Venus Williams congratulates Reilly Opelka on winning Dallas Open and record tie-break
Former World No. 1 Venus Williams congratulated Reilly Opelka on winning the inaugural edition of the Dallas Open. The 24-year-old won his third ATP title by defeating compatriot Jenson Brooksby in the final.
Opelka was the second seed and did not drop a set throughout the tournament. However, six out of the eight sets he played were decided by tie-breaks. This included the longest tie-break in the history of the ATP tour during his semi-final win over John Isner. It lasted 46 points and Opelka had to save 10 set points before winning 24-22.
The 24-year-old beat Brooksby 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in the final.
Opelka claims the title in Dallas 🔥
His third title, all on home soil for the American player 🇺🇸🙌
@DALOpenTennis | #DALOpen https://t.co/C2Cue1z45v
Williams congratulated Opelka on his "great week" on her Instagram story.
"Record breaking Tiebreak and the title, Great week Reilly Opelka," the former World No. 1 captioned her story.
📸 The 2022 Dallas Open champions
Reilly Opelka, in singles, and Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, in doubles.
#DALOpen https://t.co/QLd9eucQLS
With his victory in Dallas, Opelka has now moved up to No. 20 in the ATP rankings.
Reilly Opelka is the No. 2 seed at Delray Beach
Reilly Opelka did not make the best start to the 2022 season, losing his first match of the year at the Melbourne Summer Set 1. He followed this by reaching the semifinals of the Sydney International before losing to Andy Murray.
The World No. 20 then reached the third round of the Australian Open before being eliminated by Denis Shapovalov.
After his victory at the Dallas Open, the 24-year-old will compete at the Delray Beach Open as the second seed. Opelka won the tournament in 2020 by beating Yoshihito Nishioka in the final.
Cameron Norrie is the top seed at the event. The Englishman lost his first four matches this year but had a decent run at the Rotterdam Open before losing to eventual champion Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.
Norrie will head to Delray Beach as the favorite but the likes of Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov will challenge him all the way.
Opelka has received a bye to the second round where he will face either compatriot Jack Sock or Daniel Altmaier. Given the American's current form, he is expected to reach the semifinals at least, where his most likely opponent would be Dimitrov.