The tennis world has been deprived of the “SW19” last year, and it feels like it was more than two years, since I last did a grass court match up analysis.
So…welcome back to another edition of the racket match up analysis before a Grand Slam final. This time, we have Matteo Berrettini and Novak Djokovic going head-to-head on the lawn of the Wimbledon centre court.
I’ll compare their respective racket setups and explain what the rackets allow them to do differently, according to the IT theories. If you just want to know their specifications, check out our ATP Tour player’s racket specification database.
The last Wimbledon finals featured Djokovic and Federer and this year’s finals feel a lot different in therms of the scope of the occasion, but similar in that Djokovic is playing an opponent for whom the grass is the best surface.
Let’s take a look at both of their racquet specs in comparison.
Strings:
Berrettini: Ful Bed Signum pro Firestorm
Djokovic: Hybrid of VS Gut and Alu Power
Berrettini definitely has the tools (racket), to be able to consistently challenge Djokovic from the baseline.
On top of that, he is one of the hardest hitting player on the tour, at least on the forehand side and the serve. His racket has got a lot of so-called “power markers”: 100 sq. inch head size, thick beam, open string pattern, powerful string, high swing weight, mass and relatively high MGR/I.
What is special about his racket, besides a higher MGR/I compared to Djokovic, is, that his racket is also depolarized. A high mass, high balance and a relatively low swingweight for such high mass and high balance. This is what enables Berrettini to hit with simple technique but still with great effect, especially on the forehand side. It also means his racket is very easy to use and has a high margin for error. (not only because of a large head size, but also because of the setup).
Djokovic has been in almost every final in the past coupe of years, so I have written extensively about his racket set-up. But how will he do against Berrettini? His lover MGR/I, higher SW and a more polarized set up, will enable him to play with more width utilizing the “wrap around” effect and dragging Berrettini left and right with precise shots, to keep him off balance and unable to set up for big forehands. Despite that, Berrettini can play on equal terms with Djokovic from a neutral point from the baseline and step up to hit laser forehands when he can set the shot up. He will not be utilizing the width of the court so much, because of the depolarized setup, but instead will rely more on fast straight shots, that are easy to hit with his set-up, to bully Djokovic.
Because I don’t favour anyone from a neutral rally, I believe that the return of serve will play a crucial role, to take charge of the point early. I don’t have to emphasize that Djokovic is expected to return better, but if Berrettini can keep up the consistency of his first serve and keep placing it as he has in previous rounds, the serve might be the great equalizer. Another important thing to point out is the string setup. Djokovic can just block a lot of heavy shots – serves and forehands – deep to the Berrettini side because of the Gut strings in his setup, that can return a lot of energy on slow shots. On the other hand Berrettini needs to hit with more racket head speed on all shots, because of his tightly strung full bed of polyester.
I expect a couple of close sets, and mainly interesting sets, and a lot of drama, because of the scope of the occasion. I believe that Djokovic won’t win without hiccups, as the stakes and pressure to make it 20/20/20 are high. Definitely a blockbuster we don’t want to miss.
Remember that this is just the racket match-up analysis, and there are many other factors in play, but to me, the understanding of what the racket enables you to do, is the foundation of how you build your game and strategy around that.
I try to make the finals more interesting as you can observe the different rackets and strategies behind them at work. If you are interested in more racket specs that tour players use, check my database.