Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is going to be a force on the ATP tour for a long time, barring injury. His serve might be the best on tour already. He knows how to serve and volley excellently, and he is beginning to develop a feel for touch. Still, Daniil Medvedev's play might be uniquely designed to defeat the Frenchman.
The Russian notoriously plays far back from the baseline when his opponent serves, and against a serve that reaches 145 mph from Perricard, Medvedev gave himself a tick longer to try to return the serve. He then is able to force long rallies, which he likes, and most opponents do not. The longer a rally goes, the better for the Russian.
Medvedev does not have the pure power of Perricard or other players such as Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, but his defensive skills are among the best of his generation. He can get a serve back, no matter how it is, and place it in a position that allows him to get back into an offensive frame of mind.
Daniil Medvedev defeats Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Surprisingly, he was able to hold his serve even easier than Perricard. Medvedev was not broken, and Perricard never had a break point against the Russian. Meanwhile, Medvedev was ruthless when he had a chance to break, converting eight of the ten chances he had. More shocking, Medvedev only landed 50 percent of his first serves, but he won 71 percent of his second serves.
Perricard finished with just three aces, but six double faults. He did not play poorly, though; Medvedev just played nearly his best and the young Frenchman was not ready for that. He is still learning the small things it takes to win the big points and therefore, the big matches.
All bets are off at Wimbledon, however. Perricard's game seems tailor-made for grass courts. He should be considered one of the favorites for the third major of the year. That is true whether he faces Medvedev there or not.