“How nasty is Reilly Opelka” - Ben Shelton stunned after compatriot reaches Newport SF at his first ATP tour event in 2 years

Reilly Opelka stormed into the semifinals of the 2024 Hall of Fame Open in Newport despite not having played a tour-level tournament in two years. Opelka's compatriot Ben Shelton was impressed by his performance at his first tournament in such a long time.

After a tough couple of matches against Adrian Mannarino and Constant Lestienne, Reilly Opelka faced fellow American, Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Hall of Fame, the last grass court tournament of the year, on July 18. A solitary break of Opelka's serve handed McDonald the first set. But the former staged a comeback in the second set by breaking McDonald once.

In the third set, Opelka maintained his level to convert the lone breakpoint on McDonald's serve and closed the match on his serve 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, a remarkable result considering Reilly Opelka's two-year absence due to an extensive recovery period.

After the Citi Open in August 2022, the 26-year-old underwent hip surgery and recovered quite swiftly. However, in early 2023, he had right wrist surgery, which was unsuccessful in resolving the issue. Opelka flew all over the world to meet specialists to regain normal motion in his arm. After a lengthy rehabilitation period, the former World No. 17 played at a Challenger event in Charlottesville in October 2023.

Opelka took another break before returning to action in Newport, and his performance at the ATP 250 tournament has surprised many. Among them is his compatriot Ben Shelton, who took to Instagram to express his astonishment and praised Opelka's performance.

"How nasty is Reilly Opelka at this sport... how does someone do this after 2 years not playing," Ben Shelton wrote on Instagram.

Screenshot from Ben Shelton's Instagram account

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Reilly Opelka breaks Juan Martin del Potro's record with Newport SF run

Reilly Opelka

Reilly Opelka has created tennis history with his semifinal run at the 2024 Hall of Fame Open, becoming the lowest-ranked player to reach the last four of an ATP Tour-level tournament. His current ranking of World No. 1188 surpasses Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro's ranking of World No. 1042 when he reached the semifinal at the 2016 Delray Beach Open.

Opelka features twice in the list of top five lowest-ranked semifinalists in ATP history. Raemon Sluiter, ranked World No. 866 when he reached the final of the 2009 Ordina Open in Rosmalen, is #3 on the list. He is followed by Opelka at #4 (World No. 837 at the 2016 Atlanta Open) and Christian Harrison at #5 (World No. 789 at the 2021 Delray Beach).

At the 2024 Hall of Fame Open, Opelka entered the main draw via wildcard. The former World No. 17 has so far bettered Constant Lestienne in the first round, Adrian Mannarino, the top seed 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round, and Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinals. He will now face third seed Alex Michelsen in the semifinals.