ROLAND GARROS

May 25, 2026

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/G. Mpetshi Perricard

5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Giovanni, tough battle tonight. What positives do you take from your match?

GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD: A lot of things. It was a real battle the two first sets. It was nice to see, I mean, that my serve was a huge weapon against this kind of guy, which is one of the best returner in history.

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of pointers to take. It's very good that I have a lot of things to improve.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Are you happy today that you really stuck in there? What made you proud of the match?

GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD: Also, well, there's nothing to be that proud of. So I was in the fight for the two first sets, and then I had a dip in energy that gave me a problem that handicapped me for the two last sets. So I managed to make him run around. I was very accurate, and I had a good forehand. I went up to the net.

So it's good against this type of player, but no, it's not something that I think that works against Novak here. My offensive game works against everybody, but the idea is not to be proud of having won a set and having gone quite far in the second.

The most important thing is the win, so I'm very lucid.

Q. When you say that you had a problem, you had a physical problem?

GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD: No, there were just cramps. It takes time to go away, and against that type of player when you can't hold the racquet or serve, it's very tricky.

Q. You know, when you're playing against one of the best players on the tour, how did you play your service?

GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD: Well, I tried to press him, quite a bit of speed. Sometimes I missed my target by 50 centimeters or 1 meter, but against this type of player you have to be very accurate. You have to hit ball into the right zone at the right speed.

Q. You were talking about the cramps, but you know, did you take a hard hit on the head when he came back in the second set?

GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD: No, what I was disappointed when you are playing against a player like him and that you are at the end of the set, it can go either way. So, yes, I would have liked to go to a tiebreak. I would have liked to reach 5-5 and be a bit more offensive to try and have some break points, but my mental state remained strong.

I was ready for it to be long, to be hard. I was ready for all the scenarios, but no, I was ready to fight in the third set.

Q. You haven't played a lot. It's not easy to play against him. How did you find it?

GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD: Well, he was good. When he sends the ball back and the long shot, sometimes you're at 230, 240, and he sends the ball back so fast into your feet, and you're not ready.

So he was very close on the serve as well, and I wasn't ready for him to be so good on his first serve, so it was very hard, but that's Djoko. I've been watching him on tele for 15 years, so he does a lot of things right.

Q. He tried to make you play your backhand, but you also sent back quite a few good backhands. Is that also a satisfaction for you in this match?

GIOVANNI MPETSHI PERRICARD: Yes. Well, this is a volley where I have a lot of progress to make, and there are things in my game which are not my strong points, and I have to be better for those shots.

But the backhand is in the service of my forehand, so if I manage to play one or two backhands, it's not to play a third one, it's to move across the court and play a forehand.

So, yes, I either have to move better or really send the backhand back hard, so I think I responded quite well by playing long shots, but this is something we've been working on for quite a long time, and this is something that I think that we can improve.