To get his 100th title, Novak Djokovic will still have to wait. Appearing in rather good shape this week to launch his 2025 season in Brisbane, the Serbian was surprised on Friday by Reilly Opelka. The American giant, fallen to 293rd place in the world due to numerous injuries, played at an impressive level to bring down his prestigious opponent in two sets (7-6, 6-3) and 1h40 of play in the quarter-final. Thanks to this 8th victory over a member of the Top 10, a first for him in more than three years, Opelka will challenge Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the last four.
He will be the lowest ranked semi-finalist in the history of a tournament which is in its 13th edition. And Reilly Opelka didn’t steal it. To achieve this, he took out the number 1 seed in the Australian ATP 250, and in style. Because Novak Djokovic had not yet been broken after his first two matches of the season and he seemed in good shape. This Friday, he didn’t miss his subject but he came across a rock that turned into fire.
As expected, Opelka impressed on serve with 16 aces, including 12 in the first set alone and a final one to conclude the game like a symbol. And with 87% of points won behind his… second ball, the American locked in his commitments against what is yet the best on the restart. But if he had only relied on this weapon, certainly fatal in many respects, he would surely not have survived against an opponent of this caliber. And it is through his sometimes astonishing ground coverage for a player of this size and his ability to take his chances at the slightest opportunity that he made the difference.
