Ben Shelton is the player with the better serve stats in most matches. He can wreak havoc with a ferocious first serve accompanied by hard-hitting forehands. But this wasn’t the case during the Basel Open 2024 final. Instead, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard had a superior serving display.
The Frenchman recorded a staggering 22-ace performance during the 6-4, 7-6 win. But a non-ace service went viral on social media, receiving millions of views.
Perricard connected a perfect body serve during the eighth game of the first set. The first serve, at a speed of up to 230 km/h, left Shelton with little time to react. The American youngster was neither able to get his racket on the ball nor could he dodge the racing bullet. As a result, the ball struck him hard on his right hand.
“Oh, he’s (Perricard) hit him (Shelton)! He has tattooed him,” the commentator exclaimed.
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Social media users erupted with reactions to this rally. They all implied that Shelton finally witnessed what his opponents usually go up against. Others claimed that Perricard had the most “unreturnable” service on tour. That’s quite the compliment for the youngster!
Perricard’s 230 km/hr serve was thunderous enough to cause pain to Shelton. pic.twitter.com/cAg8Ep0HHM
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) October 27, 2024
The Atlanta native also tipped his hat to the opponent, speaking about this deadly serve in particular, during the post-match trophy presentation ceremony.
Shelton “killed himself” while facing Perricard
The 230 km/hr body serve injuring his thumb was merely one of the many ferocious serves that Shelton had to face. He claimed to have “killed himself”, attempting to return such serves.
“I almost killed myself trying to return your serve,” Shelton said.
“I almost killed myself trying to return your serve today” @BenShelton full of appreciation for @MpetshiG’s monster serve! pic.twitter.com/JrGQSjRJGz
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 27, 2024
Shelton also shed light on the impressive week Perricard has had en route to clinching his maiden ATP 500 title.
“I want to congratulate Gio on a great week. Great match today… So many other parts of your game have improved so much. You are such a great, young talent and so good for the sport. It’s cool to see so many different styles out here on tour, and you add so much,” Shelton lauded his opponent.
Giovanni did have the most special week of his young career. He clinched wins over a tough slate of opponents – Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune, and Ben Shelton – to lift the second title of his career.
This 109-ace performance in the Swiss Indoors tournament helps Perricard climb the rankings, up to a career-high position of #31. The 21-year-old couldn’t have asked for a better way to enter the Paris Masters 2024, which starts this week.
