US Open Social Preview: Reilly Opelka

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The title helps Opelka get direct entry for the first time into the US Open, where he looks to prove himself on tennis' biggest stage.

Opelka opens in New York on Monday against No. 11 seed Fabio Fognini.

Every day this week, Baseline will preview the US Open by taking a deep dive into an American hopeful's social media story.

The 2019 season has been a breakthrough one for 21-year-old Reilly Opelka, who raised his ranking 57 spots to a career-high No. 42, captured his first ATP title and is about to play his first singles main draw at the US Open. But his tennis story goes back farther than that. Here are some things one of the tallest players in tennis has highlighted on social media:

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Opelka made his first major mark at the Wimbledon boys' tournament in 2015, where he beat Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Mikael Ymer en route to winning the title. Even then, he had a sense of humor about his height.

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That Fritz match has clearly never come between them, though, as Fritz is pictured all over Opelka's Instagram account. Opelka tells Baseline they're best friends, and he was even the best man at Fritz's wedding.

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Another longtime key member of the group is Frances Tiafoe, who Opelka says pushes and supports him on tour, along with Fritz and Tommy Paul.

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The event that really put Opelka on the map was this year's New York Open, in which he defeated Adrian Mannarino and top seed John Isner before besting Brayden Schnur in the final.

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The title helps Opelka get direct entry for the first time into the US Open, where he looks to prove himself on tennis' biggest stage.

Opelka opens in New York on Monday against No. 11 seed Fabio Fognini.