I thought I was going to die," says Mpetshi Perricard after his victory against Fritz in Shanghai

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard secured a fine victory against Taylor Fritz in Shanghai, giving him confidence before he begins defending his title in Basel at the end of the month.

In a press conference, the Frenchman spoke about his season so far: "It hasn't been a good year for me so far. I've had good and bad moments, more bad than good.

We'll take stock at the end of the year. There are many tournaments, many matches, many points to win."

He then spoke about the playing conditions in Shanghai, which have been controversial since the start of the tournament. He stated: "To be honest, it was tough. The conditions were difficult, very humid, a lot of humidity. The game at 5-5 was terrible.

I thought I was going to die on the court. I try to stay stable on the ball and put one more in the court, one more, one more, and try to win the point. It was difficult to string points together, so I'm very happy to be standing on my two feet now.