In a first round match at the Paris Masters 1000 on Monday, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard played Grigor Dimitrov. It was Dimitrov’s first match since the fourth round at Wimbledon, when he was forced to retire with a pectoral injury having won the first two sets against Jannik Sinner. Mpetshi Perricard was playing in front of French home fans, but the crowd didn’t seem to really believe he could win the match after the first few games.

Although it was a while before those first few games were over. The start was a prime example of why some observers argue that tennis needs a snappier format for these attention deprived times. 18 minutes in, we were still in the third game.

Then with MP serving at 1-2, 30-40, he saved the break point and earned his own game point with two monstrous serves. Two swings of the racket, two points. His is the biggest serve in tennis. 238 kph (148 mph) then 245 kph (152 mph). But a fast serve doesn’t always equal free points. At Wimbledon, he broke the tournament’s serve record with a 153 mph bomb against Taylor Fritz, but lost the point.

And tennis players with a major strength often have a major weakness. Mpetshi Perricard’s is his one-handed backhand. On that game point against Dimitrov, he was so wedded to running around his backhand to hit a forehand that he pushed himself into a corner and was late to the ball, hitting an unforced error to make it deuce again. Eventually he got out of the game with another big serve.

When Mpetshi Perricard had break point the following game, he tried an ambitious, jumping return, aiming for a sharp angle with his one-hander. Unforced error. Later in that game, he hit a delightful running passing shot after Dimitrov volleyed too deep (1:35 in the top video). But then there was another error on a backhand return, and Dimitrov took the game.

In the first game of the second set, Mpetshi Perricard hit a speedy forehand into the net to give away the game. His lack of a reliable backhand probably makes him think he has to go for it on his forehand. He’ll struggle if he gets into many extended rallies with a player like Dimitrov. The Bulgarian also has a one-hander, but hits it far more assertively. With greater balance, movement and variety of shots, Dimitrov is able to dictate more rallies – as well as get to the net and finish excellently.

Mpetshi Perricard seemed to lose belief. With Dimitrov was gaining rhythm and showing the range and creativity of his tennis, the second set quickly seemed like a foregone conclusion. Dimitrov closed out the match – 7-6, 6-1.