Federer Vs Djokovic- What Does Stats Have To Say?

As we all get ready for the most awaited showdown tomorrow at US Open- Best Player of the Year  vs Greatest Player in the History : Djokovic against Federer , it will be a good idea to look at their stats so far in the tournament and year so far as to see where they both stand and how it compares to possibly the best match of the year-French Open Semi Final.

Roger Federer
	French Open SF	US Open  2011	Year So Far
1st Serve %	65	65	64
Unforced Errors	46	136
Winning % on 1st Serve	77	78	78
Winning % on 2nd Serve	50	57	57
Winners	48	169
Receiving Points Won (%)	40	47	27
Break Point Conversions (%)	16	43	39
Net Approaches (%)	79	68
Novak Djokovic
	French Open SF	US Open  2011	Year So Far
1st Serve %	67	65	66
Unforced Errors	41	110
Winning % on 1st Serve	60	72	75
Winning % on 2nd Serve	61	57	58
Winners	40	111
Receiving Points Won (%)	33	52	39
Break Point Conversions (%)	31	57	48
Net Approaches (%)	50	66

As one can clearly see from above that although Federer has not been playing at his best this year, at French Open he managed to defeat Djokovic who is having a record year and possibly the best season in the history (66-2). If you look at the stats, one will realise that although Federer did not play good this year but he raised his game at FO SF : His receiving points won and net approaches shots won were more than Djokovic in FO SF.

Djokovic played at a level less than his normal best this year as seen from above. His first serve points % won were less than this year average as well as receiving points won which made the difference.

If Federer has to win, he has to play at his current level that he has been playing in US Open  and If Djokovic plays at his current level, he has a major shot tomorrow at winning the match. But we have to remember that tennis is also a battle of minds and Federer has an edge over Djokovic with him being the only player to have defeated him in best of 5 match. But Djokovic was under a lot of pressure in French Open with No.1 position at stake. So this time he will be a bit relieved to play with less at stake.

All in all, it will be a battle of baseline for both these players and the one who can mange to keep his cool, will come out with flying colors. This time I will just end with- May the best player win!

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
Link to Facebook Page and Twitter.
Also: Federer vs Tsonga- Reasons for Federer's Impressive Win!

Federer vs Tsonga- Reasons for Federer's Impressive Win!

Roger Federer advanced to the SemiFinal defeating Tsonga in straight sets today. It was a sweet revenge forFederer who had lost his last two matches against Tsonga this year. One was ahumiliating defeat in Wimbledon after being 2 sets up and second in Rogers Cup!Everyone must be thinking as to what Federer did differently than the previous twomatches: 

Here is the answer:

Tsonga (FRA)
Tournament	Wimbledon	Roger Cup	US Open
1st Serve %	102 of 145 = 70 %	56%	45 of 85 = 53%
Unforced Errors	22	21	34
Winning % on 1st Serve	73%	78%	69%
Winning % on 2nd Serve	67%	63%	40%
Winners	63	33	17
Receiving Points Won	24%	-	33%
Break Point Conversions	3 of 9 = 33 %	22%	2 of 3 = 67%
Net Approaches	37 of 58 = 64 %	47%	11 of 19 = 58%
Federer (SUI)
Tournament	Wimbledon	Roger Cup	US Open
1st Serve %	103 of 137 = 75 %	62%	62 of 86 = 72%
Unforced Errors	11	32	30
Winning % on 1st Serve	78%	74%	77%
Winning % on 2nd Serve	71%	46%	42%
Winners	57	31	29
Receiving Points Won	29%	-	45%
Break Point Conversions	1 of 1 = 100 %	25%	6 of 13 = 46%
Net Approaches	26 of 42 = 62 %	64%	19 of 32 = 59%

Federer played a superb gamethroughout the match and was ahead of Tsonga in almost all the areas exceptUnforced Errors. But as we can clearly see, Tsonga has to blame himself forlosing today's match as he could not get into any rhythm during the match. 

Tsonga played far below his level shown at Wimbledon/Rogers Cup and was totally out ofanswers to Federer's near perfect display of tennis. Tsonga's 1st Serve wentdown by 17%, winners were only 17 against 63 in Wimbledon and unforced errors went to 34. All in all, Tsonga was nowhere near his usual game today andFederer captured onto this part and played some breathtaking shots during thematch.

All in all, we are all set forthe dream SF this coming Saturday and my next article tomorrow will be focusedon this epic battle between Federer and Djokovic and a look at the stats as to what they have to say!

New: Federer Vs Djokovic- What Does Stats Have To Say?


If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com

Link to Facebook Page and Twitter.

Novak Djokovic- US Open 2010 and 2011- A Complete Turnaround!

Djokovic's brilliant performance yesterday was a reflection of howmuch a person can achieve in just one year's time frame. His opponent couldjust manage to take 2 games from him and he marched into the third rounddeservedly like the best player of the year.

Last year at the same time, he was considered to be the thirdfavorite with ~10% chance to reach the Finals and this year he is theclear favorite to win the US Open.  Amazed by the transformation!

So let’s take a look at his stats and see if the mystery issolved?

	US Open Final 2010	Australian Open Final 2011	Wimbledon Final 2011	US Open 2011 II Round
1st Serve %	66%	67%	73%	66%
Aces	5	6	7	5
Double Faults	4	0	1	0
Unforced Errors	47	33	12	15
Winning % on 1st Serve	64%	70%	72%	68%
Winning % on 2nd Serve	46%	60%	54%	63%
Winners	45	26	27	31
Receiving Points Won	32%	51%	38%	67%
Break Point Conversions	75%	39%	83%	50%
Net Approaches	62%	64%	73%	78%
Fastest Serve Speed	125	129	126	126
Average 1st Serve Speed	117	119	117	111
Average 2nd Serve Speed	94	98	93	91

Clearly the stats above tell us the picture of how this one playersingle handedly has changed the landscape of tennis. If one looks at the last 3finals and yesterday's performance, one can see the change in his serve %  against US Open 2010 (which he lost to Nadal). His serve points won (by almost 15%) have also improvedconsiderably along with his receiving points won showing how much hehas improved his shots. And the most important- His unforced errors  have gonedown  considerably (by 30-35)showing his accuracy on the court.

Just to wonder, at the start of Jan 2011, nobody could even thinkthat Djokovic will storm into the world of tennis uprooting the dominance ofthe two greatest players in the history of tennis! Calls for pure respectand admiration for Novak Djokovic-Hats off to him!

Also to find out more on this: don't forget to read Where There Is Djokovic. There Is A Way (My article describing how he has managed to achieve this transformation)

( PS- i will be at US Open for the coming weekend so my next post will be on Thursday. Till then, don't forget to join my Facebook Page and Twitter to catch the latest updates, pictures & videos of your favorite players. Stay Tuned!)

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com

Also: Roger Federer- Signs of Improvement Over US Open 2010 (Second Round Update)

Nadal's Service- A Potential Area Of Concern (US Open Round 1 Update)