Rafael Nadal beat Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in the French Open final, 2017 on clay
It was Nadal's 10th title at the event. He would go onto win the next 3 editions. It was his first Slam title since 2014. Wawrinka was the reigning US Open champion and this was his first loss in a Slam final. The two had previously met in the Australian Open final in 2014 with Wawrinka winning
Nadal won 94 points, Wawrinka 57
Serve Stats
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (42/65) 65%
- 1st serve points won (35/42) 83%
- 2nd serve points won (15/23) 65%
- Aces 4 (1 second serve)
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (17/65) 26%
Wawrinka...
- 1st serve percentage (50/86) 58%
- 1st serve points won (27/50) 54%
- 2nd serve points won (15/36) 47%
- Aces 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (14/86) 16%
Serve Patterns
Nadal served...
- to FH 42%
- to BH 49%
- to Body 9%
Wawrinka served...
- to FH 35%
- to BH 65%
Return Stats
Nadal made...
- 72 (20 FH, 52 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 13 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (4 FH, 2 BH)
- 7 Forced (5 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (72/86) 84%
Wawrinka made...
- 48 (26 FH, 22 BH), including 3 runaround FHs
- 13 Errors, comprising...
- 11 Unforced (5 FH, 6 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 2 Forced (2 BH)
- Return Rate (48/65) 74%
Break Points
Nadal 6/13 (7 games)
Wawrinka 0/1
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Nadal 22 (13 FH, 5 BH, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
Wawrinka 16 (9 FH, 2 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 OH)
Nadal's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass), 4 dtl (1 return) and 6 inside-out
- BHs - 2 cc, 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl pass at net
Wawrinka's FHs - 3 cc, 3 dtl, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BHs - 1 inside-out and 1 running-down-drop-shot cc pass at net
- the BH1/2V was played from behind service line and not a net point
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Nadal 27
- 15 Unforced (9 FH, 6 BH)
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 4 BH, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
Wawrinka 55
- 35 Unforced (21 FH, 12 BH, 1 BHV, 1 OH)... the BHV was a baseline shot & the OH was a baseline shot on the bounce
- 20 Forced (12 FH, 7 BH, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.6
(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 for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nadal was...
- 14/17 (82%) at net, with...
- 0/1 forced back/retreating
Wawrinka was...
- 7/13 (54%) at net, including...
- 2/2 serve-volleying, both 1st serves
--
- 0/1 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Atypically brutal display from Nadal, particularly on the return and off the BH, as he bludgeons Wawrinka into submission.
Its more that Stan isn't allowed to play his game because Nadal plays it better (if not first), rather than he doesn't play well, though there's some of that too
Routine scoreline (2, 3 & 1), points total (Nadal 94, Stan 57), Nadal's huge lead in basic stats (first serve in +7%, first serve won +29%, second serve won, +18%) all speak to one sidedness of contest
Nadal isn't just +7 on winners/UE differential but is close to being in positives off both wings. On FH, he's +4, on BH -1. Figures like that are very rare on any surface, but particularly clay. Meanwhile, he's forced 20 of Stan's 55 errors... which is very rare for him. Nadal typically outlasts or at most, consistently pressures errors out of his opponents, not thrashes them out of them
Here, 36% of Stan's errors are FEs... and that's with him being quite error prone (i.e. its not that he just isn't making UEs, so whatever errors come must be FEs) and much of the UEs being beaten out of him (i.e. relatively hard for UEs). Comparing to other Nadal French Open finals -
- '05 its 32%
- '06 its 26%
- '07 its 23%
- '08 its 27%
- '10 its 33%
- '11 its 31%
- '12 its 19%
- '13 its 29%
- '20 its 15%
Not much wrong with Stan's defence either. Nadal's hits exceptionally hard and when he goes wide on top of that, balls would extremely difficult to get back in play for anyone.
Note unusual 0 runaround FH returns by Nadal. Usually, he's always moving around to hit second serve returns with loopy FHs. Here he belts BHs instead. Same thing in play... virtually no runaround FH'ng, just pulverizing BHs instead. Few things set this match apart from Nadal's point of view -
- He plays a power baseline, not outlasting game
- He returns with intent to snatch initiative, not with undue focus on just getting ball in play and being content to start rally from defensive position
- He plays a dual winged game, not running around to hit FHs all the time
- He uses BH to attack, not just as a rock that won't give up errors
Serve & Return
Hefty serving from Nadal of power, very ordinary of placement. Almost everything is in Stan's swing zone, though strong enough to get the odd error. Stand swings at returns off both sides. Generally, he blocks back a lot of returns - even off FH or/and falls back well behind baseline to take a big swing. Here, he stands in orthodox position and swings
Decent, but short of good 74% return rate from Stan. 11/13 errors have been marked unforced, mostly powerful but in reach serves. He's under some pressure to return hard because Nadal is apt to look for point ending shots or highly attacking ones first up
The standout is Nadal's return, which is some of his best. Stan has a genuinely big serve - for starters, a lot bigger than Nadal's. You wouldn't know it to see Nadal return. He takes ball well behind baseline, is quick to run to cover Stan's wider serves (which are well wide, given where Nadal's standing) and hammers returns flat and sometimes wide, especially BH cc. Not at all like his norm. Likely out of respect for Stan's power hitting. Nadal misses a few returns long, in pursuit of depth to keep from Stan launching into third ball. Despite the (for him) attacking returning and strong opposition, he still gets high 84% returns in play
Note the big serving Stan kept to just 1 ace. Nadal has 4 and his serve is a cut or 2 below of strength - that's Nadal's fleetness in moving to return at work
No double faults in the match from either player
It was Nadal's 10th title at the event. He would go onto win the next 3 editions. It was his first Slam title since 2014. Wawrinka was the reigning US Open champion and this was his first loss in a Slam final. The two had previously met in the Australian Open final in 2014 with Wawrinka winning
Nadal won 94 points, Wawrinka 57
Serve Stats
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (42/65) 65%
- 1st serve points won (35/42) 83%
- 2nd serve points won (15/23) 65%
- Aces 4 (1 second serve)
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (17/65) 26%
Wawrinka...
- 1st serve percentage (50/86) 58%
- 1st serve points won (27/50) 54%
- 2nd serve points won (15/36) 47%
- Aces 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (14/86) 16%
Serve Patterns
Nadal served...
- to FH 42%
- to BH 49%
- to Body 9%
Wawrinka served...
- to FH 35%
- to BH 65%
Return Stats
Nadal made...
- 72 (20 FH, 52 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 13 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (4 FH, 2 BH)
- 7 Forced (5 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (72/86) 84%
Wawrinka made...
- 48 (26 FH, 22 BH), including 3 runaround FHs
- 13 Errors, comprising...
- 11 Unforced (5 FH, 6 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 2 Forced (2 BH)
- Return Rate (48/65) 74%
Break Points
Nadal 6/13 (7 games)
Wawrinka 0/1
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Nadal 22 (13 FH, 5 BH, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
Wawrinka 16 (9 FH, 2 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 OH)
Nadal's FHs - 3 cc (1 pass), 4 dtl (1 return) and 6 inside-out
- BHs - 2 cc, 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl pass at net
Wawrinka's FHs - 3 cc, 3 dtl, 2 inside-out and 1 inside-in
- BHs - 1 inside-out and 1 running-down-drop-shot cc pass at net
- the BH1/2V was played from behind service line and not a net point
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Nadal 27
- 15 Unforced (9 FH, 6 BH)
- 12 Forced (7 FH, 4 BH, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.7
Wawrinka 55
- 35 Unforced (21 FH, 12 BH, 1 BHV, 1 OH)... the BHV was a baseline shot & the OH was a baseline shot on the bounce
- 20 Forced (12 FH, 7 BH, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46.6
(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 for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nadal was...
- 14/17 (82%) at net, with...
- 0/1 forced back/retreating
Wawrinka was...
- 7/13 (54%) at net, including...
- 2/2 serve-volleying, both 1st serves
--
- 0/1 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Atypically brutal display from Nadal, particularly on the return and off the BH, as he bludgeons Wawrinka into submission.
Its more that Stan isn't allowed to play his game because Nadal plays it better (if not first), rather than he doesn't play well, though there's some of that too
Routine scoreline (2, 3 & 1), points total (Nadal 94, Stan 57), Nadal's huge lead in basic stats (first serve in +7%, first serve won +29%, second serve won, +18%) all speak to one sidedness of contest
Nadal isn't just +7 on winners/UE differential but is close to being in positives off both wings. On FH, he's +4, on BH -1. Figures like that are very rare on any surface, but particularly clay. Meanwhile, he's forced 20 of Stan's 55 errors... which is very rare for him. Nadal typically outlasts or at most, consistently pressures errors out of his opponents, not thrashes them out of them
Here, 36% of Stan's errors are FEs... and that's with him being quite error prone (i.e. its not that he just isn't making UEs, so whatever errors come must be FEs) and much of the UEs being beaten out of him (i.e. relatively hard for UEs). Comparing to other Nadal French Open finals -
- '05 its 32%
- '06 its 26%
- '07 its 23%
- '08 its 27%
- '10 its 33%
- '11 its 31%
- '12 its 19%
- '13 its 29%
- '20 its 15%
Not much wrong with Stan's defence either. Nadal's hits exceptionally hard and when he goes wide on top of that, balls would extremely difficult to get back in play for anyone.
Note unusual 0 runaround FH returns by Nadal. Usually, he's always moving around to hit second serve returns with loopy FHs. Here he belts BHs instead. Same thing in play... virtually no runaround FH'ng, just pulverizing BHs instead. Few things set this match apart from Nadal's point of view -
- He plays a power baseline, not outlasting game
- He returns with intent to snatch initiative, not with undue focus on just getting ball in play and being content to start rally from defensive position
- He plays a dual winged game, not running around to hit FHs all the time
- He uses BH to attack, not just as a rock that won't give up errors
Serve & Return
Hefty serving from Nadal of power, very ordinary of placement. Almost everything is in Stan's swing zone, though strong enough to get the odd error. Stand swings at returns off both sides. Generally, he blocks back a lot of returns - even off FH or/and falls back well behind baseline to take a big swing. Here, he stands in orthodox position and swings
Decent, but short of good 74% return rate from Stan. 11/13 errors have been marked unforced, mostly powerful but in reach serves. He's under some pressure to return hard because Nadal is apt to look for point ending shots or highly attacking ones first up
The standout is Nadal's return, which is some of his best. Stan has a genuinely big serve - for starters, a lot bigger than Nadal's. You wouldn't know it to see Nadal return. He takes ball well behind baseline, is quick to run to cover Stan's wider serves (which are well wide, given where Nadal's standing) and hammers returns flat and sometimes wide, especially BH cc. Not at all like his norm. Likely out of respect for Stan's power hitting. Nadal misses a few returns long, in pursuit of depth to keep from Stan launching into third ball. Despite the (for him) attacking returning and strong opposition, he still gets high 84% returns in play
Note the big serving Stan kept to just 1 ace. Nadal has 4 and his serve is a cut or 2 below of strength - that's Nadal's fleetness in moving to return at work
No double faults in the match from either player
This RAFA wouldn't have dropped a set to anyone in the 2021 edition.
