If they were an NBA team, such as the Memphis Grizzlies, they'd probably slow the game down, taking their time on every possession and making sure they fed the ball to the big men in the middle of the lane. But 6'11” Ivo Karlovic, 6'11” Reilly Opelka and 6'10” John Isner are ATP World Tour players, so they try to play fast, blasting serves that skid off the court and leave fans wondering how they strike so many aces. The power and athleticism of the tallest players on the ATP World Tour have been on showcase all week long at the Memphis Open, which is played on the indoor courts at The Racquet Club of Memphis. With the aforementioned tall...
They say everything is bigger in Texas. The tennis is no different and NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki and NFL star Ty Montgomery have taken notice. The sports stars visited the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, a prestigious $125,000 event on the ATP Challenger Tour, this week. Attending his first tennis event at any level, Montgomery was immediately hooked. The star running back of the American football juggernaut Green Bay Packers was made an instant fan of #NextGenATP stars Reilly Opelka, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, visiting the T Bar M Racquet Club on both Tuesday and Wednesday. "Ty was really cool," Opelka told ATPWorldTour.com. "Today was his first time watching tennis live and it seemed like he enjoyed it. It's...
American teen Reilly Opelka chats about making his debut at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Dallas. Video courtesy RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas.
Just short of 100 aces for the week, including 28 in the final. You said after your semi-final yesterday that you weren’t thrilled with how you served. How did you feel you served today? I served much better today than yesterday, for sure. [Ruben] was a tough returner. I hit a lot of aces, but part of it is that I played a lot more points on my serve. Even if I did hit my spot, he was taking cuts at the ball and was dangerous. He was a nightmare for me today. You only had one look at break chances today as well. I was one for five today, but all of those came in one game. If you...
American teen Reilly Opelka reflects on his time away from the courts due to a foot injury and discusses his chances at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Charlottesville.