Reilly Opelka reborn in Newport, winning a match after two-year break

The American, out for almost two years due to injuries, has qualified for the second round of the ATP in Newport, the last tournament on grass of the season

Reilly Opelka’s rebirth took place in Newport. The American tennis player had last played an ATP match almost two years ago, in August 2022, in Washington. Then an endless series of injuries had put a stop to his career. The American returned to play with a wild card this week at the ATP Newport, a historic tournament that officially closes the grass-swing. And in the first round he won against the French Constant Lestienne 6-1, 2-6, 7-6.

At the press conference, Railly spoke joyfully of his comeback, after almost two years spent outsite the court due to continuous injuries.

“It was really nice. It took me a while to find certain things. My return was there in the beginning, which was weird, but my serve wasn’t. Then the return went away and the serve came back and it was kind of exactly the same place where I left off. It was nice to be back. It felt like more than two years. So yeah, it was nice to be back on my level. I’m still getting my legs back and trying to figure it all out. But yeah, it’s great to be back,” he said.

Opelka underwent surgery on his hip and then his wrist, which kept him out for this extended period.

“Obviously there’s going to be some bumps with my body. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. Injuries are part of the sport. Luckily, I feel like I’m picking up where I left off in Washington. From where I was a couple months ago, this is a big step for me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to play this year or not. But so far I feel really good in my body, touch wood. I’m going in the right direction,” he added.

Now Opelka will face seed No.1 Adrian Mannarino: “Obviously there’s going to be some bumps, I guess, with my body.
We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I haven’t played this much tennis in two years. Adrian’s tough, he’s the defending champion, really good on grass, a tough opponent. I haven’t played a lefty in a long time, so it’s going to be fun.”