“I was just focused on my spots,” Opelka said of that final game. “If I hit them, it’s hard to get them back, but if there’s anyone who can, it’s him. I was ready for that; if it happened, it happened, and there’d still be more tennis to be played. It’s not the end of the world if I get broken, and we carry on.”
The 6’11” American will face an equally big server in the semis as 6’8” Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard looms: the rising French star has rocketed up the rankings in the time Opelka has looked to rebuild his ranking, but Opelka relishes another challenge in the days leading up to the 2025 Australian Open.
“The big show’s in a week,” he said. “Obviously this is great, this is awesome. But this is all prep for Melbourne, and this is just a step along the way. Anyone can do this for a night or two here and there. The difficult part is sustaining it over an 11- month season.”
