Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Novak Djokovic (Serbia and Montenegro) 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a Davis Cup play-offs round rubber, 2006 on indoor hard court in Geneva, Switzerland
The winner of the match would qualify for the world group the following year, the loser moved to the zonal group. Earlier in the event, Switzerland had lost 2-3 to Australia in the first round of the world group (Federer did not play the match) and Serbia and Montenegro had come through Europe/Africa Zone by beating Israel and Great Britain (Djokovic winning all 4 of his rubbers across the two matches) to reach this play-off match and a chance to enter world group follwoing year. Russia would go onto win the Davis Cup
The result sealed the match 3-1 for Switzerland and they would further go onto win 4-1. Earlier,
Federer had beaten Janko Tipsarevic to give his team 1-0 lead, Djokovic had beaten Stan Wawrinka to level 1-1 and Federer had teamed with Yves Allegro to beat Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic in the doubles rubber
Federer won 103 points, Djokovic 75
(Note: I’m missing 2 points, both won by Federer. Missing points -
- Set 2, Game 2, Point 1
- Set 3, Game 1, Point 1
The second of these is possibly a passing winner from Federer, most likely FH cc, based on partial replay but has not been marked in anyway)
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (55/80) 69%
- 1st serve points won (40/55) 73%
- 2nd serve points won (15/25) 60%
- ?? serve points won (1/1)
- Aces 10
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/80) 38%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (67/96) 70%
- 1st serve points won (37/67) 55%
- 2nd serve points won (13/29) 45%
- ?? serve points won (0/1)
- Aces 3
- Double Faults 2
- *Unreturned Serve Percentage (21/97) 22%
(With Djokovic losing the unknown service point, his unreturned rate figures are complete. Point could also have been a double fault, so Federer's return rate figure is not)
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 35%
- to BH 58%
- to Body 6%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 62%
- to Body 1%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 73 (26 FH, 47 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 9 Unforced (5 FH, 4 BH)
- 9 Forced (4 FH, 5 BH)
- *Return Rate (73/94) 78%
Djokovic made...
- 49 (19 FH, 30 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 20 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (4 FH, 1 BH)
- 15 Forced (4 FH, 11 BH)
- Return Rate (49/79) 62%
Break Points
Federer 6/14 (9 games)
Djokovic 1/5 (3 games)
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 33 (20 FH, 8 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 OH)
Djokovic 12 (4 FH, 1 BH, 3 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
Federer's FHs - 13 cc (4 passes - 1 at net), 1 cc/down-the-middle pass, 3 dtl (1 pass), 2 inside-out (1 at net), 1 net chord dribbler return
- BHs - 3 cc (2 passes), 5 dtl (1 at net, 3 passes)
Djokovic's FHs - 3 cc, 1 inside-in
- BH - 1 cc
- 2 from serve-volley points - a first volley FHV & a second volley BHV
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 41
- 26 Unforced (17 FH, 8 BH, 1 FHV)... with 1 FH at net
- 15 Forced (3 FH, 9 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net, the FHV was a non-net shot & the OH was flagrantly forced, on the bounce from the baseline shot against an at net smash
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.1
Djokovic 36
- 24 Unforced (8 FH, 14 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)... the OH was on the bounce from the baseline
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 3 BH, 1 BHV, 1 Back-to-Net)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.6
(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 are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Federer was...
- 14/19 (74%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
---
- 1/2 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 17/34 (50%) at net, including...
- 3/10 (30%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 3/9 (33%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 1/5 (20%) forced back
Match Report
Happy hour time for Federer as he does whatever he likes in dismissing an outmatched Djokovic. If serve, FH, passing and movement all ‘stand out’, do they really stand out? If its possible, Federer’s does here. Djokovic starts with a normal, base game and tries a number of things from there, with none of it slowing down dashing opponent. Court is normal paced
On the serve, Fed has 38% unreturned (Djoko has 22%) and 10 aces (Djoko 3). There’s quality, there’s variety, there’s disguise, there’s precision. Its not a fast court, but Fed comes out with a fast court yield
Off the FH, Fed with 20 winners (Djoko has 12 total winners, and 4 FHs). 9 of them are cc in baseline rallies, with a 5 cc based passes. Fat lot of FH winners is always a good thing, and having bulk of them going cc is a great one. It also has match high 17 UEs (next highest groundie has 14), so there is a price to pay, though its less than value
On the pass, Fed with 11 winners, evenly distributed (6 FH, 5 BH). Djoko has 7 volley winners and is kept to low 50% net points won. He turns to net play after getting dominated from baseline, but Fed’s passing is as on point as his ground shot-making. Just 1 volley UE from Djoko too - his volleying isn’t too decisive but its not missing them that sees him kept to winning just half his net points
No stat to convey Fed’s movement. Djoko’s not passive from the ground and does attack with dtl shots (especially BHs, which has doubtful value of going to Fed’s FH). Fed’s retrieves out of corners silkily and soon has dynamics back to neutral (or passes Djoko as necessary). Djoko would need an extra weight of power behind his moderate wide attacks to perhaps gain more success against such a fleet opponent
BH doesn’t stand out compared to the above list, but 8 winners, 8 UEs ain’t too shabby. Djoko has 1 winner, 14 UEs to put in perspective. 5 of the winners are passes and he does lose more than he wins on the BH pass (which is normal)
Fed’s 60% second serve points won is higher than Djoko’s firsts of 55%
Djoko manages to win 50/97 service points. He holds 7 times, is broken 6. Fed’s broken once, and Djoko conjures break points in 3 games, which isn’t bad in 3 medium-short sets against what he’s up against
Other random points of interest. This match features the first tweener play between the two players. It’s a forced back Djoko who plays the shot, leaving Fed an easy block volley putaway. In their matches, the two have had 4-6 tweener plays exactly in line with the most famous one from US Open ‘09
Post-match handshake is the most coldest one I’ve seen from Fed. He barely waits for Djoko, is moving towards the Chair as he cursorily shakes hands with his body half-turned away towards direction he’s walking. Djoko had apparently annoyed him with medical time outs in earlier rubber with Stan Wawrinka and he takes another what looks like just about the most unnecessary medical time out I’ve seen late in this match in the middle of a game, after playing a common, strained running FH
Serve & Return
Fed with much better serve, Djoko’s being plain
On return, Fed doing so easily (its not a tough task), Djoko with little read
Similar in counts - Fed 69%, Djoko 70% is end of similarities
Fed hitting his spots and mixing up his serves. Some flat and powerful. Some sliced and well wide. A few routine in swing zone. The sudden more powerful ones tend to jar Djoko. Fed with games serving ordinary, Fed with games serving very aggressively of power and placement
Basically, Fed doing whatever he wants. Djoko with little read on the serve. Expects and looks for BH return and not quick to cover serves to his FH, where Fed serves minority 35%. Does look to swing at returns and only rarely gets a deep-ish one off
Very ordinary serving from Djoko, with bulk of his serves in swing zone. About half of of his first serves wouldn’t qualify as forceful. Fed blocking BHs or swinging lightly through FHs with little movement needed. Hitting a bunch of a dtl return winners is on against this kind of a serve (Fed doesn’t try)
Unreturned serves - Fed 38%, Djoko 22%
Aces - Fed 10, Djoko 3
Return FEs drawn - Fed 15, Djoko 9 (with Djoko serving 67 first serves to Fed’s 55)
Return UEs drawn - Fed 9, Djoko 5
Djoko’s return info is in line with being up against a very good serve - take at face value
Fed’s could be product of exceptional defensive returning (that is, making tough returns and getting racquet on potential aces) or being up against an ordinary one. Its being up against an ordinary one
Fed occasional deliberate short-block return to draw Djoko in, with ball staying low. Not too ambitious with return. There’s no reason for him to be
Gist - Fed with much better of things, flowing out of having much better serve. Takes a 16% freebie cushion into rallies, with same quality of returns by two players
The winner of the match would qualify for the world group the following year, the loser moved to the zonal group. Earlier in the event, Switzerland had lost 2-3 to Australia in the first round of the world group (Federer did not play the match) and Serbia and Montenegro had come through Europe/Africa Zone by beating Israel and Great Britain (Djokovic winning all 4 of his rubbers across the two matches) to reach this play-off match and a chance to enter world group follwoing year. Russia would go onto win the Davis Cup
The result sealed the match 3-1 for Switzerland and they would further go onto win 4-1. Earlier,
Federer had beaten Janko Tipsarevic to give his team 1-0 lead, Djokovic had beaten Stan Wawrinka to level 1-1 and Federer had teamed with Yves Allegro to beat Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic in the doubles rubber
Federer won 103 points, Djokovic 75
(Note: I’m missing 2 points, both won by Federer. Missing points -
- Set 2, Game 2, Point 1
- Set 3, Game 1, Point 1
The second of these is possibly a passing winner from Federer, most likely FH cc, based on partial replay but has not been marked in anyway)
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (55/80) 69%
- 1st serve points won (40/55) 73%
- 2nd serve points won (15/25) 60%
- ?? serve points won (1/1)
- Aces 10
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (30/80) 38%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (67/96) 70%
- 1st serve points won (37/67) 55%
- 2nd serve points won (13/29) 45%
- ?? serve points won (0/1)
- Aces 3
- Double Faults 2
- *Unreturned Serve Percentage (21/97) 22%
(With Djokovic losing the unknown service point, his unreturned rate figures are complete. Point could also have been a double fault, so Federer's return rate figure is not)
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 35%
- to BH 58%
- to Body 6%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 37%
- to BH 62%
- to Body 1%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 73 (26 FH, 47 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 18 Errors, comprising...
- 9 Unforced (5 FH, 4 BH)
- 9 Forced (4 FH, 5 BH)
- *Return Rate (73/94) 78%
Djokovic made...
- 49 (19 FH, 30 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 20 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (4 FH, 1 BH)
- 15 Forced (4 FH, 11 BH)
- Return Rate (49/79) 62%
Break Points
Federer 6/14 (9 games)
Djokovic 1/5 (3 games)
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 33 (20 FH, 8 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 OH)
Djokovic 12 (4 FH, 1 BH, 3 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
Federer's FHs - 13 cc (4 passes - 1 at net), 1 cc/down-the-middle pass, 3 dtl (1 pass), 2 inside-out (1 at net), 1 net chord dribbler return
- BHs - 3 cc (2 passes), 5 dtl (1 at net, 3 passes)
Djokovic's FHs - 3 cc, 1 inside-in
- BH - 1 cc
- 2 from serve-volley points - a first volley FHV & a second volley BHV
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 41
- 26 Unforced (17 FH, 8 BH, 1 FHV)... with 1 FH at net
- 15 Forced (3 FH, 9 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net, the FHV was a non-net shot & the OH was flagrantly forced, on the bounce from the baseline shot against an at net smash
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.1
Djokovic 36
- 24 Unforced (8 FH, 14 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)... the OH was on the bounce from the baseline
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 3 BH, 1 BHV, 1 Back-to-Net)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 49.6
(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 are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Federer was...
- 14/19 (74%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
---
- 1/2 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 17/34 (50%) at net, including...
- 3/10 (30%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 3/9 (33%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 1/5 (20%) forced back
Match Report
Happy hour time for Federer as he does whatever he likes in dismissing an outmatched Djokovic. If serve, FH, passing and movement all ‘stand out’, do they really stand out? If its possible, Federer’s does here. Djokovic starts with a normal, base game and tries a number of things from there, with none of it slowing down dashing opponent. Court is normal paced
On the serve, Fed has 38% unreturned (Djoko has 22%) and 10 aces (Djoko 3). There’s quality, there’s variety, there’s disguise, there’s precision. Its not a fast court, but Fed comes out with a fast court yield
Off the FH, Fed with 20 winners (Djoko has 12 total winners, and 4 FHs). 9 of them are cc in baseline rallies, with a 5 cc based passes. Fat lot of FH winners is always a good thing, and having bulk of them going cc is a great one. It also has match high 17 UEs (next highest groundie has 14), so there is a price to pay, though its less than value
On the pass, Fed with 11 winners, evenly distributed (6 FH, 5 BH). Djoko has 7 volley winners and is kept to low 50% net points won. He turns to net play after getting dominated from baseline, but Fed’s passing is as on point as his ground shot-making. Just 1 volley UE from Djoko too - his volleying isn’t too decisive but its not missing them that sees him kept to winning just half his net points
No stat to convey Fed’s movement. Djoko’s not passive from the ground and does attack with dtl shots (especially BHs, which has doubtful value of going to Fed’s FH). Fed’s retrieves out of corners silkily and soon has dynamics back to neutral (or passes Djoko as necessary). Djoko would need an extra weight of power behind his moderate wide attacks to perhaps gain more success against such a fleet opponent
BH doesn’t stand out compared to the above list, but 8 winners, 8 UEs ain’t too shabby. Djoko has 1 winner, 14 UEs to put in perspective. 5 of the winners are passes and he does lose more than he wins on the BH pass (which is normal)
Fed’s 60% second serve points won is higher than Djoko’s firsts of 55%
Djoko manages to win 50/97 service points. He holds 7 times, is broken 6. Fed’s broken once, and Djoko conjures break points in 3 games, which isn’t bad in 3 medium-short sets against what he’s up against
Other random points of interest. This match features the first tweener play between the two players. It’s a forced back Djoko who plays the shot, leaving Fed an easy block volley putaway. In their matches, the two have had 4-6 tweener plays exactly in line with the most famous one from US Open ‘09
Post-match handshake is the most coldest one I’ve seen from Fed. He barely waits for Djoko, is moving towards the Chair as he cursorily shakes hands with his body half-turned away towards direction he’s walking. Djoko had apparently annoyed him with medical time outs in earlier rubber with Stan Wawrinka and he takes another what looks like just about the most unnecessary medical time out I’ve seen late in this match in the middle of a game, after playing a common, strained running FH
Serve & Return
Fed with much better serve, Djoko’s being plain
On return, Fed doing so easily (its not a tough task), Djoko with little read
Similar in counts - Fed 69%, Djoko 70% is end of similarities
Fed hitting his spots and mixing up his serves. Some flat and powerful. Some sliced and well wide. A few routine in swing zone. The sudden more powerful ones tend to jar Djoko. Fed with games serving ordinary, Fed with games serving very aggressively of power and placement
Basically, Fed doing whatever he wants. Djoko with little read on the serve. Expects and looks for BH return and not quick to cover serves to his FH, where Fed serves minority 35%. Does look to swing at returns and only rarely gets a deep-ish one off
Very ordinary serving from Djoko, with bulk of his serves in swing zone. About half of of his first serves wouldn’t qualify as forceful. Fed blocking BHs or swinging lightly through FHs with little movement needed. Hitting a bunch of a dtl return winners is on against this kind of a serve (Fed doesn’t try)
Unreturned serves - Fed 38%, Djoko 22%
Aces - Fed 10, Djoko 3
Return FEs drawn - Fed 15, Djoko 9 (with Djoko serving 67 first serves to Fed’s 55)
Return UEs drawn - Fed 9, Djoko 5
Djoko’s return info is in line with being up against a very good serve - take at face value
Fed’s could be product of exceptional defensive returning (that is, making tough returns and getting racquet on potential aces) or being up against an ordinary one. Its being up against an ordinary one
Fed occasional deliberate short-block return to draw Djoko in, with ball staying low. Not too ambitious with return. There’s no reason for him to be
Gist - Fed with much better of things, flowing out of having much better serve. Takes a 16% freebie cushion into rallies, with same quality of returns by two players
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