"He was my idol growing up as a kid" - Opelka after besting Isner in Houston final

In Sunday’s edition of “Battle of the Bots”, Reilly Opelka emerged with the win and first clay title of his career.

Opelka defeated John Isner 6-3, 7-6(7) to triumph at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship and lift his fourth ATP Tour trophy and his first on clay. The clash between 6’11” Opelka and 6’10” Isner marked the tallest ATP Tour final in the Open Era. After the match, he said:

“He was my idol growing up as a kid, and before I even met him, I liked him. But since we’ve become such good friend and spent so much time on Tour, I like him even more now. He’s been an unbelievable role model for not just myself, [but] Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul. We all say the same. He’s been an unbelievable competitor for a long time.”

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In his third final of the season — good for second-best on Tour behind only Rafael Nadal (4) — Opelka captured his second title of 2022. The 24-year-old also earned the winner’s hardware in Dallas. All four of his tour-level trophies have come in the United States, but this was his first on clay.