“After Wimbledon it wasn’t very glorious” – Mpetshi Perricard on staying grounded after breakthrough year
The French player lost 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters to Karen Khachanov
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard – Rolex Paris Masters 2024 © Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
Eliminated in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters by Karen Khachanov, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard leaves the French capital with an impressive season to look back on. The loss ended a six-game winning streak on Tour for the young Frenchman, a run that saw him win his second ATP title in Basel last week.
It was a bit of a strange match. What is your state of mind after this defeat?
There are two ways to look at this match. First of all, I served well. I also see where I need to improve, especially against a player like Karen who puts a lot of intensity into the long rallies. He’s quite precise, he didn’t give me many points. As soon as I served less well, I felt he was close to breaking me. He always tried to get me moving, I feel like I’ve visited Paris three times! We’ll see with Manu (Planque, his coach) what we need to improve, especially the shots after the return where I have to be more efficient to avoid running. When I run, I’m more vulnerable.
You almost made history – you could have won the first set without scoring a point on the return. Were you aware of this?
When I served at 6-5 (in the tie-break), I knew I had only scored one point. The statistics weren’t very favourable to me. That’s tennis. You can win games by scoring fewer points than your opponent. Against an opponent who serves well, it can be like that. I had to adapt, he had a particular tactic against me because he knows me and he did it very well. He really wanted to get me moving.
You have changed your status, you are in a new dimension. How are you going to manage it?
I am more recognised in the street and this was already the case after Wimbledon (where he reached the fourth round). It’s something quite new, I am quite young. I don’t really realise it. But I’m a fairly simple person, smiling, it’s normal to be asked for photos, it’s part of the life of a tennis player. Having a status, it doesn’t bother me.
Is there still an element of surprise against your opponents?
If there are more, it’s up to me to improve so that there are more. They’re going to look at my stats, my favourite areas on serve. It’s up to me to be better to show that I don’t just have one serve and even if I only have that, to make it more efficient, to find even more interesting areas. I’m not yet a complete and finished player. I’m 30th in the world (31st currently), I’m very proud of myself but I’m still improving. You have to keep your feet on the ground and not forget that after Wimbledon it wasn’t very glorious.
So it was your last Paris Masters at Bercy…
At least I would have played on the Central Court once. I’ve been told that it’s bigger at La Défense so I’m looking forward to playing there.
