After eliminating Félix Auger-Aliassime, the defending champion in the previous round, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard followed up with a second Canadian to reach the semi-finals in Basel, his second on the circuit after his title in Lyon last May. The Frenchman had difficulty moving on after his round of 16 at Wimbledon, but here he is again resurgent in Switzerland behind his very effective service. Facing Denis Shapovalov, he saved his three break points conceded on winning serves, and accumulated 59 directly winning points on his engagement (including 27 aces and 83% of points won behind his first ball).
Sometimes imprecise on some of his volleys, but also capable of holding the rally a few times when necessary, he recovered from the loss of the first set to come out in the thriller of a final tie-break decisive. Nerve of steel. Nine times winner this season in nine confrontations against left-handers, Mpetshi Perricard joins Arthur Fils in the last four where he will face Holger Rune.
First semi-final in an ATP 500
In the first set, Mpetshi Perricard, after saving two set points on his serve at 5-6 on two winning serves, one of which was on the second ball, had the opportunity to take the lead in the tie-break. He first leads 3-1, before losing his advantage on a double fault, then gets two set points. The first was saved by Shapovalov on a serve-volley, before forcing the Frenchman to make a mistake on the volley on the second. On the next point, Mpetshi Perricard continued with another foul at the net, conceding a third set point which he wasted on a return that flew away.
But the Canadian, who offers the Frenchman the break at 2-1 in the second set on a game strewn with double faults and big unforced errors, of course starts this round with a big handicap. At 4-2, Mpetshi Perricard service, he leads 0-30, before the Frenchman connects two aces and two winning services. Clinical. In the last round, Shapovalov had the first opportunity to make the break at 4-3 (winning service from the Frenchman). Then in the next game, it was Mpetshi Perricard who got a break point, wasted on a backhand that escaped him.
Everything therefore comes down to the decisive tie-break, where the Frenchman quickly takes the advantage, very confident in his attacks and taking advantage of a few gifts from his opponent. “I am proud of what I have produced in these last three matches, reacted Mpetshi Perricard, who offers his first semi-final in an ATP 500 tournament. It’s a special place here, where Roger (Federer) won a lot. I watched this tournament a lot on TV. With Holger (Rune)we played among the young people in Gradignan. It’s always interesting to play against a guy who’s been in the top 10.”
2024-10-26 06:02:00