Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is one of the favorites to win the Brisbane International. The Frenchman, at 6’8″, is one of the biggest servers on the tour. He overcame comeback man Nick Kyrgios in the first round, firing 36 aces throughout the match.

The 21-year-old then knocked out fourth seed Frances Tiafoe in straight sets, before fending off Jakub Mensik to reach the semifinals. In his bid to chase his third ATP title, the youngster could face the ‘toughest’ opponent in the semifinal.

Novak Djokovic, who breezed past Rinky Hijikata and beat Gael Monfils for the 20th time on the trot in his first two matches, is scheduled to meet Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals and the winner of the match will then lock horns with Perricard in the last four.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has never faced Novak Djokovic. As there’s a possibility of their first meeting in the semifinals at the Brisbane International, Perricard said it would’ve been better if they faced each other in the final.

Djokovic has never won the Brisbane International, and after his win over Gael Monfils, he joked that not winning the tournament motivates him to play better. The Serbian legend also signed up for doubles with Nick Kyrgios, but their campaign did not go beyond the second round as they lost to the pair of Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus.

After the ATP 250 event in Brisbane, Djokovic will fly to Melbourne for the Australian Open to chase his 25th Grand Slam title. Last year he was defeated by eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinal.