We promised a clash of the titans between the two men over 2 meters tall and it was Reilly Opelka who defeated Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two sets (6-3, 7-6) this Saturday. The American therefore joins Lehecka in the final of the Brisbane tournament.
The step was – this time – too high for the Frenchman, who stopped in the semi-final in Brisbane. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard played the American Reilly Opelka, 239th player in the world, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, and this duel promised a real clash between servers.
So, we were served. But not as we hoped… The Frenchman did not make his serve his number 1 weapon. Getting off to a bad start in the match, he was broken from the start of the game, due to two double faults and a very dominant, at ease on his serve, him.
But, in this fight which culminated at more than 2 meters, it was the Frenchman who fell against Opelka and who will not play his third final on the ATP circuit after his titles in Lyon and Basel last year.
What a return for Opelka!
Away from the courts for almost two years, the former world number 14 made up for lost time with a very good tournament in Brisbane. Author of an impressive match, like the one achieved yesterday against Novak Djokovic, the American shows that he is coming back in force on the circuit. Opelka reaches his seventh career final, the first since Houston in 2022. He will play for the title against Jiri Lehecka, who benefited earlier this morning from the withdrawal of Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
And yet, the American seemed to be uncomfortable with his wrist. But he still played against the Frenchman by stringing together 3 aces in a row, while he was trailing 0-40, at 4-2, in the first set. What followed was what was expected of the two players, each holding their throws. But it was the American who overcame the Frenchman. He will play the final on Sunday, hoping that his wrist gets better.
