ATP Tour

Opelka stands tall to overcome De Jong in ‘s-Hertogenbosch

Reilly Opelka withstood multiple rain delays and a stern on-court test from Jesper de Jong Tuesday at the Libema Open.

The big-serving American produced a strong finish in tough conditions at the ‘s-Hertogenbosch ATP 250 to earn a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-2 first-round triumph. Opelka let slip a 5-2 lead in the second set, and later stood just two points from defeat at 5/5 in the tie-break, but he held firm to force a deciding set which he subsequently dominated.

“It was a tricky match. He had me for sure,” said Opelka. “It’s the first time I’ve played Jesper. Obviously I’ve been watching him, especially over the past couple of week when he’s had a lot of big wins. I’ve been really impressed. I watched him play [Davidovich] Fokina in Rome, and I hadn’t really seen him play before that. He beat [Joao] Fonseca last week, so he’s really improving and a hell of a player.”

Opelka struck 19 aces past De Jong, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to secure a two-hour, 43-minute triumph on his ‘s-Hertogenbosch debut. The No. 87 in the PIF ATP Rankings, who upset Novak Djokovic en route to the Brisbane final in Januray, next faces a second-round clash with Nicolas Jarry. Top seed Daniil Medvedev is a potential quarter-final opponent for the winner.

Zizou Bergs and Mackenzie McDonald also earned three-set wins on Tuesday in the Netherlands. Bergs prevailed 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(3) in an all-Belgian affair against #NextGenATP Alexander Blockx to set a meeting with fourth seed Alexei Popyrin. Meanwhile McDonald overcame Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 and will next face third seed Karen Khachanov.

With Hubert Hurkacz against Roberto Bautista Agut among the matches moved to Wednesday due to the interruptions in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the only other men’s singles winner on Day 2 was Otto Virtanen. The Finnish wild card downed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(6), 7-5 to book a second-round appointment with Nuno Borges.