Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard defeated Jacob Fearnley, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, in his first match since hiring Greg Rusedski.
Their partnership took a while to get going, as Mpetshi Perricard withdrew from the Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open, but it was worth the wait.
Mpetshi Perricard won his opening match at the Italian Open to set up a second-round clash with the home favourite, Lorenzo Musetti.
Who will win the 2026 Italian Open?
A stacked field in Rome!
Rusedski doesn’t think the tournament organisers will do Mpetshi Perricard any favours with the scheduling of that match…
Greg Rusedski thinks Rome organisers will make Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard play at night to favour Lorenzo Musetti
During an interview with Sky Sports, Rusedski previewed Mpetshi Perricard’s second-round match.
“I think he’ll enjoy it,” he said.
“But I have a sneaky feeling they might put us at night, because they want us in a little slower conditions.
“He’s played [Lorenzo] Musetti a few times, and they’ve had some tight matches, so we’re looking forward to the challenge. Obviously, we’ll go in as underdogs, but if we can improve and get better, and serve well, we’ve got a shot.”
Mpetshi Perricard and Musetti have met five times previously, as the Italian leads their head-to-head 4-1.
The Frenchman did, however, win their most recent encounter, at the 2025 European Open in Brussels.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Lorenzo Musetti’s head-to-head record
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2025 European Open – QF | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | Lorenzo Musetti | 6-4, 7-6 |
| 2025 China Open – 1R | Lorenzo Musetti | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 |
| 2025 US Open – 1R | Lorenzo Musetti | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2024 Wimbledon – 4R | Lorenzo Musetti | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 |
| 2024 Stuttgart Open – 1R | Lorenzo Musetti | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 7-6, 7-6 |
Rusedski thinks the Italian Open tournament organisers might schedule Mpetshi Perricard and Musetti’s match for the evening session in Rome, attempting to reduce the effectiveness of his powerful serve.
Whether they choose to do so or if the move will have the desired effect remains to be seen.
Rusedski, a former US Open finalist, only joined Mpetshi Perricard’s team recently, but has already seen enough to make a bold ranking prediction.
“We started about two weeks ago. We were hoping to start up in Monte Carlo, but he had a little bit of an injury, and we had a little time in Paris, got to work on a few areas,” he said.
“I just look at him, he’s a phenomenal athlete, biggest server on the planet, there are so many areas to work on.
“It’s a long project, but for our first match together, we can’t be more pleased.
“I think the transition game forward is important; we’re working on the returns, just improving all aspects of the game.
“He’s a complete player, and you don’t get many guys at six foot eight that can move like him.
“It’s exciting, and I think there is a really, really good chance that he could get into the top 10 one day with his potential.”
Mpetshi Perricard has been ranked as high as 29th in the world, but currently sits outside the top 70.
‘Live’ ATP Rankings
| Rank | Name | Career-high | Country | Points |
| 73 | Mattia Bellucci | 63 | Italy | 757 |
| 74 | Kamil Majchrzak | 53 | Poland | 747 |
| 75 | Hubert Hurkacz | 6 | Poland | 740 |
| 76 | Jan Lennard Struff | 21 | Germany | 739 |
| 77 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 29 | France | 735 |
| 78 | Marco Trungelliti | 76 | Argentina | 731 |
| 79 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 3 | Greece | 725 |
| 80 | James Duckworth | 46 | Australia | 722 |
| 81 | Dino Prizmic | 79 | Croatia | 715 |
| 82 | Marcos Giron | 37 | USA | 705 |
Rusedski believes the ‘biggest server on the planet’ can reach the top 10, but is he deserving of that label?
Is Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard really the ‘biggest server on the planet’?
The towering Frenchman broke through at the 2024 Swiss Indoors, winning the title in impressive fashion.
Reacting to his win, Andy Roddick suggested Mpetshi Perricard could change tennis with his serve, during an episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘.
Mpetshi Perricard may indeed have the ‘biggest’ serve in tennis, but the stats say it isn’t the best…
ATP Serve Rating leaderboard (Last 52 weeks)
| Rank | Name | Serve Rating | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve | Service games win % | Average aces/match | Average double faults/match |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | 300.4 | 63.4% | 79.8% | 58.9% | 92.5% | 7.1 | 1.3 |
| 2 | Reilly Opelka | 298.8 | 63.9% | 79.8% | 52.7% | 89.1% | 17.6 | 4.3 |
| 3 | Taylor Fritz | 298.5 | 64.6% | 79.8% | 53.6% | 89.0% | 13.6 | 2.1 |
| 4 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 297.4 | 68.9% | 78.5% | 51.1% | 87.5% | 15.0 | 3.6 |
| 5 | Ben Shelton | 296.9 | 65.8% | 76.9% | 56.1% | 90.0% | 11.0 | 2.9 |
| 6 | Alexander Zverev | 295.0 | 72.6% | 74.5% | 54.2% | 87.4% | 7.9 | 1.6 |
| 7 | Novak Djokovic | 292.2 | 66.3% | 76.3% | 55.7% | 88.1% | 8.2 | 2.4 |
| 8 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 292.1 | 66.5% | 77.8% | 52.8% | 87.7% | 10.1 | 2.8 |
| 9 | Carlos Alcaraz | 289.5 | 65.0% | 74.5% | 57.3% | 89.2% | 6.1 | 2.6 |
| 10 | Brandon Nakashima | 287.3 | 67.1% | 74.8% | 52.0% | 85.1% | 9.3 | 1.0 |
Mpetshi Perricard ranks fourth for ‘Serve Rating’, a composite measure, over the last 12 months.
If he is to become a top-10 player, perhaps Mpetshi Perricard will need to overtake Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, and Jannik Sinner on that list.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the 22-year-old, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
Mpetshi Perricard will play Musetti in the second round of the Italian Open on Friday, May 8.
