ATP – Brisbane > The return to grace of Reilly Opelka, winner of Djokovic, after two years of struggle: “I saw Novak become the greatest player of all time during this period. I saw Paul, Fritz, Tiafoe and Shelton succeed, which was motivating for me. It allowed me to continue to be interested in this sport.

Almost absent for two years between August 2022 and July 2024, despite a brief return in November 2023, due to a serious hip injury, Reilly Opelka struck a big blow this Friday by dominating in a very good way Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 in Brisbane.

After explaining the circumstances of his exploit against the Serb, the American, current 293^e world and old 17^espoke of this long period without tennis where he was able to appreciate the progress of his compatriots.

“It was difficult. Lots of uncertainties, lots of doubts. I watched a lot of my friends on TV, saw Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton succeed, which was fun and also motivating for me. This allowed me to continue to be interested in this sport. I watched Novak become the greatest during that two-year period. You know, a lot of players wonder what Novak would do in their situation. Even when you're in that period, you're still trying to maximize your performance and that's kind of the effect he's had on the sport. I think that's why you see a guy like Jannik (Sinner) who reminds you a little bit of someone else 10 years ago, Carlos (Alcaraz) and others. That's how sport evolves, it's competition, so I stayed the course even when I had a cast and crutches. I hope to have another chance here, like tonight. »

Published on Friday January 3, 2025 at 7:45 p.m.