Tennis News: Aryna Sabalenka's streak, Boris Becker talks Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

Aryna Sabalenka might be the new Novak Djokovic when it comes to not being able to be defeated in Australia. Djokovic has won ten Australian Open titles. Sabalenka has won the last two on the women's side. She also appears to be nearly unbeatable on the rest of the continent.

Since the beginning of 2023 when the Belarusian won the Adelaide International, Sabalenka has won 25 of her last 26 matches in Australia. This includes a quarterfinal victory over Marie Bouzkova in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International on Friday. The WTA No. 1 is only solidifying her ranking to begin the season.

The question is whether anyone can beat her in Melbourne. After not making it past the fourth round in her first six tries at the Australian Open, she has dominated the last two. In fact, she beat an ascending Qinwen Zheng in the final last year and only dropped five games. No player is going to have more confidence in Melbourne in 2025 (nor should they) than Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka seemingly cannot be stopped and Bros Becker refuses Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard claim

Should she win her third straight title in Melbourne, she will have a career four Grand Slam titles. That would put her just one behind Iga Swiatek.

Another player who knew a thing or six about winning majors is Boris Becker. The German also reached No. 1 on the ATP tour before becoming a fairly successful coach. He knows the traits that make a player great.

21-year-old Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is just beginning to find his footing on tour, but he has a bombastic serve that will keep him in matches while the rest of his game tries to catch up. His serve dominated Nick Kyrgios at the Brisbane International and helped him push through the next round.

Social media account The Big Three commented, "Perricard has the best serve I’ve ever seen. From the mechanics, to the ease of power, to the effectiveness. I think he’ll end up being regarded as the best server ever."

The post got the attention of Becker who was quick to reply, "Are you really sure about that ?!?"

Becker's argument is that 14-time major winner Pete Sampras should be seen as having the best serve ever. The American kept players off-balance with power and placement. He did not have the most well-rounded game, but he did not need to because of his serve. Now, if Perricard finishes his career with 15 Grand Slam titles, we might have a different argument, but that is highly unlikely.

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