Opelka: “I moved away from my usual tennis style”

The ATP Cincinnati 2025 has just begun and Reilly Opelka has already positioned himself as one of the surprises of the tournament. The 27-year-old American player made a big statement with his victory in two sets, one of them in a tiebreak, against Alex De Miñaur. The Australian reached the quarterfinals in Canada and was a candidate to advance to the final rounds in the American tournament.

Despite this, Reilly, who had already secured a victory on the blue courts against Hugo Dellien, showed up to completely stop him. His tennis is dangerous against all opponents, but if there is one aspect that stands out about the Michigan native, it’s his serve, a weapon that overwhelms his rivals and helps him take control of the matches.

“A couple of double faults put me in complications,” Opelka recalled about the tense end of the first set where he had to save several break points, as he mentioned in the post-match interview with Tennis Channel. “I expected him to be super focused, I knew he would make me play long points, and that’s what he did.

I found very good second serves. It could have become interesting, maybe we would still be running on the court, but I’m very happy to have been able to serve well in that last game to confirm the set.”

Trying to regain his style

“I approached this match in a similar way to what I’ve been doing lately. Returning after so many injuries, I deviated from my usual brand of tennis. I try to make the most of each tournament. My ranking is not as high as it was before, it’s far from what I want. 

The trend is to play a bit less aggressive, which is a death sentence for my style of tennis. We have been focusing on playing aggressively, we have watched some of my old matches, and that’s how I used to play. Today, I didn’t give him too many chances to develop his game.”

The ranking doesn’t lie

“I have defeated great rivals, but I have been injury-free for a year and I’m ranked 73rd in the world. The ranking doesn’t lie. I have been playing every week, staying healthy, and I am rightfully at this ranking. I have lost many second and third rounds. I reached a final and another semifinal in ATP 250 tournaments; I haven’t had better events.

His friendship with Venus Williams, his mixed doubles partner at the US Open

“We have a lot in common, we love tennis, art, and we both live in South Florida. We have trained together on some occasions, even when I was injured, she was always there supporting me. Besides being an amazing tennis player, she is a great friend outside the circuit. I have learned a lot from her.”

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Opelka: “Me alejé de mi estilo habitual de tenis”