Nick Kyrgios was in high spirits despite seeing his Brisbane International singles venture ended by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Mpetshi Perricard predicted Kyrgios to ‘be back’ in the coming months shortly after he beat the Australian 7-6(7-2), 6-7(4-7), 7-6(7-3).
Kyrgios won in doubles with Novak Djokovic at the Brisbane International, with the pair now set to take on Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus in round two.
But the former’s singles journey on his return to tennis has come to an abrupt end, with Mpetshi Perricard edging Kyrgios in a Brisbane thriller.
The 21-year-old, who sits 31st in the ATP Tour rankings, fired 36 aces on his way to the impressive victory.
Nick Kyrgios sends message about Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after losing to him
And it was a performance that certainly caught the eye of his opponent, who shared statistics from their match immediately afterwards.
Highlighting that it involved zero breaks, three tie-breaks and 51 aces, Kyrgios wrote on his Instagram story: “What a battle. This guy is going to be a problem for a long time.”
The Australian then added in another story: “What a battle brother! Kind words from you at the net as well. You will do some big things.”
Mpetshi Perricard was responsible for the majority of the aces during the match, but both players saved both of their break points.
It was the very first ATP meeting between the 29-year-old and the Frenchman, with Mpetshi Perricard now facing Frances Tiafoe in round two.
Big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard enjoys mammoth ranking rise
Kyrgios can be really proud of his efforts inside Pat Rafter Arena, having only just returned from wrist surgery.
He was perhaps handed the worst possible draw on home soil given that injury, with his latest opponent one of the best servers in world tennis right now.
Despite playing just 28 matches in 2024, Mpetshi Perricard occupied eighth spot for most aces hit on the ATP Tour.
| Rank | Player | Aces | Matches |
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | 797 | 90 |
| 2 | Hubert Hurkacz | 736 | 58 |
| 3 | Taylor Fritz | 725 | 74 |
| 4 | Ben Shelton | 619 | 67 |
| 5 | Andrey Rublev | 578 | 69 |
| 6 | Jannik Sinner | 563 | 76 |
| 7 | Alexander Bublik | 559 | 49 |
| 8 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 532 | 28 |
| 9 | Grigor Dimitrov | 487 | 64 |
| 10 | Jack Draper | 486 | 59 |
His impressive feats didn’t end there, with the young Frenchman having climbed from 205th to 31st in the rankings last time out.
The Brisbane International fans have just been treated to an all-time classic, and must now turn to doubles to see Kyrgios in action once more.
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