John Isner says what he thought was ‘really bad’ about Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard when he first trained with him

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Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard broke through in 2024, impressing fans with his serving prowess.

Avid fans of the ATP Tour may have expected Arthur Fils to be the French star to make the most waves in 2024, and whilst he certainly impressed, it was his countryman who many are now predicting big things for in the future.

Mpetshi Perricard won his first ATP title earlier this year at the Lyon Open, but what happened later in the year really made fans take notice.

This October, Mpetshi Perricard won the Basel Open, beating top young talent Ben Shelton in the final, as he took home his first ATP 500 trophy.

Fans and players were highly impressed by his performance, with Andy Roddick predicting that Mpetshi Perricard could change tennis with his serving talents.

Another big server has now weighed in on the young French star, as he remembers what he thought of Mpetshi Perricard when they first met.

John Isner thought Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s backhand was ‘really bad’ when they first met

Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, John Isner recalled his first meeting with Mpetshi Perricard at the French Open.

“He warmed me up at the French Open, like years ago,” said Isner.

“I just remember thinking his backhand was really bad but he could crack the ball on the forehand and his serve was obviously huge.

“It’s not actually that surprising for me that he did what he did last year.”

Mpetshi Perricard has been nominated alongside Jack Draper, Tomas Machac, and Alejandro Tabilo for the ATP ‘Most improved player of the year’ award.

Isner thinks that his fellow ‘big man’, should be the one to take home the title.

“I’m going with GMP [Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard], it was a no-brainer for me,” he said.

“He came from the top 200 to close to the top 30 right now, so he is my answer.

“Winning a [ATP] 500 is a huge result, he’s not going anywhere, barring health, he’s going to be a nightmare for many players for many years to come.”

Isner’s co-host Jack Sock was in agreement, as he believes the 21-year-old is a strong contender for the award.

“I think if you’re going off of just coming out of nowhere, hasn’t been on the scene much at all to like established, I think you have to go with Giovanni [Mpetshi Perricard],” he said.

“I mean I think if you asked me a year ago, I’d say I don’t know who that is.

“Now he’s winning [ATP] 500s and is top 30 in the world beating really good players.”

Is Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard the best server on the ATP Tour?

Whilst Isner may not initially have been too big a fan of Mpetshi Perricard’s backhand, what has never been in question, is the Frenchman’s serve.

Praised heavily at the Basel Open this year, the 21-year-old has been serving incredibly in 2024 as he quickly proved himself as one of the best on tour.

Mpetshi Perricard leads the tour by some way, in terms of average aces per match in 2024, hitting 5.6 more than next-best Hubert Hurkacz.

Aces of course aren’t the only serving metric, however, but when evaluating the six different factors that contribute to a player’s overall ‘Serve Rating’, Mpetshi Perricard finishes in second on the ATP Tour, behind only Alexander Zverev.

Serving legend Isner, is unsurprisingly impressed with that level of performance, as the 21-year-old will be looking for more of the same in the new year as he aims to move closer to the top ten.

Mpetshi Perricard is set to return at the Brisbane International which begins on December 30.