Sydney Tennis Classic 2022: Reilly Opelka vs Andy Murray preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match Details

Fixture: (4) Reilly Opelka vs Andy Murray

Date: January 14, 2022

Tournament: Sydney Tennis Classic 2022

Round: Semifinal

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Outdoor Hard

Prize Money: $521,000

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime

Reilly Opelka vs Andy Murray preview

Reilly Opelka at the 2021 French Open.

Fourth seed Reilly Opelka will lock horns with former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the semifinals of the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic on Friday.

Opelka fired 17 aces and didn't face any break points on his way to a 7-6(4), 6-2 win over compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the quarterfinals. After a surprise loss to Maxime Cressy in his first match of last week's Melbourne Summer Set, the American has rebounded pretty well in Sydney.

He has posted impressive serving numbers so far in the tournament, which will give him a huge boost of confidence ahead of the Australian Open.

Murray celebrates a win at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.

Murray reached the last four in Sydney after a knee injury forced David Goffin to retire at the conclusion of the first set in their quarterfinal match. The Brit battled for more than three hours in his previous match against Nikoloz Basilashvili, so he'd certainly be grateful for a little less time spent on the court on Thursday.

This will be Murray's first semifinal since the Antwerp Open in October 2019, which also remains the last title he won. Murray will be keen to end the long title drought in Sydney before heading to the Australian Open, where he's a five-time finalist.

Reilly Opelka vs Andy Murray head-to-head

This will be the first meeting between the two, so the head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.

Reilly Opelka vs Andy Murray prediction

Murray celebrates a point at the 2021 US Open.

Opelka has served incredibly well this week, but Murray certainly knows how to counter big servers like him.

The Brit is undefeated against John Isner, winning all eight of their matches. He has also won six of his eight matches against Kevin Anderson. Both players have their games centered around their serve, just like Opelka. So Murray knows what to expect and how to neutralize their biggest strength with his superb returns.

The Brit showed some incredible fighting spirit in his match against Basilashvili. Since Murray's hip surgeries, he's put in a considerable amount of work to play like he did before and the results are there to be seen.

Opelka has done quite well this week, but Murray seems like a man on a mission at the moment.

Prediction: Andy Murray to win in three sets.