aGiovanni Mpesi-Pellicar stepped to the baseline for the start of his match against Francis Tiafoe in a sleepy Brisbane suburb on Thursday afternoon, and the first shot of the match drew dramatic consternation from the crowd that packed Pat Rafter Arena. gasped. Mpesi Pellikar usually doesn’t pay attention to the speed of his serve in the heat of battle, but the commotion after a thunderous ace made him glance at his speed watch. The screen displayed “232 km/h (144 mph)”.
By the end of the opening match, the Frenchman had hit four aces from his first five serves, ending with a calm second ace at 227 km/h (141 mph). He delivered 20 aces and earned a stunning straight-sets victory over Tiafoe. For his captivated audience, it was the perfect introduction to what quickly became professional tennis’ most destructive weapon.
A year ago, only those watching the ATP Challenger Tour were fully aware of Mpesi Pellikar’s potential. The hype was minimal. However, the 21-year-old, who started 2024 outside of the top 100 in the rankings, rose through the rankings with ease, earning a wild card to win his first ATP title in his hometown of Lyon and advance to the fourth round of Wimbledon. As a lucky loser, he ended the year winning his first ATP 500 title in Basel. His continued appearance is one of the most important developments in the first week of the new year. It’s clear that absolutely no one in the world wants to see him in a draw.
For Mpesi Pellikar, it all starts with the serve. His strong 6-foot-8 frame provides a great platform, but it’s his smooth, efficient, and dynamic service motion that allows him to make such precise and consistent strokes.
Even under great pressure at critical moments, he will show his true potential. In Friday’s match against Jakub Mensik, his first serve averaged a whopping 136 mph. Last year, Mpesi Perikal averaged 19 aces per game, the most on tour. His opponents are often obsessed with guessing the direction of his serve, praying that they will somehow manage to hit the ball with their racket.
In his youth, Mpesi Pellikar’s serve was far from his priority. Because he was so thin, he didn’t have enough dynamic power in his legs to generate enough pace, so the focus was on adding another dimension to his game. “(Then) some of my coaches had a technical session on my serve,” he says. “Ever since I was 15 or 16, I hit a lot of serves, a lot of serves from the basket, during training. We knew it would be a good weapon in the future, so we used this technique. I tried to add some new things to get advice from people who can support me and I think it’s working for me now.
The big thing that separates Mpesi Pericad from many of the great servers before him is what happens after he misses his first serve. Even many of the big servers of the past have had to sacrifice speed or spin on second serves in favor of consistency.
However, against Mensik, the average speed of his second serve was a staggering 198 mph, just 8 mph slower than his first serve. His second serve is faster than most first serves on tour, and despite its trajectory speed, he averaged 5.5 per match last year despite playing tennis with essentially two first serves. He missed his second serve. This year will be his first full season on the ATP Tour, and he will no doubt continue to improve.
“It’s something completely new,” Mpesi Pellikar said of his huge second serve. “I put in a lot of effort with my current coach in 2023. It was a goal for me to get better on the second serve because I was hitting the ball at 170 km/h (106 mph), but It wasn’t off at all. He said, “Can you try a little harder?” 10km? 15? 20? Press to see your limits.
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“Right now, I think my limit is sometimes 200 km/h (124 mph) and sometimes 190 km/h (118 mph). It depends on how I feel on the court. But yeah, I don’t know if we’ll be able to reach 220 km/h (138 mph) in a few years, or if this will be our top speed. We’ll see. I think there’s still room for improvement.”
The recent history of men’s tennis is full of giants with gigantic serves. In response to their presence, a new derogatory expression entered the tennis lexicon in the early 2010s: “servebot.” Not everyone is fascinated by the sight of an ace player in a game.
This extraordinary group of servers actually had a huge impact on professional tennis. The unforgettable battle between John Isner and Nicola Maut at Wimbledon in 2010 ended 70-68 in the fifth set after more than 11 hours. And in the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals, Kevin Anderson defeated Isner, finishing 26-24 in the fifth set. It played a key role in the Grand Slam tournament, which lasted six and a half hours and opted for a shorter format.
But in recent years, the presence of large-scale servers in touring has begun to fade. Isner, Ivo Karlovic and Anderson all retired, while Nick Kyrgios and Riley Opelka suffered long-term injuries. But Mpesi Pellikar seems to have sparked a serving renaissance. In the same week that Kyrgios returned from a two-year break, Opelka continued his return from a two-year hiatus by defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets for the biggest win of his career. Mpesi Pellikar and Opelka will face off on Saturday for a place in the Brisbane final. There will be a lot of aces.
