Nearly 2 years on, Opelka makes successful return in Newport

Reilly Opelka last played a tour-level match nearly two years ago, in August 2022, in Washington. The American picked up where he left off on Monday in Newport.

Wild card Opelka defeated Frenchman Constant Lestienne 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(2) in two hours and five minutes to reach the second round of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open.

“It was super nice. It took me a while to find certain things. My return was there in the beginning, which was weird, and my serve wasn't. Then the return went away and the serve came back and it kind of ended right where I left off,” said Opelka, whose only match during the past 23 months came at an ATP Challenger Tour event last October. “It was nice to be back. It felt like longer than two years. So yeah, it was just nice to find my level again. I'm still just getting my sea legs and trying to figure everything out. But yeah, it's great to be back.”

First match of the year ✅ ⁰First win of the year ✅⁰⁰Reilly Opelka takes the win over Lestienne 6-1 2-6 7-6(2)⁰⁰@TennisHalloFame | #InfosysHallOfFameOpen pic.twitter.com/rCjMKuWqtK

Opelka underwent surgery on his hip and later his wrist, which kept him out for this prolonged period. In 2022 he had reached his career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 17.

“It is what it is. It's part of sports. Luckily, I feel like I'm just kind of picking right back up from where I left in D.C.,” Opelka said. “From where I was a couple months ago, this is a great step for me. I wasn't sure if I'd be playing this year or not. But I feel really good for now about my body, knock on wood. It seems to change every week, but it's definitely heading in the right direction.”

According to Infosys ATP Stats the 26-year-old won 89 per cent of his first-serve points and hit 16 aces against Lestienne. He will next play defending champion and top seed Adrian Mannarino, against whom he owns a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead.

“Obviously there are going to be some setbacks, I assume, with my body. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I haven't played this much tennis in two years,” Opelka said. “But Adrian is tough, defending champion, really good on grass, tricky opponent. I haven't seen a guy like him at his level in a while. I haven't played a lefty in a long time, so it'll be fun. It'll be interesting. A great test for me and a good opportunity to get another look at a top guy.”

Maxime Cressy, the 2022 Newport champion, survived a stern test from Radu Albot 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) despite hitting 23 double faults.

“It's very special being back here. [I won] my first ATP title here,” said Cressy, who will next play 2023 finalist and third seed Alex Michelsen. “It's the best memory of my career by far and looking forward to the next rounds.”

In other action, sixth seed Aleksandar Vukic eased past Coleman Wong 6-1, 6-2 and Aleksandar Kovacevic ousted Harold Mayot 7-6(1), 6-4.\

The final match of the evening between Benoit Paire and Zachary Svajda was suspended due to darkness with the match level at one set all.

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