“Perricard can just take the racket out of your hand like you’re almost at the mercy of his strike zone,” Andy Roddick said on Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after he thrashed Ben Shelton in the final of Swiss Indoors last October. Shelton experienced Perricard’s raw power firsthand, setting the stage for a promising 2025. Perricard’s powerful serves impressed in Brisbane before Reilly Opelka halted his run in the semifinals. While his serves have garnered online attention, a German legend believes the sport has seen greater servers.
Before making it to the SF round of Brisbane International, Perricard faced Frances Tiafaoe in the QF on Thursday. While he eventually clinched that match, his initial serve speed surprised the crowd. In the beginning of the match, he hit a 144mph (232 kmph) shot, according to the screen. It clearly indicated the force behind his serve. This kind of performance at the start of 2025 is enough to send chills down the rival’s throats.
Echoing this sentiment, one popular account @Big3Tennis shared a post on X, dated January 1. They claimed the Frenchman can become the best server in tennis history in the near future. “Perricard has the best serve I’ve ever seen. From the mechanics, to the ease of power, to the effectiveness. I think he’ll end up being regarded as the best server ever,” they wrote.
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However, former World No.1 Boris Becker showed a sense of doubt over this claim. “Are you really sure about that ?!?”, he replied while quoting the original post on X.
Later, various people reacted to his post while mentioning popular players from the past who were also known for their impressive and fast serves. Especially the likes of Pete Sampras, John Isner, and Ivo Karlovic. Well, it appears Boris also feels the same.
He pushed the sentiment forward in another post on X, dated January 4. “Little surprised my suggestion #Sampras had best serve in tennis ( thought it was obvious…) but let’s not forget @JohnIsner, @ivokarlovic” he wrote. Additionally, he revealed that “even @AlexZverev @NickKyrgios are not to shabby either! It all depends on what you’re going to do with it … winning tournaments !?!”
John Isner is renowned for his powerful serve, highlighted by his record-breaking 157.0 mph serve in the 2016 Davis Cup. While he consistently delivered serves in the 137-142 mph range, his top speed remains a testament to his exceptional serving ability.
A dominant server in his prime, Ivo Karlovic held the record for career aces (excluding Davis Cup) from 1991 with 13,728, a mark surpassed by Isner in 2022. He’s one of only five players to achieve this milestone since 1991.
However, other former pros, like Andy Roddick, think Perricard is set to take the sport by storm. Especially when it comes to posing a threat to two of the world’s biggest names as of now – Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
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Andy Roddick believes Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s powerful serves will be a challenge for Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
When Perricard lifted his second ATP trophy of the season in 2024, at the Swiss Indoors in Basel in October, the 2003 US Open winner couldn’t resist from sharing his honest thoughts. In an episode of his Served podcast, Roddick talked about the Frenchman at length. Praising the young talent, he made a bold prediction regarding Perricard going forward. In simple words, he issued a warning to World No.1 Jannik Sinner and World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz to be wary of him.
“He’s gonna flip some stuff and I promise you if you’re Alcaraz or Sinner you’d rather play someone ranked a lot higher who’s going to give you a rhythm where you can control what’s going on than this Perricard guy where you’re at deuce and you don’t know if he’s going to hit a 140-second serve. You can’t control that,” he said.
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Last season, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard cracked into the top 40 in the ATP rankings list. Now, he’s already on the brink of reaching the top 30. Not to mention he will get ample opportunities in 2025 to showcase his lethal serves.
At the upcoming Australian Open, he will be among many fresh faces to watch out for. It will be intriguing to see how he fares against two-time Grand Slam champion Sinner and four-time Major winner Alcaraz. Will we get to see their match-ups with? Only time will tell. What are your thoughts on Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s serving firepower? Let us know in the comments below.