Nick Kyrgios vs Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard Prediction ATP Brisbane Tennis Picks 12/31/24

Having sat out the entire 2024 season because of injuries, Nick Kyrgios will mark his return to competition at the 2025 Brisbane International.

Kyrgios has only played one match in two years and that was in June 2023 in Stuttgart. He lost in the first round and has never been seen on a match court since.

He has been perturbed by knee and wrist injuries and was forced to postpone his comeback this past year. Kyrgios took a few gigs during his hiatus, working as a pundit and podcaster. He is now ready for a return.

The former World No. 13 is unranked and will pretty much resume his career from scratch on home soil in January. He will use a protected ranking to access the main draw in Brisbane.

Kyrgios played his first match in two years in doubles in front of a packed crowd together with his friend and rival Novak Djokovic and won their match in three sets, much to the delight of the fans who had long waited for his return.

Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard Preview

Known by the acronym GMP, Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard is the ATP’s Most Improved Player of the Year in 2024 and it is easy to see why. One of a handful of awards he collected last season

Standing at 2.03 meters tall, Mpetschi Perricard has redefined the perception that tall players have only one strength.

His serve was obviously his biggest asset, but moves very well for a player of his frame and has a reliable one-handed backhand shot.

He finished the season ranked 31st in the ATP rankings after scooping titles in Lyon and Basel. Mpetschi Perricard earned four Top 20 wins last season, enough to justify that he will most likely break that barrier in 2025.

His last match of last season was at the end of October when he lost to Karen Khachanov in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Nick Kyrgios and Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard Head-To-Head

• Kyrgios and Mpetschi Perricard have never met on the ATP Tour before this.

Nick Kyrgios and Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard Prediction

Kygrios and Mpetschi Perricard are undoubtedly two of the greatest servers in the modern era with serve speeds well within the 140+ mph bracket. The Aussie is unpredictable and unorthodox, occasionally varying pace and placement, using flat, kick serves, or even underarm serves, much to the disgust of those watching. Mpetschi Perricard, meanwhile, is traditional in his approach, using an explosion of power when it comes to his delivery.

If there were questions pertaining to Kyrgios' fitness after playing his first match in over a year, then he duly answered them in an entertaining doubles cameo while partnering Novak Djokovic on Monday. Still, this is expected to be a harrowing first match in singles against one of the ATP's breakout stars of 2024. With at least one tie-break in the offing, two plays to consider here are the games spread and total aces and Kyrgios offers great value in both.