The 2020 Australian Open
A collection of data visualisations for the 2020 Australian Open. Updated after each round.
Round 1 Review
With all the attention on Aces at this year's Australian Open due to bushfire relief fundraising, Figure 1 and Figure 2 present the statistical summary of Aces served in the Men's and Women's singles events after Round 1.
It is also a timely reminder that more than half the matches of a Grand Slam Tennis tournament are played in Round 1. A Grand Slam singles tournament has 127 matches, with 64 of these played in Round 1.
Figure 1: Ace Distribution (Men)
Figure 2: Ace distribution (Women)
Round 2 Review
Of course the number of Aces does not necessarily indicate who the best servers are. The number of Aces is affected by both how long a match is and how aggressive a player is on their first serve.
In order to have a feel of how serve speed affects the accuracy and success rate of winning points on first and second serve, consider Figures 3, 4 and 5.
Figure 3 presents the effectiveness (first serve points won) verses first serve speed in Rounds 1 & 2 of the Men’s Singles Draw. It can be seen that the general trend is that the faster the first serve the higher the success rate of winning the point.
Figure 4 presents the accuracy (first serve points in-play) verses first serve speed in Rounds 1 & 2 of the Men’s Singles Draw. It can be seen that the general trend is that the faster the first serve the lower the probability of the ball landing in-play. However, there have been some notable exceptions - Zverev, Isner and Kyrgios in particular.
Figure 3 presents the effectiveness (second serve points won) verses second serve speed in Rounds 1 & 2 of the Men’s Singles Draw. This distribution is more scattered as the second serve itself has a lower influence on the point outcome. Of greatest interest is Karlovic continuing to average close to 195 km/h on his second serve.
Figure 3: First Serve Effectiveness (Men)
Figure 4: First Serve Accuracy (Men)
Figure 5: Second Serve Effectiveness (Men)
Round 3 Review
Tennis is a contest of fine margins. The winner of a tennis match will typically win between 50-60% of the match points. Higher than that represents complete dominance.
Figures 6 and 7 present the percentage of points won by the winner of each tennis match in the first 3 rounds of the Australian Open, for women and men respectively.
Interestingly, in the women's draw only one player has lost a match despite winning more points.
Figure 6: Match Dominance - Rounds 1-3 (Women)
Figure 7: Match Dominance - Rounds 1-3 (Men)
Quarter-Final Preview
Figure 8: Total Time Spent on Court - Rounds 1-4 (Women Quarterfinalists)
Figure 9: Total Time Spent on Court - Rounds 1-4 (Men Quarterfinalists)
Figure 10: Point Dominance - Rounds 1-4 (Women Quarterfinalists)
Figure 11: Point Dominance - Rounds 1-4 (Men Quarterfinalists)
Semi-Final Preview
Figure 12: Semi-Final Preview - Barty vs. Kenin
Figure 13: Semi-Final Preview - Halep vs. Muguruza
Figure 14: Semi-Final Preview - Federer vs. Djokovic
Figure 15: Semi-Final Preview - Thiem vs. Zverev
Final Preview
Figure 16: Women’s Final Preview - Historical Dominance
Figure 16: Women’s Final Preview - Kenin vs. Muguruza
Figure 17: Men’s Final Preview - Thiem vs. Djokovic
Tournament Review
About two-thirds of matches were won by the player who accumulated less unforced errors.
Even in defeat, Wozniacki did what she does best in her final ever match.
Figure 18: AO Women’s Review - Unforced Error Differential
A similar story for the Men's Singles.
Although, poor John Millman will be cursing himself that he didn't get the job done against Federer.
Figure 19: AO Men’s Review - Unforced Error Differential
