Lorenzo Musetti Triumph Over Reilly Opelka in US Open 2024 Return
Lorenzo Musetti and Reilly Opelka, two well-known tennis players, left their stamp on the US Open on Monday during their first-round match.
Setting the tone for their individual campaigns, Musetti—who is back in the Top 20—and Opelka—who is playing in the US Open for the first time in three years—delivered a captivating battle.
Reilly Opelka faced Lorenzo Musetti on US Open Court 17 in 2021. He was a 24-year-old American rising star at the moment, and he delighted the home crowd with an almost faultless performance. He would go on to win his next match and advance to the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time. He would win that match in straight sets.
After being fined $10,000 for bringing a pink bag onto the court that was a few inches too long for the competition, the Floridian even made headlines in the New York tabloids. Although it wasn’t the conventional path to become a bad boy in tennis, it appeared to be effective for him. A few months later, Opelka became the top-ranked American guy and reached a career-high No. 17.
And that was the peak of his wave. Opelka had not played the Open again until today, and it would have been difficult to believe at the time, but he had never advanced past the fourth round in a major.
Three years after Opelka straight-setted Musetti in this same spot, the two squared again at Flushing Meadows on Monday. This time, the match took place on the marginally smaller Court 7 in the first round. Musetti, a Wimbledon semifinalist and Olympic bronze medallist, is now ranked in the top 20.
Opelka has been where? He claimed to have looked around for a person who could repair his broken wrist. Regarding the initial surgeon who performed the surgery, he remarked, “I saw a bad surgeon.” He flew to Atlanta, Los Angeles, Germany, Belgium, and Las Vegas in quest of a solution after wearing a cast for five months.
In July, Opelka told ATPTour.com, “I traveled the entire world, trying tirelessly to see anyone and everyone that could try to help.”
Opelka finally made a comeback in Newport this month, following a false start at a Challenger last fall that caused him additional agony. He won a round in D.C. and Atlanta after making the semifinals on grass right out of the gate. He appeared the same in Court 7 on Monday: The same baseball cap pulled low, the same 6’11 frame, and the same Bunyan beard. The racquet in his hand appeared smaller than before, and he appeared to loom greater than before.
However, since John Isner, his twin tower, retired, we don’t see many players in tennis these days who have played for as long.
Opelka also played in a similar manner. What more could a self-described servebot possibly do? In four sets, he had 55 wins and 23 aces. 51 times, he stormed the net, but he only scored 23 points. Opelka easily won the second set, 6-1, and was poised to win the fourth after breaking Musetti to go up 4-1 and reach 40-0, or triple set point, at 5-3.
Throughout, the audience had been cheering for Opelka, and now they sensed—knew—that he was going to push it to a fifth. From 40-0 up, how could that serve possibly be broken? After two backhand errors, a double fault, a netted volley, and a forehand long, Opelka would eventually have five set points, but he would lose them all. Musetti won 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-1, and 7-5 after breaking, and again at 5-5.
It appears like Opelka was prepared to face a Top 20 opponent but not quite prepared to overcome him. He reached the brink of the fifth set, but was unable to make the shot that would have taken him over the top. Even so, that should seem encouraging in terms of comeback results following a break of more than two years.
Musetti hadn’t even taken a set from the American in their three prior matches. His delicate play and one-handed backhand proved ineffective against the Opelka ace cannon. However, Musetti has changed since 2024. He is a more resilient opponent and a more powerful forehand hitter. His offensive serve-plus-one has improved instead of depending solely on spin and style. He advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals, the Queen’s grass court final, and the Olympic clay court semifinals.
Musetti’s next move appears to be to hone his hard-court skills. He has never advanced past the US Open’s third round or the Australian Open’s second round. Musetti’s draw has somewhat opened up with the loss on Monday of Holger Rune, the 15th seed. He might find himself against Alexander Zverev, a player he defeated at the Games, in the fourth round.
However, that is all for the future. For now, though, he’s off to a bright start after defeating Reilly Opelka for the first time and persevering through five set points in the process.
