OPELKA WINS!!
A stunning upset, as American Reilly Opelka takes down Novak Djkokovic in straight sets.
Opelka won 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, icing his quarterfinal victory with an ace.
What a performance!
Standing at 6’11”, Opelka — who has a protected ranking — produced a superb serving performance against the 24-time major winner.
He hit 16 aces and gave up only one double fault for the match.
Opelka finished with 36 winners to Djokovic’s 15, although he did tally 27 unforced errors across the two sets.
It wasn’t a case of Djokovic playing badly, instead Opelka — whose career had been struck down by injury — raised his game to another level.
He’ll play France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the semifinals.
For Djokovic, the plan now will be to re-group and focus on the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday week.
