Mpetshi Perricard: The friendly giant with one of the biggest serves in history

For three hours and 21 minutes, Sebastian Korda went to battle with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round at Wimbledon. For a large period of the match, the American cut a frustrated figure. Trudging from side to side at the back of Court 16, the 20th seed could not get close to Mpetshi Perricard’s serve, which is already one of the biggest in history.

At 6’8”, the 20-year-old is the tallest man inside the Top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings and has the physical capabilities to cause damage on serve. In his win against Korda, he saved all 11 break points he faced and fired a staggering 51 aces.

“Fifty-one? Yeah, that’s a lot…” Perricard said while cracking a laugh after being confronted with his ace count following the match. “It has been a big weapon for my game since the beginning and we have tried to add some [variety]. Not just hitting one serve, but being more consistent to find the different zones. I won the match maybe because of my serve. I will see in two days if I can do the same.”

The World No. 58 averages a first-serve speed of 135mph and has a Serve Shot Quality of 9.4 at tour-level matches this year from data collected by TennisViz. Against Korda, his average first-serve speed was 136mph, with his average second-serve speed 126mph.

Mpetshi Perricard became just the seventh man in history to hit more than 50 aces in a match. Former pros John Isner and Ivo Karlovic are also on the list.

“I watched Isner a lot, Raonic as well when I was younger,” Perricard said. “I didn’t realise when I was young that I would play like this. But now I can watch footage of them back and say, ‘Yeah, I can take some of their good parts for their game and develop it to myself.’”

Mpetshi Perricard’s brand of big-man tennis should be a good fit for the grass. The 20-year-old first competed on the surface at tour-level in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last year before he won his maiden match on the lawns of the Queen’s Club last month.

Against Korda, the Frenchman continued to embrace the surface, approaching the net 57 times during his fifth-set win.

“I felt like John McEnroe at times,” Mpetshi Perricard joked. “After my serve, when I go to the net I put a lot of pressure on the opponent. Sometimes I can do better, but I have to improve on this part of the game, but I am [developing].”

Mpetshi Perricard, who won his maiden ATP Tour title in Lyon and broke the Top 100 for the first time in May, lost in the third round of qualifying to countryman Maxime Janvier. However, he received a lucky loser spot following Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s withdrawal on Saturday.

Competing at just his third major, the 20-year-old has a no-lose mentality at The Championships following his lucky break.

“I was in the locker room and a guy from the ATP called me to say I was in the draw and I said, ‘Oh, thanks’,” Mpetshi Perricard revealed, cracking a smile. “It was good news for me and it is a big chance to come back and play a match in Wimbledon because I was out in qualifying. I have nothing to lose now.

“I was not nervous at all [against Korda]. I was not expecting to play and it was my first time at Wimbledon, so I wanted to enjoy playing against Korda, who is one of the best grass-court players this year. I just thought, let's go for it.”

Mpetshi Perricard, who hit a 151mph serve in his victory against Hugo Gaston in Lyon earlier this year, will next play Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who is the shortest man in the Top 100 at 5’7”.