No matter where he stood or which direction he shifted towards against the imperious serve of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, aces continued to freely fly past him. At one point of their Brisbane International match, a brutal body serve crashed directly into him, stopping him in his tracks.
The 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 7-6(3) scoreline after three inevitable tie-breaks was, in some ways, an extremely fitting result, with Kyrgios ending up on the wrong end. The last time the 29-year-old competed regularly on tour, he was one of the top two servers in the world, but the world of tennis moves quickly and time waits for no one.
Having started 2024 ranked outside the top 200, Mpetshi Perricard blazed up the rankings, winning titles in Lyon and Basel, an ATP 500 event, and reaching the top 30. The 21-year-old's success has been driven by his nuclear serve, which he freely fires down from his 6ft 8in frame.
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