Opelka surprises by beating Medvedev, main favorite

The American Reilly Opelka gave this Thursday the big surprise when eliminating the Russian Daniil Medvedev, favorite number one, in the round of 16 of the St. Petersburg Tennis Open (2-6, 7-5 and 6-4). Medvedev came out strong, clearly dominating the first set, but He became obfuscated from there before an opponent with a powerful serve (eleven serves direct).

The corpulence of Opelka, which measures 2.11 meters, it was an obstacle insurmountable for the Russian, who had already been about to fall in the first round. Opelka, 23, took the second set and in the decisive sleeve he was much more confident than his rival. Together with Ivo Karlovic, the American, number 36 in the world, is the tallest tennis player in ATP history.

After falling in the first round of Roland Garros, Medvedev returned to disappoint in a season in which he was a semifinalist at the Open from the USA, where he reached the final in 2019, his best result. On the other hand, the second seed, the Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who easily defeated the Belarusian Ilia Ivashka (6-1 and 6-4) in the round of 16, nor the number three, the Russian Andrei Rublev, who beat Frenchman Ugo Humbert (6-4, 4-6 and 7-5).

The St. Petersburg Open, which has been held since 1995, this year it rose to the ATP 500 category and distributes more than $ 1.2 million in prizes. It is disputed with the public, although due to the restrictions imposed contain the coronavirus epidemic, it must not exceed 50 percent capacity of the Sibur-Arena complex, with capacity for more than 7,000 viewers.