Physicality Index Insights: Final Preview

The ATP and Tennis Data Innovations (TDI) will deliver unprecedented insights at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. Using state-of-the-art tracking metrics, the insights will assess the physical capacity required to compete at the highest professional level of our sport.

Read more to learn about Saturday’s final in Jeddah.

Arthur Fils vs. Hamad Medjedovic

The road to the final has been a physical journey at times for Arthur Fils and Hamad Medjedovic. Both players have been pushed by their opponents physically and mentally. So, as the players and their teams are looking to put together the final touches on their game plan for Saturday’s match, here are a few key insights that have come through when looking at the tactical and physical data.

The on-court performance from both of these players during the course of the entire week has been extremely high. They have both done an amazing job of converting on the offense they have created with their easy power, staying in attack over 28% of all points played. Fils has been able to steal 34% of the points using a combination of his speed and power, whereas Medjedovic has been able to steal 33% of his points using mostly great anticipation and strength. On average, the players are hitting their forehands over 80 MPH and their backhands over 70 MPH. Fils will tend to look for his forehand a little more, especially from the AD court, where Medjedovic is more balanced with his attack off the ground, settling for a few more backhands from the middle. They are both very comfortable spreading the court with their forehands to both sides of the court, and they love to finish with their forehands down the line (both of their #1 hot play).

Coming into this match Fils and Medjedovic have put in a similar volume of work, running similar distances and accumulating comparable workloads. Where their physicality profiles begin to diverge is around the high-intensity movements (high-speed distance & explosive movements). Fils has performed 33% more high-speed distance and 25% more explosive movements. This is where the physical profile of athletes can dictate the tactical game planning. The number one cold play of Medjedovic is his defending with the backhand through the middle from the backhand corner. Fils is clearly more explosive with his movements in and out of the corners, allowing him to defend a little more efficiently by using his speed.

Physical Keys to the Match

Coming out of the gates fast and matching the physical intensity of Medjedovic from the start of the match will only favour Fils. Fils has been able to significantly increase his overall work rate over the course of each match. His movement has only improved as the matches have progressed, where Medjedovic has seen a decline in his overall work rate in each of his three round-robin matches. He had come out fast and physical in each match but then seen a steep decline in his work rate as the matches progressed. Can Fils match the early intensity of Medjedovic, using his high-speed distance and explosive movements to counter the pace of Medjedovic, making the Serbian hit one or two more balls each point. Or can Medjedovic take the racquet out of Fils’ hands by keeping the rallies short and making this match more about volume (distance and work load) and less about intensity (high-speed distance and explosive movements). Volume favours Medjedovic and Intensity favours Fils.