Brisbane, Jan 4: In a battle between two of the biggest serves on the ATP Tour, Reilly Opelka came out on top against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the Brisbane International here on Saturday. In an absorbing clash, the 6’11” Opelka earned a 6-3, 7-6(4) win against 6’8” Mpetshi Perricard to reach his first ATP Tour final since 2022.
“It is great to be in another final. I didn’t think I would be playing one of these at all after the past year,” said Opelka, who missed the majority of the past two years due to a wrist and hip injury. “One guy, kind of a miracle, a Canadian guy fixed me and I started training and once I was out of pain the confidence came back.”
With his 85-minute win, the American recorded his 100th tour-level victory and advanced to his seventh tour-level final. Chasing his fifth ATP Tour crown and first since Houston in 2022, Opelka will meet Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s championship match, the ATP reported on its website on Saturday.
Opelka, who is back in the Top 200 in the ATP Live Rankings following his semifinal victory, upset Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals to earn his eighth Top 10 win. The 27-year-old backed up that win with another impressive display against Perricard.
Opelka became the first player this season to break the 21-year-old’s serve, while he was strong behind his own delivery. The American won 85 percent (40/47) of his first-serve points, saved all four break points he faced, and hammered 12 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Opelka received a medical timeout for a wrist injury in the first set but was not overly fazed by the issue.
“Sometimes it happens. It started hurting a little in the second round. I tweaked it a little bit on a reaction shot but it will be alright,” said Opelka, who received a medical timeout on his right wrist in the first set. “I am not sweating too much,” Opelka was quoted as saying by the ATP.
Perricard struck 75 aces in his first three matches this week in Brisbane and a further 10 against Opelka. However, the Frenchman, who was chasing his third ATP Tour title, had an early lapse on serve in his first ATP head-to-head meeting with Opelka and was unable to recover.
“This guy is tough. I have watched him beat Sebastian Korda at Wimbledon and it was really impressive,” Opelka said on Mpetshi Perricard. “He is an athlete and has a body like that. He serves so well and moves so well.”
In the first semifinal of the day, Lehecka reached his fourth ATP Tour final after defending champion Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury. Lehecka led 6-4, 4-4, and had been impressive behind serve throughout the 78-minute clash, not facing a break point. The Czech also won 85 percent (22/26) of his first-serve points before the match was stopped.
Lehecka, currently No. 26 in the ATP Live Rankings, has fond memories of Australia. Last year, the 23-year-old won his maiden tour-level title in Adelaide and he has dropped just one set en route to the title match at the ATP 250 in Brisbane. He leads Dimitrov 3-1 in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series. Dimitrov is aiming to win his third Brisbane title and 10th tour-level crown overall. (IANS)
