Forced (9 FH, 9 BH)
- Return Rate (71/99) 72%

Federer made...
- 62 (26 FH, 36 BH), including 1 runaround FHs and 2 return-approaches
- 3 Winners (1 FH, 2 BH)
- 23 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (4 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH attempt
- 17 Forced (8 FH, 9 BH)
- Return Rate (62/96) 65%

Break Points
Djokovic 5/9 (8 games)
Federer 1/5 (1 game)

Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Djokovic 18 (8 FH, 8 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
Federer 29 (12 FH, 8 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV, 4 OH, 1 BHOH)

Djokovic has 10 passes (7 FH, 3 BH)
- the 6 FHs - 4 cc (including that clips the top of the net on its way through, without which Federer seemed to have the volley covered), 1 dtl and 2 inside-out
- the 3 BHs - 2 cc (including one return) and 1 dtl

- 1 non-pass FH, a dtl
- 5 non-pass BHs - 1 cc, 1 dtl, 2 inside-out and 1 at net

- the FHV is a drop volley and the BHV is played with both men at net

Federer's regular FHs - 2 cc (1 return), 2 dtl, 4 inside-out, 1 inside-in and 1 drop shot

- regular BHs - 2 dtl (1 return), 1 inside-out return (Djokovic slips and thus isn't able to reach the ball), 1 drop shot, 1 at net, 1 longline over the middle of the court, and 1 net chord dribbler

- 3 passes (2 FH, 1 BH). The FHs are 1 cc and 1 dtl - the crosscourt being a sharply angled, running down a drop volley from just behind the service line. The BH is dtl/inside-out

- 4 serve volley points 1 1st volley (a FHV, swinging shot), 2 2nd volleys (1 BHV, 1 OH) and 1 3rd volley (1 OH)

- 1 other BHV was a stop volley

Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Djokovic 24
- 12 Unforced (8 FH, 4 BH)
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 5 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.5

Federer 61
- 38 Unforced (18 FH, 18 BH, 2 FHV)
- 23 Forced (10 FH, 9 BH, 4 BHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.3

(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
Djokovic was 6/10 (60%) at net, with no serve-volleys.

Federer was 23/41 (56%) at net, including 14/22 (64%) serve-volleying - off first serves 9/15 (60%), off second 5/7 (71%) - and 1/2 (50%) return-approaching.
He was 2/3 (67%) when forced back
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Match Report
A thrashing and maybe the best Novak Djokovic has ever played. While breezing through his service games, Djokovic consistently pressures Federer's serve - and the Swiss scarcely has an easy service game.

Its a relatively slow hard court, meaning the typical playing dynamics between the two players in this period (Djokovic consistent, Federer aggressive) suit the eventual winner more. Nonetheless, his returning in the first two sets is something to write home about. Both first and second serves come back deep and hard and Federer is forced to make a number of half-volleys off the baseline. Also worth noting is Djokovic's passing shots - which are pinpoint precise in the first two sets. Federer approaches smartly and most his approaches are deep and troubling, but the Serb still knocks off the passes, occasionally while seemingly off-balance

From the baseline, Djokovic again pounds ball after ball off both wings hard and deep. Federer's defensive abilities are extremely poor in this match and he's two steps slower than his opponent. If he's forced to move to the ball, he tends to arrive late and play the ball on the stretch and when pushed on the defensive, yields errors without much fight (or aggressive intent). Djokovic by contrast, runs down most balls and keeps his error count low, even by his standards (and at times, especially the third set, he is up against a strong Federer assault)

The Swiss is more successful in the third set and seals it with his sole break in an extended game. He serve-volleys frequently and is aggressive from the baseline. Even so, he makes about as many errors as he strikes winners, but Djokovic isn't returning as cleanly and Fed is able to win free points on serve.

The fourth is the dullest part of the match, with both men winning a lot of free points on the serve. Fed continues making routine errors, but his attacks aren't as effective as they were in the third. Djokovic finally breaks in a sensational game with 3 passing winners and serves out to love to complete a thoroughly commanding performance

Other Points of Interest
Note the unreturned serve percentage - Djokovic 35% to Federer 28%... 35% is high for Novak, especially on a slow court and indicative of how poorly Federer returns. Fed's 6 unforced return errors are also suggesting this (at 1 game, up 0-30, he dumps 3 second serve returns for errors... though they were good second serves).

By contrast, even on a slow court, Djokovic does well to keep Federer's unreturned serves to just 28%... especially give Fed was serve-volleying quite a lot (22 times, mostly off the first serve). Credit here to Djoko's returning, not discredit Fed's serving

Fed's consistency from the baseline is poor in this match. His UE FI is a low 45.3 because he regularly misses neutral, routine balls (mostly from the BH). Djokovic from the back is a juggernaut, a machine. Other than a spell in the third when he overdoes BH cross courting, he uses the BH splendidly - attacking dtl when appropriate and consistency itself going cc.

Summing up - Djokovic clinical and outstanding throughout, though Federer's play was patchy
 
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Towny

Hall of Fame
First 2 sets were probably the best I've seen Djokovic play. However, as you've highlighted, Federer was playing pretty poorly in stretches. He tried to half volley everything from the baseline, which he couldn't sustain with how deep Djokovic was hitting. He also made tons of unforced errors.

Painful to watch but I couldn't help but be amazed by Djokovic's level in the match. Pretty much his zenith
 

metsman

G.O.A.T.
It doesn't really matter to the outcome, but it would have been more interesting if Federer had broken in the first game of the 4th set. He had 0-30 and then missed a number of routine returns. The game he got broken, he basically threw in the towel because he couldn't compete from the baseline.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
Stats look a little off. Djokovic had 21 winners overall excluding the serve.

Aces - Djokovic 10/Federer 5
Service winners - Djokovic 2/Federer 0
Winners
Approach shots - Djokovic 0/Federer 2 (2 FH)
Drop shots - Djokovic 0/Federer 2 (1 FH/1BH)
Ground strokes - Djokovic 7 (2 FH/5 BH)/Federer 12 (7 FH/5 BH)
Overheads - Djokovic 0/Federer 4 (4 FH)
Passing shots - Djokovic 12 (8 FH/4BH)/Federer 4 (2 FH/2 BH)
Volleys - Djokovic 2 (1 FH/1 BH)/Federer 5 (2 FH/1BH)
Total - Djokovic 21/Federer 29​
Total including serve - Djokovic 33/Federer 34
Forced errors
Ground strokes - Djokovic 4 (2 FH/2 BH)/Federer 11 (6 FH/5 BH)
Lobs - Djokovic 1 (1 FH)/Federer 1 (1 BH)
Passing shots - Djokovic 4 (2 FH/2 BH)/Federer 1 (1 FH)
Volleys - Djokovic 0/Federer 1 (1 BH)
Total - Djokovic 9/Federer 14​
Unforced errors
Drop shots - Djokovic 0/Federer 1 (1 BH)
Ground strokes - Djokovic 18 (13 FH/5 BH)/Federer 45 (24 FH/21 BH)
Passing shots - Djokovic 1 (1 FH)/Federer 1 (1 BH)
Volleys - Djokovic 0/Federer 3 (2 FH/1BH)
Total - Djokovic 19/Federer 50​
Total including serve - Djokovic 20/Federer 51
Federer's winner/error ratio is almost identical to his 2014 AO match against Nadal where he had 34 winners and 50 unforced errors. (Nadal had 28 winners/25 unforced errors)
 
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