Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard is feeling ‘positive’ about his chances of springing an immediate upset against Novak Djokovic at the French Open, according to his coach Greg Rusedski.
Djokovic is set to open his Paris campaign against the big-serving Frenchman on Sunday night, with the pair having never previously met on tour.
The Serb is a three-time French Open champion, having lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2016, 2021 and 2023.
However, he has had a relatively light 2026 season after reaching the Australian Open final, followed by just two weeks of competitive action across the next four months.
Indeed, Djokovic is without a win since the Indian Wells Masters and will be looking to bounce back after an opening-match defeat to Croatian Dino Prizmic at the Italian Open.
Meanwhile, Mpetshi-Perricard has also endured a mixed season and arrives off the back of a tight 6-4, 7-6(8) defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP 250 event in Geneva.
Despite the lack of results, Rusedski believes his player is showing a strong level in practice and is confident he can trouble Djokovic on the big stage.
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“Yeah, I think so, I think he’s going to be on Sunday night,” said Rusedski on the Off-Court with Greg podcast.
“I have a feeling Novak might have requested a Sunday start, that’s possible, but you know the guy has won the tournament so many times, a legend of our sport, so you earn your stripes as I say.
“He can ask for whatever he wants, he doesn’t always get his request, but it looks like we are starting Sunday evening.
“I don’t really care when we play, if Gio plays to his best, it doesn’t matter who he plays. Practice session today was brilliant with Medvedev, the best I’ve seen him play in the time we have been together so that’s a huge positive. But what a blockbuster for an opening!
“It’s a little bit of a rough section too, you’ve got [Joao] Fonseca, [Dino] Prizmic, [Alex] De Minaur, [Jakub] Mensik in that little quarter, so I can’t wait to start up Sunday and Gio’s in great spirits.
“We had a good team dinner last night and everybody’s feeling positive about what’s coming up on Sunday.”
Djokovic has never lost in the first round of the French Open in more than 20 years and has been one of the most consistent performers in Paris across his career.
He has reached at least the quarter-finals in every edition since 2009, including a semi-final run 12 months ago, before falling to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
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