Match Stats/Report - Ferrero vs Moya, Monte Carlo final, 2002

[Waspsting]

Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Carlos Moya 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the Monte Carlo final, 2002 on clay

It was Ferrero’s first title at the event and he would defend it the following year. Moya had previously won in 1998

Ferrero won 100 points, Moya 75

Serve Stats
Ferrero...
- 1st serve percentage (62/91) 68%
- 1st serve points won (50/62) 81%
- 2nd serve points won (17/29) 59%
- Aces 2 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (26/91) 29%

Moya...
- 1st serve percentage (43/84) 51%
- 1st serve points won (28/43) 65%
- 2nd serve points won (23/41) 56%
- Aces 4 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/84) 19%

Serve Patterns
Ferrero served...
- to FH 16%
- to BH 77%
- to Body 8%

Moya served...
- to FH 25%
- to BH 61%
- to Body 13%

Return Stats
Ferrero made...
- 67 (17 FH, 50 BH), including 3 runaround FHs
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 9 Unforced (4 FH, 5 BH)
- 3 Forced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- Return Rate (67/83) 81%

Moya made...
- 64 (19 FH, 45 BH), including 13 runaround FHs & 1 return-approach
- 2 Winners (2 FH), both runaround FHs
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 12 Unforced (3 FH, 9 BH)
- 12 Forced (4 FH, 8 BH)
- Return Rate (64/90) 71%

Break Points
Ferrero 4/5 (4 games)
Moya 1/5 (2 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Ferrero 26 (15 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 OH)
Moya 20 (13 FH, 3 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 OH)

Ferrero's FHs - 5 cc (1 pass), 1 cc/inside-in, 1 cc/longline, 4 inside-out, 2 inside-in, 1 drop shot, 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 4 cc (2 passes), 2 dtl (1 at net)

Moya's FHs - 2 cc (1 runaround return), 2 dtl (1 pass at net), 4 inside-out (1 runaround return), 1 inside-in, 1 longline at net, 1 drop shot
- BHs - 2 cc, 1 dtl

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Ferrero 38
- 20 Unforced (12 FH, 8 BH)
- 18 Forced (8 FH, 8 BH, 1 FHV, 1 FH1/2V)... with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.5

Moya 47
- 36 Unforced (20 FH, 14 BH, 1 FHV, 1 OH)... with 1 baseline OH on the bounce
- 11 Forced (3 FH, 8 BH)... with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.2

(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)

(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
Ferrero was...
- 11/16 (69%) at net, including...
- 1/2 serve-volley, both 1st serves

Moya was 12/19 (63%) at net, with...
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back

Match Report
Hard hitting, biased towards FH baseline match with both players playing well. And Ferrero is better at almost everything

26 winners, 20 UEs from Ferrero. First class

Ferrero slightly better serve, and stays on top of the return more

Ferrero’s less dependent on stronger FH, and able to keep better, more central court position. There isn’t much between the two FHs otherwise, but with Moya moving over to play FHs considerably, it puts him at disadvantage in court position that he doesn’t compensate for by being more damaging

Is moving over to play FHs justified for Moya? It isn’t un-justified. Ferrero tends to get better of BH exchanges, his being harder hit and more reliable. And Moya tends to give up weaker ball if his BH is targetted. And Fer punishes weaker balls clinically, without strain. Not necessarily dispatching them for winners, but seizing control of point, pushing Moya further behind or wide and ultimately, coming away with such points

Ferrero’s more focused and/or shows better stamina. It looks like a very hot day and both players energy levels have waned by the end. Moya’s has either waned a little more or process of losing the match grates on is mind. He goes ‘off’ a little more than Fer, though both do at least a little. Fer is also a little quicker around court

Action is hard hitting, not grindy at all. Looks like a hard court match. And stats are more in line with it

Both players winning healthy second serve points (Fer 59%, Moya 56%). Unusual for clay, when one player is considerably better than the other. You’d expect whoever the better player is to win bulk off both second serves. Moya’s figure is indicator he plays well too

First serve points won of Fer 81%, Moya 65%, sees Fer shoot ahead. Fer with such a large load is unusual for clay and most ready interpretation for it would be he serves very big. He does have more powerful first serve, and it is good one (Moya’s isn’t bad either), but nothing to account for that high a winning rate. That would be more Fer’s ability to build up from any small advantage - whether its Moya’s BH-leaning court position or dealing with slightly weaker balls. If first serve draws not-strong return, Fer’s clinical in capitilizing. More often than not, not at once

He dispatches the odd winner but usually, squeezes Moya out - pushing him back, moving him wide. Points might even end with ‘pressured’ UEs, let alone FEs. Its beautifully controlled, clinical tennis

Serve & Return
Both players with good serves, Ferrero slightly bigger. That + much bigger in-count (68% to 51%) would do for him to come up on top of serve-return contest

Throw in Fer being that much more focused (not having loss of concentration, as Moya does at times) and being about even in returning consistency even when both players are keyed in - and he’s got substantial advantage in it

Freebies - Fer 29%, Moya 19%
29% being large on clay

Return UEs are similar (Fer 9, Moya 12, with Moya facing 7 more serves), but Fer just 3 FEs to Moya’s 12. Moya’s higher figure is related to his movement slipping at times and his not being able to get into optimal position to return. That proportion over-indicates proportion of tough serves each player faces (though Moya, with in-counts being what they are, does face more)

Both with a second serve ace. Fer’s is product of Moya misanticipating and moving wrong way for the return. Moya delivering 3 first serves aces from 43 serves to Fer’s 1 from 62 is about only thing Moya has advantage off

Again with the runaround FHs, though here, it actually works for Moya. He goes off moving over for them for much of the match, but still has 13 to Fer’s modest 3

2/13 are winners and another hard forces an error on break point. No errors going for runaround FH for Moya

Moya’s BH returns though tending to be on soft side, leaving Fer chance to control upcoming rally more than other way around. Fer’s BH returns tend to be firmer
Both directing bulk to BH, both returning mostly off BH

Pretty similar stuff - and Fer better at almost all of it - in-count, force of serves, returning consistency. Moya leading aces and return-winners despite that. 10% advantage on freebies is Fer’s advantage + drawing weaker returns (not very weak, but weaker), and then they rally

 

[Waspsting]

Play - Baseline (& Net)
Action is hard hitting, biased to FH baseline stuff. Both players able to dictate with the FH. Moya more pointedly early on, which is another way of saying Fer more matter-of-factly. Serve-return matters also leave Fer more often in postion to start rally from good position

Seizing control of rally from neutral position with FH is difficult for both players and neither really manages. Those neutral starting points tend to stay hard-hittingly neutral, with blink rate most important factor. Neither player able to take charge with FH (something Moya generally is apt to do), and Moya’s BH most prone to give up softer ball, which Fer can control

While both can and do dicatate with FHs, BHs aren’t just holding fort. Both players go dtl from half-chances (that is, wouldn’t necessarily expect them to against such balls) choosily. Neither over-does it and takes on BH dtl’s against the good, stock hitting, but when they’ve drawn a weaker ball or when opponent is not in position to defend against the dtl shot

Both moving well, both tiring in time

Similar playing styles, with main difference Moya’s preferance for moving over to play FHs a lot more. Not necessarily a a bad move, given his BH is apt to give up softer balls more than any other shot (none of the other shots give up many unless forced), but he’s not damaging with FH when playing them to normal balls from BH court. All things staying equal, other than Moya in worse position, with half the court open

Fer does better in everything
FH winners - Fer +2
BH winners - Fer +3
FH UEs - Fer -8 (as in, he has fewer)
BH UEs - Fer -6

Moya does force more errors 18-11 to back cut that a little. That’s unrelated to small net play, where 2 are roughly equal (Fer wins 69% of 16 approaches, Moya 63% of 19)

Fer’s shots are flatter and firmer, Moya’s more top-spinny. Fer’s able to pressure Moya more with that greater pace. Most of all, he’s expert in using whatever court-position advantage he gains from Moya’s back-away FH play. Does it clinically - moving Moya around a bit, or pinning him to BH side before startitng to do it, drawing weaker ball in time based around it. He attacks clinically too. No blazing shots out of nowhere. Builds up to drawing weaker ball from outmanuvering and pressuring play and then goes for appropriate attacking vigour

Neutral UEs - Fer 11, Moya 17

Good start for Fer. BHs are tied up to this. UEs there read Fer 8, Moya 14. Not just BH cc rallies, but both players coping with the others at least pressuring FH inside-outs. Such FHs force errors too (both have 8 BH FEs)

Attacking UEs and Errors forced - Fer 7 while forcing 11 errors, Moya 12 while forcing 18. Fer doing better, but this is middle part of the rally story with implications spilling into what happens beyond

Winner attempt UEs and winners - Fer 2 for 26 winners, Moya 7 for 20
Not bad from Moya, outstanding from Fer. He builds points virtually perfectly. The rare, calculated, shot-making risk otherwise working his way to advantage, exploiting any advantage (Moya’s biased court position, or a soft BH or not-strong return), and finishing like with clockwork, aggressive efficiency

He’s got 6 cc based FH winners (excluding a pass), to 5 back-away ones. Crosscourt’s direction one ideally wants to be finishing and that’s virtually perfect balance - neither limited, nor adventurous. To contrast, Moya has 1 cc and 4 back-away based. A little dependent on the back-away stuff. Not necessarily a bad thing (its only relatively inferior to being able to hit winners from anywhere, obviously) - he’s won lots of matches doing the same, but gets harder and harder to pull off as opposition gets stronger. His strong FH cc’s aren’t drawing weak balls or errors. In fact, he’s more likely to give up the error, though not many weak balls

Fer can rally along, the more consistent player and take advantage of smallest let down of any kind from Moya

Match Progression
High end first set when both players are fresh. And even. Both players having break points in 1 game, Fer converting, Moya unable to

Stats for the set are very similar
- first serve in - Fer 21/36, Moya 21/32
- first serve won - Fer 16/21, Moya 14/21
- second serve won - Fer 10/15, Moya 8/11
Break points - Fer 1/1, Moya 0/3 (both having them in 1 game)

Lovely, controlled, hard hitting attacking tennis. Both players using FH to push other back and and to finish. Both go for choice attacking BHs too - both dtl and attackingly wide cc. Fer is a little quicker around court

Fer faces 3 break points in third game. 2 players trade net chord dribbling winners, Fer misses a third ball BH dtl winner attempt and Moya nails a FH inside-in winner to make things 15-40

Just a little off from Moya from then on. Blinks up a BH UE and misses a return against a slightly quicker second serve to his FH to get thigns to deuce. Lovely move-up BH dtl winner brings up a third break point

On it, he outplays Moya and goes for a big FH inside-out aimed not too wide with Fer running the other way. Its good placement choice, but he misses. Fer holds with a third ball FH inside-out winner of his own and Moya misses routine first return to end the game

Other than that, all games are holds to 15 and 30, server dominating, but return having a lick or two. Until the end, when Fer breaks

Couple of FH errors from Moya keeps things 30-30. Unnecessary and fairly soft back-away FH leaves court open and Fer takes advantage to come away with a FH cc winner to bring up break/set point. On it, Moya misses a sliding BH ‘get’. A mild FE, but also kind of ball both players were making most of the time

Fer pushed to deuce to start second set enhances impression of equality of match. One memorable point in the game when Moya in no-man’s land from after a back-pedalling OH, between-the-legs volleys ball to retake net and comes away forcing a net-to-net FHV error. He misses 3 returns in the game (2 UEs - 1 first return, 1 second), and Fer holds

Moya’s energy or/and concentration dips not long after. He plays a terrible game to get broken to love for 1-3, and Moya consolidates in a flash to love also
Moya’s threatening again next return game though, which goes to deuce, but misses a number of oddly aggressive shot choices (BH dtl, and BH returns inside-out and dtl against first serves) for Fer to hold

Fer with a BH inside-out return to set up a BH cc winner in following game. He does it against a seond serve and misses a choice FH inside-in return against first serve as Moya holds a deuce game to follow. Fer serves out to love, without much resistance from Moya

Moya gets some attention from trainer at change-of-sets. Everybody down 2 sets seems to on clay

Fer’s level drops in third set alone lines of tiredness, which Moya had already showed and last set is not particularly good

Missed attacking FHs and a double fault see Moya broken to start. Match done and dusted?

Nope. Moya breaks right back. Fer gives no chase to runaround FH return cc and BH cc winners - both which were retrievable. To seal the break, Moya runsaround another return and smacks it full blast to force error. He’d put away the runaround return in second set. Seeing the returns he makes here, one wonders why

Things stay on serve, with Moya holding 2 deuce games, Fer 1. Both players miss a few regulation returns, are a little slow to mov for slightly wide returns and takes on aggressive returns. Its not a grindy match so grit falling doesn’t show, but less willingness than earlier to chase balls and a little less tooth and nail

Moya holds to love for 4-3, with 3 unreturend serves (including a second serve ace). And that’s that. Fer wins last 12 points of match to wrap up

To start, he returns previous games favour almost exactly, with 3 unreturned serves, including a second serve ace
And hits 6 winners in remaining 8 points
Breaks with winners from BH cc (well set up), FHV (set up via FH dtl) and BH cc pass and coming in to force a passing error
Serves out to love with third ball winners from FH cc, BH dtl, FH cc/longline and second serve to FH that completely catches Moya out and isn’t far from being another ace

Summing up, excellent showing from Ferrero and a very good match. The two players play similarly, with Ferrero better at almost everything
Slightly better serve at considerably higher in-count, more consistent on the return, a little quicker, fitter and more together of focus

Court action is hard hitting baseline stuff, biased towards FH play. Ferrero’s BH is steadier and firmer shot and Moya takes to moving over to play FHs instead of BHs. Its little enough, but Ferrero nurses that small advantage beautifully to outplay Moya in all kinds of ways - pressuring him, outsteadying him, moving him around and setting up aggressive finishes

Lovely match from Ferrero, orthodox of style and choices - and bloody good at it. Moya’s good too, just not to ‘bloody’ extent