Roger Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 in the Madrid semi-final, 2009 on clay
Federer would go onto win the the event, beating Rafael Nadal in the final. It was the first edition of Madrid on clay as a Masters level tournament. del Potro was seeded fifth. The two would go onto meet in the semis at the upcoming French Open, with Federer coming back from 2 sets to 1 down to win the match en route to the title. They'd also meet later in the year at the US Open final, with del Potro coming back from 2 sets to 1 down to win the title
Federer won 66 points, del Potro 53
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (39/60) 65%
- 1st serve points won (32/39) 82%
- 2nd serve points won (11/21) 52%
- Aces 8 (1 not clean), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (21/60) 35%
del Potro...
- 1st serve percentage (35/59) 59%
- 1st serve points won (25/35) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (11/24) 46%
- Aces 4 (1 not clean)
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/59) 19%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 31%
- to BH 69%
del Potro served...
- to FH 16%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 19%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 46 (6 FH, 46 BH), including 2 runaround FHs & 1 drop-return
- 1 Winner (1 BH), a drop return
- 7 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (3 FH, 1 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Forced (2 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (46/57) 81%
del Potro made...
- 38 (9 FH, 29 BH)
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (4 FH)
- 8 Forced (1 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (38/59) 64%
Break Points
Federer 2/6 (5 games)
del Potro 0/4 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 24 (11 FH, 7 BH, 3 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
del Potro 9 (3 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 OH)
Federer's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass - not clean), 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in, 1 longline/inside-out at net and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 3 dtl (1 pass, 1 slice at net), 3 drop shots (1 return) and 1 net chord dribbler
- 2 from serve-volley points - a first 'volley' FH1/2V & and a second volley FHV
- 2 other FHVs were swinging shots (1 non-net inside-out)
del Potro's FHs - 2 cc (1 at net) and 1 inside-out
- BHs - 1 cc and 1 dtl pass
- 1 OH on the bounce
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 32
- 22 Unforced (15 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV)
- 10 Forced (6 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.1
del Potro 19
- 15 Unforced (7 FH, 8 BH)... with 1 BH where he made the ball but stopped play thinking previous ball had been out
- 4 Forced (4 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
(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
Federer was...
- 9/12 (75%) at net, including...
- 3/4 (75%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 1/2 off 1st serve and...
- 2/2 off 2nd serve
del Potro was...
- 8/16 (50%) at net, with...
- 1/2 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Good, controlled showing from Federer - good serving and drop shots standing out, amidst attacking out of solid foundation - as he rolls over a steady del Potro
24 winners to 22 UEs to go with 35% unreturned serves sums up Fed's showing. 82% first serve points won to mundane 52% second serve points indicates its somewhat based around the serve
Delpo holds up his end with orthodox, keep-the-ball-in-play while rallying from the back stuff. His movements aren't bad, but he gets jerked forward and back a lot by Fed's drop shots and deliberate short shots, usually slices and including returns. He's steady enough - he leads UEs 15-22 and neutral UEs 8-17 - but has few attacking options
Its a bit odd to see just a normal, strong FH from Delpo. Something like Berdych's or Tsonga's - which hardly makes it weak - but a far cry from his in-a-category-of-his-own powerhouse shot
Hefty serve, firm groundies with a strong FH and decent movement from Delpo. A sound starting point, especially for clay
He returns from well behind baseline and in second set in particular, struggles against Fed's wide serves that drag him way into doubles alley. Its the placement rather than pace of Fed's serve that's damaging. The pace is manageable for returner and he throws in medium paced or even slower first serves that are very wide to go with slightly wide and pacey serves
8 aces and a service winner from Fed, and forcing 8/12 of Delpo's return errors. And drawing soft or at least, not strong returns from so far back that Fed can command when serve comes back
Not overly aggressive in play from Fed and the killer part of it isn't power based. He moves Delpo forward and back more than side-to-side with shorter slices to create openings and tempt errors. Delpo's steady enough to keep ball in court, but is tripped off balance, from where Fed can attack more freely. Its good, well constructed, attacking play. Not always the case with Fed, who generally tends to skip the construction and get straight to meat of shot-making to finish points quickly. Usually comes off too, but this is more secure, higher percentage way of reaching same outcome of aggressively ending points
Fed with 4 drop shot winners, including a return. 5 if you count a net chord dribbler which was a drop shot attempt. Plenty more drop shots result in net-to-net points that Fed wins with volleys. He's 6/8 rallying to net, Delpo's 8/16. Delpo loses virtually all of the points he's brought forward to deal with drop shots on. Coming in on his own terms, he wins almost all points too
In rallying, standout feature is Fed's use of slices. Even when they're not jerking Delpo about, they're getting him to stoop down to play. Its a very rare match where Fed has more BH winners than UEs 7-6. The FH is the loose side with by far match high 15 UEs
Groundstrokes ordered by consistency -
- Fed BH 6
- Delpo FH 7
- Delpo BH 8
- Fed FH 15
Fed's FH also has match high 11 winners, so its not failing by any means. In fact, it particularly impressive of attacking efficiency, though loose of consistency. Just 4 winner attempt UEs for Fed (to go with 22 winners) and 1 attacking UE (to go with 4 errors forced). The latter reflects well on is point construction - outmanuvering Delpo to open up attacking options, but safely, with minimal risk
Finally, a secure returning display from Fed. He takes returns early as he likes to and Delpo's got a enough serve that that's tricky. Makes the returns well enough - his return rate is high 81% - but leaves a lot of short balls that Delpo can thrash first up. Some of it is deliberate, baiting Delpo to move forward and some are forced weak returns. Like Fed, Delpo also with healthy first serve points won of 71%
Match Progression
First set is competitive, Fed is in breezy control of the second
2 long games to start. Fed's down 15-40 in the opener but pulls off 4 winners from there, all starting with drop shot plays (first 3 net-to-net volley winners, the last a pass). He has break point the game after, but misses an attacking FH inside-out
2 more tough holds follow shortly after - Delpo saving a break point with a third ball FH cc winner from mid-court, Fed saving 2 with a similar FH and drawing an error with a deep ball to Delpo's BH
Fed breaks to love to move ahead 5-3 - a strong game with FH dtl winning 2 points (1 winner) and another winner with a swinging FHV from well behind service line before Delpo misses a FH dtl of his own on break point. Fed serves out to love
Second set is more comfortable for Fed and he serves significantly better. 12/28 or 43% of his serves are unreturned in the set (in first set, it was 9/32 or 28%). Meanwhile, he continues to return with comfort and gets into 2 return games. Delpo takes to coming forward to be aggressive and is at net 5 times in a 10 point game where saves 2 break points
Fed breaks in game 5, featuring a lively point where an approaching Fed has to 1/2volley ball from no-man's land and abort the approach before the rally becomes an open court one, ending with Delpo forced into BH error. Fed throws in a drop shot winner point after and Delpo goes on to double fault on break point
Routine holds from there to the end, with Fed finishing up with a service winner
Summing up, controlled, attacking showing from Federer with wide serving and controlled use of slice and drop shots standing out, among more typical point ending FHs. A steady one from del Potro and he gets jerked forward and back by the winners changes of length and isn't able to do damage in return with his groundstrokes
Stats for final between Federer and Rafael Nadal - Match Stats/Report - Federer vs Nadal, Madrid final, 2009 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for other semi between Nadal and Novak Djokovic - Match Stats/Report - Nadal vs Djokovic, Madrid semi-final, 2009 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for pair's US Open final - Match Stats/Report - del Potro vs Federer, US Open final, 2009 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Federer would go onto win the the event, beating Rafael Nadal in the final. It was the first edition of Madrid on clay as a Masters level tournament. del Potro was seeded fifth. The two would go onto meet in the semis at the upcoming French Open, with Federer coming back from 2 sets to 1 down to win the match en route to the title. They'd also meet later in the year at the US Open final, with del Potro coming back from 2 sets to 1 down to win the title
Federer won 66 points, del Potro 53
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (39/60) 65%
- 1st serve points won (32/39) 82%
- 2nd serve points won (11/21) 52%
- Aces 8 (1 not clean), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (21/60) 35%
del Potro...
- 1st serve percentage (35/59) 59%
- 1st serve points won (25/35) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (11/24) 46%
- Aces 4 (1 not clean)
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/59) 19%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 31%
- to BH 69%
del Potro served...
- to FH 16%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 19%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 46 (6 FH, 46 BH), including 2 runaround FHs & 1 drop-return
- 1 Winner (1 BH), a drop return
- 7 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (3 FH, 1 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Forced (2 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (46/57) 81%
del Potro made...
- 38 (9 FH, 29 BH)
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (4 FH)
- 8 Forced (1 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (38/59) 64%
Break Points
Federer 2/6 (5 games)
del Potro 0/4 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 24 (11 FH, 7 BH, 3 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
del Potro 9 (3 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 OH)
Federer's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass - not clean), 2 dtl, 2 inside-out, 1 inside-in, 1 longline/inside-out at net and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 3 dtl (1 pass, 1 slice at net), 3 drop shots (1 return) and 1 net chord dribbler
- 2 from serve-volley points - a first 'volley' FH1/2V & and a second volley FHV
- 2 other FHVs were swinging shots (1 non-net inside-out)
del Potro's FHs - 2 cc (1 at net) and 1 inside-out
- BHs - 1 cc and 1 dtl pass
- 1 OH on the bounce
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 32
- 22 Unforced (15 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV)
- 10 Forced (6 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.1
del Potro 19
- 15 Unforced (7 FH, 8 BH)... with 1 BH where he made the ball but stopped play thinking previous ball had been out
- 4 Forced (4 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
(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
Federer was...
- 9/12 (75%) at net, including...
- 3/4 (75%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 1/2 off 1st serve and...
- 2/2 off 2nd serve
del Potro was...
- 8/16 (50%) at net, with...
- 1/2 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Good, controlled showing from Federer - good serving and drop shots standing out, amidst attacking out of solid foundation - as he rolls over a steady del Potro
24 winners to 22 UEs to go with 35% unreturned serves sums up Fed's showing. 82% first serve points won to mundane 52% second serve points indicates its somewhat based around the serve
Delpo holds up his end with orthodox, keep-the-ball-in-play while rallying from the back stuff. His movements aren't bad, but he gets jerked forward and back a lot by Fed's drop shots and deliberate short shots, usually slices and including returns. He's steady enough - he leads UEs 15-22 and neutral UEs 8-17 - but has few attacking options
Its a bit odd to see just a normal, strong FH from Delpo. Something like Berdych's or Tsonga's - which hardly makes it weak - but a far cry from his in-a-category-of-his-own powerhouse shot
Hefty serve, firm groundies with a strong FH and decent movement from Delpo. A sound starting point, especially for clay
He returns from well behind baseline and in second set in particular, struggles against Fed's wide serves that drag him way into doubles alley. Its the placement rather than pace of Fed's serve that's damaging. The pace is manageable for returner and he throws in medium paced or even slower first serves that are very wide to go with slightly wide and pacey serves
8 aces and a service winner from Fed, and forcing 8/12 of Delpo's return errors. And drawing soft or at least, not strong returns from so far back that Fed can command when serve comes back
Not overly aggressive in play from Fed and the killer part of it isn't power based. He moves Delpo forward and back more than side-to-side with shorter slices to create openings and tempt errors. Delpo's steady enough to keep ball in court, but is tripped off balance, from where Fed can attack more freely. Its good, well constructed, attacking play. Not always the case with Fed, who generally tends to skip the construction and get straight to meat of shot-making to finish points quickly. Usually comes off too, but this is more secure, higher percentage way of reaching same outcome of aggressively ending points
Fed with 4 drop shot winners, including a return. 5 if you count a net chord dribbler which was a drop shot attempt. Plenty more drop shots result in net-to-net points that Fed wins with volleys. He's 6/8 rallying to net, Delpo's 8/16. Delpo loses virtually all of the points he's brought forward to deal with drop shots on. Coming in on his own terms, he wins almost all points too
In rallying, standout feature is Fed's use of slices. Even when they're not jerking Delpo about, they're getting him to stoop down to play. Its a very rare match where Fed has more BH winners than UEs 7-6. The FH is the loose side with by far match high 15 UEs
Groundstrokes ordered by consistency -
- Fed BH 6
- Delpo FH 7
- Delpo BH 8
- Fed FH 15
Fed's FH also has match high 11 winners, so its not failing by any means. In fact, it particularly impressive of attacking efficiency, though loose of consistency. Just 4 winner attempt UEs for Fed (to go with 22 winners) and 1 attacking UE (to go with 4 errors forced). The latter reflects well on is point construction - outmanuvering Delpo to open up attacking options, but safely, with minimal risk
Finally, a secure returning display from Fed. He takes returns early as he likes to and Delpo's got a enough serve that that's tricky. Makes the returns well enough - his return rate is high 81% - but leaves a lot of short balls that Delpo can thrash first up. Some of it is deliberate, baiting Delpo to move forward and some are forced weak returns. Like Fed, Delpo also with healthy first serve points won of 71%
Match Progression
First set is competitive, Fed is in breezy control of the second
2 long games to start. Fed's down 15-40 in the opener but pulls off 4 winners from there, all starting with drop shot plays (first 3 net-to-net volley winners, the last a pass). He has break point the game after, but misses an attacking FH inside-out
2 more tough holds follow shortly after - Delpo saving a break point with a third ball FH cc winner from mid-court, Fed saving 2 with a similar FH and drawing an error with a deep ball to Delpo's BH
Fed breaks to love to move ahead 5-3 - a strong game with FH dtl winning 2 points (1 winner) and another winner with a swinging FHV from well behind service line before Delpo misses a FH dtl of his own on break point. Fed serves out to love
Second set is more comfortable for Fed and he serves significantly better. 12/28 or 43% of his serves are unreturned in the set (in first set, it was 9/32 or 28%). Meanwhile, he continues to return with comfort and gets into 2 return games. Delpo takes to coming forward to be aggressive and is at net 5 times in a 10 point game where saves 2 break points
Fed breaks in game 5, featuring a lively point where an approaching Fed has to 1/2volley ball from no-man's land and abort the approach before the rally becomes an open court one, ending with Delpo forced into BH error. Fed throws in a drop shot winner point after and Delpo goes on to double fault on break point
Routine holds from there to the end, with Fed finishing up with a service winner
Summing up, controlled, attacking showing from Federer with wide serving and controlled use of slice and drop shots standing out, among more typical point ending FHs. A steady one from del Potro and he gets jerked forward and back by the winners changes of length and isn't able to do damage in return with his groundstrokes
Stats for final between Federer and Rafael Nadal - Match Stats/Report - Federer vs Nadal, Madrid final, 2009 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for other semi between Nadal and Novak Djokovic - Match Stats/Report - Nadal vs Djokovic, Madrid semi-final, 2009 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Stats for pair's US Open final - Match Stats/Report - del Potro vs Federer, US Open final, 2009 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
