Revolution Mpetsha Perrikar, tennis player playing without a second serve: “This is something absurd” | Relief

With the score tied at 4-4 in the second set tie-break, Ben Shelton charges and moves towards the goal to clear, but the volley, simple and sweet, goes into the corridor. His face says it all: it’s over, it’s over. Because of this mistake, the final in Basel eluded the American.. Because the tiebreaker is already 5-4 in favor of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricar, who now has two serves to close out the final. The Frenchman’s hand does not tremble: he scored at a speed of 240 kilometers per hour and another direct serve at 239. sign 6-4 and 7-6 (7-4) worthy of the title.

The match between Shelton and Mpetshi Perrikar could not end with anything other than an ace. they are two gunboats of the future, two players who daily serve speeds of more than 240 kilometers per hour. Of course, these are not the tennis players that fans want to pay a ticket for, but their names will certainly occupy important places in the coming years.

Shelton is far from unknown: he was a semifinalist at the 2023 US Open and ranked in the top 20 in the world all season. However, the name Mpetsha Perrikar puzzles many. And that’s normal: when the season started in January, the Frenchman was outside the top 200. ATP ranking.

Standing 2.03 meters above the ground, weighing almost 100 kilograms and having hands like the work of Inspector Gadget.Mpetshi Perrikar has power and delivery that can drive any opponent crazy. While it is true that in modern tennis it is difficult to see the same strikers as in past times – Boris Becker, Pete Sampras or Andy Roddick – in positions of honor, the serve has not ceased to be the most fundamental shot.

“I don’t know of any other sport that starts with a penalty.“Toni Nadal, the man who sculpted Rafael Nadal since childhood, was thinking about this a few months ago. “The rest of the situation is so unfavorable that sometimes you don’t even have time to defend yourself. The one who strikes first strikes twice and It’s a little like what Tyson said: “Everyone has a good strategy until I hit the first chestnut.”. Today’s tennis is like that.”

Game without second serve

And when Mpetshi Perrikar strikes, he strikes twice. During the Lyon tournament in May, where he won his first ATP title, The French tennis player made one of the fastest serves in history: he hit the shot at a speed of 244 kilometers per hour.. But the problem for his opponents goes even further: his second serve speed usually exceeds 200 km/h. Actually, There are games where he plays with virtually no second serve. This Sunday, without going any further, he served the first serve at 221 km/h, and his seconds at 213 km/h..

To put this data in context: Shelton, his opponent capable of speeds in excess of 240 km/h, had average speeds of 197 km/h and 168 km/h. “His delivery is something absurd. It’s like he has two first serves.”” Shelton himself said a few months ago.

Mpetshi Perrikar, who will be ranked 31st this Monday, He finished the week in Basel with 109 aces in five games.: This gives an average of 21.8 aces per match, truly outrageous. Total The Frenchman has 484 aces in 26 matches played at the ATP tournament this year. (he also competed in many Challenger tournaments which are not included in these statistics) which gives averaging 18.6 aces per match. The closest was Hubert Hurkacz with an average score of 12.8..

Origins of Mpetsha-Perrikar

The son of Congolese footballer turned semi-professional, Mpetshi Perricard was born in Lyon and left the family home at the age of 12 to attend the French Tennis Federation academy in Poitiers. There an aggressive player began to form, often all or nothing.

“I’m different from the others, I’m tall, big. I can’t move like other players, so I have to play differently than them if I want to be good. That’s why I try to get online” says Mpetshi Perrikar, one of only seven tennis players to score more than 50 aces in a single match. He achieved this at Wimbledon this year, where he reached the round of 16 lucky loser and left a good example of what he can do on the grass. But the track has been warned: its first two titles were won on hard courts.

“It’s incredible to win a tournament like Basel. I’m very proud of what I did this week,” he said this Sunday. “On this surface my serve is a good weapon. I try to be aggressive and push with my serve. “My goal for this year was to win one tournament, so to win two is incredible.”