Reilly Opelka

[Damian]

[Damian]

Opelka Wins ‘Battle Of The Serve-Bots’ In Houston

Spoiler:

Big servers may not be renowned for their success on clay, but Reilly Opelka and John Isner proved themselves more than adept on the surface at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in early April. World No. 17 Opelka beat Isner 6-3, 7-6(7) in the championship match to clinch a fourth tour-level title, his first on the red dirt.

The battle between 6’11” Opelka and 6’10” Isner marked the tallest ATP Tour final in the Open Era. Despite the serving prowess on show there were 13 break points across the one-hour, 50-minute clash.

“He [Isner] was my idol growing up as a kid, and before I even met him, I liked him,” said Opelka after beating his countryman for the fifth consecutive time. “We’ve played a handful of times and you keep on beating me. I hate you for that!" was Isner’s joking response.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-a ... eview-2022

[Damian]

[Damian]

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[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

1) Opelka Leads The Field: Reilly Opelka will headline the field in Atlanta as he prepares to make his fifth appearance at the ATP 250 hard-court tournament. The 24-year-old, who has won titles on American soil in 2022 in Dallas and Houston, reached the semi-finals in Atlanta in 2016 and 2019, before he enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals last year. The top seed will open his campaign against Ilya Ivashka or Quentin Halys.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/atlanta ... ing-report

[Barty]

[Damian]

2) Fritz & Opelka Lead American Charge: The top two Americans in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka, lead a strong contingent from their country at the Citi Open, where they are seeded third and fourth, respectively. Fritz has enjoyed the best season of his career, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open, and he is ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin as he tries to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. Opelka, a champion in Dallas and Houston this year, could face countryman and close friend Tommy Paul, the 14th seed, in the third round.

Other Americans to watch include 13th seed Maxime Cressy, the recent Newport titlist, who is seeded to face Rublev in the third round. Frances Tiafoe, who will have the local support because he is from nearby Maryland, is the 10th seed.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/washing ... ing-report

[Damian]

[Damian]

In the two other all-American matchups, 10th seed Frances Tiafoe defeated good friend Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 7-6(2) and fourth seed Reilly Opelka outlasted Denis Kudla 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4. Tiafoe faces eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp on Thursday, while Opelka will look to improve to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head against Nick Kyrgios.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/wolf-sh ... -wednesday

[Damian]

[Damian]

Fritz, Opelka & Paul; Dorm Mates Flourishing On Tour

Spoiler:

The trio trained together in the sunshine state when they were teenagers
As the North American hard-court swing continues to heat up this week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, some of the country’s biggest stars will be looking to build on their recent success on home soil.

Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul currently sit inside the Top 35 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and are part of a wider group of 13 players from the United States who are currently in the Top 100. While the relationships between many of those in the American contingent are strong, the bond Fritz, Opelka and Paul hold is extra special.

When the trio were teenagers, they trained together at the USTA base in Florida. It provided them the opportunity to work on their games, while crucially also allowing them to develop and build the foundations of friendships that remain stronger today than ever. Opelka remembers their junior days well.

“We first met when we were around 13 years old and we have been training together since then and we started hanging out then, so the relationships naturally formed,” Opelka told ATPTour.com. “At that age, it is an interesting time. We had a weird setup because we didn’t have any parents around.

“It was us three living together, so we didn’t have as much direction. It was like a free for all. There are not many guys aged 13 who have this massive freedom and could do what we had. This is kind of what we had when we were living in the dorms.”

ATP WTA LIVE | Follow the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin In Real Time

After arriving at the USTA centre in Florida from San Diego, Fritz quickly clicked with Opelka and Paul, who had already known each other for a year.

“The first time I actually met them was when I went to USTA when I was like 15 years old and we lived together in Boca,” Fritz said. “I feel like that really brings people together, because there is not much to do after tennis. We all just were kind of hanging out, killing time together and we got on straight away. We just have become really good friends since then.”


From trips down to the beach to hours spent on the basketball court, the trio enjoyed life as they balanced competing on the ITF Junior Circuit with an array of other sports and hobbies.

Opelka believes their similar upbringings and interests resulted in the trio quickly bonding upon arrival in a highly competitive environment in Florida, ultimately helping them to succeed in pressurised moments.

“We trained twice a day for two or three hours each time and it was intense, but then the rest of the time we could just chill out and do we want,” Opelka recalled. “We did a ton of different things. It was all in South Florida. It was a happening area with nice weather all year round.

“We still had other interests. At 14, Tommy was skating and playing basketball more than tennis even and Fritz was in public school in 10th grade, I was in ninth grade. We were more traditional American kids.”

You May Also Like: From Farmer To Thrill Seeker: The Life Of Tommy Paul
While friendships blossomed away from the court, on it, the desire to win remained high. As Fritz sat next to Paul in the canteen following an opening-round win in Eastbourne in June, he reflected on how his first encounter with his countryman left him feeling deflated.

“The first time Tommy and I played each other was in a national tournament, and I guess, these guys were way better than me at the time. These guys had like a competition, maybe Frances [Tiafoe] as well, they went on to play at the same time, they had a competition who could finish faster,” Fritz said. “Tommy wasn't even taking the match seriously with me. ‘Let's see who can beat the idiots quicker’, was the situation. It wasn’t great, I needed to improve.”

A decade on and the improvement Fritz has made has been clear for the world to see. Sat at No. 13 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the 24-year-old is the current American No. 1, highlighted by his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells earlier this year.

Paul has also flourished on Tour over the past year, capturing his first tour-level title in Stockholm in November, before he climbed to a career-high No. 31 in August.

Four-time ATP Tour champion and Top 20 star Opelka is not surprised by the success both are having.

“Taylor is so optimistic all the time. He has always been like that,” Opelka said. “A bit delusion and I don’t mean that as an insult. You look at Wimbledon last year. After Roland Garros in 2021 he had a procedure on his knee and the doctor and physio said no. And he said, ‘No, I will be fine’, and that is him. He is very optimistic, which is why he is such a competitor.

“Then Tommy is a great athlete. Physically he is very good. He has got stronger and has taken the natural athletism he has to another level. His natural tennis ability is off the charts. It just took him a bit of time to get the discipline.”


Opelka believes that the key to their success has been the different paths they have taken in the sport. Although this has reduced the time they have spent together in recent years, the 24-year-old feels it has been beneficial to their careers.

“We all have got older and now all have our own coach. Taylor and I still share a physio. Taylor just moved to Miami, so I see more of him. We have gone our own directions, which is normal evolution,” said Opelka, who is not competing in Cincinnati due to injury. “Different coaches and training setups and just doing the essential things for our career. You have to prioritise.”

However, with the trio travelling the Tour together every week, the opportunities to hang out in a range of cities remains.

With Fritz a video games fanatic, Opelka interested in fashion and Paul into water sports, they immerse themselves in a range of different activities when they do spend time together.

“We have similar interests and different interests at the same time,” Paul told ATPTour.com. “Reilly is big into fashion and art and Fritz loves his video games. I have never been too into that but I get involved with them.

“I had my time playing games during quarantine. I played a little bit online with Taylor, Call Of Duty, Fortnite. Their interests have in some ways worn off on me. Sometimes I will play video games with Fritz, sometimes I will go and see art with Reilly. It has been cool. I am very happy to have close friends on Tour and it has always been a tight group.”


With spirits high, the trio will be targeting further success throughout the rest of the season and beyond as they look to break new ground. That is the nature of playing professional sport. However, Fritz believes their success to this point must also be celebrated.

“We have been through so much," Fritz said. "It's crazy to think you grew up with a lot of people playing tennis, and not many of them end up making it professionally and we all were able to come up and be on Tour together. It is great."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/fritz-o ... ature-2022

[Damian]

[Damian]

“I think that will help the sport,” Reilly Opelka believes tennis will be more exciting after the Big 3 retire

Spoiler:

In his interview with the Red Bulletin, World number 26, Reilly Opelka weighed in on the future after the Big three. The 2022 US Open will be starting in a week’s time. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have already dominated the grand slams this year with Nadal winning the Australian and French Open along with Djokovic winning Wimbledon. Currently, Nadal is leading the grand slam race with 22 titles followed by Djokovic’s 21.

It’s no secret that the Big 3 will be in action soon with Roger Federer announcing his comeback after a 400-day hiatus. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have asserted their dominance over the span of two decades. Following the 2003 Australian Open, the Big 3 have won 63 of the last 78 grand slams. With Djokovic’s recent Wimbledon win, it is only getting difficult for the next-gen to make their way in the grand slams.

Also read: “Getting ready to save the sport again!”Tennis Twitter elated upon finding Roger Federer’s return to the court


“I’m curious to see what it will look like when they’re gone”: Reilly Opelka
Reilly Opelka
Reilly Opelka
Opelka believes tennis will be more interesting once the big-3 retire because that will mean less saturation in men’s tennis. He further believes that their retirement will make way for other players.

He said, “They are leaving, but it’s crazy. That’s all I’ve known, that’s all most of us have known. I’m curious to see what it will look like when they’re gone. The list of winners of major tournaments will be more spread out and I think that will help the sport. It will attract the attention of more countries. All of Greece will watch tennis once Stefanos Tsitsipas wins a Grand Slam, and all of Italy will follow when Matteo Berrettini wins one too. I think it will be more exciting.”

Right now, Nadal‘s participation in the US Open is confirmed while Djokovic is denied entry to the USA due to his vaccination status and Federer will not be returning for the final Grand Slam of the season. But we will get to see the Big 3 in action together in the Laver Cup which will be held from September 23. They will represent team Europe along with Andy Murray, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud.

https://firstsportz.com/tennis-news-i-t ... RxP9Xv8vJU

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