Reilly Opelka last played a Tour-level event nearly two years ago in August 2022 in Washington. The American picked up where he left off in Newport on Monday.
Wildcard Opelka defeated France’s Constant Lestienne 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(2) in two hours and five minutes to advance to the second round of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open.
“It was really good. It took me a while to find something. At first, I had a return that was weird, and I didn’t have a serve. Then I lost the return and my serve came back and I finished right where I left off,” said Opelka, whose only matchup in the past 23 months came in an ATP Challenger Tour event last October. “It was good to be back. It felt like it had been more than two years, so it was good to get back to my level. My legs are still loose and I’m still trying to figure everything out. But it’s good to be back.”
First match of the year ✅ ⁰First win of the year ✅⁰⁰Reilly Opelka wins 6-1 2-6 7-6(2)⁰⁰@TennisHalloFame | #InfosysHallofFameOpen pic.twitter.com/rCjMKuWqtK
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 15, 2024
Opelka underwent hip and wrist surgery, which sidelined him for an extended period of time. In 2022, he reached a career-high PIF ATP ranking of No. 17.
“That’s it. It’s part of the sport. Luckily, I feel like I’m picking up right where I left off in DC,” Opelka said. “This is a big step forward for me from where I was a few months ago. I wasn’t sure if I was going to play this year. But right now, I feel really good about my body. Knock on wood. It seems like it changes every week, but I’m definitely moving in the right direction.”
According to Infosys ATP Stats, the 26-year-old won 89% of his first serve points and hit 16 aces against Lestienne. He next plays defending champion and top seed Adrian Mannarino, who is 3-0 ahead in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“Of course there will be some setbacks for my body. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I haven’t played this much tennis in two years,” Opelka said. “But Adrian is strong, he’s the defending champion, he’s really good on grass, he’s a tough opponent. I haven’t seen a player at his level for a while. I haven’t played a left-hander for a long time, so it’ll be fun. It’ll be interesting. It’s a good test for me, a good opportunity to see a top player again.”
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2022 Newport champion Maxime Cressy overcame a stern test from Radu Albot 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) despite recording 23 double faults.
“It’s really special to be back here. [I won] “I won my first ATP title here,” said Cressey, who will next play 2023 finalist and No. 3 seed Alex Mickelson. “It’s the most memorable moment of my career so far and I’m looking forward to the next round.”
In other matches, sixth seed Aleksandar Vukic easily beat Coleman Wong 6-1, 6-2 and Aleksandar Kovacevic defeated Harold Mayot 7-6(1), 6-4.
The final match of the evening between Benoit Pair and Zachary Svazda was abandoned due to darkness, with the match being tied at all sets.
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