#NextGenATP American Reilly Opelka moved to within two wins of qualifying for Roland Garros for the first time on Tuesday. The 20-year-old right-hander beat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the second round of qualifying. Opelka won his first clay-court title on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Primrose, an ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Bordeaux, France. He lost in the final round of Roland Garros qualifying last year. The 6'10” Opelka will next meet 25-year-old Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia, who beat 30th seed Alexey Vatutin of Russia 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. [ALSO LIKE] Latvian Ernests Gulbis, who beat Roger Federer en route to the 2014 Roland Garros semi-finals (l. to Djokovic), also advanced on a rain-shortened day of qualifying...
A LOOK BACK BNP Paribas Primrose (Bordeaux, France): For the 11th time, the ATP Challenger Tour descended on the French city of Bordeaux. And the prestigious €106,000 event would celebrate its first American champion on Sunday. Reilly Opelka rallied from a set down to defeat home hope Gregoire Barrere 6–7(5), 6–4, 7–5 in two hours and 20 minutes, firing 22 aces and saving five of six break points faced. "I served great, served a lot of aces from the first match and competed really hard," said Opelka. "I love it here. Even off the court I've been hanging out in the city a lot and enjoying my time. The architecture is incredible." The title marked Opelka's first clay-court crown at...
Reilly Opelka provides an exclusive look at life on the road on the ATP Challenger Tour, as we visit the #NextGenATP American's hotel room in Savannah.
Reilly Opelka knows quite well what the ATP Challenger Tour has to offer during its spring clay-court season. One year ago, the big-hitting American blasted into his first semi-final on the surface in Aix-en-Provence, France. And this week, Opelka finds himself in the last four on the green clay of Sarasota, U.S.A., rallying from a break down twice during the tournament. "I am better on hard, so it is nice to get a win on clay, especially when I have been in a slump the last six or seven weeks," said Opelka. "Tennis is such a confidence game, so it is just about finding that confidence when we hit the clay season. This gives me an opportunity to play tomorrow...
