Reilly Opelka is well-known for being a big server using his incredible height (6’11” or 2.11 mt). The American has also rather good skills on the baseline, but his return is not that great. Therefore, something incredible happened in Basel as Reilly defeated Christian Garin 7-6 (5) 7-6 (10) after winning just 6 points on the return games (3 per set).
Here you can see the sequence.
Via @djub22:
Really Opelka just defeated Cristian GarĂn in *straight sets* while winning just 6 (S-I-X) return points out of 69 the whole match.
The epitome of efficiency. pic.twitter.com/Od40Jr775S
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) October 22, 2019
The reaction from Social Media
The comments on social media were not really flattering. Someone said that “These players kill tennis,” while another person commented that “This is not tennis.”
Finally, another tennis fan said: “Guess one can never say someone won unfairly, but these tall big servers, honestly, doesn’t bring a lot of beauty to the game! Terrible to watch! And with an average serve they wouldn’t be in the top 500.”
Not impossible that this is a first in tennis history: In Basel, Reilly Opelka just won a tennis match 7-6 7-6 vs Garin winning just SIX return points total. 3 per set. Basta https://t.co/2LFtqMDhtS
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) October 22, 2019
Next round
Opela will face either David Goffin or Marin Cilic in the following round. Serving big would be essential for him to keep his run in Switzerland.
Opelka in Basel, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.37 (career-high), the American has a 35-23 win-loss record in 2019. The American is currently playing in Basel where he defeated Christian Garin 7-65 7-610.
Opelka conquered 1 title in 2019 in New York.
Reilly Opelka |
| Embed from Getty Images |
