Rafa Nadal will have another tough opponent on his way at the Indian Wells Masters 1000. The Spanish tennis player meets in the round of 16 with the American Reilly Opelka , who is 2.11 meters tall. His main weapon is a powerful service that can exceed 220 km/h and has a devilish effect, a new acid test for the Spaniard, who is fighting to improve sensations and will face a rival who is not going to give him rhythm or afford no concessions with your service.
While the main favorites of the tournament continue to fall – this morning Stefanos Tsitsipas also did it -, Rafa Nadal is surviving by trade and is already in the round of 16 of the first Masters 1000 of the season. A tough opponent awaits him there: Reilly Opelka , a tower of 2.11 meters high, with the service as his main weapon and who has just eliminated Denis Shapovalov (6-7, 6-4 and 6-4). The American, number 17 in the ATP , is going through a great moment of confidence after winning the tournament in Dallas and reaching the final in Delray Beach.
At 24 years old, he can boast of being the tallest tennis player in history, a record he shares with Ivo Karlovic. In the third round, Opelka got rid of Denis Shapovalov, number 13 in the ATP . The American hit 11 aces, one less than his rival, but the Canadian, under pressure with his service, committed up to 12 double faults that ended up condemning him.
The American maintains his personal crusade against the ATP, after a fine was imposed on him last February for his clothing during the trophy ceremony in Dallas, in which he was champion. “Mr. Opelka decided not to remove his cap during the presentation of the trophy ceremony,” the letter stated. One more episode of disagreement with the governing body of world tennis, which he has recently described as a “circus.” “I think Andrea Gaudenzi should resign. We need new leadership,” he added, calling for the resignation of the ATP CEO.
His best weapon is, without a doubt, the service, which can regularly reach more than 220 km/h, but the tennis player has also improved a lot when it comes to moving around the court, which makes him an atypical American, since It also offers good performance on clay courts.
A unique precedent with Nadal
Rafa Nadal and Reilly Opelka, rivals in the round of 16 of the Indian Wells Masters 1000, have only met once on the circuit. It was last year in the semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome, with victory for the Spanish in two sets, by double 6-4. The key to the match was that Nadal resisted well at key moments, never giving up his serve despite the four break balls he had to pick up.
In Indian Wells, Reilly Opelka hasn’t broken serve once on his way to the round of 16. In his debut against Lorenzo Musetti (6-1 and 6-4) he did not even give his rival any chance, while Denis Shapovalov had four break balls in a match that exceeded two and a quarter hours, but he could not convert any .
