"I almost killed myself" - Ben Shelton pays huge compliment to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after big-serving Frenchman takes Swiss Indoors title

Ben Shelton was all praise for his opponent Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after the Frenchman's extraordinary serves helped him win the 2024 Swiss Indoors final. The American joked that he almost "killed" himself returning Perricard's serves.

Shelton and Perricard’s clash in the Swiss Indoors final on Sunday, October 27, promised an intense serve fest, with both players known for their powerful serves. Perricard was serving close to 230 km/h, unleashing a 236 km/h serve that Shelton impressively returned to win the point.

Neither had been broken throughout the tournament until Perricard broke Shelton in the third game of the first set, gaining a 2-1 lead he held on to to claim the set.

The second set was fiercely competitive, with both players matching each other, leading to a tiebreak where Perricard prevailed, sealing his first ATP 500 title with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory. During their post-match speeches, Shelton was all praise for his French opponent and his serves.

"First of all, obviously, I wanna congratulate Gio on a great week on a great match today. I almost killed myself trying to return your serve. So many other parts of your game have improved so much and you're such a great young talent and so good for the sport," Ben Shelton said.

Shelton also mentioned Perricard's impressive jump up the rankings. At the turn of the year, the Frenchman was outside the top 200 but broke into the top 50 two weeks ago and will debut at World No. 31 on Monday.

"It's cool to see so many different styles out here on tour, and you add so much so congrats on an outstanding breakout season going from 200 in the world to 30 in the world in 10 months is something to be very very proud of," Shelton added.

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Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard reflects on his serves being a "good weapon" after beating Ben Shelton in Swiss Indoors final

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (right) and Ben Shelton after the Swiss Indoors finaal (Image: Getty)

During his post-match interview, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard expressed the importance his serve played for him throughout his victorious 2024 Swiss Indoors cmpaign.

It also helped him get past the sixth seed American and fellow big server Ben Shelton in the final.

“On this surface, of course my serve is a good weapon for me, but I try to be aggressive from the baseline and put some pressure on the opponent," reflected Mpetshi Perricard (via ATPTour). "I’m very happy (because it was) a big part of my game this week.”

This victory marked Perricard’s second title of the season and his career and his first ATP 500 trophy. The 21-year-old next travels to Paris and take on Frances Tiafoe in the Paris Masters first round. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Shelton will take on Corentin Moutet in the first round of the Masters 1000 event.