Queen's Club 2022: Reilly Opelka vs Alex de Minaur preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (8) Reilly Opelka vs Alex de Minaur.
Date: 12 June, 2022.
Match Timing: 12 pm local time | 7 a,ET | 11 am GMT | 4: 30 pm IST.
Tournament: Cinch Championships 2022.
Round: First round (Round of 32).
Venue: London, United Kingdom.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: €2,134,520.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Reilly Opelka vs Alex de Minaur preview
Eighth seed Reilly Opelka will take on Alex de Minaur in the first round of the Queen's Club Championships.
Opelka has won 19 out of 30 matches so far this season, with two ATP 250 titles to his name. He won the Dallas Open and the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston earlier this year.
OPELKA ON TOP 🏆
@ReillyOpelka clinches his fourth career title in Houston by getting past Isner 6-3 7-6(7) 👏
#USClay https://t.co/lUrMeD18Jg
Opelka had a disappointing European claycourt season as he suffered opening-round exits at the Madrid Open, Italian Open and the French Open. His best run on the continent in 2022 was a semifinal appearance at the Geneva Open, where he lost to Casper Ruud.
De Minaur, meanwhile, has won 21 out of 34 matches so far this season. The Australian reached the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open and the last 16 of the Australian Open during the hardcourt season.
On clay, he reached the semifinals of the Barcelona Open before losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a close contest. The 23-year-old also reached the semifinals of the Lyon Open and the last 16 of the Italian Open.
After losing in the first round of the French Open, De Minaur entered the Libema Open in 's-Hertogenbosch as the fourth seed. However, he lost his opening match against Adrian Mannarino.
Du tout bon Adrian !
Adrian Mannarino se paie la tête de série N°4 Alex De Minaur 6-2 6-3 au 2ème tour à 's-Hertogenbosch 💪 https://t.co/UgnCO01DA8
Reilly Opelka vs Alex de Minaur head-to-head
De Minaur has a perfect head-to-head record against Opelka so far, leading 4-0. All of their previous matches came in 2019, with the Australian winning their first encounter 6-4, 7-6 (5) in Sydney.
The last encounter between the duo was an enthralling semifinal at the Swiss Indoors in Basel which De Minaur won 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3).
The winner of this contest will face either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the last 16 of the Queen's Club Championships.
Reilly Opelka vs Alex de Minaur odds
All odds sourced from Oddschecker.
Reilly Opelka vs Alex de Minaur prediction
This match promises to be a tightly-contested one with very little to separate the two players on paper. De Minaur, however, is more favored to win, possibly because of his superior record on grass.
The Australian has won 12 out of 21 matches on the surface so far, having won the Eastbourne International last year. Opelka, on the other hand, has won only two out of seven matches on grass so far.
The latter will rely heavily on his big serve and will look to serve up plenty of aces. Opelka might try to serve and volley frequently in order to gain as many points from his service games as possible.
De Minaur is a decent server as well and will try to challenge Opelka in that department. The 23-year-old's defensive skills and agile court movement will also come in handy. However, he will need be aggressive to get the better of Opelka.
Both players will fancy their chances of winning, De Minaur should be able to edge out Opelka and enter the last 16 of the Queen's Club Championships.
Pick: Alex De Minaur to win in three sets.