"He most definitely can be a top 10 player, he plays a brand of tennis that is exceptionally scary to play against"- Neville Godwin on Reilly Opelka

Neville Godwin, a former tennis pro from South Africa, believes Reilly Opelka has the potential to become a top-10 player.

Neville Godwin is a well-known coach who guided his compatriot Kevin Anderson to the US Open final and a spot in the top-5 of the ATP rankings.

Additionally, he mentored Hyeon Chung, the first South Korean player to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal in Melbourne in 2018, and his most recent mentee is the big-serving American Reilly Opelka.

In a recent podcast interview, Godwin talked about Opelka's potential to become a top-10 player. He said that no one can stop the American on the court when he is in the right frame of mind.

"He most definitely can be a top 10 player, " Godwin said. "He plays a brand of tennis that is exceptionally scary to play against. When he’s in the correct frame of mind and there’s nobody on any real surface, that is scary."

He continued by making a comment about Opelka's encounter with Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of Indian Wells earlier this year, where the American showed grit but ultimately lost, 7-6(3), 7-6.(5).

"He played Nadal in Indian Wells, " Godwin said. "Played a great match, lost 7-6 7-6 and had a chance post that to win a set and that’s as slow a hard court you can possibly get, so we were talking, how good could he be and I said, 'I think he will honestly be at his very best in 18 months to two years time'. That’s just growing, maturing, learning the trade and being better."

Reilly Opelka recently withdrew from the Atlanta Open where he was the top seed. Due to an injury, the American withdrew, and his countryman Steve Johnson took his position in the draw. However, Ilya Ivashka cut Steve Johnson's run short in his opener.

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"He works incredibly hard"- Neville Godwin on Reilly Opelka's US Open preparation

Day One: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

As per Godwin, Reilly Opelka is a very hardworking individual who is already nailing his preparations for the US Open, where he will be hoping for a good result

"I mean he works incredibly hard, " Godwin said. "I mean like just this week is an example. Training for the US season, I think he’s done two or three weight sessions and he lifts pretty big numbers."

"He would’ve done a track session yesterday and he would’ve done two footwork sessions this week so as well as upper body strength and as well as tennis practice, " he added.

The US Open begins on August 29 at Flushing Meadows, New York.