Alex De Minaur Defeats Reilly Opelka to Advance to Atlanta Final

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

Before the semifinal in the tunnel & following the match at net.  Photos: Karl Corbett

Reilly Opelka was 17 years old, and Alex De Minaur was 16 when the two met in the 2014 Wimbledon juniors. Opelka won the third set, 13 games to 11. In Sydney this year, De Minaur had home court advantage and beat Opelka in the second round 6-4, 7-6 on his way to the title. Both players are up-and-coming. Opelka is at a career-high of number 43 this week and De Minaur stands at number 31.

Opelka starts as expected, with two aces and 3 serves over 130 miles per hour in just the first game. De Minaur holds at love and the players settle in for battle, as action continues. De Minaur starts expressing his frustration at his inability to block Opelka’s pounding serves back into play.  De Minaur sends an occasional serve straight to Opelka body, taking away any power his return would otherwise have. Both players are willing to charge the net. This is entertaining tennis. At 3 all, 30-30, Opelka follows up his serve with a cross-court rocket for a winner, pumps his fist and roars. He takes the game and we are at 4-3, with De Minaur now serving. New balls, please.

Opelka wins his first return point of the match, but it's the only point he will win this game. De Minaur already has three love holds. His service is surprisingly effective. This is clearly not going to be a one-sided affair. At 4-4, De Minaur earns a break point with a half-volley that lands at the feet of a charging Opelka. Opelka saves that, and a second break point, then closes the game with back-to-back aces. Opelka leads, 5-4.

Of course, we go to a 6-6 tiebreak. De Minaur seems to have the upper hand. He's lost only 2 points against serve, one of those on a double fault. His scrambling style is serving him well. Two players, staring at each other across the net and Opelka blinks first. He double-faults at 4-4.  De Minaur serves it out to win the first set.

Alex De Minaur takes the opening set in a tiebreaker.  Photo: Karl Corbett

In the second-set, parity continues. When De Minaur serves and takes a 3-2 lead, Opelka is shouting at himself back in his chair at the change of ends. De Minaur’s variety,  including short balls that Opelka can't reach, are taking their toll. Opelka gives up three of the first four points in his service game and he is staring at 15-40. Break point one: He wins the rally with a series of devastating forehands. Break point two: an ace at 122 miles per hour down the ‘T’. Opelka rights the ship. Four straight points get us to 3-3.

From there, the bombing continues. Nobody gets close to a break point, and we arrive at 6-6 in the second set. It’s tiebreak time, and it goes back and forth. With Opelka serving at 5-6, De Minaur hits a ball at the baseline off his ankles and down the line, a scorching winner.  Opelka counters with an ace at 141 miles an hour. With the tiebreak on the line Opelka draws an error to win the second set. He leaps into the air, beating his chest, pumping his fist. The crowd roars with him.

In the land of the Falcons, the lengthy wingspan of Reilly Opelka.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Two hours in…. and set 3 begins. This is good tennis. Both players are steady, moving well and showing good ball control, creating angles when they come to the net. Nobody gets close to a break point. The high quality of play continues to two games all. Then, De Minaur draws two errors and wins a break point on yet another Opelka error, this one driven into the net. Now, it's De Minaur’s turn to roar. He now serves, up 3-2 and holds to 4-2. Opelka is off kilter, missing first serves and making routine balls look difficult. Opelka saves two break points, then double faults to set up a 3^rd. He gets himself out of trouble with massive serves, but he is still down a break and De Minaur is fired up. He holds at love and leads 5-3. Opelka struggles in his service game which goes to deuce,   then advantage out and then game set and match.

De Minaur has not been broken in the entire tournament this far, giving up very few points in his 32 service games.

After the match, De Minaur talked about his ability to stay calm and focused. He did exactly that today. He also talks about the rhythm, the practice and the repetition which has made his serve so devastating. Looking forward to tomorrow's final., he doesn’t say much. He just smiles.

Alex De Minaur will next face American Taylor Fritz in the BB&T Atlanta Open Final.