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21-year-old sits down with broadcaster Mike Cation to discuss his victory in Knoxville

Reilly Opelka is quietly making a significant charge towards a Top 100 debut. The 21-year-old American entered the US Open at No. 173 in the ATP Rankings, and he is now projected to rise to a career-high No. 116 following his latest ATP Challenger Tour title in Knoxville.

Opelka was a machine all week on the campus of the University of Tennessee, not dropping a set en route to the final. There, he overcame a stern test from countryman Bjorn Fratangelo, eventually prevailing in a deciding tie-break 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2). He fired 26 aces in one hour and 59 minutes.

In five tournaments since the US Open, he has reached a pair of finals in Chicago and Cary and claimed a championship in Knoxville. It has been a career-year for the rising Michigan native, who also added a clay-court crown in Bordeaux, France, in May. He is the sixth player to win on both clay and hard in 2018.

One week after close friend Tommy Paul reigned in Charlottesville, Opelka became the seventh #NextGenATP American winner this year.

'Big O' spoke to broadcaster Mike Cation after the final on Sunday...
Congrats, Reilly. This was one of those matches that didn't have a lot of rhythm. That disrupted Fratangelo at times today. Is that how your style plays out?
It is definitely how my style plays out. It's not that I wasn't necessarily going for more, but I wasn't as consistent. That kind of messed him up a little bit. He felt no rhythm. Neither did I, but I felt that I was more comfortable in those situations.

These courts can be slower and it took away from your pace. But you had 26 aces and it seemed like you were serving at a high percentage all week long.
Yeah, for sure. I've been serving at a high percentage. I'd say that for the past six or seven months it's been a huge improvement. I think my first serve percentage is up 15 per cent from last year. I've also improved my forehand return a lot and my return in general. Today, he served pretty well and I had a hard time with that, but overall in the tie-break I thought I did a great job.

2018 Win-Loss Pct. Leaders (minimum 25 matches played)
Player Pct. (W-L) Titles
(1) Vasek Pospisil .784 (29-8) 2
(2) Christian Garin .754 (46-15)
3
(3) Jordan Thompson .753 (52-17) 3
(4) Guido Andreozzi .731 (38-14) 4
(T-5) Reilly Opelka .725 (29-11) 2
(T-5) Ugo Humbert .725 (29-11) 2
(7) Juan Ignacio Londero .702 (40-17) 2

A lot of the returns you hit today were heavy pace right into the body. That's a lower margin return to take so you're not going for those tougher angles. Going forward, is that something you're going for more?
It depends on the opponent and depends on the second serve he hits. Obviously with my leverage I can hit some big, heavy shots if I have room to swing. I hit some returns where I hit it and came in. Some I went back and hit forehands and went back and hit backhands, so I had a nice variety of four or five different positions. Towards the end of the match I had him thinking. In the tie-break, the forehand return I hit on the ad side where I stepped back was big. If I would have stepped in, it would have been a tougher shot. I ripped the forehand and went up a double mini-break. That was pretty much all I needed right there.

You had a pretty rough stretch in Northern California (first round losses in Stockton and Fairfield). I don't think you seemed very happy with being back on court. What turned it around?
Well those were just two horrible tournaments for me. I wasn't in a good place mentally from the start. It was easier to be calmer and happier in an atmosphere like this. My housing family is great here and that's very comforting for a player. You know that even if you lose, you'll have good practices and plenty of guys to hit with.

You are very close to the Top 100. Having mono took some time from your season, but you are very close to that milestone at the finish of the year. What does it mean to be right there as you enter the final week in Champaign?
I wouldn't even celebrate Top 100, if we're being honest. That's not my long term goal. Yes, it would be nice. Like you said, mono really killed me this summer, but at the same time it allowed me to reset for 5-6 weeks. I'm pleased with how I'm playing now and my main goal is to stay healthy and put in a really good offseason. I think this offseason is going to be critical. I've been really beat up a lot this year and doing things this offseason to prevent that for 2019 is going to be critical.

Can you talk about your physio?
Yeah, Gary Kitchell has been great. He's helped me out a lot these couple of weeks. I wasn't even supposed to be playing here. I'm really thankful to have him on board. He's a legend in the industry, doing his thing for the last 30 or so years. If I say a higher number, he'll probably kill me [laughs]. It's not a full-time thing, but just having him as a consultant is great. I know this week was stressful, but he brings a lot of energy that's for sure.

We have seven-hour drives to Champaign. I know you like a nice steak dinner to celebrate, but you're going to have to pick up something on the road. We're in the south in Knoxville. What's the meal of choice tonight?
Great question.

That's why they pay me a lot of money for this.
I know. That's a phenomenal question. I don't know. We've been eating good here. I'll let my team decide, because they'll be the ones driving. There are definitely some good options though. It might have to be something quick, but I should take into consideration that I'm going to be sitting in a car for seven hours. I might want to go light and healthy. We have a big Suburban, so I'll be lounging in the back and sleeping for five hours at least.

Finishing the season inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings is a special achievement for those competing on the ATP Challenger Tour. It marks the culmination of a year of hard work and often signals a turning point in a player's career.

But few Top 100 ascents are as dramatic as this. Reilly Opelka opened the month of September at No. 173, with a mountain to climb to crack the century mark. Having struggled with a bout of mononucleosis over the U.S. summer, the 21-year-old needed to find his form in a hurry. What resulted will go down as one of the most memorable storylines of the Challenger season.

Opelka had claimed just 17 match wins during the year, as he stepped on the hard courts of windy Chicago in the first week of September. He would double that total in the coming months, capping his Top 100 ascent with a stunning 17-4 stretch. It all kicked off with back-to-back finals in Chicago and Cary and culminated with consecutive titles in Knoxville and Champaign. That's four final appearances in just six tournaments following the US Open.

On Saturday, Opelka blasted to a career-high No. 98 in the ATP Rankings behind a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Ryan Shane in the final of the JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana. He needed to sweep both indoor events in Knoxville and Champaign to conclude his season and he did just that, reeling off nine straight matches with aplomb. Playing with poise and maturity from the baseline, the 6'11" American did not only rely on his seismic serve. Armed with a more consistent and patient ground game, coaches Jay Berger and Jean-Yves Aubone have guided their young charge to new heights.



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Opelka Fast Facts
- Concludes the season in second place among Challenger win-loss percentage leaders (.756), behind only Vasek Pospisil (.784).
- One of six players to win at least three titles in 2018, joining Guido Andreozzi (4), Pablo Andujar (3), Hugo Dellien (3), Christian Garin (3) and Jordan Thompson (3).
- First American to win three titles in a single season since 2014 (Bradley Klahn and Sam Querrey).
- Joins Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz as Americans aged 21 & under to feature in the year-end Top 100.

After winning in Champaign, Opelka spoke to broadcaster Mike Cation...

You said last week that Top 100 didn't really matter to you, because of the long-term goals. That being said, now you're there and you've guaranteed yourself Australian Open main draw. That has to mean something at this point.
Yeah, being in the main draw of Australia is huge. It allows me to go there and play two tournaments before the Australian Open. Usually I'll have to play qualies the week before and it's a long trip over there just for that. You might just play one match and then qualifying, which is brutal. From that standpoint, it's huge. Like I said last week, Top 100 is not something I'm celebrating, but yes, I'm stoked to be there.

Two straight titles to get there is pretty hard to do. In your first couple matches in Champaign, your game wasn't entirely there. What turned on as the week progressed?
I was focused, but I just played another guy [Lloyd Glasspool] with a big serve. And then [Kaichi] Uchida was playing insane in the second round. The tough moments in the tournament were early on and then in the quarter-finals it was just a great match-up for me. On Friday, it was extremely physical [against Tommy Paul], so I wasn't 100 per cent confident in my body today. But I knew that playing Ryan, he would be serving big and looking to end points quick. I didn't have to rely on moving and being physical to win the match.

Tommy Paul is a very close friend of yours. How awkward was it to play him for the first time as pros, in the semi-finals?
I didn't feel it was awkward, actually. We know each other so well and have practised a ton together. We know each other's games, but it did take me a while to get going in that match. I started slow. Once that happened, we played great tennis. From 2-all in the second set until the end of the match, it was high quality. I didn't serve my best, so I won a lot of points from the baseline and was just scrapping. We had a 40-ball rally on the first match point. I had to win in a different way from how I'm used to winning.

It was completely different in the final against Ryan. He's playing some incredible tennis this week and showing everyone what he's capable of, reaching his first final. What did you see from him and how did you combat that?
I think he's just disrupted a lot of guys. He was playing much more consistent with the same aggression. That's huge. In baseline points, I didn't feel comfortable at all. I'd hit a huge shot and he responded right back. Granted, he missed some big shots that he shouldn't have, including that break point that gave me the first break. Maybe that's the downside to his style, where you can't control it in the big points. But that's what won me the match today.

You played pretty well under pressure the past two weeks. How do you bring that into next year? What will you do with a six-week off-season in front of you?
I actually don't think it's something I can bring into next year. I have six weeks off and I'll take a short break and then it's five weeks of getting better. We looked at a lot of stats and watched a lot of my matches last year. We'll do the same this year. Putting this year behind us what we need to do and we'll look at what flaws need to be fixed for next year.

If you take out the struggles with mono and you look at the year as a whole, what you've done is pretty important. Just in terms of your growth and your development. You are at the point where you can start playing more and more ATP events so you are not at the Challenger level. How important is that for you in 2019?
It's huge. I hope I can make a nice transition on the ATP World Tour. I'm not saying I will or it will be easy, but it's definitely not my last Challenger. I have the opportunity to go to Australia and train with a couple tour events and prepare for the Aussie Open. I've never had that chance before.

Last week you said you weren't going to celebrate your title in Knoxville, but now you don't have anything to worry about with a complete week off coming up. How are you going to celebrate with your team, family and friends?
My favourite restaurant is in Chicago. It's called Boca. I'm going to try to take my talents there and probably won't be able to walk out because I'll be eating so much. I went there every night with Michael Mmoh during the Chicago Challenger. He'll also confirm that it's the best restaurant we've been to. It's on the agenda.

21-year-old sits down with broadcaster Mike Cation to discuss his victory in Champaign and Top 100 breakthrough
Finishing the season inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings is a special achievement for those competing on the ATP Challenger Tour. It marks the culmination of a year of hard work and often signals a turning point in a player's career.

But few Top 100 ascents are as dramatic as this. Reilly Opelka opened the month of September at No. 173, with a mountain to climb to crack the century mark. Having struggled with a bout of mononucleosis over the U.S. summer, the 21-year-old needed to find his form in a hurry. What resulted will go down as one of the most memorable storylines of the Challenger season.

Opelka had claimed just 17 match wins during the year, as he stepped on the hard courts of windy Chicago in the first week of September. He would double that total in the coming months, capping his Top 100 ascent with a stunning 17-4 stretch. It all kicked off with back-to-back finals in Chicago and Cary and culminated with consecutive titles in Knoxville and Champaign. That's four final appearances in just six tournaments following the US Open.

On Saturday, Opelka blasted to a career-high No. 98 in the ATP Rankings behind a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Ryan Shane in the final of the JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana. He needed to sweep both indoor events in Knoxville and Champaign to conclude his season and he did just that, reeling off nine straight matches with aplomb. Playing with poise and maturity from the baseline, the 6'11" American did not only rely on his seismic serve. Armed with a more consistent and patient ground game, coaches Jay Berger and Jean-Yves Aubone have guided their young charge to new heights.

Opelka Fast Facts
- Concludes the season in second place among Challenger win-loss percentage leaders (.756), behind only Vasek Pospisil (.784).
- One of six players to win at least three titles in 2018, joining Guido Andreozzi (4), Pablo Andujar (3), Hugo Dellien (3), Christian Garin (3) and Jordan Thompson (3).
- First American to win three titles in a single season since 2014 (Bradley Klahn and Sam Querrey).
- Joins Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz as Americans aged 21 & under to feature in the year-end Top 100.

After winning in Champaign, Opelka spoke to broadcaster Mike Cation...

You said last week that Top 100 didn't really matter to you, because of the long-term goals. That being said, now you're there and you've guaranteed yourself Australian Open main draw. That has to mean something at this point.
Yeah, being in the main draw of Australia is huge. It allows me to go there and play two tournaments before the Australian Open. Usually I'll have to play qualies the week before and it's a long trip over there just for that. You might just play one match and then qualifying, which is brutal. From that standpoint, it's huge. Like I said last week, Top 100 is not something I'm celebrating, but yes, I'm stoked to be there.

Two straight titles to get there is pretty hard to do. In your first couple matches in Champaign, your game wasn't entirely there. What turned on as the week progressed?
I was focused, but I just played another guy [Lloyd Glasspool] with a big serve. And then [Kaichi] Uchida was playing insane in the second round. The tough moments in the tournament were early on and then in the quarter-finals it was just a great match-up for me. On Friday, it was extremely physical [against Tommy Paul], so I wasn't 100 per cent confident in my body today. But I knew that playing Ryan, he would be serving big and looking to end points quick. I didn't have to rely on moving and being physical to win the match.

Tommy Paul is a very close friend of yours. How awkward was it to play him for the first time as pros, in the semi-finals?
I didn't feel it was awkward, actually. We know each other so well and have practised a ton together. We know each other's games, but it did take me a while to get going in that match. I started slow. Once that happened, we played great tennis. From 2-all in the second set until the end of the match, it was high quality. I didn't serve my best, so I won a lot of points from the baseline and was just scrapping. We had a 40-ball rally on the first match point. I had to win in a different way from how I'm used to winning.

It was completely different in the final against Ryan. He's playing some incredible tennis this week and showing everyone what he's capable of, reaching his first final. What did you see from him and how did you combat that?
I think he's just disrupted a lot of guys. He was playing much more consistent with the same aggression. That's huge. In baseline points, I didn't feel comfortable at all. I'd hit a huge shot and he responded right back. Granted, he missed some big shots that he shouldn't have, including that break point that gave me the first break. Maybe that's the downside to his style, where you can't control it in the big points. But that's what won me the match today.

You played pretty well under pressure the past two weeks. How do you bring that into next year? What will you do with a six-week off-season in front of you?
I actually don't think it's something I can bring into next year. I have six weeks off and I'll take a short break and then it's five weeks of getting better. We looked at a lot of stats and watched a lot of my matches last year. We'll do the same this year. Putting this year behind us what we need to do and we'll look at what flaws need to be fixed for next year.

If you take out the struggles with mono and you look at the year as a whole, what you've done is pretty important. Just in terms of your growth and your development. You are at the point where you can start playing more and more ATP events so you are not at the Challenger level. How important is that for you in 2019?
It's huge. I hope I can make a nice transition on the ATP World Tour. I'm not saying I will or it will be easy, but it's definitely not my last Challenger. I have the opportunity to go to Australia and train with a couple tour events and prepare for the Aussie Open. I've never had that chance before.

Last week you said you weren't going to celebrate your title in Knoxville, but now you don't have anything to worry about with a complete week off coming up. How are you going to celebrate with your team, family and friends?
My favourite restaurant is in Chicago. It's called Boka. I'm going to try to take my talents there and probably won't be able to walk out because I'll be eating so much. I went there every night with Michael Mmoh during the Chicago Challenger. He'll also confirm that it's the best restaurant we've been to. It's on the agenda.

Few #NextGenATP Class of 2018 graduates will carry as much momentum into 2019 as Opelka, who won back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour events in Knoxville, Tennessee and Champaign, Illinois to wrap up his 2018 season. Those victories helped the American crack the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time.

Opelka ranked second on the ATP Challenger Tour this year with a 75.6 winning percentage (34-11), reaching nine semi-finals at that level. Opelka also earned his first win against a Top 10 opponent, beating Jack Sock en route to the quarter-finals of the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com. The 2016 Atlanta semi-finalist will look to become a mainstay on the ATP Tour next year.

In a meeting between two of the tallest players in the Australian Open draw, 6'11" Reilly Opelka caused the biggest upset of the day to beat 6'10" John Isner 7-6(4), 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 7-6(5) on Monday.

The 21-year-old ended Isner's nine-match unbeaten Grand Slam record against American opposition after two hours and 58 minutes, firing 40 aces to record his first Grand Slam victory. Isner also landed 47 aces in a match which featured a combined 143 winners.

Opelka's only previous Grand Slam appearance came as a qualifier in Melbourne, falling in five sets to David Goffin in 2017. The World No. 102 improves to 2-1 against Top 10 players, having also beat then-No. 8 Jack Sock at 2018 Delray Beach.

Opelka will meet Thomas Fabbiano for a place in the third round. The Italian beat Australian wild card Jason Kubler 6-4, 7-6(1), 2-6, 6-3 in three hours and four minutes.

Grigor Dimitrov recovered from a set down to beat Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The 2017 semi-finalist (l. to Nadal), making his ninth straight appearance at Melbourne Park, fired 42 winners, including 18 aces, to advance after two hours and 33 minutes.

During the off-season, Dimitrov has continued to work with former World No. 1 Andre Agassi in Las Vegas. Agassi began work with the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion at the Rolex Paris Masters last November, as Dimitrov looks to make a return to the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings.

"[Andre has] done so much outside of the court," said Dimitrov. "I'm just a better person, period. On a daily basis, I have learned something new from him."



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The 20th seed, who entered the match with a 1-4 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Tipsarevic, improves to 3-1 this season after a run to the Brisbane International quarter-finals (l. to Nishikori). Former No. 8 Tipsarevic was making his first appearance at any level since the 2017 US Open, following surgery on both hamstring tendons.

Dimitrov will meet Pablo Cuevas in the second round. The 33-year-old Uruguayan needed just over two hours to beat Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 7-6, 6-1.