There are many ways to win a tennis match. During this year’s US Open, USOpen.org will be playing a numbers game, digging deeper into the statistical analysis of select matches to provide highlights, further insights, and data points on player performance.
Casper Ruud keeps his dream alive of becoming world No. 1 with a straight sets win over Italian Matteo Berrettini, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4).
In matches where both players hit a similar percentage of shots in attack and defense, the winner will be decided by the player who converts the points when they are attacking and steals the points when they are defending.
Ruud proved to be more efficient in attack, converting 74% (45/61) of his points when attacking, compared to Berretini’s 58% (38/65).
In defense, Ruud again came out on top, stealing 42% (27/65) of points from defense.
It was a similar story for Berrettini, whose defense had been below par all tournament. Going into the quarter-finals, the Italian had been averaging a Steal Score of 30% (US Open average: 33%). However, in this match, it again proved a weakness dropping to 26%.
In the highly anticipated battle of two of the biggest forehands, it was Ruud who was the clear winner.
Both players averaged in excess of 80mph and 3000 rpm of spin; however, Ruud's consistency proved decisive. Ruud’s forehand’s remained incredibly consistent, landing 91% (167/184) of his forehands. This was in contrast to Berrettini, whose level of consistency dropped to 79% (114/144), leading to 31 unforced errors.
With such an impressive performance, the question remains if Ruud can maintain this level of performance in his quest for his first Grand Slam title.
Watch highlights from Ruud's QF win:
