Relating to dominating on serve, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard isn’t simply knocking on the door—he’s kicking it down.
The Frenchman simply lifted his first ATP 500 title in Basel, and he’s gone from 205th on this planet at first of the season to thirty first within the ATP rankings.
Challenger titles in Nottingham, Cuernavaca, and Acapulco, adopted by wins on the ATP 250 in Lyon and now the Swiss Indoors, make him certainly one of solely fifteen gamers to win a couple of ATP title in 2024.
I first seen Perricard on the Challenger Tour in 2021. Despite the fact that they don’t have pace weapons (at many occasions, anyway), you would inform he was serving absolute bombs.
Since then, he’s refined his general sport, tapped into his athletic capacity (fairly good for somebody 6ft 8″) to maneuver higher, and developed extra belief from the baseline.
Nevertheless, his serve stays the cornerstone of his sport and has performed a starring function in his spectacular 2024 season.
Perricard’s newest efficiency in Basel speaks for itself: 109 aces and 100% service video games held throughout the week.
Averaging 138 mph on his first serve and a jaw-dropping 131 mph on his second throughout the ultimate, Perricard performs with a stage of depth few gamers can match.
For context, his opponent within the Swiss Indoors ultimate, Ben Shelton, one other insane server, averages 120 mph on his first serve. Perricard’s second serve alone challenges the pace benchmark of elite gamers’ first serves.
One of the crucial hanging points of his sport is his willingness to hit what are primarily two first serves. With a second-serve win charge of 68.3% in Basel—a rise from his 53.4% seasonal common—he’s exhibiting that he can combine energy with tactical enhancements when it counts.
Not like most gamers who again off on their second serve to keep away from double faults, Perricard leans into the danger. Sure, he’s averaging 5.1 double faults every match this season, however once you hit 120mph, second serves? Who cares!
For many gamers, that stat would spell bother, however for Perricard, it’s a calculated gamble that usually pays off.
Savage Serving on the Swiss Indoors
Basel Event Stats
Shelton and Perricard’s numbers throughout their 5 matches in Basel, together with the ultimate:
| Metric | Ben Shelton | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 48 | 109 |
| Double Faults | 7 | 15 |
| 1st-Serve Proportion | 73.6% (273 of 371) | 64.8% (232 of 358) |
| 1st-Serve Factors Gained | 79.9% (218 of 273) | 83.2% (193 of 232) |
| 2nd-Serve Factors Gained | 80.0% (64 of 80) | 68.3% (86 of 126) |
| Service Video games Gained | 98.4% (60 of 61) | 100.0% (60 of 60) |
| Break Factors Saved | 93.3% (14 of 15) | 100.0% (3 of three) |
| 1st-Serve Return Factors Gained | 13.1% (26 of 198) | 22.7% (49 of 216) |
| 2nd-Serve Return Factors Gained | 41.7% (53 of 127) | 45.6% (57 of 125) |
| Return Video games Gained | 10.2% (6 of 59) | 10.5% (6 of 57) |
| Break Factors Transformed | 85.7% (6 of seven) | 31.6% (6 of 19) |
2024 Season Serve Comparability with High Gamers
Perricard’s 2024 serve metrics stack up impressively in opposition to prime servers like Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini. His first-serve factors gained, and ace manufacturing makes him one of many tour’s only servers this season:
| Participant | % 1st Serve | % 1st Serve Factors Gained | % 2nd Serve Factors Gained | % Service Video games Gained | Avg. Aces/Match | Avg. Double Faults/Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 65.5% | 79.0% | 53.4% | 88.7% | 18.6 | 5.1 |
| Alexander Zverev | 71.5% | 76.0% | 54.1% | 89.4% | 9.5 | 2.2 |
| Matteo Berrettini | 68.3% | 77.8% | 52.5% | 90.0% | 9.4 | 1.5 |
| Hubert Hurkacz | 63.0% | 78.0% | 54.4% | 88.9% | 13.8 | 1.8 |
| Jannik Sinner | 61.4% | 79.1% | 57.1% | 91.2% | 7.6 | 1.9 |
Can He Change into an All-Time Nice Server?
Evaluating him to giants like John Isner and Ivo Karlovic might be untimely, however his numbers stack up, and at simply 21, they reveal simply how excessive his ceiling is.
For instance, Isner’s profession common of 18.7 aces per match intently mirrors Perricard’s present 18.6 in 2024.
Karlovic’s record-breaking first-serve factors gained charge of 82.7% is a goal that Perricard has already surpassed in Basel with 83.2%.
Sure, only one match vs. a complete profession is hardly a superb comparability, and there are important questions as as to if he can preserve these numbers throughout 10+ seasons like these seasoned veterans who spent years fine-tuning their serves. Nonetheless, Perricard is already pushing into their territory early in his profession.
Evaluating Perricards “First” Season with the All-Time Greats “First” Season
I checked out Perricard’s numbers this season and in contrast them with Isner, Karlovic, and Raonic’s first “full” season on tour, the place they performed 15+ matches. He’s exhibiting numbers that align intently with these of among the greatest servers of their rookie years.
| Participant | % 1st Serve | % 1st Serve Factors Gained | % 2st Serve Factors Gained | % Service Video games Gained | Avg. Aces/ Match | Avg. Double Faults/Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Isner | 66.80% | 75.10% | 56.30% | 89.20% | 14.5 | 2.5 |
| Ivo Karlovic | 62.00% | 82.20% | 51.80% | 90.40% | 21.1 | 5.4 |
| Milos Raonic | 64.10% | 78.90% | 52.90% | 88.20% | 13.6 | 2.2 |
| Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 65.50% | 79.00% | 53.40% | 88.70% | 18.6 | 5.1 |
Evaluating with All-Time Nice Servers
How does Perricard’s serve stack up in opposition to legends like John Isner and Ivo Karlovic’s complete careers?
| Participant | % 1st Serve | % 1st Serve Factors Gained | % 2nd Serve Factors Gained | % Service Video games Gained | Avg. Aces/Match | Avg. Double Faults/Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Isner | 69.0% | 78.8% | 56.0% | 91.8% | 18.7 | 2.3 |
| Ivo Karlovic | 65.5% | 82.7% | 53.3% | 92.0% | 19.8 | 3.5 |
| Milos Raonic | 62.8% | 81.5% | 55.0% | 91.1% | 15.5 | 3.3 |
| Reilly Opelka | 63.8% | 79.1% | 54.8% | 89.6% | 18.0 | 2.9 |
| Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 65.5% | 79.0% | 53.4% | 88.7% | 18.6 | 5.1 |
Beneath Stress Numbers
Perricard’s 2024 numbers “beneath strain” vs the all-time leaders:
| Participant | % Break Factors Transformed | % Break Factors Saved | % Tie Breaks Gained | % Deciding Units Gained |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | 44.1% | 65.5% | 66.0% | 72.8% |
| Pete Sampras | 40.6% | 67.9% | 64.1% | 69.3% |
| Rafael Nadal | 44.9% | 66.2% | 60.4% | 68.5% |
| Roger Federer | 41.1% | 67.3% | 65.3% | 65.2% |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 41.1% | 63.2% | 62.6% | 70.1% |
| Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 40.0% | 69.9% | 56.5% | 71.4% |
- Break Factors Transformed (40.0%): GMP’s conversion charge is under many of the profession leaders, aligning intently with gamers like Pete Sampras (40.6%) and Kei Nishikori (40.6%). Elite gamers like Nadal (44.9%) and Djokovic (44.1%) preserve larger charges as you’d count on.
- Break Factors Saved (69.9%): GMP excels in break factors saved, surpassing all others on this record. His capacity to fend off break factors displays sturdy psychological resilience and talent to land beneath strain.
- Tie Breaks Gained (56.5%): Perricard’s tie-break efficiency (56.5%) is decrease than that of a number of different gamers, with Djokovic (66.0%) and Federer (65.3%) main the best way.
- Deciding Units Gained (71.4%): GMP’s efficiency in deciding units is phenomenal, putting him near Djokovic (72.8%) and forward of many others.
How Does Perricard Ship Such Bombs?
Technically, his serve advantages from what’s been known as a “one-two-three rhythm,” the place he transitions his weight from again to entrance foot whereas making a steady base and explosive follow-through.
His corkscrew-like motion lets him preserve his chest open and generate the rotational energy that makes his serve so deadly.
Alongside all the basics of a superb serve, he additionally has a fast arm motion, which not all gamers possess.
That will get him by means of the shot quickly, with a low-ish ball toss the place he makes contact on the apex to provide that💥
Intuitive Tennis, who has a terrific serve himself, does a terrific job at analysing gamers’ fundamentals and quirks and figuring out for those who can replicate them. Test it out for an in-depth take a look at the GMP serve:
Closing Ideas
Tennis followers typically give large servers a nasty rep for being boring, however I’ve at all times loved them.
Federer in opposition to Karlovic at Wimbledon or in opposition to Isner on laborious courts was such a enjoyable matchup, and as Fed used to say, it’s like a penalty shootout.
Perricard has the traits of the massive servers of the Nineties, and he exhibits little interest in drawing out factors. As an alternative, he makes use of his function each a sword and a defend, attacking whereas protecting opponents at bay, and I discover that entertaining to look at.
Along with his 100% break factors saved in Basel and 67.6% tie-break win charge for the season, we have now a participant who performs his greatest when the stakes are highest and provides one thing totally different within the sport.
Are you a GMP fan? Will the serve turn out to be much more necessary going ahead? Let me know within the feedback.
