Reilly Opelka: "You can look stupid on court, but being at ease"

Advertisemen

Reilly Opelka managed to win two ATP titles this season, in Dallas and Houston. In Dallas, then, Opelka recorded the longest tiebreak in the history of the ATP Tour, against his countryman John Isner.

However, the US player dropped in the world rankings, going from 20th to 38th position. Recently, in a podcast interview released to the ATP, he talked, first of all about, his mentality, then touching on various issues.

Opelka told: "My mentality is, I would say, analytical, better to say, it's just a bit how I've always been set up. Finding the right balance between being too analytical and becoming harmful, so it's just about finding the right balance to handle that well."

The US tennis player added that you have to be comfortable with looking silly on the court at times: "I mean, it looks like fun, but you have to be comfortable with looking silly on the court at times and at my size, playing the way I play. If I get a ball that I like, I launch into a high stakes shot and splurge. This leads to some missed shots that look stupid, but that's just the nature of the game. It's just what it is, it's just reality"

Opelka and the most importat thing on a tennis court

Finally, the American underlined something important about tennis according to him: "Having a clear identity of who you are as a tennis player is one of the most important things in the game. I didn't have the mentality of being a server at a young age.

I remember that moment. It was one of the most frustrating moments of my youth career, I would say. I was 16-17 and played the way I was raised to play. At 15, I had to accept to play more recklessly, more aggressively, without fear. I hadn't yet planted this new thought in my mind. It was pretty tough; it was hard to accept that this was going to be my way of playing."

Opelka in his career reached an eighth final at the US Open and a final in a 1000 lost in 2021 at the Rogers Cup against Daniil Medvedev.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/NwyFRb5

Advertisemen

 Tennis