7/6 6/7 7/6 ?

Yes but for whom? ;)

That was the score of their last meeting in 2021 in Atlanta!

18 aces for Fritz against VDZ on 90 serves, 83% behind his first serve, and 2 break points out of 2 saved. On Opelka’s side: 25 aces on 73 serves, 87% behind his first serve, and one break point saved out of one. Over their 8 matchups, there’s at least one tiebreak on average per match. And on top of that, Fritz keeps repeating that he needs to improve on the return.

Well, that’s for the stats. They show what happened… in the past. And it’s well over 5 years ago for them too!

Today, I feel like Fritz is a bit off, and Opelka is all smiles. I don’t know if I’m right about Fritz, it’s just a feeling. He handled the wind well in Eastbourne last year, and here in Indian Wells, he was very passive. I think that’s sending me a signal like, “Careful Elie, you know how he is when he’s like that.”

Whereas for Reilly, it’s kind of the opposite. When I watch him, I’m always nervous because it often comes down to nothing, but he still has this impressive ability to turn into almost a big baseliner on the really crucial points, it’s honestly crazy.

Normally, of course Fritz pushes Reilly to his limits by being very solid from the baseline, but here, if the odds are too much in his favor, I think the value will be on the other side.