Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Medvedev, Paris final, 2021

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Paris final, 2021 on indoor hard court

It was Djokovic's record extending 6th title at the event and by reaching the final, he sealed his record breaking 7th year end number 1 finish. Medvedev had been the defending champion, was ranked 2 and had had an outside chance of finishing the year ranked 1. The two had previously met at both Australian Open (Djokovic won) and US Open finals (Medvedev won) earlier in the year

Djokovic won 94 points, Medvedev 80

Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (57/86) 66%
- 1st serve points won (45/57) 79%
- 2nd serve points won (9/29) 31%
- Aces 6
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/86) 21%

Medvedev...
- 1st serve percentage (51/88) 58%
- 1st serve points won (30/51) 59%
- 2nd serve points won (18/37) 49%
- Aces 7
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (20/88) 23%

Serve Pattern
Djokovic served...
- to FH 52%
- to BH 44%
- to Body 4%

Medvedev served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 59%
- to Body 4%

Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 65 (27 FH, 38 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 3 Winners (1 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 13 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (2 FH, 6 BH)
- 5 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (65/85) 76%

Medvedev made...
- 66 (35 FH, 31 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 11 Forced (5 FH, 6 BH)
- Return Rate (66/84) 79%

Break Points
Djokovic 5/6 (6 games)
Medvedev 3/10 (4 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Djokovic 32 (12 FH, 3 BH, 8 FHV, 5 BHV, 4 OH)
Medvedev 25 (8 FH, 13 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)

Djokovic 's FHs - 1 cc/inside-in, 1 dtl at net, 5 inside-out (1 runaround return), 4 inside-in (1 at net) and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 1 dtl, 1 inside-in return and 1 longline return (that Medvedev left)

- 9 from serve-volley points (6 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 OH), all first volleys

- 1 other FHV was a non-net, swinging inside-out, 1 can reasonably be called an OH and 1 BHV was a lob

Medvedev's FHs - 2 cc (1 pass), 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in, 1 longline and 2 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net (1 pass)
- BHs - 2 cc (1 pass, 1 at net), 6 dtl (1 pass at net), 3 drop shots, 1 lob and 1 running-down-drop-shot drop shot at net

- 1 FHV was a non-net, swinging shot

Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Djokovic 33
- 29 Unforced (14 FH, 14 BH, 1 FHV)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- 4 Forced (1 FH, 1 BH, 2 FHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.3

Medvedev 41
- 22 Unforced (11 FH, 10 BH, 1 FHV)... with 1 BH pass attempt & 1 non-net swinging FHV
- 19 Forced (10 FH, 9 BH)... with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.6

(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
Djokovic was...
- 31/41 (76%) at net, including...
- 16/19 (84%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 15/18 (83%) off 1st serve and...
- 1/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 2/3 (67%) forced back/retreated

Medvedev was...
- 9/12 (75%) at net, with...
- 1/1 forced back

Match Report
Excellent match as well as a complicated and interesting one. Djokovic serves particularly well and throws in plenty of serve-volleying and net play to override Medvedev's slight superiority from the baseline to come out ahead on a slow court

Drastic differences in basic stats speak to role of the serve and Djoko's serve-volleying, but also raises questions for which there are no obvious answers.

- 1st serve points won - Djoko 79%, Med 59%
- 2nd serve points won - Djoko 31%, Med 49%

Djoko +20% on first serve points won, Med +18% on seconds. These are figures you see when the 1st serve points leader has much stronger serve and 2nd serve points leader has much better court game. Which isn't the case with Djoko and Med - in general (if anything, closer to opposite), or in this match (which is more complicated)

48% difference in points won across service types for Djoko is humongous. Probably the largest I've seen for him. Again, usually this is an indicator of the player being highly dependent on the serve shot alone. A 'serve-bot' who's hugely outmatched in rallies.

In that case, the player would likely also fare poorly on return points, but Djoko's done handily. Neither Med's 1st or 2nd serve points is particularly impressive - though he's done much better than the very poor Djoko showing on second serves

Why is Djoko doing so poorly on his 2nd serve points, when he's good enough to do well on all return points?

- its not because of double faults. He has just 2 (7% of his 2nd serves) to Med's 3 (8%)

- its not because his 2nd serve is weak or Med returns particularly well against it. Djoko's 2nd serve is normal at worst - a neutral point starter, not easy to attack and not difficult to put in play and Med returns it consistently but not damagingly. Position is 50-50 after the return

- only explanation that makes sense is simply, Med playing much better on the points in question. Djoko's 2nd serve points are baseline points with 50-50 prospects after the return. And Med's the better baseliner - QED

The contradiction is that prospects are same on Med's 2nd serve points. Similar of quality to Djoko's and while Djoko takes returns earlier than Med does, he's not taking charge of points. Again, baseline rallies start neutrally with about 50-50 prospects

Given the serves and returns in question, one would expect the same player (whoever that is) to win similar lot of both players 2nd serve points

Instead, Med wins 69% of one grounp and 49% of the other. Its odd and no solid explanation for it but at least picture emerging from it points in a particular direction: Starting from neutral position on the baseline, Medvedev is the better player

But this is again somewhat contradicted by Med's first serve points. He serves typically big, but its a slow court and Djokovic is Djokovic when it comes to the return and doesn't miss much. Naturally, some advantage for Med from the serve, but not too much. In that light 59% points won is low for him, given he's apparently the better court player. That + even small advantage accrued through the serve should be good for higher yield of points won

Credit Djoko on the first serve return. It tends to get taken for granted, but very consistent stuff from Djoko. Its a comfy court to return on, but still. Return rate of 76% (or keeping Med down to low 23% unretunred serves) is job well done. Med retains initiative on third ball and from such starting position, 59% points won isn't a good outcome for him and a very good one for Djoko. And doesn't fit what's happening on both players 2nd serve points, but then again, what's happening on the 2nd serve points doesn't fit with itself either

The only readily explainable basic stat is Djoko winning very high 79% first serve points. For starters, he serves exceptionally well. He's got 6 aces to the generally bigger serving Med's 7 (or 11% of first serves, to Med's 14%). When he's not serving aces, he's moving Med around all over the place with precise placment

11/12 Med return errors have been marked FEs - and where he's standing he can comfortably reach what would be wide serves to normal position. By contrast, just 5/13 Djoko return errors are FEs

Second and less importantly, there's the serve-volleying. Djoko's 15/18 or 83% serve-volleying off first serves. Not serve-volleying (sans aces), he's still 24/33 or 73%... both figures well higher than Med's 59% first serve points won (which falls to just 52% sans aces)

In short, however you slice it, Djokovic doing much, much better than Medvedev on first serve points - with both aces and unreturned serves in same ball park. Serve-volleying or not serve-volleying... it doesn't matter

Straight forward conclusions to be derieved -
a) Djoko serving very well (as evidenced by aces and points won)
b) Med returning steadily (as evidenced by high return rate of 79%)
c) ... so Djoko doing very well - starting on baseline or serve-volleying - when he has advantageous starting position

That's quite a mess to start with (and we're just getting started) so brief summary

- Djoko serving very well to give himself strong starting point to rallies - and very good at nursing that through to winning points (covers Djoko's first serve points)... good for Djoko

- Djoko returning steadily to keep in check Med's initiative within reason - and Med not so good at nursing whatever advantage he has to winning points (covers Med's first serve points)... good for Djoko

- Med leading neutrally started rallies - though in combinations that defy simple explanation and with significant variance - on both players 2nd serve points... good for Med

Play - Baseline & Net
Baseline play varies some across the match. Initially, Med outlasts Djoko to win bulk of points. Djoko is more often in lead positon, Med reacting. Djoko doesn't have the power to finish Med off from the back and Med moves well to defend and counter-punch as needed until Djoko gives up the errors. And Med's better at routine, keeping ball in play stuff to win majority of who-blinks-first points (at the start anyway)

Neutral UEs read Djoko 12, Med 11
 
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Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Med wins the bulk when rallies are long (i.e. both players playing well). Towards the end, he's more sloppy and gives up routine errors in short rallies (i.e. he's playing badly)

Djoko turns to using drop shots. And isn't too effective with it, Med running them down and hitting winners at net. Rarely is it a good sign for Djoko to having to turn to drop shots but from the back, his options are limited. And Med is wall-like - certainly much more so than Djoko

Baseline action steps up a bit from second set onward. Action is moderate move-opponent-around more than who-blinks-first and both are good when in reactive, being-moved-around side of that dynamic. Again, neither have the power to be confident of finishing points aggressively from the back, but Djoko in particular goes dtl attackingly off both sides in a balanced way. Ball usually comes back, but still, good play from Djoko. And Med for that matter

Med turns to going for the occasional dtl point finisher off his BH. He's got large 5 winners with the shot

Purely from the baseline, Med comes off better with his consistency trumping Djoko's, but Djoko ends more points attackingly

But its not a baseline match. Djoko is 15/22 rallying to net, along with 16/19 serve-volleying. Med's 9/12 at net. He plays a baseline game, but Djoko's is an all-court showing. Smart, given he trails from the back and particularly suited to exploiting Med's backward returning position

In total -
- Winners - Djoko 32, Med 25
- Errors forced - Djoko 19, Med 4
- UEs - Djoko 29, Med 22

Outstanding numbers for both players, both with 3 more winners than UEs. Adding errors forced to winners, Djoko shoots up to +22 and Med +7 points ended aggressively/UE differential

The stand out stat is Med forcing very small 4 errors out of Djoko, which is very strange given he's got so many winners. This ratio of winners to errors forced is extreme and usually happens when a player goes for point ending shots out of routine positions or plays neutral shots without much happening in between. That's a fair description of Med's play. He rarely attacks - just 3 attacking UEs (Djoko has 7) - but takes his shot at winner with reasonable moxie i.e. its not obvious shot choice

A large lot of the 19 FEs Djoko draws from Med are baseline-to-baseline. He can't overpower Med, but he can and does outmauver him often enough. Med defends and counter-hits well while moved to side or pushed back, but he can be broken down

Comparing action to that of typical old Djokovic-Murray match -

- Djoko's slightly harder hit shots or longline change ups had virtually no effect on Murray, who'd hit back as surely against it as against a routine, firm cc shot. Med is pushed back and hits back a bit more softly by comparison - opening up possibilities for Djoko to eke out advantage shot by shot in the rally

- again, when on defensive, Murray was usually able to re-set to neutral. Med defends well, but is more apt to give up the FE to tough but makeable ball or give up a weaker ball that Djoko can attack a bit more

- finally, there's a change in Djoko's game. Against Murray, he tended to strive to hit harder and harder or closer and closer to lines when balls kept coming back, resulting in more attacking errors. He doesn't do that here, but keeps at it in the same, high-percentage attacking way

The shoe isn't often on the other foot. Med doesn't attack much, but looks to keep ball in play soundly. Just like Murray used to. Hence the small number of errors he's forced. When called upon, Djoko's retrieving and defence is fine, but its not tested much

Of consistency, both players are balanced across wings and Med has better of both sides-
- Djoko 14 UEs of both wings
- Med 11 FH, 10 BH

Djoko has better of things of the FH, which he moves around to do a lot of damage off of too. 12 winners to Med's 8. Med's FH is not a threatening shot and probably the least powerful shot on show

BH action is closer. Though with just 1 genuine winner (+ 2 further returns, 1 of which Med leaves), Djoko's longline change-ups are integral to his overall game. Med's sweeping BH cc is also effective in getting ball wide, and he takes to complementing it with dtl point finishers. Large 5 dtl winners from Med among 13 BH winners overall (good lot of them passes or shots at net), with a couple of top notch drop shots thrown in

Just purely baseline-to-baseline, things are complicated. Med more consistent when both play solidy, but he gets sloppy near end. Djoko more attacking and attacking in a balanced and patient way. Med not bad defending but Djoko seeing his attacks through well. Its elegant stuff

And then there's Djoko's net play. He's 15/22 rallying to net to go with 16/19 serve-volleying

First the serve-volleying. Med's backward returning position invites it. And Med returns as to test Djoko on the regulation, slightly above net volley. Whether by design or not, its a good idea to test a not regular serve-volleyer on basic volley first up

Djoko's almost perfect at coping. Sticks the volleys away for winners like clockwork. All 9 of his serve-volley winners are first volleys. And Med doesn't change up his returning - keeps at the regulation return, and Djoko keeps at blocking or dropping the routine volleys for winners. Just 1 volley UE for Djoko. For that matter, just 2 FEs

Credit Djoko for the finishing and also, for the strong serving that sets it up. Med's stretched out to make returns most of the time (which is suprising on this court), so doesn't have a strong foundation from where he can up the power or wide placement of returns to counter serve-volleys. And Djoko serve-volleys randomly to keep Med on is toes. In all, 35% of non-ace first serve points are serve-volleys

He wins 83% serve-volleying and 72% staying back (excluding aces). So he's not dependent on serve-volley. His moderate attacking groudgame does very well too

Room for Djoko to couple moderate attacking ground game with net approaches to greater extent than he does. Not much pattern to when and how he comes in from rallies either - will come in when moving Med around one point and stay back hitting wide on identical point. With healthy success at both

Its likely Med wasn't prepared for this net-rushing attack from Djoko. He doesn't pass particularly well. Just 3 bona fida passing winners and forcing 2 volleying errors, with a few more at net dealing with drop volleys. And overwhelming bulk of volleys Djoko faces are routine, above net stuff. Certainly good point construction and lead up to the approaches from Djoko, but also a small blackmark against Med's passing

Match Progression
Med breaks to start the match, passing Djoko's only serve-volley play and Djoko making 3 UEs of the ground. Off the ground, Med's more solid in the set in particular, winning most who-blinks-first points and moving superbly

Djoko gets into net rushing and serve-volleying early, while looking (and usually, failing) to direct baseline action. He does break back to love with a couple FH winners (inside-out and drop shot) and a net point taking him to 0-40 before Med double faults

Med's down break point on his next service game too, which he saves with a swinging FHV winner from no-man's land. And follows up with a break, ending with a perfect running-down-drop-shot drop shot at net that Djoko applauds. Rare for a player to applaud their opponent as they're broken. Med survives a deuce game with Djoko faltering on the return some, before serving things out. 6-4

Play is livlier, with more moving-opponent-around baseline play from second set on. Med gets into spirit of things by opening with his shots to greater extent. He's broken from 40-15 up (3 straight aces) to be broken giving up UEs from baseline

Tense final game of set as Djoko saves 3 break points in 16 point game filled with Djoko approaches and serve-volleys to send match into decider

A word on the crowd. They're terrible, even by Parisian standards. They're whistling and making noise as both players serve, for no apparent reason. Early on, both players wait for quiet and are irritated by it all. The Chair's prompts to be quiet are met by applause... and no change. Eventually, both players just get on with it, regardless of noise. It behooves a player to be prepared to do so

Third set carries on in high quality tennis. Djoko breaks to move ahead 4-3 - winning a long lively rallly ending with Med BH UE, Med missing a very against run-of-play FH inside-out winner attempt of third ball and finally, forcing an error with a FH dtl

After Djoko holds to consolidate, playing quality drops off and last 3 games are all breaks with plenty of sloppy errors. Djoko sticks to baseline for ending of match. In last 5 games covering 29 points, he's only at net once and that's a forced approach to deal with a drop shot

Summing up, very good match of varied action. Djokovic serves particularly well. The baseline contests are varied with Medvedev the more consistent, Djokovic more proactive amidst sound play and sensible shot choices and Medevedev having slim advantage overall. Djokovic's serve-volleying, net seeking and decisive finishing on the volley put him over with some room to spare beyond the baseline contests he trails slightly on

Stats for pair's Australian Open final - Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Medvedev, Australian Open final, 2021 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
 
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guga_fan

Professional
It’s interesting that Djokovic’s difference from 1st to 2nd serve points won was very similar in his match against Zverev yesterday.

Yet again he outaces and wins more points of the 1st serve than the big serving opponent, but faults from the baseline from not being able to keep consistent aggression as he used to. I guess it is fair, considering how much his serve improved, it would be very troublesome for the tour if his return and baseline abilities hadn’t depleted somewhat.
 

The Big Foe fan

Hall of Fame
Med wins the bulk when rallies are long (i.e. both players playing well). Towards the end, he's more sloppy and gives up routine errors in short rallies (i.e. he's playing badly)

Djoko turns to using drop shots. And isn't too effective with it, Med running them down and hitting winners at net. Rarely is it a good sign for Djoko to having to turn to drop shots but from the back, his options are limited. And Med is wall-like - certainly much more so than Djoko

Baseline action steps up a bit from second set onward. Action is moderate move-opponent-around more than who-blinks-first and both are good when in reactive, being-moved-around side of that dynamic. Again, neither have the power to be confident of finishing points aggressively from the back, but Djoko in particular goes dtl attackingly off both sides in a balanced way. Ball usually comes back, but still, good play from Djoko. And Med for that matter

Med turns to going for the occasional dtl point finisher off his BH. He's got large 5 winners with the shot

Purely from the baseline, Med comes off better with his consistency trumping Djoko's, but Djoko ends more points attackingly

But its not a baseline match. Djoko is 15/22 rallying to net, along with 16/19 serve-volleying. Med's 9/12 at net. He plays a baseline game, but Djoko's is an all-court showing. Smart, given he trails from the back and particularly suited to exploiting Med's backward returning position

In total -
- Winners - Djoko 32, Med 25
- Errors forced - Djoko 19, Med 4
- UEs - Djoko 29, Med 22

Outstanding numbers for both players, both with 3 more winners than UEs. Adding errors forced to winners, Djoko shoots up to +22 and Med +7 points ended aggressively/UE differential

The stand out stat is Med forcing very small 4 errors out of Djoko, which is very strange given he's got so many winners. This ratio of winners to errors forced is extreme and usually happens when a player goes for point ending shots out of routine positions or plays neutral shots without much happening in between. That's a fair description of Med's play. He rarely attacks - just 3 attacking UEs (Djoko has 7) - but takes his shot at winner with reasonable moxie i.e. its not obvious shot choice

A large lot of the 19 FEs Djoko draws from Med are baseline-to-baseline. He can't overpower Med, but he can and does outmauver him often enough. Med defends and counter-hits well while moved to side or pushed back, but he can be broken down

Comparing action to that of typical old Djokovic-Murray match -

- Djoko's slightly harder hit shots or longline change ups had virtually no effect on Murray, who'd hit back as surely against it as against a routine, firm cc shot. Med is pushed back and hits back a bit more softly by comparison - opening up possibilities for Djoko to eke out advantage shot by shot in the rally

- again, when on defensive, Murray was usually able to re-set to neutral. Med defends well, but is more apt to give up the FE to tough but makeable ball or give up a weaker ball that Djoko can attack a bit more

- finally, there's a change in Djoko's game. Against Murray, he tended to strive to hit harder and harder or closer and closer to lines when balls kept coming back, resulting in more attacking errors. He doesn't do that here, but keeps at it in the same, high-percentage attacking way

The shoe isn't often on the other foot. Med doesn't attack much, but looks to keep ball in play soundly. Just like Murray used to. Hence the small number of errors he's forced. When called upon, Djoko's retrieving and defence is fine, but its not tested much

Of consistency, both players are balanced across wings and Med has better of both sides-
- Djoko 14 UEs of both wings
- Med 11 FH, 10 BH

Djoko has better of things of the FH, which he moves around to do a lot of damage off of too. 12 winners to Med's 8. Med's FH is not a threatening shot and probably the least powerful shot on show

BH action is closer. Though with just 1 genuine winner (+ 2 further returns, 1 of which Med leaves), Djoko's longline change-ups are integral to his overall game. Med's sweeping BH cc is also effective in getting ball wide, and he takes to complementing it dtl point finishers. Large 5 dtl winners from Med among 13 BH winners overall (good lot of them passes or shots at net), with a couple of top notch drop shots thrown in

Just purely baseline-to-baseline, things are complicated. Med more consistent when both play solidy, but he gets sloppy near end. Djoko more attacking and attacking in a balanced and patient way. Med not bad defending but Djoko seeing his attacks through well. Its elegant stuff

And then there's Djoko's net play. He's 15/22 rallying to net to go with 16/19 serve-volleying

First the serve-volleying. Med's backward returning position invites it. And Med early returns as to test Djoko on the regulation, slightly above net volley. Whether by design or not, its a good idea to test a not regular serve-volleyer on basic volley first up

Djoko's almost perfect at coping. Sticks the volleys away for winners like clockwork. All 9 of his serve-volley winners are first volleys. And Med doesn't change up his returning - keeps at the regulation return, and Djoko keeps at blocking or dropping the routine volleys for winners. Just 1 volley UE for Djoko. For that matter, just 2 FEs

Credit Djoko for the finishing and also, for the strong serving that sets it up. Med's stretched out to make returns most of the time (which is suprising on this court), so doesn't have a strong foundation from where he can up the power or wide placement of returns to counter serve-volleys. And Djoko serve-volleys randomly to keep Med on is toes. In all, 55% of non-ace first serve points are serve-volleys

He wins 84% serve-volleying and 72% staying back (excluding aces). So he's not dependent on serve-volley. His moderate attacking groudgame does very well too

Room for Djoko to couple moderate attacking ground game with net approaches to greater extent than he does. Not much pattern to when and how he comes in from rallies either - will come in when moving Med around one point and stay back hitting wide on identical point. With healthy success at both

Its likely Med wasn't prepared for this net-rushing attack from Djoko. He doesn't pass particularly well. Just 3 bona fida passing winners and forcing 2 volleying errors, with a few more at net dealing with drop volleys. And overwhelming bulk of volleys Djoko faces are routine, above net stuff. Certainly good point construction and lead up to the approaches from Djoko, but also a small blackmark against Med's passing

Match Progression
Med breaks to start the match, passing Djoko's only serve-volley play and Djoko making 3 UEs of the ground. Off the ground, Med's more solid in the set in particular, winning most who-blinks-first points and moving superbly

Djoko gets into net rushing and serve-volleying early, while looking (and usually, failing) to direct baseline action. He does break back to love with a couple FH winners (inside-out and drop shot) and a net point taking him to 0-40 before Med double faults

Med's down break point on his next service game too, which he saves with a swinging FHV winner from no-man's land. And follows up with a break, ending with a perfect running-down-drop-shot drop shot at net that Djoko applauds. Rare for a player to applaud their opponent as they're broken. Med survives a deuce game with Djoko faltering on the return some, before serving things out. 6-4

Play is livlier, with more moving-opponent-around baseline play from second set on. Med gets into spirit of things by opening with his shots to greater extent. He's broken from 40-15 up (3 straight aces) to be broken giving up UEs from baseline

Tense final game of set as Djoko saves 3 break points in 16 point game filled with Djoko approaches and serve-volleys to send match into decider

A word on the crowd. They're terrible, even by Parisian standards. They're whistling and making noise as both players serve, for no apparent reason. Early on, both players wait for quiet and are irritated by it all. The Chair's prompts to be quiet are met by applause... and no change. Eventually, both players just get on with it, regardless of noise. It behooves a player to be prepared to do so

Third set carries on in high quality tennis. Djoko breaks to move ahead 4-3 - winning a long lively rallly ending with Med BH UE, Med missing a very against run-of-play FH inside-out winner attempt of third ball and finally, forcing an error with a FH dtl

After Djoko holds to consolidate, playing quality drops off and last 3 games are all breaks with plenty of sloppy errors. Djoko sticks to baseline for ending of match. In last 5 games covering 29 points, he's only at net once and that's a forced approach to deal with a drop shot

Summing up, very good match of varied action. Djokovic serves particularly well. The baseline contests are varied with Medvedev the more consistent, Djokovic more proactive amidst sound play and sensible shot choices and Medevedev having slim advantage overall. Djokovic's serve-volleying, net seeking and decisive finishing on the volley put him over with some room to spare beyond the baseline contests he trails slightly on

Stats for pair's Australian Open final - Match Stats/Report - Djokovic vs Medvedev, Australian Open final, 2021 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Bruh you watched it live or replayed aftet it was over?

That's so great of an analysis and its difficult to do while the match is live, for someone like me atleast bruh.
 

Waspsting

Hall of Fame
Bruh you watched it live or replayed aftet it was over?

That's so great of an analysis and its difficult to do while the match is live, for someone like me atleast bruh.

After replay

"that was fun" or "that wasn't fun" is usually the extent of my great analysis while following live

Yet again (Djokovic) outaces and wins more points of the 1st serve than the big serving opponent,

that one is strange. He seems to know exactly how to serve to guys that stand that far back. He's had a lot of practice with Nadal over the years

It stands out from a lot of guys who seem to get stumped not knowing how wide to serve. Still, ace'ng people that far back that move as well as Med... takes some precision, that Djoko in years gone by didn't have

...but faults from the baseline from not being able to keep consistent aggression as he used to. I guess it is fair, considering how much his serve improved, it would be very troublesome for the tour if his return and baseline abilities hadn’t depleted somewhat.

His return and groundgame have shifted more to consistency and away from power.

Still great at getting the tough first serves back, but not as capable of thumping returns (against 1sts or 2nd serves) deep and neutralizingly

And off the ground... he pushes more often than not (that's a description, not criticism), as opposed to hard-hitting, probing neutral play

It has its advantages. He doesn't make as many sloppy errors as earlier (not that he made a lot earlier either, but he's steadier now) And he's deep enough with enough longline change-ups that there's nothing easy to attack. In fact, that mildly attacking moving-opponent-around is good to beat most players

But Zverev and Med are tougher to crack down with that style of play. From Djoko's point of view, he'd either have to -

a) be more powerful of hitting or/and
b) be even more wall-like consistent than them

.... to be confident of coming out ahead, playing this in this style

a) is probably just physically off the table and b) isn't fully in his hands

In this match, he retains lead position, with Med falling back to reacting much of the time - that's good from Djoko's point of view
Zverev... would be harder to do that too. He hits a very clean BH cc
 
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