Reilly Opelka brings his favorite artist to the BNP Paribas Open 

WATCH: Tennis Channel Live interview the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, at the BNP Paribas Open.

For art lovers, taking a trip to see their favorite artist’s work at museums and galleries is all part of the experience. But world No. 17 Reilly Opelka is taking things one step further—the American is bringing his favorite artist to sit front row at his matches at the BNP Paribas Open.

The world No. 17 has been in top form in the buildup to Indian Wells, reaching back-to-back finals in Dallas—where he lifted his third ATP trophy—and Delray Beach. Along the way, eagle-eyed Opelka fans quickly spotted an increasingly familiar face in his player box: Friedrich Kunath, a German visual artist who is based in Los Angeles.

On Saturday, Kunath had a front row seat to Opelka’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over Lorenzo Musetti, which saw the American reach the third round in Indian Wells for just the second time. And he’ll likely have a front row seat to even more moments behind the scenes, too:

“He's also staying at my house [here]. He came for the Delray Beach Open too,” Opelka told TENNIS.com during an interview ahead of Indian Wells. “He's actually my favorite artist… [Kunath] is always playing with this melancholy subject. And it's kind of punk at the same time.”

Well known on tour for his love of art and fashion, Opelka also talked about the role Kunath played in shaping his experiences in the art world. He has long admired the artist’s work, and he said their friendship helped introduce him to other favorites, including Ben Sledsens and Rinus Van de Velde. It was also through Kunath that Opelka connected with Tim Van Laere, whose gallery eventually became one of the American’s partners—their eye-catching pink tote bag infamously netted Opelka a $10,000 fine when he took it on court at the US Open last year.

“He just so happens to love tennis—I didn't even know that he did until later on, which is cool," Opelka said of Kunath. "He's a tennis nut, and he's actually a good player.”

The world No. 17 also gave a shout out to seven-time Grand Slam champion and multi-talented designer Venus Williams as another one of his biggest influences in art.

“Venus has a great, great collection and a great eye for art. She's always sending me some new artists and vice versa, I'm showing her some new art,” he said. “She's got a really good eye for it. And she's been in art for a long time, since she was even younger than me.

“My three good art friends [Venus, Friedrich and Tim], we always send each other artists or some pictures on Instagram of some artists or galleries or museums. We're called the Art x Tennis Club.”

In Indian Wells, the Art x Tennis Club continues to roll: No. 17 seed Opelka will take on No.13 Denis Shapovalov in the third round on Monday.