Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Wimbledon semi-final, 2012 on grass
The win put Federer in a record breaking 8th Wimbledon final, where he would beat Andy Murray to win a record tying 7th title. Djokovic was the defending champion and had played the finals of the last 4 Slams - and would go onto play the next 2
Federer won 114 points, Djokovic 102
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (65/101) 64%
- 1st serve points won (49/65) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (26/36) 72%
- Aces 11, Service Winners 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (44/101) 44%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (73/105) 63%
- 1st serve points won (52/73) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (24/42) 57%
- Aces 9, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (36/115) 31%
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 52%
- to BH 43%
- to Body 5%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 56%
- to Body 6%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 77 (29 FH, 48 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 25 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (1 FH, 5 BH)
- 19 Forced (12 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (77/113) 68%
Djokovic made...
- 57 (31 FH, 26 BH)
- 30 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 2 BH)
- 27 Forced (18 FH, 9 BH)
- Return Rate (57/101) 56%
Break Points
Federer 3/11 (6 games)
Djokovic 1/3 (2 games)
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 19 (10 FH, 4 BH, 5 OH)
Djokovic 19 (9 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Federer's FHs - 5 cc (1 pass, 1 return - the return was a framed mishit), 2 dtl, 1 inside-out, 1 longline and 1 dtl/inside-out
- BHs - 3 cc (1 pass) and 1 longline/inside-out
- 2 OHs were second volleys off serve-volley points and 1 OH was on the bounce at net
Djokovic's FHs - 5 cc, 1 dtl, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BHs - 2 cc (1 running-down-drop-shot), 2 dtl (1 pass, 1 running-down-drop-shot at net), 1 inside-out pass, 1 drop shot (net chord roll over) and 1 dtl/inside-out
- the BHV was the first volley off a serve-volley point
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 47
- 28 Unforced (22 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV)
- 19 Forced (10 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.7
Djokovic 49
- 29 Unforced (13 FH, 15 BH, 1 OH)
- 20 Forced (8 FH, 10 BH, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.2
(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...
- 11/21 (52%) at net, including...
- 4/6 (67%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 2/4 (50%) off 1st serve and...
- 2/2 off 2nd serve
--
- 0/1 return-approaching
Djokovic was...
- 8/13 (62%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
Match Report
Excellent serving from Federer is the thread that runs through the entire match. Everything else from both players fluctuates - and first two sets are unmemorable, serve dominated affairs. Action picks in the final two sets though - and Federer, playing a brad of balanced attacking baseline tennis is clearly the superior player
Serve & Return
Lets start with Federer's numbers. 64% first serves in (good), 75% first serves won (good), 72% second serves won (fantastic), 11 aces (ok), 0 double faults (fantastic) and 44% unreturned serves (fantastic)
Numbers capture Fed striking a near perfect balance in his serving. The kind its easy to theorize about, but almost never execute - especially against a returner like Djokovic, who was apt to pound anything that was there to b pounded, especially second serves
For most of match, Fed's percentage in is about 70% and it actually falls to 'just' 64% in the third set. 11 aces isn't particularly high for him... and indicates that he wasn't going for too much with the serve (which would likely have resulted in a falling percentage and more chances for Djoko against the second). In other words, Fed a) serves big, but not so much as to compromise 1st serve in percentage
The 1st serving is very strong - but short of his very best. The 2nd serve is more impressive still. 10 such are unreturned - and 7 have been marked forced return error. This is a very high rate of sending down strong second serves. They're powerful (typically in 105mph range according to speed gun), deep and well placed - a handful for anyone. And Djoko only gets to see these when the even more powerful, even deeper and even better placed 1st serve misses
Finally, 0 double faults to complete picture of play. No freebies
Compare with Pete Sampras, who used the serve and second serve even more aggressively. The extent to which Sampras would sometimes hit big second serve - aces and service winners level stuff - inevitably led to a large chunk of double faults too. At times, it seemed like he didn't feel he could cope with his opponents court game and resorted to essentially serving 2 'first' serves. Federer here was faced with a similar prospect, but is more moderate in his aggression and it comes off. Fantastic serving from Fed
For first two sets, Djoko can barely get a return back in play. From third set onward, he manages better. Not much authority to his returns - very few bullets back to the baseline, and those that are Fed copes with - but its no easy feat to jump, hop and skip to somehow poke balls in play. Essentially, he returns as well as he's allowed to
The flip-side of the match-up is similar too, only the emphasis is more on Fed's relatively weak returning than Djoko's strong serving. To be clear, Djokovic serves well too. Of power, his first serve is up there with Fed's, but doesn't have the placement (and probably disguise. Fed seems to read it a lot better than the other way round). 9 aces and 2 service winners shows what happens when he gets it just so. More often, balls are within reach. And his second serve is nowhere near Fed's. Few downright weak second serves though on the whole, that's better than average too
For two sets, Fed does not return well. Note the 6 UEs (Djoko has 3 - granted, he had less scope for making UEs to begin with). On top missing regulation second serve returns, he misses a number of first serves he doesn't have to move for, more makeable than not returns, if you will. In next two sets, his returning picks up (Djoko's serving remains about same level) and he gets more balls in play. He mostly swings rather than chips BHs
On return too, Fed's showing reminded me of Sampras. There's no great consistency in getting balls back and server can look to hold comfortably often. But just the odd game here and there when he gets a bunch of balls in play become even more dangerous. Match long, percentage returning is the effect, which is common enough on grass
Note Fed's skewed return error numbers. Djoko serves 38% to FH and 56% to BH... but Fed makes 12 FH FEs to just 7 BH. Which is completely flipped for UEs - there Fed has 1 FH and 5 BH. Standard anti-Federer tactics is to serve mostly to the BH (more so than Djoko did), but the champion seems to be on to something. Though more dangerous, the FH is clearly less able to handle strong serves (its not because Fed's attacking with FH returns). Djoko serves most seconds to the BH (serving second serves to FH would have been obviously dangerous), where he gets good results too
Generally and in this match, serving to Fed's FH tends to lead to livelier tennis than serving to BH (and usually, opponents would wish to discourage this and that puts Fed in his element). That's somewhat true here - but Djoko gets compensation by more readily forcing errors from FH. And as BH return was mostly driven and rarely chipped - its probably a good move. And not an obvious one from the Serb
The win put Federer in a record breaking 8th Wimbledon final, where he would beat Andy Murray to win a record tying 7th title. Djokovic was the defending champion and had played the finals of the last 4 Slams - and would go onto play the next 2
Federer won 114 points, Djokovic 102
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (65/101) 64%
- 1st serve points won (49/65) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (26/36) 72%
- Aces 11, Service Winners 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (44/101) 44%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (73/105) 63%
- 1st serve points won (52/73) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (24/42) 57%
- Aces 9, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (36/115) 31%
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 52%
- to BH 43%
- to Body 5%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 38%
- to BH 56%
- to Body 6%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 77 (29 FH, 48 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 25 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (1 FH, 5 BH)
- 19 Forced (12 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (77/113) 68%
Djokovic made...
- 57 (31 FH, 26 BH)
- 30 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 2 BH)
- 27 Forced (18 FH, 9 BH)
- Return Rate (57/101) 56%
Break Points
Federer 3/11 (6 games)
Djokovic 1/3 (2 games)
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 19 (10 FH, 4 BH, 5 OH)
Djokovic 19 (9 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Federer's FHs - 5 cc (1 pass, 1 return - the return was a framed mishit), 2 dtl, 1 inside-out, 1 longline and 1 dtl/inside-out
- BHs - 3 cc (1 pass) and 1 longline/inside-out
- 2 OHs were second volleys off serve-volley points and 1 OH was on the bounce at net
Djokovic's FHs - 5 cc, 1 dtl, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BHs - 2 cc (1 running-down-drop-shot), 2 dtl (1 pass, 1 running-down-drop-shot at net), 1 inside-out pass, 1 drop shot (net chord roll over) and 1 dtl/inside-out
- the BHV was the first volley off a serve-volley point
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 47
- 28 Unforced (22 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV)
- 19 Forced (10 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.7
Djokovic 49
- 29 Unforced (13 FH, 15 BH, 1 OH)
- 20 Forced (8 FH, 10 BH, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.2
(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...
- 11/21 (52%) at net, including...
- 4/6 (67%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 2/4 (50%) off 1st serve and...
- 2/2 off 2nd serve
--
- 0/1 return-approaching
Djokovic was...
- 8/13 (62%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve
Match Report
Excellent serving from Federer is the thread that runs through the entire match. Everything else from both players fluctuates - and first two sets are unmemorable, serve dominated affairs. Action picks in the final two sets though - and Federer, playing a brad of balanced attacking baseline tennis is clearly the superior player
Serve & Return
Lets start with Federer's numbers. 64% first serves in (good), 75% first serves won (good), 72% second serves won (fantastic), 11 aces (ok), 0 double faults (fantastic) and 44% unreturned serves (fantastic)
Numbers capture Fed striking a near perfect balance in his serving. The kind its easy to theorize about, but almost never execute - especially against a returner like Djokovic, who was apt to pound anything that was there to b pounded, especially second serves
For most of match, Fed's percentage in is about 70% and it actually falls to 'just' 64% in the third set. 11 aces isn't particularly high for him... and indicates that he wasn't going for too much with the serve (which would likely have resulted in a falling percentage and more chances for Djoko against the second). In other words, Fed a) serves big, but not so much as to compromise 1st serve in percentage
The 1st serving is very strong - but short of his very best. The 2nd serve is more impressive still. 10 such are unreturned - and 7 have been marked forced return error. This is a very high rate of sending down strong second serves. They're powerful (typically in 105mph range according to speed gun), deep and well placed - a handful for anyone. And Djoko only gets to see these when the even more powerful, even deeper and even better placed 1st serve misses
Finally, 0 double faults to complete picture of play. No freebies
Compare with Pete Sampras, who used the serve and second serve even more aggressively. The extent to which Sampras would sometimes hit big second serve - aces and service winners level stuff - inevitably led to a large chunk of double faults too. At times, it seemed like he didn't feel he could cope with his opponents court game and resorted to essentially serving 2 'first' serves. Federer here was faced with a similar prospect, but is more moderate in his aggression and it comes off. Fantastic serving from Fed
For first two sets, Djoko can barely get a return back in play. From third set onward, he manages better. Not much authority to his returns - very few bullets back to the baseline, and those that are Fed copes with - but its no easy feat to jump, hop and skip to somehow poke balls in play. Essentially, he returns as well as he's allowed to
The flip-side of the match-up is similar too, only the emphasis is more on Fed's relatively weak returning than Djoko's strong serving. To be clear, Djokovic serves well too. Of power, his first serve is up there with Fed's, but doesn't have the placement (and probably disguise. Fed seems to read it a lot better than the other way round). 9 aces and 2 service winners shows what happens when he gets it just so. More often, balls are within reach. And his second serve is nowhere near Fed's. Few downright weak second serves though on the whole, that's better than average too
For two sets, Fed does not return well. Note the 6 UEs (Djoko has 3 - granted, he had less scope for making UEs to begin with). On top missing regulation second serve returns, he misses a number of first serves he doesn't have to move for, more makeable than not returns, if you will. In next two sets, his returning picks up (Djoko's serving remains about same level) and he gets more balls in play. He mostly swings rather than chips BHs
On return too, Fed's showing reminded me of Sampras. There's no great consistency in getting balls back and server can look to hold comfortably often. But just the odd game here and there when he gets a bunch of balls in play become even more dangerous. Match long, percentage returning is the effect, which is common enough on grass
Note Fed's skewed return error numbers. Djoko serves 38% to FH and 56% to BH... but Fed makes 12 FH FEs to just 7 BH. Which is completely flipped for UEs - there Fed has 1 FH and 5 BH. Standard anti-Federer tactics is to serve mostly to the BH (more so than Djoko did), but the champion seems to be on to something. Though more dangerous, the FH is clearly less able to handle strong serves (its not because Fed's attacking with FH returns). Djoko serves most seconds to the BH (serving second serves to FH would have been obviously dangerous), where he gets good results too
Generally and in this match, serving to Fed's FH tends to lead to livelier tennis than serving to BH (and usually, opponents would wish to discourage this and that puts Fed in his element). That's somewhat true here - but Djoko gets compensation by more readily forcing errors from FH. And as BH return was mostly driven and rarely chipped - its probably a good move. And not an obvious one from the Serb