Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard upset world number 4 Taylor Fritz 6-4 7-5 in 1 hour and 25 at the Qizhong Forest Sports City in the fourth round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters to clinch the biggest win of his career.
Mpetchi Perricard fired 12 aces and earned a break in each set to seal his first win against Fritz. The Frenchman set up a round of 16 match against tenth seeded Holger Rune.
Mpetchi Perricard broke serve at 30 in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The Frenchman held at love in the eighth game and served out 6-4 on his first set point in the 10thgame. The French player earned a decisive break in the 11th game of the second set, in which Fritz let slip a 30-0 lead.
Mpetchi Perricard avenged his defeat against Fritz, who beat his French rival in five sets 6-7 (6-8) 6-7 (8-10) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 at Wimbledon.
“Before this my record was not good, 0-6 against Top 10 players. Some of the matches were tough losses for me. I was very close against Lorenzo Musetti, against Fritz at Wimbledon, and I had a lot of things to improve. I tried to do a few things better than at Wimbledon, and it worked today. It was a tough match, physically and mentally, but I did well and I’m very happy about it”, said Mpetchi Perricard.
