Yannick Noah beat Mats Wilander 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(3) in the French Open final, 1983 on clay
It would turn out to be Noah's only Slam title and he dropped just 1 set in winning it. Wilander was 18 years old and the defending champion
Noah won 113 points, Wilander 102
Noah serve-volleyed about half the time off first serve
Serve Stats
Noah...
- 1st serve percentage (55/103) 53%
- 1st serve points won (38/55) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (26/48) 54%
- Aces 5, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/103) 16%
Wilander...
- 1st serve percentage (75/112) 67%
- 1st serve points won (40/75) 53%
- 2nd serve points won (23/37) 62%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/112) 10%
Serve Patterns
Noah served...
- to FH 53%
- to BH 29%
- to Body 18%
Wilander served...
- to FH 24%
- to BH 51%
- to Body 25%
Return Stats
Noah made...
- 99 (36 FH, 63 BH), including 3 runaround FHs, 3 return-approaches & 1 drop-return
- 1 Winner (1 FH), a runaround FH
- 9 Errors, all unforced...
- 9 Unforced (5 FH, 4 BH), including 1 return-approach attempt
- Return Rate (99/110) 90%
Wilander made...
- 86 (51 FH, 35 BH), including 1 runaround BH & 1 return-approach
- 4 Winners (2 FH, 2 BH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 8 Forced (3 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (86/102) 84%
Break Points
Noah 6/17 (9 games)
Wilander 3/9 (5 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Noah 41 (5 FH, 3 BH, 17 FHV, 6 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 9 OH)
Wilander 36 (9 FH, 17 BH, 2 FHV, 3 BHV, 5 OH)
Noah had 10 from serve-volley points
- 5 first 'volleys' (4 FHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- 4 second volleys (2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 fourth volley (1 OH)
- FHs - 2 cc (1 runaround return), 1 dtl pass, 1 inside-in and 1 drop shot at net
- BHs - 2 cc passes and 1 inside-out slice
Wilander's FH passes - 1 cc return, 2 dtl (1 net chord pop over without which Noah seemed to have ball covered), 1 inside-in return and 3 lobs
- regular FHs - 2 inside-out
- BH passes - 8 cc (1 turnaround shot, 1 net chord clipper), 2 dtl, 2 inside-out (1 return - a net chord clipper without which Noah seemed to have ball covered), 1 inside-in return and 3 lobs
- regular BH - 1 dtl at net
- 1 FHV was a swinging pass from no-man's land and has not been counted a net point
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Noah 54
- 34 Unforced (14 FH, 13 BH, 3 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
- 20 Forced (8 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)... with 1 FH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.9
Wilander 54
- 25 Unforced (14 FH, 8 BH, 1 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)... with 2 FH at net
- 29 Forced (10 FH, 15 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 BHOH)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 51.6
(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
Noah was...
- 62/103 (60%) at net, including...
- 18/26 (69%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 16/23 (70%) off 1st serve and...
- 2/3 (67%) off 2nd serve
---
- 0/3 return-approaching
- 0/2 forced back
Wilander was...
- 23/39 (59%) at net, with...
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 1/2 forced back
Match Report
Noah comes to net as and when he wants and dominates there, while holding near even from the baseline. Overall, that leaves him well ahead of Wilander in strategically very interesting match
Play - Noah at net
Noah at net on 103/215 points or 48% of all points, which goes up to 51% when aces, service winners and double faults are excluded. Basically, he comes to net whenever he wants. Serve or return game
The overwhelming bulk of it comes from approaches from rallies. He serve-volleys 48% of the time off first serves (and just 3 times of seconds) and chip-charge returns just 3 times. Nor is he in a rush to get there. Not many third ball approaches... just rallies patiently 'til he sees an opening, and then comes in
This is in line with my general assessment of Wilander's groundgame; his shots are uber consistent (in this match, a little down) but not heavy enough to keep a net-hungry opponent back. Unlike a Lendl or Borg - players of comparitive stature who like Wilander were at their best baseline-to-baseline - who hit with some combination of power, depth and heavy spin that makes approaching an awkward task
Getting to net is one thing. What does Noah do when he's there? He volleys superbly
- He swats through the ball to make sure they go for winners (34 of them, including a FH drop shot at net)
- covers the net thoroughly. Wilander's passing is largely 2 part style - first pass wide to try to draw weak volley, followed by looking for a winner with second pass - so its necessary to cover the net. Also very good stretch volleying from Noah to reach wide volleys, usually dropping them for winners
- superb on the OH. Wilander throws up some very challenging lobs (he has 6 winners and several more forceful ones). Inability to cope with these would necessitate a more conservative position at net. Noah though, copes. He maintains a very forward position, allowing him to swat volleys away and when the lobs come, makes full leaps to reach them. 9 OH winners from Noah. He also has 3 errors (1 UE and that wasn't easy) to go with Mats' 6 lob winners
- Mats also frequently just puts tough passes in play over the net and Noah slaps these a way in no-nonsense fashion
It would turn out to be Noah's only Slam title and he dropped just 1 set in winning it. Wilander was 18 years old and the defending champion
Noah won 113 points, Wilander 102
Noah serve-volleyed about half the time off first serve
Serve Stats
Noah...
- 1st serve percentage (55/103) 53%
- 1st serve points won (38/55) 69%
- 2nd serve points won (26/48) 54%
- Aces 5, Service Winners 2
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (16/103) 16%
Wilander...
- 1st serve percentage (75/112) 67%
- 1st serve points won (40/75) 53%
- 2nd serve points won (23/37) 62%
- Aces 2
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/112) 10%
Serve Patterns
Noah served...
- to FH 53%
- to BH 29%
- to Body 18%
Wilander served...
- to FH 24%
- to BH 51%
- to Body 25%
Return Stats
Noah made...
- 99 (36 FH, 63 BH), including 3 runaround FHs, 3 return-approaches & 1 drop-return
- 1 Winner (1 FH), a runaround FH
- 9 Errors, all unforced...
- 9 Unforced (5 FH, 4 BH), including 1 return-approach attempt
- Return Rate (99/110) 90%
Wilander made...
- 86 (51 FH, 35 BH), including 1 runaround BH & 1 return-approach
- 4 Winners (2 FH, 2 BH)
- 9 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 FH)
- 8 Forced (3 FH, 5 BH)
- Return Rate (86/102) 84%
Break Points
Noah 6/17 (9 games)
Wilander 3/9 (5 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Noah 41 (5 FH, 3 BH, 17 FHV, 6 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 9 OH)
Wilander 36 (9 FH, 17 BH, 2 FHV, 3 BHV, 5 OH)
Noah had 10 from serve-volley points
- 5 first 'volleys' (4 FHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- 4 second volleys (2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
- 1 fourth volley (1 OH)
- FHs - 2 cc (1 runaround return), 1 dtl pass, 1 inside-in and 1 drop shot at net
- BHs - 2 cc passes and 1 inside-out slice
Wilander's FH passes - 1 cc return, 2 dtl (1 net chord pop over without which Noah seemed to have ball covered), 1 inside-in return and 3 lobs
- regular FHs - 2 inside-out
- BH passes - 8 cc (1 turnaround shot, 1 net chord clipper), 2 dtl, 2 inside-out (1 return - a net chord clipper without which Noah seemed to have ball covered), 1 inside-in return and 3 lobs
- regular BH - 1 dtl at net
- 1 FHV was a swinging pass from no-man's land and has not been counted a net point
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Noah 54
- 34 Unforced (14 FH, 13 BH, 3 FHV, 3 BHV, 1 OH)
- 20 Forced (8 FH, 6 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 BH1/2V, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)... with 1 FH at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.9
Wilander 54
- 25 Unforced (14 FH, 8 BH, 1 BHV, 1 OH, 1 BHOH)... with 2 FH at net
- 29 Forced (10 FH, 15 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV, 1 BHOH)... with 1 FH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 51.6
(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
Noah was...
- 62/103 (60%) at net, including...
- 18/26 (69%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 16/23 (70%) off 1st serve and...
- 2/3 (67%) off 2nd serve
---
- 0/3 return-approaching
- 0/2 forced back
Wilander was...
- 23/39 (59%) at net, with...
- 0/1 return-approaching
- 1/2 forced back
Match Report
Noah comes to net as and when he wants and dominates there, while holding near even from the baseline. Overall, that leaves him well ahead of Wilander in strategically very interesting match
Play - Noah at net
Noah at net on 103/215 points or 48% of all points, which goes up to 51% when aces, service winners and double faults are excluded. Basically, he comes to net whenever he wants. Serve or return game
The overwhelming bulk of it comes from approaches from rallies. He serve-volleys 48% of the time off first serves (and just 3 times of seconds) and chip-charge returns just 3 times. Nor is he in a rush to get there. Not many third ball approaches... just rallies patiently 'til he sees an opening, and then comes in
This is in line with my general assessment of Wilander's groundgame; his shots are uber consistent (in this match, a little down) but not heavy enough to keep a net-hungry opponent back. Unlike a Lendl or Borg - players of comparitive stature who like Wilander were at their best baseline-to-baseline - who hit with some combination of power, depth and heavy spin that makes approaching an awkward task
Getting to net is one thing. What does Noah do when he's there? He volleys superbly
- He swats through the ball to make sure they go for winners (34 of them, including a FH drop shot at net)
- covers the net thoroughly. Wilander's passing is largely 2 part style - first pass wide to try to draw weak volley, followed by looking for a winner with second pass - so its necessary to cover the net. Also very good stretch volleying from Noah to reach wide volleys, usually dropping them for winners
- superb on the OH. Wilander throws up some very challenging lobs (he has 6 winners and several more forceful ones). Inability to cope with these would necessitate a more conservative position at net. Noah though, copes. He maintains a very forward position, allowing him to swat volleys away and when the lobs come, makes full leaps to reach them. 9 OH winners from Noah. He also has 3 errors (1 UE and that wasn't easy) to go with Mats' 6 lob winners
- Mats also frequently just puts tough passes in play over the net and Noah slaps these a way in no-nonsense fashion