Novak Djokovic beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in the Eastbourne final, 2017 on grass
To date, this is Djokovic’s only non-Wimbledon grass court title and Monfils’ only final on the surface
Djokovic won 66 points, Monfils 55
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (42/58) 72%
- 1st serve points won (32/42) 76%
- 2nd serve points won (8/16) 50%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (15/58) 26%
Monfils...
- 1st serve percentage (45/63) 71%
- 1st serve points won (30/45) 67%
- 2nd serve points won (7/18) 39%
- Aces 6, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/63) 25%
Serve Patterns
Djokovic served...
- to FH 51%
- to BH 47%
- to Body 2%
Monfils served...
- to FH 44%
- to BH 53%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 46 (20 FH, 26 BH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 7 Forced (3 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (46/62) 74%
Monfils made...
- 42 (22 FH, 20 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 14 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (2 FH, 2 BH)
- 10 Forced (6 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (42/57) 74%
Break Points
Djokovic 3/6 (4 games)
Monfils 0/3 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Djokovic 12 (6 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Monfils 12 (9 FH, 1 BH, 2 FHV)
Djokovic's FHs - 1 cc, 1 cc/inside-in, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in, 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 1 cc pass, 2 drop shots (1 at net - which can reasonably be called a BH1/2V)
- the OH was on the bounce
Monfils' FHs - 2 cc (1 return), 1 cc/inside-in, 1 dtl pass, 1 dtl/inside-out, 4 inside-out
- BH pass - 1 cc
- 1 from a serve-volley point, a first volley FHV
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Djokovic 26
- 18 Unforced (11 FH, 7 BH)
- 8 Forced (2 FH, 4 BH, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.8
Monfils 38
- 22 Unforced (14 FH, 8 BH)
- 16 Forced (5 FH, 10 BH, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.8
(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
Djokovic was 11/15 (73%) at net
Monfils was...
- 5/9 (56%) at net, including...
- 1/2 serve-volleying, both 1st serves
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back
Match Report
Two part match readily dividable by set. In the first, Monfils’ movements are off, which trickles into other areas of his game and leaves Djokovic well ahead. In the second, Monfils’ is zooming around in is usual way and even shades action, despite losing the set in the end via his somewhat erratic game coming undone. The court is particularly quick, even for grass
Near identical stats for the two players in certain areas make isolating key differences fairly easy
First serve in - Djoko 72%, Monf 71%
Double faults - both with 1
Unreturned serves - Djoko 26%, Monf 25%
Winners - both 12
… leaving things to be decided by errors
UEs - Djoko 18, Monf 22
FEs - Djoko 8, Monf 16
Delving further into UEs -
- Neutrals - Djoko 9, Monf 10
- Winner Attempts - Djoko 5, Monf 3
- (above 2 combined) - Djoko 14, Monf 13
…. which leaves
Attacking UEs - Djoko 4, Monf 9
There’s your match, statistically, speaking. Monf making a few more attacking UEs, Djoko forcing considerably more errors - QED
Its not that simple, but as a one line summary, would do as well as anything else
With virtually identical in-counts and freebies, who serves better? Who returns better?
For serve, hint’s in the aces. Monf has 6 + a service winner. Djoko has 1. Exaggerated indicator, but Monf does have the more potent serve. And for freebies to be equal, it follows logically that Djoko returns better, at least, in terms of consistency (in fact, he’s better of both consistency and being damaging)
Djoko’s advantage on return is greater than Monf’s on serve for Djoko to come out on top on crucial serve-return combo
With Monf moving poorly in first set, it doesn’t take too wide a serve to draw error from him. It doesn’t even have to be too wide to strain his movement enough for the serve to be called ‘forceful’. Thus, Djoko needn’t bother with aces… in early part, he can count on freebies with slightly wide serves. Doesn’t hurt that he makes 20/23 first serves for the set either. In fact, serving that high a rate is perfect for him
8/23 or 35% unreturend in firs set for Djoko, compared to 7/35 or 20% in second. Ignoring the considerable division, match long, Monf returns without heat. Consistency varies, but his force of shot on return doesn’t much - Djoko retains control of rallies, usually, even second serve points. Or at very least, Monf doesn’t fully neutralize initiative even returning second serves
By contrast, Djoko not only hits his customary thumped returns deep, but how effective that is is augmented by Monf’s weak shot resistance. Movement accounts for some of that, but he doesn’t handle the deep returns well in second set either. Above personal average showing from Djoko on this front - deep as mode and good few right to the baseline. Almost always drawing an error. One reason for Monf with low 39% second serve points won (Djoko has 50% by contrast)
Serve-return complex in nutshell, both players returning at same rate (how and why they miss the returns they do is irrelevant), but Djoko doing a lot more damage with the return - winning points, snatching initiative and certainly, neutralizing any potential initiative. Monf does very little of any of these things (though he does have the sole return winner)
To date, this is Djokovic’s only non-Wimbledon grass court title and Monfils’ only final on the surface
Djokovic won 66 points, Monfils 55
Serve Stats
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (42/58) 72%
- 1st serve points won (32/42) 76%
- 2nd serve points won (8/16) 50%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (15/58) 26%
Monfils...
- 1st serve percentage (45/63) 71%
- 1st serve points won (30/45) 67%
- 2nd serve points won (7/18) 39%
- Aces 6, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/63) 25%
Serve Patterns
Djokovic served...
- to FH 51%
- to BH 47%
- to Body 2%
Monfils served...
- to FH 44%
- to BH 53%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Djokovic made...
- 46 (20 FH, 26 BH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 7 Forced (3 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (46/62) 74%
Monfils made...
- 42 (22 FH, 20 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 1 return-approach
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 14 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (2 FH, 2 BH)
- 10 Forced (6 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (42/57) 74%
Break Points
Djokovic 3/6 (4 games)
Monfils 0/3 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Djokovic 12 (6 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Monfils 12 (9 FH, 1 BH, 2 FHV)
Djokovic's FHs - 1 cc, 1 cc/inside-in, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in, 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 1 cc pass, 2 drop shots (1 at net - which can reasonably be called a BH1/2V)
- the OH was on the bounce
Monfils' FHs - 2 cc (1 return), 1 cc/inside-in, 1 dtl pass, 1 dtl/inside-out, 4 inside-out
- BH pass - 1 cc
- 1 from a serve-volley point, a first volley FHV
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Djokovic 26
- 18 Unforced (11 FH, 7 BH)
- 8 Forced (2 FH, 4 BH, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.8
Monfils 38
- 22 Unforced (14 FH, 8 BH)
- 16 Forced (5 FH, 10 BH, 1 BH1/2V)... with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.8
(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
Djokovic was 11/15 (73%) at net
Monfils was...
- 5/9 (56%) at net, including...
- 1/2 serve-volleying, both 1st serves
---
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back
Match Report
Two part match readily dividable by set. In the first, Monfils’ movements are off, which trickles into other areas of his game and leaves Djokovic well ahead. In the second, Monfils’ is zooming around in is usual way and even shades action, despite losing the set in the end via his somewhat erratic game coming undone. The court is particularly quick, even for grass
Near identical stats for the two players in certain areas make isolating key differences fairly easy
First serve in - Djoko 72%, Monf 71%
Double faults - both with 1
Unreturned serves - Djoko 26%, Monf 25%
Winners - both 12
… leaving things to be decided by errors
UEs - Djoko 18, Monf 22
FEs - Djoko 8, Monf 16
Delving further into UEs -
- Neutrals - Djoko 9, Monf 10
- Winner Attempts - Djoko 5, Monf 3
- (above 2 combined) - Djoko 14, Monf 13
…. which leaves
Attacking UEs - Djoko 4, Monf 9
There’s your match, statistically, speaking. Monf making a few more attacking UEs, Djoko forcing considerably more errors - QED
Its not that simple, but as a one line summary, would do as well as anything else
With virtually identical in-counts and freebies, who serves better? Who returns better?
For serve, hint’s in the aces. Monf has 6 + a service winner. Djoko has 1. Exaggerated indicator, but Monf does have the more potent serve. And for freebies to be equal, it follows logically that Djoko returns better, at least, in terms of consistency (in fact, he’s better of both consistency and being damaging)
Djoko’s advantage on return is greater than Monf’s on serve for Djoko to come out on top on crucial serve-return combo
With Monf moving poorly in first set, it doesn’t take too wide a serve to draw error from him. It doesn’t even have to be too wide to strain his movement enough for the serve to be called ‘forceful’. Thus, Djoko needn’t bother with aces… in early part, he can count on freebies with slightly wide serves. Doesn’t hurt that he makes 20/23 first serves for the set either. In fact, serving that high a rate is perfect for him
8/23 or 35% unreturend in firs set for Djoko, compared to 7/35 or 20% in second. Ignoring the considerable division, match long, Monf returns without heat. Consistency varies, but his force of shot on return doesn’t much - Djoko retains control of rallies, usually, even second serve points. Or at very least, Monf doesn’t fully neutralize initiative even returning second serves
By contrast, Djoko not only hits his customary thumped returns deep, but how effective that is is augmented by Monf’s weak shot resistance. Movement accounts for some of that, but he doesn’t handle the deep returns well in second set either. Above personal average showing from Djoko on this front - deep as mode and good few right to the baseline. Almost always drawing an error. One reason for Monf with low 39% second serve points won (Djoko has 50% by contrast)
Serve-return complex in nutshell, both players returning at same rate (how and why they miss the returns they do is irrelevant), but Djoko doing a lot more damage with the return - winning points, snatching initiative and certainly, neutralizing any potential initiative. Monf does very little of any of these things (though he does have the sole return winner)