Stats for 2008 AO semis, final (Djokovic, Tsonga, Nadal, Federer)

[krosero]

The following are my own stats, starting with Tsonga-Nadal.

Score: 6-2, 6-3, 6-2

Note: 1 point won by Tsonga is missing on my copy (ESPN's coverage).


Tsonga had 29 winners apart from service: 14 FH, 1 BH, 6 FHV, 6 BHV, 2 overheads.

Nadal had 10 winners apart from service: 6 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 1 overhead.


Tsonga had 17 aces, 1 double-fault.
Nadal had 2 aces, 1 double-fault.


Tsonga made 9 service return errors. I didn't judge any of these serves as service winners by Nadal.

Nadal made 10 service return errors. I judged 3 of these as service winners by Tsonga.


Tsonga had one return winner off Nadal’s second serve from each wing. He had two forehand passes, and no lob winners.

Nadal had no return winners, and only 3 passes.



At the AO site, Tsonga is credited with 49 winners. Since I counted 46 clean aces/winners for Tsonga, he may have been credited with 3 service winners -- or 2 if he hit a winner on the point I'm missing.

Nadal was officially given 13 winners. I have him at 12 clean aces/winners, so probably he was officially credited with 1 service winner.


The AO has Tsonga making 49 of 76 first serves, the ATP only 48. He won 42 points on first serve per the AO, and 41 per the ATP. On second serve, the AO has him at 15 of 27, the ATP at 16 of 28.


Tsonga has one of the highest rates of winners in the Open Era, if his aces are included.

 

[krosero]

Djokovic-Federer

Djokovic d. Federer, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (5)

Djokovic had 26 winners apart from service: 14 FH, 7 BH, 2 FHV, 1 BHV, 2 overheads.

Federer had 23 winners apart from service: 11 FH, 5 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV, 4 overheads.


Djokovic had 13 aces, 6 double-faults.
Federer had 10 aces, 2 double-faults.

ESPN did not cover Federer’s only ace of the second set, but it was reported in the match statistics at the AO website.


Djokovic made 23 service return errors -- 12 in the third set.
Federer made 25 service return errors -- 14 in the third set.

So both men were inducing a lot of return errors in the third set, though their ace counts did not go up; those were just as high as in the first set, for example, which was almost as long as the third.

Djokovic had 2 backhand return winners, and 2 off the forehand; all involved Federer’s second serve. He had one passing shot off each wing, and no lob winners.

Federer had a forehand return winner off Djokovic’s second serve and one off his first serve. Federer also had a backhand return winner, a passing shot. On top of that he had one backhand passing shot, and no lob winners.


At the AO site, Djokovic is credited officially with 50 winners. I counted 39 clean winners/aces, so it looks like he was given 11 service winners. That's a high number, but he had a high number by my own judgment, too: I judged 13 of his serves as service winners. As I mentioned, both men were pumping the serve in the third set and inducing high numbers of return errors, but not enough to get a lot of clean aces.

Federer's official count was 38 total winners. I counted 33 clean winners/aces, so it looks like he was judged as having 5 service winners. By my own judgment, he had 6. (Four in that third set).


The AO site has Federer making 67 of 109 first serves; the ATP has him making 68. But they both have him winning 48 points on first serve. On second serve, the AO has him winning 18 of 42; the ATP, 18 of 41.

 

[krosero]

Djokovic-Tsonga

Djokovic d. Tsonga, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2)

Djokovic had 33 winners apart from service: 11 FH, 9 BH, 5 BHV, 8 overheads. He had a backhand return winner off Tsonga’s first serve, plus 5 passes (3 FH's) and a BH lob winner.

Tsonga had 27 winners apart from service: 17 FH, 2 BH, 1 FHV, 4 BHV, 3 overheads. He had a forehand return winner off Djokovic’s second serve, plus 3 passes (2 FH's) and a FH lob winner.


Djokovic had 11 aces, 2 doubles.
Tsonga had 15 aces, 2 doubles.

Each man made 24 service return errors. I judged each man as hitting 4 service winners.

It looks like each man was officially credited at the AO site with 2 service winners. They gave Djokovic 46 total winners; I counted 44 clean aces/winners. They gave Tsonga 44 total winners; I counted 42 clean aces/winners.


The AO site has Tsonga winning 68 of 96 points on first serve; the ATP has him at 69 of 97. The AO puts him at 19 of 40 on second serve, the ATP at 18 of 39.


These small but persistent discrepancies in all three matches may indicate that the ATP did not get its stats from the AO site. And the AO does publish stats that the ATP does not get into, like unforced errors and net approaches.