Meet Reilly Opelka, America’s next great tennis hope

The USTA players ’development authorities held a second press conference on Friday urging us to trust the process, baby steps are being taken and American men’s tennis is on the right track.

There are 14 American men in the Top 100, which is 120 percent more than in 2008. But in order for tennis to reach a new level of interest in the United States, an American man must wander the second week of the US Open. starts on Monday.

The latest big hope is a big man with a big Paul Bunyan beard Reilly Opelka, a 6-foot 11-in-service server that turned 24 on Saturday. His progress during the year is excited by the USTA.

The Bearded Miracle came to the fore as he advanced to the finals in a key action in Toronto earlier this month. He has a seed here on the 22nd and the home crowd dies of an American man lighting Flushing Meadows.

Opelka tries not to put too much pressure on herself. In fact, he’s cautious and feels like he’s still a year away from running his second week at the Grand Slam.

I’ve certainly grown a lot in the last year, said Opelka, born in Michigan before moving to Florida. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t expect to present everything in one week. But it’s more than just four Grand Slams. I would like to take the pace through this week. But here everyone is having a hard time.

According to USTA coaches, the only thing that prevents Opelka from rising to the top ten is health. Because of his size, he is more prone to foot injuries and has suffered from a knee injury in recent years at the Open when he got a rough 1-2 strokes from a draw between Fabio Fognin and David Goffin.

One thing that’s nice is that I’ve sown this year, Opelka said. It makes a difference in the world. I’m definitely a lot further away from it, but I haven’t done another week of Slam. I have to test my body to see what happens to four 3-out-of-5 matches. That’s the only reason I say I don’t know if I’m ready. I’m not negative. I’m just a realist.

The trip to the Toronto Finals was a testament to the fact that he is a real bargain.

It’s been great to see Reilly make progress, USTA Player Development Manager Martin Blackman said. The final in Canada was a huge breakthrough for him. He played a solid match [Daniil] Medvedev [in the Finals]. He really got Medvedev to work for it. Were really optimistic about his development.

Blackman said he encouraged Opelka to climb, coached by former USTA coaching director and former top ten player Jay Berger.

Over the years, I have improved my service, my hand, Opelka said. Physically, I am much stronger. Mentally, I think I’m much tougher. I would say the difference is night and day.

The men don’t have a player in the top 20, but Frances Tiafo, Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda still have immediate hope. John Isner is the tallest man at the age of 21, but he ends his career.

I never want to send a message that they were happy with the progress and were happy, Blackman said. But I think part of the message is that we have focused on the process over the last 13 years. Today’s trends are very positive [but were] we don’t take winning rounds at all because we have a long way to go, especially on the men’s side.

Opelka is not hard to find on the plot with her length and hair mop, which she contains under her white hat. He will face South Korean Soonwoo Kwon on Tuesday.

Getting fans back is a complete joy, especially for New Yorkers, Opelka said. What better fan for the first 100 percent than a local New York audience? This makes the US Open the US Open. That’s why the Yankees are a legendary team, including the Knicks. Its a fan, New York culture.