Reilly Opelka (6 ft 11 in or 2.11 m) is not only the tallest top100 player in the world, but now he is also an ATP champion.
The American had a rather rough, but successful run in the ATP250 in New York to win the title after surviving John Isner in the semifinal (he saved 6 MPs) and a surprising Brayden Schnur in the final.
The final
Ranked no.89, Reilly was opposed to the world no.154 Brayden Schnur from Canada that was coming straight from the qualifications. After winning the opener 6-1, Opelka didn’t manage to win the second set after he had 2 championship points in the breaker. Eventually, everything went down to the tie break of the decider and the American was struggling again to fail to convert 3 match points when he was leading 6-4 and 7-6. Opelka was lucky the 4th time before winning the encounter after slightly more than 2 hours.
The American fired 43 aces (as he did in the semifinal against Isner).
43 aces later, Reilly Opelka defeats Brayden Schnur 6-1, 6-7(7), 7-6(7) for his first ATP Tour title! 🏆
📹: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/nyXOCgNWan
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) February 17, 2019
I was tough mentally. OPELKA
“I was tough mentally, especially losing a lot of first sets this week, and my first serve really helped me out. I was able to play clutch in those big moments.“
Opelka will now head to Delray Beach where he will face Tennys Sandgren in the opener.
NEW ATP CHAMPION
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