Gael Monfils says what Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard does which no player in the history of the ATP Tour has before

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Gael Monfils overcame Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in five sets to reach the second round of the Australian Open for the 17th time in his career.

Monfils won a title in Auckland coming into the first major of 2025, becoming the oldest ATP title winner in history at 38-years-old.

Despite his recent form, Monfils was suggested to be the underdog against his seeded compatriot, with Mpetshi Perricard a dark horse at the Australian Open.

Mpetshi Perricard has recently beaten Nick Kyrgios in Brisbane, with his serve being a real weapon.

Gael Monfils praises Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s serve

Despite losing to Monfils in their near four match, Mpetshi Perricard hit a total of 19 aces past his fellow Frenchman.

Monfils was asked about facing Mpetshi Perricard’s serve in his post-match press conference, highlighting the second serve compared to other big servers in ATP history.

“Of course, he is one of the top server that you face, and now he is in the category of Reilly [Opelka], John [Isner], Ivo [Karlovic], Milos [Raonic],” claimed Monfils. “His serve is two points. Of course it’s a bullet, his first serve, but where for me stand out in this category is because his second serve is crazy good. He is I think even better than those guys.

“Maybe his first serve is not the best of this category of guys, but his second serve is the best, because the way he hit it, the accuracy, the power that he put is only him. I think he is the first guy on tour who hit second serve as big.”

How does Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard compare to other big servers?

John Isner hit the fastest official serve in ATP history at the Davis Cup back in 2016 at 157 mph.

While Mpetshi Perricard currently holds the ninth fastest first serve in history, the 21-year-old holds the joint record for fastest second serve at 146 mph alongside Milos Raonic.

On average, Mpetshi Perricard’s first serve records at 135 mph, with his second serve only 12 mph slower.

However, this weapon was not enough against Monfils, and Mpetshi Perricard will now head back to Europe for indoor hard court tournaments in Montpellier, Rotterdam and Marseille.