Match Report
Opelka beats Mpetshi Perricard in Brisbane big-server battle, reaches first final since 2022
Lehecka advances after Dimitrov retires in second set
January 04, 2025
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Reilly Opelka in action in Brisbane.
By Sam Jacot
In a battle between two of the biggest serves on the ATP Tour, it was Reilly Opelka who came out on top against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Saturday at the Brisbane International presented by Evie.
In an absorbing clash, 6’11” Opelka earned a 6-3, 7-6(4) win against 6’8” Mpetshi Perricard to reach his first ATP Tour final since 2022.
“It is great to be in another final. I didn’t think I would be playing one of these at all after the past year,” said Opelka, who missed the majority of the past two years due to a wrist and hip injury. “One guy, kind of a miracle, a Canadian guy fixed me and I started training and once I was out of pain the confidence came back.”
With his 85-minute win, the American recorded his 100th tour-level victory and advanced to his seventh tour-level final. Chasing his fifth ATP Tour crown and first since Houston in 2022, Opelka will meet Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s championship match.
Opelka, who is back in the Top 200 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings following his semi-final victory, upset Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals to earn his eighth Top 10 win. The 27-year-old backed up that win with another impressive display against Mpetshi Perricard.
Opelka became the first player this season to break the 21-year-old’s serve, while he was strong behind his own delivery. The American won 85 per cent (40/47) of his first-serve points, saved all four break points he faced and hammered 12 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Opelka received a medical timeout for a wrist injury in the first set but was not overly fazed by the issue.
“Sometimes it happens. It started hurting a little in the second round. I tweaked it a little bit on a reaction shot but it will be alright,” said Opelka, who received a medical timeout on his right wrist in the first set. “I am not sweating too much.”
Mpetshi Perricard struck 75 aces in his first three matches this week in Brisbane and a further 10 against Opelka. However, the Frenchman, who was chasing his third ATP Tour title, had an early lapse on serve in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Opelka and was unable to recover.
“This guy is tough. I have watched him beat Sebastian Korda at Wimbledon and it was really impressive,” Opelka said on Mpetshi Perricard. “He is an athlete and has a body like that. He serves so well and moves so well.”
In the first semi-final of the day, Lehecka reached his fourth ATP Tour final after defending champion Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury.
Lehecka led 6-4, 4-4 and had been impressive behind serve throughout the 78-minute clash, not facing a break point. The Czech also won 85 per cent (22/26) of his first-serve points before the match was stopped.
Lehecka, currently No. 26 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, has fond memories in Australia. Last year, the 23-year-old won his maiden tour-level title in Adelaide and he has dropped just one set en route to the title match at the ATP 250 in Brisbane. He leads Dimitrov 3-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“The first thing is that you come here to Australia from Europe, so immediately you feel good,” Lehecka said when asked about his good Aussie record. “That’s the first thing, which is very important. All the cities, it doesn’t matter if it’s Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney, all these cities are nice. The people are nice. The tournaments are very well organised, which helps you a lot through the first days of the year.”
Dimitrov was aiming to win his third Brisbane title and 10th tour-level crown overall.
