Rising Frenchman makes tennis history with Basel dominance

According to the ATP, Perricard became the lowest-ranked champion since Basel 500 became a tour-level event in 1975.

“It's amazing to win a tournament like that, a 500, for the first time for me," Perricard told the ATP. "I just can be happy with myself, with what I did today and the past five days. It’s amazing to win here… [Before this] it was a tough month for me, but it's always good when the victories are there."

The win against Shelton, a former U.S. Open semifinalist, was particularly impressive as the American had not dropped serve en route to the final either. However, Shelton had his serve broken in just the third game of the first set and never really recovered from the jolt. The American tried to bounce back with his powerful groundstrokes but couldn't carve out a single break point in the match, per Infosys. 

Perricard served at an average speed of 140 MPH with a top speed of 149 MPH, per Tennis Channel. In the modern game, which relies more on groundstrokes, it's unheard of for a player to clock those average speeds. One would have to go back to the days of Andy Roddick, Joachim Johansson and Juan Martín del Potro to witness those average service speeds.

With his maiden ATP 500 title, Perricard rose to a career-high ranking of World No. 31, jumping 19 spots. He started the year as World No. 205, but gained several points with an ATP 250 win in Lyon and a fourth-round finish at Wimbledon, where he showed flashes of a future star.

"My goal was to win a 250 or a 500, but to win both [in 2024] is amazing," Perricard said to ATP of his rapid rise. "Of course, I’m focused on what I can improve in my game, a lot of things in training. The work paid [off], and I’m really happy."