Ben Shelton has high praise for Reilly Opelka following hiatus - "You wouldn't see me out here winning matches"
ATP
American tennis pro Reilly Opelka made his comeback to the ATP Tour after spending months on the sideline due to injury, and World No.14 Ben Shelton lauded his compatriot's form upon return.
Shelton squared off against Opelka in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, prevailing 7-6(3) 7-6(3) in a hard-hitting encounter. Shelton was pushed to the limit by his towering opponent, but his consistency saw him emerge victorious.
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Opelka in great form despite long hiatus
The former World No.17 had been sidelined since mid-2022, and returned to play at an ATP Challenger event in October 2023 before succumbing to more injuries. During the break, he underwent numerous surgeries on his wrist and hip.
Opelka returned to the ATP Tour after receiving a wildcard entry to the Hall of Fame Open. Currently ranked outside the top 300, Opelka put on an impressive performance, powering past his opponents before falling in the semifinals. This led to him receiving wildcard entries to the DC Open and Cincinnati, where he fell to Shelton in the opening round.
"Yeah, I’m really surprised," said Shelton after his match with Opelka. "I was just telling someone, if I was out for two years, you wouldn’t see me out here at ATP level winning matches the way he is. I might have to start at the challengers or the futures, but he’s come out right away and he’s winning matches every week.
"So, I think that's just a testament to how hard he’s worked to bring himself back and how many skills and tools that he has apart from that serve."
"So, I think that's just a testament to how hard he’s worked to bring himself back and how many skills and tools that he has apart from that serve."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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