Joao Fonseca picked up his first ATP win since the US Open at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
The Brazilian wonderkid hadn’t won a match at an ATP-sanctioned tournament since he beat Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of the US Open 58 days ago.
To the surprise of many, Fonseca didn’t travel to Asia and instead chose to rest and recover in preparation for the European indoor hard-court season.
He made his return in Brussels, but lost his opening match to Botic van de Zandschulp, 5-7, 6-7.
Heading over to Basel for the Swiss Indoors, he took on the defending champion in his tournament debut.
Securing the win, he condemned his opponent to a first-round exit and a tumble down the rankings…
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard set for top-50 exit after Joao Fonseca defeat
2024 Swiss Indoors champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has endured a difficult season, but looked to have found some form in Brussels last week, reaching the semifinals.
Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he couldn’t carry that momentum forward to Basel, as he lost to Fonseca in straight sets, 6-7, 3-6.
Mpetshi Perricard’s serve was as good as ever, but it wasn’t enough to get him over the line, as he lost his first career meeting with the young Brazilian.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s serving stats vs Joao Fonseca
- Aces – 13
- Double faults – 0
- First serve % – 77%
- Win % on First serve – 65%
- Win % on Second serve – 80%
- Service points won – 45
With the defeat, the world number 33 will drop over 20 places in the ATP rankings.
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 51 | Jenson Brooksby | USA | 1,017 |
| 52 | Miomir Kecmanovic | Serbia | 1,001 |
| 53 | Sebastian Korda | USA | 970 |
| 54 | Marton Fucsovics | Hungary | 969 |
| 55 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | France | 965 |
| 56 | Reilly Opelka | USA | 960 |
| 57 | Benjamin Bonzi | France | 930 |
| 58 | Tomas Martin Etcheverry | Argentina | 930 |
| 59 | Valentin Royer | France | 922 |
| 60 | Adrian Mannarino | France | 917 |
Seeing him fall down the rankings won’t come as too much of a surprise to those who have watched Mpetshi Perricard play this year, as he continues to struggle.
Just 12 months ago, Mpetshi Perricard was being praised by Andy Roddick, who suggested he could ‘change tennis’ with his serve, so what’s gone wrong for the Frenchman?
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has one of the weakest returns in tennis
Everyone is well aware of Mpetshi Perricard’s serving prowess, as he currently ranks 1st on the ATP Tour for ‘Serve Rating’ over the past 12 months.
His ‘Return Rating’ tells a different story, however, as he sits in 86th place.
The numbers he is producing just won’t cut it against the best players in the men’s game…
| Player | Return Rating (Rank) | Return Rating | % 1st Serve return points won | % 2nd Serve return points won | % Return games won | % Break points converted |
| Jannik Sinner | 1 | 170.8 | 33.4% | 58.5% | 33.3% | 45.6% |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 2 | 164.9 | 34.9% | 53.9% | 31.7% | 44.4% |
| Novak Djokovic | 9 | 153.5 | 31.4% | 53.2% | 26.5% | 42.4% |
| Alexander Zverev | 20 | 145.0 | 30.3% | 51.1% | 22.8% | 40.8% |
| Taylor Fritz | 38 | 137.0 | 25.9% | 51.1% | 18.6% | 41.4% |
| Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 86 | 98.8 | 20.7% | 35.8% | 8.1% | 34.2% |
If he wants to add to his tally of two ATP titles and return to the world’s top 50, it’s not difficult to pinpoint the area of his game that Mpetshi Perricard needs to work on.
He does, however, still have two more chances to pick up points before the end of 2025, as he now heads home to France.
Mpetshi Perricard will compete at the Paris Masters next week, looking to improve upon his second-round defeat last year.
He’ll then wrap up his 2025 campaign at the ATP 250 event in Metz.
Things aren’t looking great for Mpetshi Perricard right now, but with his dominant serve, it would be unwise to overlook him as a contender on indoor hard courts.
Only time will tell if Mpetshi Perricard can return to winning ways when the Paris Masters begin on Monday, October 27.
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