Andy Roddick believes Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is currently doing something that could completely change the game of tennis
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard made numerous headlines after a sensational week in Switzerland.
Perricard won the Basel Open last week, defeating American star Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6 in the final.
The Frenchman had one of the most impressive breakout seasons we’ve seen on the ATP Tour in recent memory, rising from No. 205 in the world at the start of 2024 to No. 31 following his win in Basel.
His title last week wasn’t his only triumph of the season, however, as Perricard won his first ATP title at the Lyon Open earlier this year, defeating Thomas Martin Etcheverry in the final.
The 21-year-old then put in an impressive performance at Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round and lost to eventual semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti.
His results have certainly not gone unnoticed and one tennis legend believes Perricard is changing the game of tennis as we know it.
Andy Roddick says Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is changing tennis with his serve
2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick is widely regarded as one of the greatest servers the sport has ever seen.
However, Perricard, who stands 6-foot-2, may have already eclipsed Roddick’s serving prowess during his short time as a pro.
The American spoke about Perricard’s serving talents on his podcast “Served with Andy Roddick.”
“The statistic that blew me away was the opposite [Ben] Shelton’s average second serve speed was 129 miles per hour,” he said.
“I guess that’s faster than my average first serve speed in many years, and I could throw it.”
Roddick went on to say that Perricard’s serving talents could mark another change in tennis.
“There comes a time when people change the game,” he said.
“My thoughts are going [Jimmy] Connors, who releases the Wilson T2000, [Boris] Becker comes in and serves his serve to Wimbledon, Rafa [Nadal] comes in and the speed changes.
“Perricard is the first player to statistically hit just two first serves.
“This guy hit 145 mph on the first serve, 130 mph on the second serve, he hit the second serve in the breaker of the second set against Shelton, who was trying to win a tournament at 142 mph.
“It’s a joke, it’s different.”
Does Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard have the best serve on the ATP Tour?
Roddick certainly had high praise for the young Frenchman, but how does he compare to the rest of the ATP Tour?
| rank | name | Impact rating | Average Aces/Match | Average double faults/match |
| 1 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 300.1 | 18.6 | 5.1 |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | 298.3 | 9.5 | 2.2 |
| 3 | Matteo Berrettini | 296.5 | 9.4 | 1.5 |
| 4 | Hubert Hurkacz | 296.3 | 13.8 | 1.8 |
| 5 | Jannik Sinner | 294.5 | 7.6 | 1.9 |
| 6 | Taylor Fritz | 294.3 | 10.7 | 1.8 |
| 7 | Ben Shelton | 293.5 | 9.8 | 3.4 |
| 8 | Brandon Nakashima | 291.1 | 8.5 | 1.2 |
| 9 | Novak Djokovic | 288.1 | 7.6 | 2.5 |
| 10 | Grigor Dimitrov | 285.2 | 8.0 | 3.6 |
The serve rating combines several different metrics, including first serve percentage, first serve points won percentage, second serve points won percentage, and percentage of service games won before the number of average aces and the number of average double faults is added and subtracted per game.
Perricard leads the ATP Tour as the only player with a serve rating above 300 and has over four more aces per game than his closest rival Hubert Hurkacz.
Unsurprisingly, his double faults are much higher than those of other players on the tour, but if he continues to serve as well as he did in Basel, they won’t make too much of a difference.
Perricard defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 in the first round of the Paris Masters and will return to action on Wednesday to face Vienna Open finalist Karen Khachanov.
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