Two powerful 21-year-olds do battle in the first round of the China Open on Friday, as Carlos Alcaraz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard fight it out for a place in the last 16.
The second seed endeavours to reach his first significant final since the Paris 2024 Olympics, but his towering French foe has made waves throughout 2024 and should be no pushover in Beijing.
Match preview
© Imago
Since Alcaraz's scarcely believable US Open second-round exit at the hands of Botic van de Zandschulp, the world number three - who admitted post-Flushing Meadows that his mental state was far from optimal - has reverted to type on the international circuit.
Indeed, Alcaraz excelled for Spain en route to a straightforward Davis Cup Finals knockout stage qualification, easing past France's Ugo Humbert on his comeback appearance before triumphing over Tomas Machac thanks to the Czech player's retirement at one set apiece.
The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion then swapped red for blue as he joined Team Europe's ranks for the 2024 Laver Cup, where he eased past the USA's Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton in straight sets in both of his singles bouts, while also teaming up with Casper Ruud to beat the latter and Frances Tiafoe in the doubles.
Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev were condemned to an opening doubles defeat to Fritz and Shelton, but that result paled into insignificance as the Spaniard's beating of Fritz saw Team Europe reach the decisive 13-point mark, ending Team World's two-year reign of Laver Cup dominance.
The 21-year-old now makes his way to the Far East having secured his place in the ATP Tour Finals alongside Sinner and Zverev, although he has echoed his fellow pros by airing concerns about the unforgiving schedule, claiming that "they are going to kill us" and admitting that he sometimes suffers from a severe lack of motivation before tournaments.
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Whether Alcaraz can psyche himself up for just a second China Open campaign remains to be seen - the Spaniard fell at the semi-finals to eventual champion Sinner on his tournament debut last year - but motivation should not be in short supply for his burgeoning opponent.
Born just two months after the former world number one, Perricard has enjoyed a staggering rise to stardom on the ATP Tour throughout 2024, breaking into the world's top 50 over the summer and currently sitting just outside those coveted spots at number 51.
The gigantic 21-year-old - who at 6ft 8in is one of the tallest players on the ATP Tour - made his Wimbledon and US Open main draw debuts in 2024, reaching the fourth round at SW19 as a lucky loser and firing an astronomical 51 aces past Sebastian Korda in their first-round affair.
Prior to his memorable run on British lawns, Perricard had achieved his first slice of top-level stardom by winning the Lyon Open in May, but he was beaten by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in straight sets during the first round of the US Open and most recently lost to Yannick Hanfmann in the Chengdu last 16.
The Frenchman blasted 22 aces past Hanfmann in that contest to no avail and now faces an even more daunting task versus Alcaraz, as the pair scrap it out for the right to meet Miomir Kecmanovic or Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.
Head To Head
Both still in the embryonic stages of their top-level careers, Alcaraz and Perricard will be squaring off at the top level for the first time on Friday, as the former's two-handed backhand clashes with the Frenchman's one-handed style.
However, Perricard has only played 18 top-level matches this season - winning 10 of them - while Alcaraz is 43 for 52, boasting a terrific win ratio of 82.7%.
We say: Alcaraz to win in two sets
Even though Alcaraz conceded that he cannot motivate himself for every tournament, the Spaniard was back to his irrepressible self in the Laver Cup - during the singles at least - and has our vote to sail into round two.
Perricard has come on leaps and bounds in 2024, and his ferocious first serves are often impossible to stop, but the Frenchman can be extremely vulnerable on his second, which will surely prove fatal against a player of Alcaraz's ilk.
Ben Knapton
