Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 in the Dubai quarter-final, 2007 on hard court
Federer would go onto win the title for the 4th time in 5 years, beating Mikhail Youzhny in the final. He'd recently won the Australian Open without loss of set, beating Djokovic along the way. Djokovic was 19 years old and immediately afterwards, would go onto be runner-up in Indian Wells before winning Miami, his first Masters level title
Federer won 107 points, Djokovic 91
(Note: I'm missing a Djokovic service point, won by Federer- Set 3, Game 4, Point 2)
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (61/100) 61%
- 1st serve points won (46/61) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (22/39) 56%
- Aces 7, Service Winners 4
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (26/100) 26%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (62/97) 64%
- 1st serve points won (42/62) 68%
- 2nd serve points won (17/35) 49%
- Unknown serve point (0/1)
- Aces 6
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (29/97) 30%
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 61%
- to Body 1%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 34%
- to BH 63%
- to Body 2%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 64 (27 FH, 37 BH), including 2 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 23 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (3 FH, 5 BH)
- 15 Forced (2 FH, 13 BH)
- Return Rate (64/93) 69%
Djokovic made...
- 73 (25 FH, 48 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 15 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- 9 Forced (3 FH, 6 BH)
- Return Rate (73/99) 74%
Break Points
Federer 4/7 (5 games)
Djokovic 2/5 (3 games)
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 28 (14 FH, 2 BH, 3 FHV, 6 BHV, 3 OH)
Djokovic 7 (4 FH, 3 BH)
Federer's FHs - 5 cc (2 returns - 1 Djokovic left), 1 cc/longline, 4 dtl (1 running-down-drop-shot at net, 2 passes - 1 a net chord pop over without which Djokovic seemed to have ball covered), 3 inside-out and 1 longline
- BHs - 1 dtl and 1 lob (that Djokovic whiffed)
- 2 from serve-volley points - a first volley and a second volley (both BHV)
- 2 from return-approach points - 1 FHV and 1 BHV
- 1 FHV was a swinging shot from behind service line but has been counted a net point
- 1 BHV was from well behind service line and has not been counted a net point
Djokovic's FHs - 1 dtl, 1 inside-out and 2 inside-in
- BHs - 1 cc pass and 2 dtl (1 pass)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 54
- 33 Unforced (17 FH, 12 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)… the OH was from the baseline
- 21 Forced (11 FH, 6 BH, 2 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Tweener)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.4
Djokovic 48
- 30 Unforced (18 FH, 10 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 18 Forced (9 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.3
(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 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
Federer was...
- 21/34 (62%) at net, including...
- 2/4 (50%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 1/2 off 1st serve and...
- 1/2 off 2nd serve
--
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 0/3 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 12/22 (55%) at net, including...
- 0/1 serve-volleying, a 2nd serve
--
- 1/1 return-approaching
Match Report
Stats for the match come out to the cliché of the match up. Nor are they misleading... players are about equal of consistency but Federer has far greater shot making sums up the action on a fast-ish hard court
Federer 28 winners, Djokovic 7... high from Fed, very low from Djoko. Djoko forces 21 errors, Fed 18
Taken together spells when Fed attacks, he kills points for good. Djoko does so more moderately. Also hinted at is Fed's defensive skills, which are very good (I think he slightly edges Djoko in this area). Both players look to step into court after first serves, looking for an aggressive third ball. Fed's a lot stronger on such plays
Neutrally, matters are a wash from the baseline. Fed 29 UEs, Djoko 28... even the breakdowns are all but identical (FHs - Fed 17, Djoko 18. BHs - Fed 12, Djoko 10)
Of net play, Fed comes in more (34 times to 22) and wins more (62% to 55%). The 3 volleys he misses though are disappointingly easy ones. Good net instincts from Fed - he knows when and how to come in, and does so to both sides. Decent from Djoko too - small number of not smart approaches, coming in off the wrong ball though
Baseline action is closed-ish court type for the most part, with ball bashing across small angles. Both players drops behind the baseline for these and both seek depth on their shots. Most errors are hitting long, particularly Djoko's, but the need for him to do so was greater. Fed pounces on short balls so much more decisively than Djoko can. Neither player seems to deliberately direct action to this dynamic... it just plays out that way
Crosscourt rally types are fairly balanced across wings, with FHs being of majority. Fed gets the better of these. The BH-BH battles are about equal... Fed slices a fair bit, Djoko doesn't use dtl attacks much and neither player is strong enough on the BH to finish points. Those usually end with UEs from one or the other. Fed lightly controls action to the tune of things staying FH-FH... but Djoko doesn't seem to mind
Slightly surprisingly, Djoko leads unreturned rate 30% to 26%, despite Fed having 11 aces/service winners to his 6 (not to mention 1 double fault to 4). Both serve well, neither great. 61% and 64% first serves in are solid numbers... but even Fed serves out a number of 'makeable' first serves (its not unusual for Djoko to do so, and he does too)... the kind the returner doesn't have to move to reach
Fed's second serve is decent but not threatening in the way it often can be. Djoko's are mostly harmless. With Fed being the stronger server, its clear Djoko is the stronger returner for him to come out on top of unreturned rates.
Pretty conservative BH returning from Fed, a feature and potential relative weakness of his game. Even against gentle second serves close to the body, he just push-slices the ball back down the middle. Its a smart play for a player who is stronger than his opponent in play - as Fed is in this match.
There's a point that's near identical to penultimate point of the pairs '09 US Open semi. Djoko drop shots Fed in as he himself approaches, lob volleys Fed's get, Fed retreats and is left with a tweener as his only option. He nets it. On another point, Djoko plays a fantastic FH1/2V lob from the baseline to a Fed FH running-down-drop-shot at net, which also forces Fed back and Djoko goes onto win the point
Djoko whiffs an OH off a not good BH slice pseudo-lob that goes through for a winner. He hangs his shirt over his head in apparent embarrassment over the miss
Match starts with Djoko breaking to 15 and he moves out to a 3-2 lead before losing the next 6 games. He's broken a bit stupidly - following a double fault with a very bad choice of drop shot that he misses. Djoko goes on an error prone run, without playing unduly badly (i.e. rallies aren't short while he's doing it). Fed seems to be cruising to victory when he plays a bad service game (double faults, missed easy BHV for winner and 3 more FH UEs - all of different types) to give back the break
Fed makes a bit of a mess of the tiebreak too. He has 2 match points, the first on his serve, but misses a routine, neutral third ball BH longline. Next point, he has the better of the rally, but misses a FH dtl winner attempt. Still, Djoko needs some luck to actually win the set. His return dribbles over the net chord and Fed can't put it back in play
Few great shots in last set. A chip-charging Fed makes a low, wide drop BHV winner, Djoko on the move manages to punch a BH cc pass winner and Fed hits a third ball BHV winner from about 1/2 way between baseline and service line. Djoko's broken to love in a horror game - 3 FH UEs (1 in open court rally, 1 in a FH duel and 1 going for an inside-out winner) put him down 0-40, and he decides to serve-volley off a second serve but misses a comfortable FHV
Summing up, comfortable superiority from Fed - his shot making is a class or two above Djoko's and he knows just when to come forward to best advantage
Stats for their 2011 final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-final-dubai-final-2011.655340/#post-13807043
Federer would go onto win the title for the 4th time in 5 years, beating Mikhail Youzhny in the final. He'd recently won the Australian Open without loss of set, beating Djokovic along the way. Djokovic was 19 years old and immediately afterwards, would go onto be runner-up in Indian Wells before winning Miami, his first Masters level title
Federer won 107 points, Djokovic 91
(Note: I'm missing a Djokovic service point, won by Federer- Set 3, Game 4, Point 2)
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (61/100) 61%
- 1st serve points won (46/61) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (22/39) 56%
- Aces 7, Service Winners 4
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (26/100) 26%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (62/97) 64%
- 1st serve points won (42/62) 68%
- 2nd serve points won (17/35) 49%
- Unknown serve point (0/1)
- Aces 6
- Double Faults 4
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (29/97) 30%
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 61%
- to Body 1%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 34%
- to BH 63%
- to Body 2%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 64 (27 FH, 37 BH), including 2 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (2 FH)
- 23 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (3 FH, 5 BH)
- 15 Forced (2 FH, 13 BH)
- Return Rate (64/93) 69%
Djokovic made...
- 73 (25 FH, 48 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 15 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- 9 Forced (3 FH, 6 BH)
- Return Rate (73/99) 74%
Break Points
Federer 4/7 (5 games)
Djokovic 2/5 (3 games)
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 28 (14 FH, 2 BH, 3 FHV, 6 BHV, 3 OH)
Djokovic 7 (4 FH, 3 BH)
Federer's FHs - 5 cc (2 returns - 1 Djokovic left), 1 cc/longline, 4 dtl (1 running-down-drop-shot at net, 2 passes - 1 a net chord pop over without which Djokovic seemed to have ball covered), 3 inside-out and 1 longline
- BHs - 1 dtl and 1 lob (that Djokovic whiffed)
- 2 from serve-volley points - a first volley and a second volley (both BHV)
- 2 from return-approach points - 1 FHV and 1 BHV
- 1 FHV was a swinging shot from behind service line but has been counted a net point
- 1 BHV was from well behind service line and has not been counted a net point
Djokovic's FHs - 1 dtl, 1 inside-out and 2 inside-in
- BHs - 1 cc pass and 2 dtl (1 pass)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 54
- 33 Unforced (17 FH, 12 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)… the OH was from the baseline
- 21 Forced (11 FH, 6 BH, 2 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 Tweener)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.4
Djokovic 48
- 30 Unforced (18 FH, 10 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 18 Forced (9 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.3
(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 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
Federer was...
- 21/34 (62%) at net, including...
- 2/4 (50%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 1/2 off 1st serve and...
- 1/2 off 2nd serve
--
- 2/2 return-approaching
- 0/3 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 12/22 (55%) at net, including...
- 0/1 serve-volleying, a 2nd serve
--
- 1/1 return-approaching
Match Report
Stats for the match come out to the cliché of the match up. Nor are they misleading... players are about equal of consistency but Federer has far greater shot making sums up the action on a fast-ish hard court
Federer 28 winners, Djokovic 7... high from Fed, very low from Djoko. Djoko forces 21 errors, Fed 18
Taken together spells when Fed attacks, he kills points for good. Djoko does so more moderately. Also hinted at is Fed's defensive skills, which are very good (I think he slightly edges Djoko in this area). Both players look to step into court after first serves, looking for an aggressive third ball. Fed's a lot stronger on such plays
Neutrally, matters are a wash from the baseline. Fed 29 UEs, Djoko 28... even the breakdowns are all but identical (FHs - Fed 17, Djoko 18. BHs - Fed 12, Djoko 10)
Of net play, Fed comes in more (34 times to 22) and wins more (62% to 55%). The 3 volleys he misses though are disappointingly easy ones. Good net instincts from Fed - he knows when and how to come in, and does so to both sides. Decent from Djoko too - small number of not smart approaches, coming in off the wrong ball though
Baseline action is closed-ish court type for the most part, with ball bashing across small angles. Both players drops behind the baseline for these and both seek depth on their shots. Most errors are hitting long, particularly Djoko's, but the need for him to do so was greater. Fed pounces on short balls so much more decisively than Djoko can. Neither player seems to deliberately direct action to this dynamic... it just plays out that way
Crosscourt rally types are fairly balanced across wings, with FHs being of majority. Fed gets the better of these. The BH-BH battles are about equal... Fed slices a fair bit, Djoko doesn't use dtl attacks much and neither player is strong enough on the BH to finish points. Those usually end with UEs from one or the other. Fed lightly controls action to the tune of things staying FH-FH... but Djoko doesn't seem to mind
Slightly surprisingly, Djoko leads unreturned rate 30% to 26%, despite Fed having 11 aces/service winners to his 6 (not to mention 1 double fault to 4). Both serve well, neither great. 61% and 64% first serves in are solid numbers... but even Fed serves out a number of 'makeable' first serves (its not unusual for Djoko to do so, and he does too)... the kind the returner doesn't have to move to reach
Fed's second serve is decent but not threatening in the way it often can be. Djoko's are mostly harmless. With Fed being the stronger server, its clear Djoko is the stronger returner for him to come out on top of unreturned rates.
Pretty conservative BH returning from Fed, a feature and potential relative weakness of his game. Even against gentle second serves close to the body, he just push-slices the ball back down the middle. Its a smart play for a player who is stronger than his opponent in play - as Fed is in this match.
There's a point that's near identical to penultimate point of the pairs '09 US Open semi. Djoko drop shots Fed in as he himself approaches, lob volleys Fed's get, Fed retreats and is left with a tweener as his only option. He nets it. On another point, Djoko plays a fantastic FH1/2V lob from the baseline to a Fed FH running-down-drop-shot at net, which also forces Fed back and Djoko goes onto win the point
Djoko whiffs an OH off a not good BH slice pseudo-lob that goes through for a winner. He hangs his shirt over his head in apparent embarrassment over the miss
Match starts with Djoko breaking to 15 and he moves out to a 3-2 lead before losing the next 6 games. He's broken a bit stupidly - following a double fault with a very bad choice of drop shot that he misses. Djoko goes on an error prone run, without playing unduly badly (i.e. rallies aren't short while he's doing it). Fed seems to be cruising to victory when he plays a bad service game (double faults, missed easy BHV for winner and 3 more FH UEs - all of different types) to give back the break
Fed makes a bit of a mess of the tiebreak too. He has 2 match points, the first on his serve, but misses a routine, neutral third ball BH longline. Next point, he has the better of the rally, but misses a FH dtl winner attempt. Still, Djoko needs some luck to actually win the set. His return dribbles over the net chord and Fed can't put it back in play
Few great shots in last set. A chip-charging Fed makes a low, wide drop BHV winner, Djoko on the move manages to punch a BH cc pass winner and Fed hits a third ball BHV winner from about 1/2 way between baseline and service line. Djoko's broken to love in a horror game - 3 FH UEs (1 in open court rally, 1 in a FH duel and 1 going for an inside-out winner) put him down 0-40, and he decides to serve-volley off a second serve but misses a comfortable FHV
Summing up, comfortable superiority from Fed - his shot making is a class or two above Djoko's and he knows just when to come forward to best advantage
Stats for their 2011 final - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...-final-dubai-final-2011.655340/#post-13807043
