Tennis: Djokovic’s executioner reveals his miracle recipe!

Saturday 04th January 2025 07:04 AM

Alexis Poch
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Journalist

Holder of a Master’s degree in sports journalism, I fell in love with Tennis since childhood and have always loved reading the great stories of this sport. Today, I want to tell them about them, take full advantage of my passion and be as close as possible to the aces of the circuit.

By choosing to start his 2025 very early in Brisbane from the first week of competition, Novak Djokovic set the tone for a 23rd season on the ATP circuit. The Serbian nevertheless lost this Friday against the American Reilly Opelka, currently ranked 293rd in the world. Injured for a long time, the 2.11m giant defeated the Serb (7/6 6/3), an important moment for him which marks a great comeback.

Used to going up against players of that size and beating them, Novak Djokovic was unable to avoid his first defeat of the year in the quarter-finals of this tournament ATP 250. A little short, the Serb hopes to quickly bounce backAustralian Open. For his part, Reilly Opelka wanted to pay a nice tribute to his opponent of the day, before meeting up with the Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the semi-finals on Saturday.

“He’s the greatest player”

17th player in the world at the start of 2022, Reilly Opelka dropped to 293rd in the world. The American had two almost blank seasons, and he had to take time to recover, before returning a few months ago. And he managed to win a prestigious victory against Novak Djokovic. “He is the greatest player the sport has ever known. It’s difficult to be in his position. He can analyze me or other opponents all day long but the reality is we have nothing to lose against him. We end up playing more freely” he explains on the court after his success against the Serbian ogre. His remarks being reported by We Love Tennis.

“You take a lot more risk”

Obviously, with its large size, Reilly Opelka can rely on the efficiency of its service. The American only had to save one break point during the match against a Serb, who was not excellent on the return and the rally. “You take a lot more risk because if you play at your normal level or even above, he will win every time. It’s difficult to be in his position because he faces players who take all the risks. On a day like this, when a lot of things are going my way, that’s how it works.” he continues.