Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has been practicing in preparation for his first round match at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic.
Mpetshi Perricard has been coached by Greg Rusedski since the start of April, after he had a short stint with Francisco Roig.
Since Rusedski joined his team, the six-foot-seven Frenchman has won three of his six matches, with his latest match coming in a defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Geneva Open.
Mpetshi Perricard will now have his toughest test yet when he plays Djokovic at Roland Garros, and Rusedski has revealed how he has been practicing ahead of this first round match.
Greg Rusedski claims Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is practicing the best since they’ve been together
Mpetshi Perricard and Djokovic have never played each other before, and the former has been preparing for the match by hitting with world number seven Daniil Medvedev.
When discussing this in the latest edition of his Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast, the former British number one was very pleased with how Mpetshi Perricard had been practicing ahead of his match with Djokovic.
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Rusedski also suggested that he thought it was Djokovic’s request that caused the match to be scheduled for the night session on day one of the tournament.
“Yeah, I think so, I think he’s going to be on Sunday night,” said Rusedski. “I have a feeling Novak might have requested a Sunday start, that’s possible, but you know the guy has won the tournament so many times, a legend of our sport, so you earn your stripes as I say. He can ask for whatever he wants, he doesn’t always get his request, but it looks like we are starting Sunday evening.
“I don’t really care when we play, if Gio plays to his best, it doesn’t matter who he plays. Practice session today was brilliant with Medvedev, the best I’ve seen him play in the time we have been together so that’s a huge positive. But what a blockbuster for an opening!
“It’s a little bit of a rough section too, you’ve got [Joao] Fonseca, [Dino] Prizmic, [Alex] De Minaur, [Jakub] Mensik in that little quarter, so I can’t wait to start up Sunday and Gio’s in great spirits. We had a good team dinner last night and everybody’s feeling positive about what’s coming up on Sunday.”
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Greg Rusedski reveals what he told Thomas Johansson about Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev has also practiced with Djokovic ahead of Roland Garros this year, and Rusedski revealed that he watched some of that practice.
When asked what he was looking for, Mpetshi Perricard went on to speak about the conversation he had with Medvedev’s coach Thomas Johansson about the improvements he has made to his game since joining his team last year.
“Well you look for strengths and weaknesses, you look for attitude, you look for multiple things,” answered Rusedski. “Since we practiced with Medvedev, Medvedev practiced with Novak Djokovic, so we had the perfect person to practice with today and I know the coach Thomas Johansson, so what do coaches usually do? We talk to each other, so we don’t give away secrets, even on my podcast!
“This is where friendships and relationships are going on, you know I said to Thomas about the great job he’s been doing with Daniil Medvedev, you know I said I liked the change on the forehand, I liked the way he’s returning better, the way he’s transitioning forward.
“So coaches talk when they see improvements and compliment each other as well, and it is kind of like a unity of having ex-players together, but I took a little data myself and I also spoke to Thomas Johansson, so I’m keeping that close to my chest, that’s for Gio to deal with and you’ll find out Sunday night.”
Rusedski will be in Mpetshi Perricard’s coaching box when he plays Djokovic in the night session match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday, May 24.
