After beating Novak Djokovic, Reilly Opelka set to feature in ASB Classic

America’s Reilly Opelka has been handed admission into the upcoming ASB Classic. The 27-year-old, who has struggled with fitness concerns for a substantial part of his career, produced arguably the best result of his career as he defeated the former world number one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal of the Brisbane International in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3.

ASB Classic, the tournament which is set to begin from Monday in Auckland and will be the last just before the Australian Open, has confirmed that the former world number 17 will feature in the competition. The development was confirmed by tournament director Nico Lamperin in a statement. “He’s had a pretty good season,” he said. “He got a main draw [Australian Open] wildcard so he was available to play that week and we thought it was a good pick for the tournament.”

After producing that result, Opelka was quoted in a report where he expressed satisfaction after registering the biggest win of his career. He also stated that he stuck to his plan against Djokovic which was to hit it hard.

“I was just focused on my spots,” said Opelka. “If I hit them, it’s hard to get them back. If there’s anyone that can, it’s him. We have nothing to lose coming in against him. He’s the greatest player ever. So, you end up playing more free and you take a lot more risk. If you play your normal level or even above a normal level, he’s going to win every time. So, it’s tough in his position because he gets guys that are good players that they roll the dice. And on a day like this when a lot of things go my way that’s how it works out.”

Opelka will face France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the semifinal of the competition. The 21-year-old defeated Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinal in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-6.