Roger Federer beat Fernando Gonzalez 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 in the Australian Open final, 2007 on hard court
Federer won the tournament without loss of set - which remains to date the only instance of a player doing so at a hard court Slam
Federer won 120 points, Gonzalez 93
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (53/86) 62%
- 1st serve points won (43/53) 81%
- 2nd serve points won (26/33) 79%
- Aces 5, Service Winners 1 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (23/86) 27%
Gonzalez...
- 1st serve percentage (77/127) 61%
- 1st serve points won (53/77) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (23/50) 46%
- Aces 7
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (27/127) 21%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 34%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 1%
Gonzalez served...
- to FH 32%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 97 (31 FH, 66 BH), including 3 runaround FHs
- 20 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (3 FH, 2 BH)
- 15 Forced (10 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (97/124) 78%
Gonzalez made...
- 62 (18 FH, 44 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 17 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (3 FH, 1 BH)
- 13 Forced (5 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (62/85) 73%
Break Points
Federer 3/10 (4 games)
Gonzales 1/1
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 38 (17 FH, 5 BH, 8 FHV, 5 BHV, 3 OH)
Gonzales 22 (12 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV, 2 OH)
Federer's FHs - 4 cc (1 pass and 1 at net), 4 dtl (2 passes), 5 inside-out (1 pass), 2 inside-in, 1 longline and 1 lob
- BHs - 1 cc pass, 2 dtl (1 pass), 1 longline (not clean) and 1 at net
- 2 first volleys from serve volley points (1 FHV, 1 BHV), the FHV being a swinging shot and the BHV beign a stop
- 1 other FHV was a swinging shot hit from well behind the service line and not a net point
Gonzalez's FHs - 1 cc pass, 2 dtl (1 return), 5 inside-out, 3 inside-in and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 3 cc (2 passes - one of which popped over Federer's racquet off a net chord), 3 dtl (1 pass) and 1 longline
- the FHV was a swinging shot
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 43
- 19 Unforced (15 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 24 Forced (13 FH, 9 BH, 1 BHV, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.8
Gonzalez 56
- 31 Unforced (19 FH, 12 BH)
- 25 Forced (13 FH, 12 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.1
(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...
- 27/37 (73%) at net, including...
- 2/3 serve-volleying, all first serves
---
- 1/3 forced back
Gonzalez was...
- 10/17 (59%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a first serve
---
- 0/2 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back/retreated
------
Match Report
One of Federer's best showings at a Slam final - the FH dangerous, the BH the bedrock and volleying a tasty addendum
The first set is a brutal slugfest and it's the Gonzalez FH that shapes playing dynamics, particularly in the first set.
Gonzalez has an animalistic FH. He has no 'regulation' FH... his regulation FH is an attacking shot. It seems like his regular FH is power wise on par with Federer's FH winner attempts. Going for it as hard as he does, Gonzo also makes surprisingly few errors of that side
Gonzo's strategy is straightforward; he's looking to blast FHs every chance he gets. Federer's is more nuanced. The Swiss doesn't entirely shy away from FH-FH exchanges, but is careful to go that route with good angles or court opening shorts, i.e. he avoids stationary FH-FH duels and only goes that direction when he can have Gonzo on the move and/or on the defensive. Even then, these exchanges are about even
To compensate for not using the FH as a weapon to the extent he usually does, the Swiss looks to come into net as a point forcing tool. On the BH, he's prepared to be fairly aggressive and mostly drives the ball on that side. Still, he hits some excellent slices that seem to skid along the ground. Gonzo's BH, by contrast, is awkward looking and more importantly, unreliable.
Players hold serve with reasonable comfort in the first set along the lines of Gonzo's FH being the epicentre of play. The Chilean gains the break with a touch of luck - making a pass that clips the net chord and jumps over Federer's volley, but does finish off by blasting a step in pass that Federer can't control at net. This leaves Gonzalez serving for the set.
He has 2 set points at 40-15. The first is thwarted by a slick foray to net and FHV winner from Federer. On the second, Gonzalez is hasty in looking for a runaround FH inside-in winner... the ball isn't there for the shot and this isn't how he's been playing... and he misses. Federer goes on to break by forcing a passing error, then drawing Gonzalez to net with a ground clinging slice return and passing him
Federer holds in the next game with 3 successive volley winners... and pushes Gonzo all the way in a 20 point game. Fed himself has 4 set points in this game, but can't convert.... but the momentum is all with him going into the tiebreak.
And so it proves, as he sweeps to a 5-0 lead and wraps it up with 2 winners 7-2
Second set is serve dominated. Neither player had a love hold in the first, but in the second, the two combine for 6 such games. Still, its not 'serve-botting'.... there's plenty of returns being made. Federer on his service can nurse the initiative through to winning points, while Gonzo remains on point with his big FHs. A worrying sign for Gonzo is that Federer seems to have got the measure of his serve and doesn't seem to have any trouble returning it. Gonzo is serving slower than he did in set 1, possibly due to a twinge in his shoulder, that he has massaged between sets. Federer scores the break in a game of brilliantly controlled aggression. In it, he hits big FHs, constructs a beautiful net point and comes up with the sharpest of FH angles to force an error and finally, breaks by running down a drop shot and forcing a passing error.
In third set, Gonzo can't get a look in on return, while Federer regularly threatens his service games. The Swiss finally breaks in a 16 point game in which he utilizes net play to put himself over... and goes onto to serve through to the end without difficulty.
Serving & Returning
Have a look at Federer's service stats. 62% first serves in, 81% first serves won and 79% second serves won.... these are service blow out numbers. But its not just the serve that does the work. His all court play - attacking FHs, clever and much varied BHs and net play - in conjunction with the serve is what allows him to hold so easily. From 0-15 Game 11, Set 1, Federer wins 49/53 service points. There's nothing wrong with Gonzo's showing on serve.... he's just outmatched on this front. After the first set, Federer seems to be untroubled in returning
FHs & BHs
Both players probably come out ahead on their FH. Federer has 17 winners to 15 UEs, but I'd estimate a healthy chunk of the 25 errors he forces out of Gonzo came from FHs. Still, there is scope for cutting back on errors of the FH from the Swiss. His UEFI is a relatively low 45.8 (Gonzo is 47.1)… and with 2 of those errors being volleys (which are invariably scored at least a 50) and just 2 non-FH errors, the indication is that he wasn't being overly aggressive with the FH. The error count is on the high side, taking this into account.
By contrast, he's rock solid off the BH. Just 2 UEs over 3 sets is stunning. I don't think Federer's BH gets the credit it deserves, while the FH maybe gets too much. Shutting down losing points off his less aggressive wing gives him license to be more aggressive with the FH... the contribution to the overall result of the BH should not go unmentioned or unappreciated
Gonzo is high risk, high reward all the way with the FH... 12 winners, forcing the bulk of the 24 errors and making 19 errors. He has a large number of BH errors too, but these are mostly routine balls and due to his BH being relatively weak.
Net Play
Exceptional from Federer. He uses it as a surrogate for the FH and shows fine net sense in approaching (an often overlooked aspect of net numbers) and is very good with the volley once he reaches the front. 73% net points won and the work of it was done equally by the approach and the volley. Gonzo passes powerfully and controlling volleys against him wasn't easy.
---
Summing up, brilliant stuff from Fed. Strategically, he's sound - neither afraid nor foolhardy in how he approaches the problems presented by Gonzalez' huge FH. The performance off the FH is well into net positive, but has scope for improvement. The BH is as good as can get (given the strategy of it not being the go-to weapon) and the volleying excellent. Hard fought from Gonzalez, but he's just outclassed here
Federer won the tournament without loss of set - which remains to date the only instance of a player doing so at a hard court Slam
Federer won 120 points, Gonzalez 93
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (53/86) 62%
- 1st serve points won (43/53) 81%
- 2nd serve points won (26/33) 79%
- Aces 5, Service Winners 1 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (23/86) 27%
Gonzalez...
- 1st serve percentage (77/127) 61%
- 1st serve points won (53/77) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (23/50) 46%
- Aces 7
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (27/127) 21%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 34%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 1%
Gonzalez served...
- to FH 32%
- to BH 65%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 97 (31 FH, 66 BH), including 3 runaround FHs
- 20 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (3 FH, 2 BH)
- 15 Forced (10 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (97/124) 78%
Gonzalez made...
- 62 (18 FH, 44 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 17 Errors, comprising...
- 4 Unforced (3 FH, 1 BH)
- 13 Forced (5 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (62/85) 73%
Break Points
Federer 3/10 (4 games)
Gonzales 1/1
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 38 (17 FH, 5 BH, 8 FHV, 5 BHV, 3 OH)
Gonzales 22 (12 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV, 2 OH)
Federer's FHs - 4 cc (1 pass and 1 at net), 4 dtl (2 passes), 5 inside-out (1 pass), 2 inside-in, 1 longline and 1 lob
- BHs - 1 cc pass, 2 dtl (1 pass), 1 longline (not clean) and 1 at net
- 2 first volleys from serve volley points (1 FHV, 1 BHV), the FHV being a swinging shot and the BHV beign a stop
- 1 other FHV was a swinging shot hit from well behind the service line and not a net point
Gonzalez's FHs - 1 cc pass, 2 dtl (1 return), 5 inside-out, 3 inside-in and 1 drop shot
- BHs - 3 cc (2 passes - one of which popped over Federer's racquet off a net chord), 3 dtl (1 pass) and 1 longline
- the FHV was a swinging shot
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 43
- 19 Unforced (15 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- 24 Forced (13 FH, 9 BH, 1 BHV, 1 BHOH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.8
Gonzalez 56
- 31 Unforced (19 FH, 12 BH)
- 25 Forced (13 FH, 12 BH)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.1
(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...
- 27/37 (73%) at net, including...
- 2/3 serve-volleying, all first serves
---
- 1/3 forced back
Gonzalez was...
- 10/17 (59%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a first serve
---
- 0/2 return-approaching
- 1/1 forced back/retreated
------
Match Report
One of Federer's best showings at a Slam final - the FH dangerous, the BH the bedrock and volleying a tasty addendum
The first set is a brutal slugfest and it's the Gonzalez FH that shapes playing dynamics, particularly in the first set.
Gonzalez has an animalistic FH. He has no 'regulation' FH... his regulation FH is an attacking shot. It seems like his regular FH is power wise on par with Federer's FH winner attempts. Going for it as hard as he does, Gonzo also makes surprisingly few errors of that side
Gonzo's strategy is straightforward; he's looking to blast FHs every chance he gets. Federer's is more nuanced. The Swiss doesn't entirely shy away from FH-FH exchanges, but is careful to go that route with good angles or court opening shorts, i.e. he avoids stationary FH-FH duels and only goes that direction when he can have Gonzo on the move and/or on the defensive. Even then, these exchanges are about even
To compensate for not using the FH as a weapon to the extent he usually does, the Swiss looks to come into net as a point forcing tool. On the BH, he's prepared to be fairly aggressive and mostly drives the ball on that side. Still, he hits some excellent slices that seem to skid along the ground. Gonzo's BH, by contrast, is awkward looking and more importantly, unreliable.
Players hold serve with reasonable comfort in the first set along the lines of Gonzo's FH being the epicentre of play. The Chilean gains the break with a touch of luck - making a pass that clips the net chord and jumps over Federer's volley, but does finish off by blasting a step in pass that Federer can't control at net. This leaves Gonzalez serving for the set.
He has 2 set points at 40-15. The first is thwarted by a slick foray to net and FHV winner from Federer. On the second, Gonzalez is hasty in looking for a runaround FH inside-in winner... the ball isn't there for the shot and this isn't how he's been playing... and he misses. Federer goes on to break by forcing a passing error, then drawing Gonzalez to net with a ground clinging slice return and passing him
Federer holds in the next game with 3 successive volley winners... and pushes Gonzo all the way in a 20 point game. Fed himself has 4 set points in this game, but can't convert.... but the momentum is all with him going into the tiebreak.
And so it proves, as he sweeps to a 5-0 lead and wraps it up with 2 winners 7-2
Second set is serve dominated. Neither player had a love hold in the first, but in the second, the two combine for 6 such games. Still, its not 'serve-botting'.... there's plenty of returns being made. Federer on his service can nurse the initiative through to winning points, while Gonzo remains on point with his big FHs. A worrying sign for Gonzo is that Federer seems to have got the measure of his serve and doesn't seem to have any trouble returning it. Gonzo is serving slower than he did in set 1, possibly due to a twinge in his shoulder, that he has massaged between sets. Federer scores the break in a game of brilliantly controlled aggression. In it, he hits big FHs, constructs a beautiful net point and comes up with the sharpest of FH angles to force an error and finally, breaks by running down a drop shot and forcing a passing error.
In third set, Gonzo can't get a look in on return, while Federer regularly threatens his service games. The Swiss finally breaks in a 16 point game in which he utilizes net play to put himself over... and goes onto to serve through to the end without difficulty.
Serving & Returning
Have a look at Federer's service stats. 62% first serves in, 81% first serves won and 79% second serves won.... these are service blow out numbers. But its not just the serve that does the work. His all court play - attacking FHs, clever and much varied BHs and net play - in conjunction with the serve is what allows him to hold so easily. From 0-15 Game 11, Set 1, Federer wins 49/53 service points. There's nothing wrong with Gonzo's showing on serve.... he's just outmatched on this front. After the first set, Federer seems to be untroubled in returning
FHs & BHs
Both players probably come out ahead on their FH. Federer has 17 winners to 15 UEs, but I'd estimate a healthy chunk of the 25 errors he forces out of Gonzo came from FHs. Still, there is scope for cutting back on errors of the FH from the Swiss. His UEFI is a relatively low 45.8 (Gonzo is 47.1)… and with 2 of those errors being volleys (which are invariably scored at least a 50) and just 2 non-FH errors, the indication is that he wasn't being overly aggressive with the FH. The error count is on the high side, taking this into account.
By contrast, he's rock solid off the BH. Just 2 UEs over 3 sets is stunning. I don't think Federer's BH gets the credit it deserves, while the FH maybe gets too much. Shutting down losing points off his less aggressive wing gives him license to be more aggressive with the FH... the contribution to the overall result of the BH should not go unmentioned or unappreciated
Gonzo is high risk, high reward all the way with the FH... 12 winners, forcing the bulk of the 24 errors and making 19 errors. He has a large number of BH errors too, but these are mostly routine balls and due to his BH being relatively weak.
Net Play
Exceptional from Federer. He uses it as a surrogate for the FH and shows fine net sense in approaching (an often overlooked aspect of net numbers) and is very good with the volley once he reaches the front. 73% net points won and the work of it was done equally by the approach and the volley. Gonzo passes powerfully and controlling volleys against him wasn't easy.
---
Summing up, brilliant stuff from Fed. Strategically, he's sound - neither afraid nor foolhardy in how he approaches the problems presented by Gonzalez' huge FH. The performance off the FH is well into net positive, but has scope for improvement. The BH is as good as can get (given the strategy of it not being the go-to weapon) and the volleying excellent. Hard fought from Gonzalez, but he's just outclassed here
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