Reilly Opelka didn’t win on Monday night, but he made a statement, loud and clear: I’m coming.
The 19-year-old American played brilliant tennis on Day 2 of the Australian Open and nearly upset 11th-seeded David Goffin in the opening round. Opelka leveled the match after dropping the first set, and then tied it up again after losing the third. He led 4-3 in the decider before Goffin rattled off 10 consecutive points for the 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win.
The Michigan native—he currently resides in Florida—stands 6’11” but moves incredibly well for his size, and he hits his ground strokes with tremendous power. He rattled off 21 aces and 65 winners against Goffin, but his 74 unforced errors proved costly.
A highly-regarded prospect, Opelka won the Wimbledon junior singles title in 2015. Not two years later, he appears primed to climb up the rankings.
Currently No. 208 in the world, Opelka was making his Grand Slam main-draw debut. He played the U.S. Open in 2015 and 2016, but failed to make it out of qualifying each time. In the qualifying tournament in Melbourne, he beat Stefano Napolitano, Mitchell Krueger and Casper Ruud—not losing a set along the way—to enter the field of 128.
If he continues to play like he did on Monday, he won’t have to worry about qualifying much longer.
Goffin, meanwhile, is onto the second round at Melbourne Park. It figures to be a different kind of match for the world No. 11, as he’ll have to get past a veteran rather than a newcomer. 38-year-old Radek Štěpánek awaits.