Day 1 of Wimbledon 2025 witnessed 21-year-old French player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard firing a record-breaking 153 mph serve the fastest ever recorded at the tournament. But the jaw-dropping moment wasn’t enough to win him the point. American fifth seed Taylor Fritz neutralized the serve with a calm block return that eventually won him the point and drew gasps from the crowd.
In a high-octane first-round clash under the closed roof of No. 1 Court, the young Frenchman’s thunderbolt serves outpaced the previous 148 mph record set by American Taylor Dent in 2010.
Curfew takes match to Day 2
Perricard stormed ahead early, taking the first two sets in tense tiebreaks 7-6 (6), 7-6 (8). But Fritz began clawing his way back. He snatched the third set 6-4, then staged a dramatic comeback in the fourth-set tiebreak.
With the match on the line, Mpetshi Perricard was just two points from victory at 5-2 in the breaker. But Fritz found another gear, rattling off five of the next six points, to seal the set 7-6 (6). Mpetshi had blasted 33 aces in the four sets, while Fritz delivered 24 of his own.
It was 10:15 p.m. by then, and with Wimbledon's 11 pm curfew fast approaching, the players were called to the net. After a brief conversation with officials, the chair umpire announced that play would be suspended, with the fifth set to resume on Tuesday.
Fritz look to avoid first round exit
Fritz, 27, has a strong history at the All England Club, having reached the quarterfinals twice in 2022 and 2023. Mpetshi Perricard is no stranger to Wimbledon drama either, reaching the fourth round last year before falling to Lorenzo Musetti, who also knocked Fritz out that same year.Now tied at two sets apiece, the stage is set for a final-set showdown
