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Reilly Opelka moved into the third round of the 2021 US Open with a 7-6(1), 7-5, 6-4 win over rising star Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday. Opelka made excellent use of his massive 6'11" frame to hammer down 31 aces against the Italian. He also won 82% of his first-serve points and did not get broken throughout the contest.
The American, who is one of the biggest servers on tour currently, had also racked up a mammoth 33 aces in his first-round match against Kwon Soon-woo. But while Opelka's height is what makes his serve the destructive weapon that it is, it also brings about a few weaknesses in his game.
During his post-match press conference on Thursday, Reilly Opelka was quizzed about the pros and cons of his tall frame. The American admitted that his height makes it easier for him to serve, but pointed out that it doesn't do him too many favors in other areas of the game.
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"Yeah, just like anything, I serve well, (but) other aspects of my game are tougher. Low ball. Just the basic things," Reilly Opelka said.
Opelka further highlighted how he has learned to adjust to his height. The American does believes, however, that he wouldn't be too far behind as a player even if he were shorter.
"But I've learned to live with it," Opelka said. "I don't know the other side, you know. So it's hard for me to know as much of the downsides. I can't say maybe I wouldn't be as good of a player, I wouldn't be where I'm at if I wasn't 7 foot. I don't want to complain. But maybe I'd be better. I don't know. Maybe I would be like Rublev. Probably not."
Reilly Opelka played a solid tiebreak in the first set on Thursday, serving and returning with gusto to knock the wind out of Lorenzo Musetti's sails. Opelka hit the spots with his serve and made the right decisions on his return.
When asked if experience played a role in helping him clinch the opening set, the 24-year-old answered in the affirmative. He further claimed that some of the older players use their experience and knowledge to win games even if they are slower in certain facets of the game.
"Yeah, for sure," Reilly Opelka said when asked whether his experience had helped him against Lorenzo Musetti. "I mean, that's why some of these older guys are still so good. You know, their actual tennis level has gone down. They may be half a step slower, five miles per hour less on their serve but they have so much more knowledge and so much more experience that are keeping them where they're at."
Reilly Opelka then gave the examples of Feliciano Lopez, Roberto Bautista Agut and the Big 3 - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - to reinforce his point.
"Like, you know, Feliciano Lopez, obviously the obvious ones, Roger, Rafa, Novak, Murray, and you have some, Bautista Agut, some veterans that I think the average age of the top 100 has gotten a lot higher in past years, mainly because of guys relying on their experience," the American added.
"Diego Schwartzman is one of my favorites" - Reilly Opelka
During the presser, Reilly Opelka was asked for his thoughts on Diego Schwartzman - one of the shortest players on tour but who packs quite the punch.
Schwartzman stands at 5'7" or 170 cm, which is a whopping 41 cm shorter than Opelka. In fact, the Argentine is shorter than the average height of most male tennis players.
The American revealed that he is a big fan of Schwartzman's aggressive tennis and, in the same breath, marveled at Yoshihito Nishioka, who is a centimeter shorter than Schwartzman.
"He's one of my favorites," Reilly Opelka said. "He's different. He hits the hell out of the ball. He's super-aggressive. But, yeah, when I see Schwartzman or Yoshi (Yoshihito Nishioka), I'm like, this guy has to get up every day and just grind."
Schwartzman and Nishioka are both exceptional athletes and can seemingly run all day long. But their height acts as a massive disadvantage as they seldom win free points on their serve, unlike Reilly Opelka.
Both Schwartzman and Nishioka need to slug it out on every single point to ensure they stay afloat. Opelka made a mention of that and went on to admit he doesn't have the lung capacity to put in as much effort as either of those two.
"Like it's crazy to me that every single point, you know, he's running side to side, scrapping for every single point," Opelka said. "That happens to me like two, three times a match and I'm dead, I'm gassed. He's doing it every single point. Makes me respect those guys even more, Yoshi and Schwartzman."
