AFTER almost two years out of the ATP Tour, American powerful server Reilly Opelka made a successful return in his home nation, winning in three sets over Frenchman, Constant Lestienne. Handed a wildcard at the Newport ATP 250 event, Opelka had some serious ups and downs in the first two sets before closing it out in more his style, 6-1 2-6 7-6.

The match lasted two hours and five minutes before Opelka could finally advance to the Round of 16 at the Hall of Fame Open, with the now ranked 1188th player getting past the 94th ranked Lestienne. It has been 23 months since Opelka last played an ATP Tour match – at Washington in August 2022 – but after shaking off some rust, the American produced 16 aces and won 42 of 47 points off his first serve.

“It was super nice. It took me a while to find certain things. My return was there in the beginning, which was weird, and my serve wasn’t,” Opelka said post-match. “Then the return went away and the serve came back and it kind of ended right where I left off.

“It was nice to be back. It felt like longer than two years. So yeah, it was just nice to find my level again. I’m still just getting my sea legs and trying to figure everything out. But yeah, it’s great to be back.”

Opelka has only played one professional match since his last ATP Tour appearance which came on the Challenger Tour last October in Charlottesville. The former Top 20 player has had multiple hip and wrist surgeries and is now determined to work his way back onto Tour. The 26-year-old was not sure how his body would hold up but so far, so good.

“It is what it is. It’s part of sports. Luckily, I feel like I’m just kind of picking right back up from where I left in D.C.,” Opelka said. “From where I was a couple months ago, this is a great step for me. I wasn’t sure if I’d be playing this year or not. But I feel really good for now about my body, knock on wood. It seems to change every week, but it’s definitely heading in the right direction.”

Opelka takes on top seed and defending champion Adrian Mannarino in the Round of 16, a player he holds a 3-0 head-to-head against. The American said he was hoping to wake up tomorrow and still feel good, but was not getting too far ahead of himself.

“Obviously there are going to be some setbacks, I assume, with my body. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I haven’t played this much tennis in two years,” Opelka said.

“But Adrian is tough, defending champion, really good on grass, tricky opponent. I haven’t seen a guy like him at his level in a while. I haven’t played a lefty in a long time, so it’ll be fun. It’ll be interesting. A great test for me and a good opportunity to get another look at a top guy.”