reilly opelka Novak Djokovic ATP Brisbane 2025 ATP

Opelka's emotional words after defeating Djokovic: "There was uncertainty.."

Carlos Navarro - 3 Jan 2025
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Reilly Opelka.

Reilly Opelka lived through a true hell in the last two seasons. He underwent three surgeries, including one on his hip where they removed a benign tumor, and thought about not returning to a tennis court. After months of hard work and sacrifice, the injuries are now a thing of the past, and the American is enjoying an enormous level to start off 2025, which has led him to defeat Novak Djokovic in what is surely one of the greatest victories of his career. After advancing to the semifinals of ATP Brisbane 2025, he couldn't contain the emotion on the court.

"It was very tough. There was a lot of uncertainty and many doubts. I watched a lot of my friends' matches on TV, I saw Tommy (Paul), Taylor (Fritz), Frances (Tiafoe), Ben (Shelton) doing great, which motivated me a lot. It kept me interested in this sport. I also saw Novak become the best of all time in the past two years. I stayed mentally strong, even when I was in a cast and on crutches, simply hopeful of having another opportunity like the one I had tonight". Now he will face Perricard in the semifinals.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Las emotivas palabras de Opelka tras derrotar a Djokovic: "Hubo incertidumbre..."