By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Photo credit: Bradley Kanaris/Getty
Nick Kyrgios has unleashed the Big Bang on tennis.
One of the most devastating servers in the Open Era, Kyrgios launched the New Year with a powerrful proclamation.
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The most massive server of all time is not named Isner, Karlovic, Roddick, Ivanisevic or Kyrgios himself, the explosive Aussie said.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios said the biggest serve "by far" he's ever seen belongs to 6'8" French tower of power Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
The 21-year-old Frenchman fired laser beam first and second serves slamming 36 aces winning a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 Brisbane duel vs. Kyrgios.
Facing Mpetshi Perricard's blasts for two-and-a-half hours, Kyrgios said the Frenchman's flamethrower serve is second to none.
"Props to him. He's a hell of a player," Kyrgios said of the French power player. "I have played, you know, Karlovic, Isner, Raonic, all the big servers, and he's got the biggest serve by far. Yeah, that was interesting. And it sucked."
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The unrelenting pace and angle of Mpetshi Perricard's missiles left Kyrgios sometimes looking like a man stranded at the wrong end of a shooting gallery.
"I obviously went into the match understanding how he played," Kyrgios said. "I already knew that he liked to hit two first serves, but props to him, he's found what works for his game style and he's committed to that. He's going to do some damage, for sure.
"He's going to have a long career. He's got an easy action on his serve. There were no real dips in speed or anything like that."
It's high praise from Kyrgios, who hammered 16 aces of his own in his singles comeback match and reported feeling some pain in his surgically-repaired wrist afterward.
Coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who has coached two of the greatest women's servers in Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, posted his picks for Top 5 servers of all time a couple of years ago.
Coach Patrick listed Kyrgios himself as the greatest server of all time in his Top 5 Servers list:
1. Nick Kyrgios
2. John Isner
3. Andy Roddiick
4. Ivo Karlovic
5. Pete Sampras
Former world No. 4 James Blake told Tennis Now he sees Isner as the Greatest Server of All time.
"Roger [Federer] was a pinpoint server and Roger was clutch. There's something to be said for clutch, of course. I just think it's tough to beat 6'10" with a great motion, the angle he can create, he can hit it anywhere," Blake told Tennis Now. "John Isner doesn't get enough credit for being a smart server as well. They think it's all that he's tall, but he's a very, very smart server as well.
"Kyrgios as well is a smart server. I'd maybe rearrange that list. I would agree with Isner, Roddick, Karlovic, Kyrgios, Sampras, yeah. The next sort of honorable mention servers would be guys like Goran, Krajicek, Becker, Wayne Arthurs was pretty incredible."
The 6'10" Isner is the ATP's All-Tiime Ace King cracking 14,470 aces in 772 matches followed by Karlovic, who smacked 13,728 aces in 694 matches and Roger Federer, who fired 11,478 aces in 1,462 matches.
Mpetshi Perricard pumped 532 aces in 28 Tour-level matches in 2024.
Alexander Zverev was the 2024 ATP ace leader. Zverev zapped 797 aces in 90 matches.