The second competitive day of the Wimbledon tournament turned out to be very, very interesting, despite the rain, which from time to time threatened to completely ruin the program. Russian fans will remember July 2, unfortunately, from the negative side. Andrei Rublev’s early exit from the 122nd place in the world can only be considered a deafening sensation.
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But let’s not talk about sad things. Instead, let’s rejoice for the 20-year-old French tennis player Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard, who achieved a surprising feat on his debut day at Wimbledon. Mpetchi Perrikar, who failed to qualify, should not have entered the net. In the qualifying final, he lost to his compatriot Maxime Janvier, despite having hit 44 aces. Nevertheless, Giovanni entered the tournament as a lucky loser. In the match against the Czech-American Sebastian Korda, ranked 20th, Mpetchi Perrikar was not even close to the favorite. But he managed to surprise the skeptics.
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Mpetchi Perrikar and Korda played a furious five-set match with four tie-breaks. Until the fifth game, not a single break was recorded (although break points sometimes arose)! The Frenchman took the lead twice, but the American caught up with him. In the fifth set, Giovanni still won – interestingly, not in a tie-break, but thanks to a break in the second game. 7:6 (7:5), 6:7 (4:7), 7:6 (8:6), 6:7 (4:7), 6:3 – that was how the match, which lasted 3 hours and 21 minutes of pure time, ended. And taking into account the delays between the start and the end of the match, 5 hours and 44 minutes passed. And during this time, Mpetchi Perrikar hit 51 aces, distributing them evenly between the games: 9, 12, 10, 10, 10.
The young Frenchman immediately made history. Giovanni became the seventh tennis player to hit at least 50 aces in a single match at ATP level. In the list of players who achieved this feat, Mpetchi Perrikar surpassed 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. Just imagine, the boy can already say that in some ways he has surpassed the legendary Maestro!
Players with at least 50 aces in an ATP level match
Please note that a large number of aces does not always mean winning the match. It is also worth noting that only the best results of each tennis player are shown here. In other words, one should not think that our hero got the sixth result in history. Karlovich himself surpassed the 50-inning mark 10 times in his career. But Giovanni is in the top 20. Well, the absolute record was set in that legendary match between Nicolas Mahut and John Isner, which became legendary even before it ended. Well, you remember: 11 hours 5 minutes of clean time, three days of “dirty” time and 70:68 games in the fifth set.
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In the match against Korda Mpetchi, Perricar fought off all 11 break points. When asked by Tennis Channel what he was thinking during those break points, the Frenchman replied: “I was thinking, try not to lose a point. My game plan was to serve towards the T or outside. And get to the net as quickly as possible.”
Having lost in qualifying for Wimbledon, Giovanni said he feared he would never be able to compete at the tournament. And when he learned he had become a lucky loser, he admitted he was glad he was able to play at least one match.
Fans who watch tennis outside the top leagues are already familiar with Mpetchi Perrikar. So far, the young athlete spends more time in challengers than in ATP tournaments. But he already has one title at the highest level. At the end of May this year, the Frenchman won his home tournament in Lyon. In that final against Argentine Thomas Martin Etcheverri, Giovanni served 11 times – not bad, considering that the tennis players were playing on clay.
In the semi-finals, Mpetchi Perrikar defeated Alexander Bublik, also famous for his serve, without losing a set. Bublik is 196 cm tall; hey, almost all players with powerful serves are over two metres tall. And 203 cm Giovanni is no exception. He is also a member of a dying breed of one-handed backhanders.
Giovanni Mpetchi Perricar and his one-handed backhand
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Mpetchi Perrikar has been making rapid progress lately – a banal phrase, but one that perfectly characterizes what is happening to the Frenchman. In the 2023 season, he won his first Challenger, this year he won three more similar trophies, and then took the already mentioned title at the ATP-250 tournament in Lyon. And he climbed to 58th place in the world rankings. Giovanni is already ranked 52nd in the live rankings, so reaching the top 50 is probably not far off.
Mpetchi Perrikar achieved the main achievement of his junior career in doubles. Three years ago he won Roland Garros with Arthur Fisz, another young talent from France. In the singles at the same tournament he reached the semi-finals, but Fis did not let him reach the final.
Giovanni Mpetchi Perricar at Roland Garros 2024
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Mpetchi Perrikar considers the French Open to be his favourite tournament. Among the players, he is impressed by Rafael Nadal, and in other sports, by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton and LeBron James. Giovanni’s 15-year-old sister, named Daphne, now competes in juniors: the youngster has someone to look up to.
Giovanni Mpetchi Perrikar will face Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round of Wimbledon. The Frenchman was supposed to play the second round of that tournament in Lyon, winning. However, Nishioka did not take to the court due to an injury. Yoshihito’s height is 170 cm. Yes, a big advantage in this indicator does not guarantee anything for Mpetchi Perrikar. But it seems that we already know who will have more aces in this match.
