Match of the Day: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Reilly Opelka, W&S Open

There’s no shortage of big names in the men’s quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open, but for anyone wanting to catch a glimpse of what the future of men’s tennis might look like, look no further than this contest between the two youngest players remaining.

For Stefanos Tsitsipas, playing a big server like 6' 11" Reilly Opelka won’t be anything new—the No. 4-seeded Greek took out two of the biggest servers on the tour in his previous two matches, beating 6' 8" Kevin Anderson, 6-1, 6-3, and 6' 10" John Isner in two tiebreaks, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4). But playing Opelka in particular will be new—this will be the pair’s first head-to-head meeting.

Opelka, meanwhile, has already had a breakthrough week in Flushing Meadows, reaching the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 for the first time in his career, upsetting No. 9 seed Diego Schwartzman and No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini along the way. His win over Berrettini, the ATP No. 8,  equaled biggest win of his career from a rankings perspective having defeated a No. 8-ranked Jack Sock at Delray Beach in 2018.

“I’m pretty pleased,” Opelka said after his 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Berrettini. “It’s difficult. There have been so many unknowns for everyone over the past couple months, so it’s always hard to say [how you’ll perform]. But I’ve put in a lot of work. I used this time to train. I didn’t take much time off, I really didn’t.

“I’m not surprised, but at the same time you don’t know what to expect.”

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The Greek is trying to reach the semifinals or better at a Masters 1000 for the fifth time, having been a runner-up to Rafael Nadal in Canada in 2018 and to Novak Djokovic at Madrid in 2019, as well as a semifinalist at Rome and Shanghai last year.

Opelka has played great, but Tsitsipas has already proved he can handle the big serve—and, of course, the big points once the ball is in play.

The Pick: Stefanos Tsitsipas