&w=3840&q=100)
Wimbledon 2025: Mpetshi Perricard fires record 153 mph serve vs Fritz
They'll resume on Tuesday. Mpetshi Perricard, whose speediest serve came in the opening game, took the initial two sets 7-6 (6), 7-6 (8), before Fritz grabbed the next two 6-4, 7-6 (6).
The 6-foot-8 Mpetshi Perricard bettered the previous Wimbledon mark of 148 mph, by Taylor Dent in 2010. Fritz, though, not only managed to put his return in play, but also eventually won the point.
Playing with the No. 1 Court retractable roof closed and artificial lights on, Mpetshi Perricard was two points from winning while leading 5-2 in the fourth-set tiebreaker, but never got closer.
From 6-all, 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Fritz took the next two points to force a fifth set and pounded his right fist on his chest, yelling, Let's (expletive) go! Come on! It was about 10:15 p.m., and the players met up at the net with an official to discuss whether or not to continue.
Eventually, the chair umpire announced to the crowd: Ladies and gentlemen, due to the late time of the day, we will not be able to finish the match. Therefore the match will be suspended until tomorrow. Play is suspended.
Over at Centre Court, Monday's last match also was halted, with No. 3 Alexander Zverev, a three-time major finalist, even at a set apiece against Arthur Rinderknech when they stopped at 10:54 p.m.
There were no breaks of serve in either of the two sets they played. Rinderknech took the first 7-6 (3), and Zverev the second by a 7-6 (8) score.
Fritz did not appear pleased about the interruption of his match. He looked toward his guest box with his palms up and said: I couldn't do anything. I tried.
In a match between two of the tour's top servers, Mpetshi Perricard hit 33 aces before play was stopped, and Fritz hit 24. Mpetshi Perricard never earned a break point during the four sets contested Monday; Fritz had five chances and converted one.
Fritz, a 27-year-old Californian, was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2022, losing to Rafael Nadal, and again a year ago, losing to Lorenzo Musetti.
Mpetshi Perricard, a 21-year-old Frenchman, reached the fourth round at the All England Club last year, also eliminated by Musetti.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Wimbledon: The servebots need a new trick to win
Mumbai: There was a deafening thud. Then a deft touch. The thud fetched a collective awe. The touch earned the point. France's Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard dished a 153 mph serve — it was the fastest in Wimbledon history. (REUTERS) This is the story of a 6'8' giant throwing down the gauntlet in the form of the fastest serve ever recorded in Wimbledon history, and yet, losing the point. This is also the story of modern-day tennis, across gender, where possessing a powerful serve alone may not hand you the match on a platter. In the opening game of his first-round match against Taylor Fritz on Monday, Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard smoked a 153mph shot off his racquet that might as well have been a bazooka. It broke the record for the fastest serve ever recorded in the history of tennis' oldest Grand Slam, comfortably going past Tayor Dent's previous mark of 148mph set in 2010. It was eye-popping. What happened after that, though, was more business as usual. Fritz responded to that sizzling body serve with an ice-cool forehand chip. The return sent Perricard scrambling sideways to loop the ball back into play. Two shots later, Fritz won the point. Electric start, easy end. Ditto the match that Fritz won 6-7(6), 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-4 across two days. The point, and the match itself, is emblematic of the modern game. Even at Wimbledon, where one-strike monsters once feasted on those faster grass courts. Goran Ivanisevic would blaze through his 2001 Wimbledon triumph as a wildcard relying largely on his lightning left-handed serve. Across his seven singles final wins at the All England Club, Pete Sampras would drop just four service games from his total 131, as per the Wimbledon Compendium. The John Isner-Nicolas Mahut 2010 marathon, among the most iconic contests at Wimbledon, would feature a combined 216 aces. Isner served 113 of them, the highest in a singles match till date. Isner also holds the record for the most aces by a man in a single Championships – 214 in 2018. Serena Williams has the women's record (102 in 2012). Last year, Perricard topped the aces count among men and Elena Rybakina among the women. The number: 115 and 39, respectively. A drastic dip. Perricard exited in the fourth round, Rybakina in the semi-final. The reliance and reward of a powerful serve as the biggest weapon is hardly as rich as before. If it were, the likes of Isner, Ivo Karlovic and Reilly Opelka, the fastest servers the men's game has seen in the last decade, would have fancied a singles Grand Slam title. Only Isner has made as far as the semi-final among the three. On the ATP's serve leaderboard – it takes into account the overall service quality including first serves, second serves and aces – of the past 52 weeks, Perricard sits on top ahead of Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini. Neither has a major trophy. It takes Jannik Sinner for a Slam champion to emerge on that list at fifth place. Several factors have contributed to this serve slide. The courts, even those freshly-minted greens at SW19, have increasingly gotten slower over the years. The balls tend to vary from tournament to tournament, the lack of uniformity bringing an extra variable at play. Baseliners have taken over, irrespective of the surface, with greater attention to a more solid all-round game. No better than the Big Three of men's tennis to exemplify that, individually and collectively. Roger Federer had a 21-3 win-loss record against Andy Roddick, who flaunted a big serve as his USP. Federer had a bigger serve from the trio, but Novak Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, and 22-time Slam winner Rafael Nadal also often made light work of the servebots. More recent proof of the first strike invariably not having the final say, even on grass? The 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon champion is Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard carrying the serve as his game's weaker facet.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Wimbledon: Siniakova stuns Zheng, Krejcikova survives scare, Sinner dominates Nardi
Katerina Siniakova stunned World No.5 Qinwen Zheng to advance to the second round of Wimbledon 2025. On Tuesday, July 1, Siniakova produced a stellar performance to defeat her Chinese opponent 7-5, 4-6, doubles World No.1 now faces a tough challenge as she prepares to take on four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who eased past Talia Gibson in her opening champion Barbora Krejcikova also booked her place in the second round, but not without a scare. The 20-year-old Alexandra Eala grabbed the first set, but Krejcikova bounced back to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a match that lasted two hours and 10 minutes. Wimbledon 2025 Day 2 Updates'I was definitely enjoying the moment. I was really excited for this day. Before the match, I was counting every minute until the match was coming up. When I walked from the locker room down here.. it's just very nice and a very special moment,' Krtejcikova said in the on-court interview. Krejcikova will next face the winner of the match between Caroline Dolehide of the United States and Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. Pure passion from @BKrejcikova #Wimbledon Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2025advertisementJannik Sinner dictates terms Jannik Sinner made a dominant start to his Wimbledon 2025 campaign, defeating compatriot Luca Nardi in straight sets. The World No.1 needed just an hour and 48 minutes to seal a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 win in the opening round. He will next take on Aleksandar Vukic, who got past Chun-Hsin women's singles, eighth seed Iga Swiatek cruised into the second round with a commanding 7-5, 6-1 victory over Polina Kudermetova. The Polish star will face Caty McNally in the next round. Taylor Fritz produced a remarkable comeback to book his spot in the second round. The American battled back from two sets down to defeat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(5), 6-8, 6-4, 7-6(4), will next meet Gabriel Diallo, who overcame Germany's Daniel Altmaier in the first round.- Ends
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Wimbledon: Yulia Putintseva refuses to play before ‘crazy' spectator is ejected
World No.33 Yulia Putintseva raised concerns about a spectator's behaviour during her 6-0 6-0 first round defeat to Amanda Anisimova at the Wimbledon. 'Can you take him out? I am not going to continue playing until he leaves. These people are dangerous, they are crazy,' Putintseva said during her match as per reports. 'Take him out because maybe he has a knife and he will attack,' she had added to the umpire. Following the incident and the match, the Kazakh player also declined to talk to the media. Responding to the matter, Wimbledon's operations director, Michelle Dite said as per the Guardian, 'We would rather know about these things, and that is what happened yesterday, and the chair umpire then had some really good communication as planned.' This was the latest case where the security concerns of tennis players were brought to the light with Emma Raducanu's stalker incident earlier this year already fresh in everyone's mind. The man accused of stalking tennis player Raducanu tried to obtain tickets to Wimbledon but was blocked by the All England Club's security system, British media had reported last month. The BBC and others reported that the man tried to apply for tickets through the public ballot for the Grand Slam tournament that starts June 30. His name had been red-flagged. At the Dubai Championships in February, the man exhibited ' fixated behavior ' toward the 22-year-old Raducanu, who became distressed during a match when she noticed him in the crowd. A day earlier, he had left her a letter and took her photograph, which unnerved the 2021 U.S. Open champion. After seeing the man in the stands, Raducanu took shelter behind the umpire's chair during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova. Raducanu later said she ' couldn't see the ball through tears ' and struggled to breathe before approaching the umpire. The man was ejected from the tournament. He was later detained by Dubai police and signed a document pledging to 'maintain distance' from Raducanu, who is ranked No. 36.
