Reilly Opelka

[Damian]

[DUN I LOVE]

Drugi półfinał M-1000, drugi z rzędu.

Efekt? Awans do Top-30 i nowy rekordowy ranking w poniedziałek. Będzie rozstawienie na US Open (pewnie i tak by było przy tylu absencjach).

[Damian]

Opelka Storms Into Toronto SFs

Spoiler:

The American will face third seed Tsitsipas in the semi-finals

Big-serving American Reilly Opelka’s strong week continued Friday in Toronto as he downed 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 7-6(1) at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers to advance to his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

The 23-year-old saved one match point in his third-round win over Lloyd Harris and backed this victory up against Bautista Agut, hitting 18 aces and winning 85 per cent (35/41) of his first-service points to advance in 83 minutes.

You May Also Like: Tsitsipas Cruises Past Ruud To Reach Toronto SFs
Opelka’s previous best result this season came at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, in which he also advanced to the semi-finals at the Masters 1000 clay-court event in Rome. Having now matched this, the two-time tour-level titlist will next face third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek defeated Casper Ruud.

With victory, Opelka has levelled his ATP Head2Head Series with Bautista Agut at 2-2. If countryman John Isner can overcome 11th seed Gael Monfils later on Friday, it will be the first time that two Americans have advanced to the last four in Canada since Michael Chang and Chris Woodruff did in 1997 in Montreal.

How To Watch

In a tight first set, in which both players dominated on serve, Opelka took the one break point that was on offer in the set when he found the feet of Bautista Agut, who was unable to find the court with his volley. From 3-1 ahead, Opelka served consistently as he closed out the set to lead.


The second set followed a similar pattern, with 17 points in a row going with serve as both struggled to impact the match on return. In the tie-break, Opelka raised his level, striking the ball with great power, sealing his victory with a forehand winner.

Bautista Agut was aiming to reach the semi-finals at a tour-level event for the first time since he enjoyed a run to the last four in Miami in March. The World No. 17 has reached finals at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha this year.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/opelka- ... 021-friday

[Kamileki]

[Kamileki]

ATP Toronto 21 SF:

25 Lorenzo Sonego 2147
26 Reilly Opelka 2101
27 Daniel Evans 2096

[Damian]

[Damian]

[DUN I LOVE]

[Barty]

ATP Toronto 21: pierwszy finał Masters-1000!

Reilly Opelka d. [3] Stefanos Tsitsipas 67(2) 76(4) 64

[Damian]

[robpal]

ATP Toronto 2021 F:

22 Gaël Monfils 2423
23 Reilly Opelka 2341
24 Milos Raonic 2294

[Damian]

Opelka Reaches Maiden Masters 1000 Final, Beats Tsitsipas In Toronto Epic

Spoiler:

It is the American's first Top 5 win
America’s Reilly Opelka served up an upset on Saturday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers as he battled back to overcame third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

The World No. 32 enjoyed a run to the semi-finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome in May before losing to Rafael Nadal. Opelka ensured he would not fall at the same stage in Toronto as he played big-man tennis. He hammered his groundstrokes and fired down 16 aces to claim his first Top 5 win in his fifth attempt to advance in two hours and 34 minutes.

You May Also Like: Medvedev Rallies For Hurkacz Revenge In Toronto
The 23-year-old, who saved a match point in his third-round victory against South African Lloyd Harris, described his tennis as ‘flawless’ after his quarter-final victory against Roberto Bautista Agut. Opelka matched this level against Tsitsipas, not facing a break point to tie their ATP Head2Head Series at 1-1. Opelka is now 3-0 in decisive-set matches in Toronto, having been 0-6 this season before.

Opelka could face countryman John Isner in the final if the 30-year-old can shock top seed Daniil Medvedev. If Isner does triumph, it will be the first time two Americans have reached the final at Canada’s ATP Masters 1000 since Andre Agassi defeated Pete Sampras in 1995. The last American to reach the championship match in Canada was Mardy Fish in 2011.

How To Watch

There was little to separate Tsitsipas and Opelka in the first set as both players dominated on serve. Opelka looked to target Tsitsipas’ backhand on his first strike in the rally and while he created the only two break points that were on offer in the set in the third game, he was unable to convert. As the set moved to a tie-break, Tsitsipas successfully changed tactics, moving forward on return to great effect to lead.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with both players looking to be aggressive, stepping inside the baseline to try and dictate. Opelka fended off Tsitsipas' advances in the 11th game to hold. With Tsitsipas then holding to force another tie-break, he quickly fell 3/5 behind as Opelka drew level when Tsitsipas mistimed a forehand.


As they moved into the third set, Tsitsipas had his first break point of the match after two hours and 17 minutes at 2-3. However, he could only float his backhand return into court, with Opelka closing the net to put away the volley before holding. The American then found the breakthrough himself when he forced Tsitsipas into an error with his power. He then held serve twice to secure his victory.
World No. 3 Tsitsipas has recorded a tour-leading 45 wins this year, capturing his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Monte-Carlo in May. The Greek was trying to reach his second championship match in Toronto, after beating four Top 10 opponents en route to the final in 2018.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/tsitsip ... 1-saturday

[Damian]

Niełatwa droga, ale jest finał.

[Damian]

Resurfaced: Why Opelka 'Has The Potential To Move The Needle'

Spoiler:

Learn about the American's off-court hobbies
Editor's Note: This feature was originally published on 21 August 2021. Reilly Opelka is into his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto.

Reilly Opelka gets asked similar questions throughout his travels on the ATP Tour. Many times, they revolve around his height: Are you 6’11” or 7’? How did you serve today? Did you ever play basketball?

Opelka doesn’t allow his height — or tennis, for that matter — to define him. While fans might know the American for his booming serve and imposing game, his interests expand far beyond the court.

“The young guys, there are not too many into art,” Opelka told his friend Matthew Chevallard in ‘The Art of Collecting', which was produced by THE OFFICE. Art Gallery. “So I’ve been dragging some of my boys to galleries around the world.”

When Opelka was young, he enjoyed collecting basketball cards, saying, “I had pretty much every hooper you could find. Tracy McGrady collection. This is when I was like eight, nine. [Then I collected] bobbleheads. Then it was obviously Vans [shoes].”

About a year ago, Opelka made his first significant art purchase, a piece by Thrush Holmes that includes neon streaming in front of a painting.

“Thrush was my first purchase of anything significant. The neon pops like crazy for a first piece. It changes the whole mood of the room,” Opelka said. “That’s one of the first pieces people comment on when they come in the house. They’re like, ‘Wow, that is really, really sick.’ Thrush really got me started. One thing led to another and a year later we got seven, eight cool pieces in here.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/reil ... ew'>Reilly Opelka</a>
Opelka examines a piece by artist Friedrich Kunath. Photo courtesy of Reilly Opelka.
In the video Opelka filmed with Chevallard, he took fans through his Florida home to look at the various pieces of art he has by artists including Holmes, Jason Seife, Matt McCormick, Adam Rabinowitz and Friedrich Kunath.

“Every piece is different. Just for example, the Freddie, the, ‘I am easy to find’ message in it, the colours for that one. That one was simple. It popped,” Opelka said, explaining why he picked some of the pieces. “The McCormick, I was like, ‘Yo, there are Red bull cans in there?’ That was sick to me, hit home. Even the Adam, lavender and blue are my two favorite coluors, so it can be something as simple as the color.”

Former World No. 1 John McEnroe is remembered for his incredible talent and memorable on-court behaviour. However, Vitas Gerulaitis introduced him to art, and he later opened a gallery in New York.

“When [Vitas] took me down to Soho to have a look around some art galleries, I assumed that was a normal thing for tennis players to do,” McEnroe wrote in his book, But Seriously. “What’s the first thing you do when you earn some money? You get yourself a place to live, you buy a nice car and a stereo (at least in those days you did), then you get some art to put on the walls.”

Opelka might start converting some of his ATP Tour friends like Gerulaitis did McEnroe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he spent a majority of his time with countryman Tommy Paul.

“Tommy’s been around [art] because he’s been staying here with me through the quarantine,” Opelka said. “He loves the Kunath. He stares at it. He goes by and says, ‘Bro that thing is crazy.’”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/reil ... ew'>Reilly Opelka</a>
Photo courtesy of Reilly Opelka.
Opelka isn’t solely focussed on art, though. At various tournaments throughout the world, you can find him in the local fashion district or trying notable restaurants in the area. He is more than just a tennis player, which intrigues McEnroe’s brother, Patrick McEnroe.

“I think it certainly makes you more interesting. Whether or not it’s great for your tennis, I’m not ready to take that leap. But I think it makes Reilly a more interesting guy and I’ve always been impressed by him just as an individual,” Patrick said. “He always seemed to have a pretty good head on his shoulders and a pretty good outlook, not being super, super intense about tennis.”

You May Also Like: Reilly Opelka: Fashion & A New York State Of Mind
Opelka is taking care of business on the court, too. Last year, he hit 1,000 aces in a season for the first time, ranking second on Tour (behind John Isner) with 1,014. He climbed as high as No. 31 in the FedEx ATP Rankings last October. The American has won two tour-level trophies, triumphing at the 2019 New York Open and the 2020 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

“Arguably he has the most upside of any American at the moment. I think you can make that argument,” Patrick McEnroe said. “I don’t think his serve is quite as good yet as Isner’s. It’s obviously pretty damn good. I think Isner has a little more variety on his serve and I think the other thing is Reilly is sometimes too smart.

“I’ve heard him say a lot of times as he was coming up, ‘Oh, I can’t believe I’m playing tennis, I should have been a basketball player’, stuff like that. It’s almost like he overthinks it a little bit. But I think again that’s who he is. He’s a thinking-type guy. He has other interests. It took him a little longer to reach his potential than some of the other young guys and a lot of that has to do with his body, growing into his frame. But I think he has the potential to move the needle as far as obviously winning big tournaments, but also with his brains and his personality.”

Opelka will try to paint the lines on the court at this week’s Western & Southern Open.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/opelka- ... ugust-2020

[DUN I LOVE]

Cieszy się.

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Opelka: 'It's Hard To Really Hurt' Medvedev

Spoiler:

American to crack Top 30 following runner-up showing in Toronto
Reilly Opelka came up short in his maiden appearance in an ATP Masters 1000 final in Toronto, but the 23-year-old was quick to draw on a host of positives following a defeat to one of the “top three returners in the world”. No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers final on Sunday.

Despite the result, it was a career-best week for Opelka, who has moved to a career-high No. 23 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, the best mark of any of the 14 Americans in the Top 100. It was the 6' 11" American’s third ATP Tour final after his victories at Delray Beach last year and New York in 2019.

Opelka had outlasted Nick Kyrgios in three sets in the opening round, seen off former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov, saved a match point against in-form Lloyd Harris and denied former World No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut. In the semi-finals he posted his first Top 5 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas but felt Medvedev raised the bar in the final.


“It's hard to disrupt him, hard to hurt him, hard to really hurt him,” Opelka said. “Medvedev is top three best returners in the world, you could say. I'd say especially for a big guy, maybe he's No. 2 behind Novak for like a server like myself, because he's long.

“He can afford to stand far back, because he's lanky. He has like a really long reach. He's got a good wingspan… Yeah, and he's fast. He's a good athlete… As fast as he is he's able to get out of the corners quick, he's able to play deep back in the corner to me. Yeah, it's tough. There's not many answers when he's on like he was today.”

For only the third time in 15 tournaments this season, he strung together consecutive match wins after his charge to the Rome semi-finals and Roland Garros third round. The ATP Head2Head ledger now read 4-1 in the Russian’s favour, but prior to their two encounters this year, every match had gone the distance, the first two decided in a third-set tie-break.


You May Also Like: Medvedev Clinches Fourth Masters 1000 Title, Battles Past Opelka In Toronto
“The discrepancy and level between me and those guys, it's extremely small. It's already small for anyone in general, but even for me it's always going to come down to a couple of points,” Opelka said.

“So it's just about the details, and I'm not gonna -- I'm confident, obviously I’ve won matches, I'll have some expectation of myself, but I'm not going to be riding this win for too long… Or not a win, but this week.

“I think this week was a great example of using that optimistic mindset as much as possible. I think it can extend some weeks, even if it's just one tournament per year, maybe two a year. I mean, look what this does for my ranking. That's all it takes.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/opelka- ... 021-sunday

[Damian]

16.08.2021 r.

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 23

[Barty]

Finał w Toronto.

Reilly ma za sobą najlepszy tydzień w dotychczasowej karierze. Na kortach w Toronto osiągnął swój pierwszy finał turnieju rangi Masters-1000. 23-letni Amerykanin zagrał już w 3 zawodowych turniejach (2-1).

Reilly Opelka - przegrane finały (1):
2021 (1) Toronto Masters -1000