Nick Kyrgios has praised Mpetshi Perricard after losing to him at the Brisbane International and he’s now viewed as a force to be reckoned with.

Mpetshi Perricard was actually looking forward to playing Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open warm-up.

The two were due to meet in the last four of the tournament but Reilly Opelka stole the show by beating the Serbian great in the quarter-final.

Perricard is starting to make people stand up and take notice of him and it promises to be an intriguing year for the youngster on the tour in 2025.

Denis Kudla shares what he noticed about Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in 2023

Kudla has started to coach Opelka during this year and he was delighted to see his player come through against Djokovic and then again against Mpetshi Perricard in the last four.

He’s claimed that he’s told the American to use Mpetshi Perricard as a bit of an inspiration given how quickly he has shot up the rankings.

The coach said on The Changeover Podcast: “There’s no reason why Opelka can’t go from like 300 in the world to the top 20, look what happened with Perricard.

“I was practising with him in Columbus, Ohio in 2023, I knew the French coach he was working with and I was like, ‘He’s okay, it’s fine’, but he was so predictable, he had like two shots, he wasn’t that great, he was really easy to read and then all of a sudden he gets hot, wins a tournament, he’s like 20 in the world and this guy is insane right now. He could make the semis of a major right now, he’s going to be top 20 for the rest of his career so then we start looking at that with Reilly and that could be him.

“That’s what happens with these big guys, if they can light it up, they’re unbeatable.”

Mpetshi Perricard can cause a stir in the Grand Slam events in 2025

It’s quite remarkable when you consider the transformation that Mpetshi Perricard has made since that practice session with Kudla in 2023.

The big-serving player has clearly added more strings to his bow and you don’t climb the amount of places he has in the world rankings without doing something right.

Mpetshi Perricard has won an ATP 250 title and an ATP 500 title during his career and now he will be seeking out bigger crowns.

His Grand Slam record is something that he will definitely be looking to improve and he could surprise a few at those events.

Mpetshi Perricard reached round four of Wimbledon last year but failed to qualify in Australia and lost in two first rounds at the French Open and the US Open.

This year could be very different, however, and as one of the most exciting young talents on the tour, it will be fascinating to see what he can achieve in the next 12 months.

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