"He's going to do some damage for sure" - Nick Kyrgios sees a bright future for Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

Following their opening round clash at the 2025 Brisbane International, Nick Kyrgios was full of praise for conqueror Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard as the 2025 season kicks off in earnest.

The duo clashed in the first round at Brisbane, with Kyrgios officially making his return to the ATP circuit after an 18-month hiatus due to injury. The former World No.13 looked impressive in his return, but was unable to overcome Mpetshi Perricard's power, as the Frenchman recorded a 7-6(7-2) 6-7(4-7) 7-6(7-3) victory en route to a semifinal run.

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Kyrgios has high praise for the young Frenchman

After their thrilling encounter, Kyrgios had nothing but nice things to say about his 21-year old opponent. The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up believes Mpetshi Perricard has the potential to make a big splash in 2025, following his breakthrough season last year when he won the ATP's Most Improved Player Award.

"He probably had the best year of his career last year,” said Kyrgios. "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... But yeah, props to him. He’s a hell of a player."

Mpetshi Perricard hit an astounding 36 aces against Kyrgios in their opening round clash, prompting the Aussie to rank the Frenchman among the biggest servers he has ever faced on tour.

"I have played [Ivo] Karlovic, [John] Isner, [Milos] Raonic, all the big servers, and he’s got the biggest serve by far," admitted Kyrgios. "Yeah, that was interesting. And it sucked.”

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