In relation 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 the planet at the beginning 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 multiple ATP title in 2024.
I first observed Perricard on the Challenger Tour in 2021. Though they don’t have pace weapons (at many occasions, anyway), you can inform he was serving absolute bombs.
Since then, he’s refined his general sport, tapped into his athletic means (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 in the course of the week.
Averaging 138 mph on his first serve and a jaw-dropping 131 mph on his second in the course of the ultimate, Perricard performs with a degree 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.
Probably the most placing points of his sport is his willingness to hit what are primarily two first serves. With a second-serve win price 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.
In contrast to 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 while you hit 120mph, second serves? Who cares!
For many gamers, that stat would spell hassle, however for Perricard, it’s a calculated gamble that always pays off.
Savage Serving on the Swiss Indoors
Basel Match 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
1st-Serve Proportion
73.6% (273 of 371)
64.8% (232 of 358)
1st-Serve Factors Received
79.9% (218 of 273)
83.2% (193 of 232)
2nd-Serve Factors Received
80.0% (64 of 80)
68.3% (86 of 126)
Service Video games Received
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 Received
13.1% (26 of 198)
22.7% (49 of 216)
2nd-Serve Return Factors Received
41.7% (53 of 127)
45.6% (57 of 125)
Return Video games Received
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 handiest servers this season:
Participant
% 1st Serve
% 1st Serve Factors Received
% 2nd Serve Factors Received
% Service Video games Received
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 Grow to be 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 price of 82.7% is a goal that Perricard has already surpassed in Basel with 83.2%.
Sure, only one match vs. a whole profession is hardly comparability, and there are important questions as as to if he can keep 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 a few of the greatest servers of their rookie years.
Participant
% 1st Serve
% 1st Serve Factors Received
% 2st Serve Factors Received
% Service Video games Received
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 Received
% 2nd Serve Factors Received
% Service Video games Received
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
Below Strain Numbers
Perricard’s 2024 numbers “below strain” vs the all-time leaders:
Participant
% Break Factors Transformed
% Break Factors Saved
% Tie Breaks Received
% Deciding Units Received
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 price is beneath 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%) keep greater charges as you’d anticipate.
Break Factors Saved (69.9%): GMP excels in break factors saved, surpassing all others on this listing. His means to fend off break factors displays robust psychological resilience and skill to land below strain.
Tie Breaks Received (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 way in which.
Deciding Units Received (71.4%): GMP’s efficiency in deciding units is outstanding, 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 referred to 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 maintain his chest open and generate the rotational energy that makes his serve so deadly.
Alongside all the basics of serve, he additionally has a fast arm motion, which not all gamers possess.
That will get him by 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 in case you can replicate them. Test it out for an in-depth take a look at the GMP serve:
Remaining Ideas
Tennis followers typically give large servers a foul rep for being boring, however I’ve all the time loved them.
Federer in opposition to Karlovic at Wimbledon or in opposition to Isner on onerous 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 no real 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.
Together with his 100% break factors saved in Basel and 67.6% tie-break win price for the season, we’ve got a participant who performs his greatest when the stakes are highest and presents one thing totally different within the sport.
Are you a GMP fan? Will the serve develop into much more necessary going ahead? Let me know within the feedback.
