Reilly Opelka was out for basically two full years, felled by a hip problem and failed wrist surgeries. Instead of being on the tennis court, he was satisfying his thirst for art in museums around Italy, Paris, and elsewhere in Europe.
“I did a lot,” Opelka reflected. “I stayed of Florida, that’s for sure. I was traveling a ton; I went to Europe a lot. I really enjoy being in Italy in particular; I love Rome, I love Milan. (In) Paris I spent a lot of time looking at art and doing everything a tennis player doesn’t normally do.”
Finally, he is healthy again.
With his 6’11” body fixed, Opelka is back on the court and seemingly eager to make up for lost time. The American powered his way to the semifinals on the grass courts of Newport last week and kicked off his hard-court summer by beating Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 7-6(5) during first-round action on Wednesday afternoon.
“I was impressed with my level,” Opelka said in his post-match interview following his fifth win in just his third event since August of 2022. “I kind of surprised myself a bit again. Newport was my first (ATP) tournament in two years; I haven’t played that many matches in a long time, especially back-to-back. My body was shot by Thursday and I somehow made it to Saturday. So I came here and I didn’t really practice at all, which is kind of unlike what players do–especially going from one surface to another. So i kind of came in with the mindset of ‘I’d rather be fully fresh and recovered and less prepared as opposed to being a little bit more prepared but maybe still dealing with a little bit of inflammation in my arm and my knee.”
Feeling good physically, Opelka is suddenly armed with confidence–especially in Atlanta, where conditions are perfect for his big-serving game. The 26-year-old made a point of noting that John Isner, one of the other biggest servers ever on tour, is a six-time Atlanta champion. Opelka doesn’t mind the heat, either.
“I live in south Florida, so this is a nice little winter escaper for me,” he joked. “It’s about 10 degrees warmer down in West Palm Beach…. [The change from grass to hard courts] is as major of a difference as it gets, especially that grass (in Newport). There’s no other grass like it; it’s like your playing on a fairway…. It’s actually nicer going from that to this as opposed to the other way around nice. Every ball bounces true here. Especially when it’s hot it’s a live court; there’s a reason why the other guy who looks kind of like me and plays like me has won it [six] times. It’s a bouncy court; servers like playing here.”
Opelka generally likes playing everywhere on the U.S. summer swing. In 2021 he was runner-up to Daniil Medvedev at the Toronto Masters and a few weeks later reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open. As he prepares for his return to Flushing Meadows next month, Opelka has already accepted a main-draw wild card for next week’s ATP 500 in Washington, D.C.
Suddenly, after playing one match in the span of 23 months, he has to worry about playing too many matches.
“You know, I’m still trying the figure that out,” Opelka said of his remaining summer plans. “We have to play everything by ear. Obviously when you take two years off, you just don’t know where your level is. I didn’t know if I was going to lose in an hour in Newport and then have a week off. Obviously it’s a great problem to have–to have too many matches, which means you’re playing well. So I think that’s where I’m at.”
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Opelka looking surprisingly good
He looked great, actually. He’s still getting match tough, but that was well done.