Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, a young French tennis player, broke the Wimbledon record for the fastest serve by a full 5 mph. However, in his first-round matchup with American Taylor Fritz, the record-breaking serve wasn’t enough to win him the point.
Mpetshi Perricard fired a 153 mph (246 km/h) bullet in the first set of the match, which was ultimately suspended at two sets apiece late in the evening. According to the ATP website, the previous record of 148 mph was set by Taylor Dent of the USA in 2010. But fifth-seeded Fritz, known for his strong all-around game, neutralized the rally and won the point with a block return, drawing gasps from the crowd.
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Fritz was on the verge of suffering one of the biggest upsets of the opening day but rallied from a two-set deficit to even the match, including a dramatic comeback in the fourth-set tiebreak, before play was suspended overnight.
Due to the tournament’s 11 p.m. curfew, the match was paused after four sets on Monday night and scheduled to resume on Tuesday. Fritz won the third and fourth sets 6-4, 7-6 (6) after Mpetshi Perricard had claimed the first two, both in tiebreaks—7-6 (6), 7-6 (8).
Mpetshi Perricard led 5-2 in the fourth-set tiebreak and was just two points away from victory, but he couldn’t close it out. The No. 1 Court’s retractable roof was closed, and artificial lighting was in use during the match. At 6-all in the tiebreak, Fritz—runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Open—thumped his right fist against his chest and shouted, “Let’s (expletive) go!” as he took the next two points to force a fifth set.
At approximately 10:15 p.m., the players and an official met at the net to decide whether to continue. Eventually, the chair umpire made the announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, due to the late hour, we will not be able to finish the match. Therefore, play is suspended until tomorrow.”
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Fritz appeared frustrated by the interruption. Gesturing toward his player box with open palms, he said: “I couldn’t do anything. I tried.”
Before play was halted, Fritz had hit 24 aces and Mpetshi Perricard had struck 33, in what was a battle between two of the best servers on tour. In the four sets played, Fritz had five break-point opportunities and converted one, while Mpetshi Perricard did not have a single break-point chance.
Fritz, a 27-year-old Californian, previously lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinals and to Lorenzo Musetti in the previous year. Musetti also eliminated the 21-year-old Mpetshi Perricard, who reached the fourth round at the All England Club last year.
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