Inside the power of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, the Frenchman with the deadliest serve in world tennis

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is the man nobody wants to see in their part of their Australian Open draw. Why? Because he’s bringing the biggest weapon in world tennis to Melbourne and could prove unstoppable.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

When Frances Tiafoe walked to the net to shake his opponent’s hand after a straight-sets defeat at the Brisbane International, the look on his face said it all.

He was the world No.18 – a two-time grand slam semi-finalist – and he felt powerless.

That is the power of the Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard serve. It makes even the superstars feel mortal.

The look Tiafoe gave is the same one Jakub Mensik had when he fell to the Frenchman the following day. There is something particularly infuriating about losing in such a fashion – when, as Nick Kyrgios put it, Mpetshi Perricard simply “takes the racquet out of your hand”.

The 21-year-old says if he was not a tennis player, he would have liked to be a Formula One driver. Fitting, because an F1 car is just about one of the only things as fast as his first serve.

When the French phenom opened proceedings against Tiafoe with a 232km/h bomb down the tee, the crowd began to hum. There was a palpable air of incredulity. Nobody could believe what they had just witnessed.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has one of the deadliest serves in world tennis. Picture: William WEST / AFP

Even Mpetshi Perricard, who says he never cares to know how fast he is serving during a match, stole a glimpse at the display in the corner of the court after hearing the murmurs. He grinned. Tiafoe did not.

At 232km/h, the ball left Mpetshi Perricard’s racquet and flew past his opponent’s face in less than 400 milliseconds.

You don’t return the Frenchman’s serve – you guess, and hope.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's serve in slow motion 🔥 pic.twitter.com/oRaYlBbp2b

— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) October 27, 2024

Tiafoe guessed and hoped another three times in the opening game and each time, the ball whizzed by his face. In little more than a minute, Mpetshi Perricard had won the opening game of the match. Four aces. Zero chance.

Just over an hour later, they were shaking hands at the net.

“I have played (Ivo) Karlovic, (John) Isner, (Milos) Raonic – all the big servers and he’s got the biggest serve by far … it sucked,” a bemused Kyrgios declared after facing 36 aces in his three-set loss to the Frenchman in Brisbane.

The man affectionately known by his fans as ‘GMP’ brings with him to Melbourne the biggest weapon in the tennis world.

On its own, GMP’s first serve might be the scariest the game has seen. In fact it is so nice, he often serves it up twice.

The cherry on top of his opening service game against Tiafoe was a 227km/h second serve ace. Yes, his ‘slower’ serve still outpaces the vast majority of the ATP tour.

But Mpetshi Perricard wants to clear up some confusion. It might not seem like it to the uninitiated, but he says there are some subtle differences between his two serves.

“From the external (view) it looks like two first serves but for me and my coaches, it is not really two first serves, I do add some slice and some spin to it,” he explained to this masthead.

The moment of impact. Picture: William WEST / AFP

Good luck to any opponent who has to face that serve. Picture: William WEST / AFP

“Of course it is 190-200km/h and it sounds funny to say that I can control it, because it is very fast, but I can control it and I know I can serve it (consistently).

“It’s not to do with statistics. It’s not like some guy told me it would be better to do two first serves, it is just how I have done the work with Manu (coach Emmanuel Planque).

“He said ‘come on, get 10km/h more, 20, 25 – let’s see what is your limit. For now my limit is high, but maybe in a couple of years it will be even higher.”

Even higher. A scary thought for any tour player operating over the next decade.

It’s a scary thought to think GMP’s serve could get faster. Picture: William WEST / AFP

Success has come quickly for the Frenchman. This time last year he was ranked outside the top-200 and bundled out in qualifying at the Australian Open. If not for his hulking 6’8 frame, he could have walked through Melbourne Park with close to complete anonymity.

Now he returns as the world No.31 and a seeded entrant in this year’s tournament boasting two ATP titles, a fourth-round run at Wimbledon and an ever-swelling list of scalps.

He is the man nobody wants to see in their part of the draw.

His first round opponent – French veteran Gael Monfils – has given the Open a true blockbuster match to start the tournament. A changing of the guard between generations perhaps.

Mpetshi Perricard knows better than to put a limit on his chances in Melbourne this month: “Anything is possible” with the weapon he possesses, he says. But he also knows there is plenty of development in his game still to come.

For a man of 203cm, his court coverage is impressive. He will never be Novak Djokovic, but Mpetshi Perricard says he has the scope to be an all-court player.

The future is large for the 21-year-old star. Picture: William WEST / AFP

“I work a lot on this part – the movement – because as a tall guy it is difficult to have that ability.

“Since I was a kid I did a lot of sports … I did basketball, so I learned how to move and control my body. It came naturally.

“I was fast when I was young – I’m still fast in the 100m, 200m, but I think I can improve more in this part. I need to be quicker in my first two or three steps. We have worked a lot on that and I think we can do better.

“Of course I’m still young, I’m still learning. It’s going to be a goal for some years to come.”

ATP tour stats had his entire service game ranked No.2 on tour, behind only world No.2 Alexander Zverev, but his average of 19 aces per game trumps the field by a long margin with Hubert Hurkacz second with an average of 13.4 aces.

As for the title of tennis’ greatest-ever server, as Kyrgios suggests, he asks we wait a while longer before handing him that crown.

“It is very nice to hear those comments from a player like Nick, I am sure he has played a lot of big servers,” Mpetshi Perricard said.

“I have only done my first season (on the ATP tour) and to already be talked about as one of the biggest servers … I just take it match by match.

“We will see at the end of my career if I am able to be at the top like Isner and Karlovic. To make some aces is good, but to win matches is better.”