Reilly Opelka happily shook his racket as he glided toward the net, waved to the crowd at Court 17 and smiled broadly.
The highest-ranked American man at the U.S. Open was within one win of his best performance at a Grand Slam tournament, and he was headed to the third round even after what he felt was a subpar performance Thursday.
Perhaps the big-serving, 24-year-old is ready for a breakthrough performance. After breezing past Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 7-6 (1), 7-5, 6-4, in two hours and 22 minutes, the 22nd-seeded Opelka looked capable of making some noise in Flushing Meadows.
“I thought, actually, I didn’t think I played great, and that’s what I loved about it,” he said. “I won the match not playing great.”
Part of that is experience. Part of it is maturity. In the opening point of the first-set tiebreaker, Opelka took an early lead and never looked back, gaining momentum after dropping in a forehand volley winner that followed a spinning rally-saver.
“I picked up my level, made some nice adjustments on my return,” said Opelka, who finished runner-up at the National Bank Open in Toronto last month. “But it started off ugly. I was clutch in the [tiebreaker], stayed tough. I put pressure on him, and that’s what I think good players start to do: they win when they are not playing well.”
Opelka may not think he’s playing at his best yet, and that is a good sign since he has yet to drop a set in two matches. Opelka has never advanced this far at the Open. He lost in the first round a year ago and in the second round in 2019. He has reached the third round just twice in a major, most recently at the French Open in June. He should have a good chance at a career-first when he faces unseeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili next.
But Thursday, the heavily bearded and carefree Opelka didn’t want to look ahead. He was basking in the moment, joking with reporters about his Halloween plans — the 2015 Wimbledon junior champion wants to dress as Happy Gilmore’s caddy, with his bushy hair hanging out of a hat — and the challenges of standing 6-foot-11.
“The only fun side is hitting an ace on a big point,” joked Opelka, who is ranked in the top 25 for the first time in his career.
With that in mind, he had a lot of fun in his latest match. He ripped 31 aces and saved all four break points while getting 73 percent of his first serves in. Just as importantly, Opelka converted both of his break points, making sure not to give Musetti an opening.
“That’s what kind of separates guys from the rest of the pack, I think,” he said. “You know, they make the right adjustments and they come up with the good [shots] on the big points.”
Opelka enjoyed the crowd on Court 17, because it wasn’t one-sided. He liked the back and forth. Musetti had plenty of support as well. Opelka will almost certainly have the fans on his side in his future matches. Especially if, as he said, he can play better. After years of disappointment from American men at the U.S. Open, Opelka could emerge.