Reilly to go ?

Opelka beat Ruud and Fritz and lost to Fonseca in the final of the MGM Slam exhibition in Las Vegas 3 days ago. Enough to get him back on track?

Okay, so this counts for a player coming back from injury because it’s important to get playing time and confidence. It was a small exhibition, not full matches but 10-point tie-breaks, which is always good for Opelka to work on tie-breaks in a quasi-real situation. That tells me he may have found the level he had before his injury. Quick reminder: Reilly Opelka had to skip the Dallas–Delray Beach–Acapulco triple because of an abdominal issue. His participation in this Las Vegas exhibition is therefore rather reassuring regarding his physical condition and even his level. He doesn’t have a huge track record at Indian Wells, just like his opponent, but with a fairly high bounce and a somewhat slow surface, that doesn’t bother me. So I’m counting on a solid Opelka, and it’s mainly the match-up that interests me. This season Quinn has played some very good matches and some very bad ones, and I’ve noticed that when it’s bad, it’s when he has no plan B — so when his attacking game isn’t working, for two main reasons: either he’s facing an opponent who gets a lot of balls back, or someone who puts him under more pressure than he does, as was the case against the Spaniard Jodar in Delray. I’m a bit worried about how Quinn will react against a servebot like Opelka, and I think Opelka should be a very slight favorite given this issue with Quinn who, if I’ve identified it correctly, really should be the underdog. Quinn is a somewhat too one-dimensional player with his offensive game, and if that gets blocked, he tends to have to force his game rather than adapt to the conditions and/or the opponent.