From rehab buddies to Infosys Hall of Fame Open quarterfinalists. During Reilly Opelka’s nearly two years away from the game, he hung out a lot with Mackenzie McDonald, a fellow American just two years older than him, who knows all too well about the struggles that come with a long injury layoff having battled a nasty torn hamstring earlier in his career.
“I just remember it was a rough time for him, and that was really nice of him,” Opelka recalled in Newport. “He came down to my house in Delray [Beach, Fla.] just to hang out with me for a few days on his time off, just to check in on me.
“I was fine, obviously. I was happy, I was just enjoying some of the time off at that point. But that’s just the kind of guy that Mackie is: He drove from Orlando down to Boca [Raton, Fla.] to come spend a day or two just to hang with me because he knew I was bored.”
The pair reunited in Newport on Thursday, fit, healthy and ready for a battle. Opelka eventually defeated McDonald 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to move into the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport—his first semifinal in more than two years.
The former world No. 17 is playing his first tour-level tournament since 2022 this week in Newport, and, largely, has looked like he hasn’t missed a beat—at least in one aspect of the game. The 6-foot-11 self-described “serve bot” struck 27 aces against McDonald, and a combined 80 in his first two matches at the grass-court tournament.
Source link : https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/returning-reilly-opelka-makes-recent-atp-history-win-run-to-newport-semifinals
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Publish date : 2024-07-19 11:36:53
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