Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semi-final, 2015 on grass
Federer would go onto lose the final to Novak Djokovic for the second straight year. Murray would finish the year ranked 2, one spot ahead of Federer
Federer won 107 points, Murray 91
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (69/91) 76%
- 1st serve points won (58/69) 84%
- 2nd serve points won (12/22) 55%
- Aces 20 (1 second serve), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (37/91) 41%
Murray...
- 1st serve percentage (79/107) 74%
- 1st serve points won (56/79) 71%
- 2nd serve points won (14/28) 50%
- Aces 12 (1 second serve)
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (36/107) 34%
Serve Patterns
Federer served...
- to FH 36%
- to BH 61%
- to Body 3%
Murray served...
- to FH 41%
- to BH 56%
- to Body 4%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 70 (35 FH, 35 BH), including 6 runaround FHs & 2 return-approaches
- 3 Winners (2 FH, 1 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 24 Errors, comprising...
- 8 Unforced (4 FH, 4 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 16 Forced (6 FH, 10 BH)
- Return Rate (70/106) 66%
Murray made...
- 53 (14 FH, 39 BH)
- 1 Winner (1 BH)
- 16 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (4 FH, 1 BH)
- 11 Forced (4 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (53/90) 59%
Break Points
Federer 3/10 (5 games)
Murray 0/1
Winners (excluding serves, including returns)
Federer 35 (15 FH, 4 BH, 4 FHV, 4 BHV, 8 OH)
Murray 22 (14 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV)
Federer's FHs - 3 cc, 3 dtl (1 runaround return), 5 inside-out (1 runaround return) and 4 inside-in
- BHs - 1 cc pass and 3 dtl (1 pass, 1 return)
- 2 from serve-volley points - both first volley, FHVs
- 1 from a return-approach point - a FHV
- 1 other FHV was a swinging shot from no-man's land and has not been counted a net point
- 2 OHs on the bounce - 1 non-net shot from no man's land
- 1 other OH can reasonably be called a FHV
Murray's FHs - 2 cc, 4 dtl passes, 4 inside-out, 3 lobs and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net pass
- BHs - 2 cc, 2 dtl (1 pass), 2 inside-out (1 return pass) and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl at net pass
- the FHV can reasonably be called an OH
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Federer 32
- 19 Unforced (11 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)... with 1 non-net FHV
- 13 Forced (3 FH, 8 BH, 2 FHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.3
Murray 34
- 19 Unforced (14 FH, 5 BH)
- 15 Forced (10 FH, 4 BH, 1 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 43.2
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(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
Federer was...
- 24/40 (60%) at net, including...
- 8/14 (57%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 8/12 (67%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/2 off second serve
-
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- 2/2 return-approaching
Murray was...
- 7/10 (70%) at net, with...
- 1/1 retreated
Match Report
Excellent match with Federer serving at his very best and attacking net regularly. Murray plays well too but is shut out on return without being able to do the same to his opponent
Both players having more winners than UEs - Fed 35/32, Murray 22/19 - is very rare for predominantly baseline match and speaks to high quality of play. Fed in fact has more winners than total errors (35-32) which is very, very, very rare. That's a bit flattering to him and as much due to Murray being mild in attack as Federer's play
Serve & Return
The Federer serve vs Murray return is one of the best battles you'll see with both men on top of their games. When that happens on grass, its invariably the server that comes out on top and that's what happens here
Generally speaking, Murray returns Fed's serve better than anybody. Seems to read it, isn't caught out by direction, reaches wide ones, misses very little in swing range and hits firmly. Combination of high return rate and hitting with neutralizing (if not initiative snatching) force is stellar
All of the above is one show here... only what generally passes as Fed's best serves, in this match are his norm. 20 aces from Fed, serving at 76%. A powerful wide serve or a slower very wide one are the easiest first serves Murray faces. And the aces are perfect, nothing to be done against them. Even the second serves are tough, beyond being difficult to attack and in minor weapon range of quality. Its not all about power with him... the placement and variety are just as big a factor in serves effectiveness. In general, this makes Fed's 'serve-botting' showings more interesting than most players who have the ability to blast people away with the serve shot alone
Federer serves 17 games. Not in a single game does he serve more second serves than firsts. Only 4 times does he serve 50% in a game. His worst percentage in a set is the 2nd, where he makes 61% first serves... which would be good as a match long stat. To compensate for it falling that 'low', he wins all 19 first serve points for the set
This serving demo could easily yield 50%+ unreturned rate. Murray keeps it down to 41% by executing all the things mentioned earlier. Fed serve-volleys to enhance potential of his serve but is kept to just 57% won doing so too. When he can reach the return, Murray hits them firmly and neutralizingly. Just 16 errors from Murray, most of them hard forced ones. The rest are out and out unreturnable
Decisive factor in final outcome is in the opposite match up. Murray serves a large 74% in too. He mixes up his pace, usually short of all out to get more in and often in Fed's swing zone. Especially early on, Fed returns inconsistently. About half of Fed's 16 FEs are regulation returns. Murray facing serves like this bops them down the middle firmly, neutralizing servers advantage. Fed struggles to put them in play regularly
Fed tightens up his returning as match wears on, putting balls in play regularly, usually without heat. Its the choice attacking returns that stand out. Couple of superb runaround FH inside-outs (1 goes for winner) and other runaround shots. The two return-approaches are firm hits, not chips
In nutshell, tremendous serving from Fed and great coping of it by Murray, who makes as many returns as possible and even neutralizes good chunk of returns. Fed is left in command of third ball less often then one might expect with serving of this calibre. On flip side, decent serving from Murray met by decent, patchy returning from Fed
