Opelka Beats Isner In ‘Battle Of The Bots’ For Houston Title

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In Sunday’s version of “Battle of the Bots”, Reilly Opelka emerged with the win and a title.

Opelka defeated John Isner 6-3, 7-6(7) to triumph on the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship and raise his fourth ATP Tour trophy and his first on clay. The conflict between 6’11” Opelka and 6’10” Isner marked the tallest ATP Tour closing within the Open Period.

“He was my idol rising up as a child, and earlier than I even met him, I appreciated him. However since we’ve turn into such good buddy and spent a lot time on Tour, I like him much more now,” Opelka stated of Isner throughout the trophy ceremony. “He’s been an unbelievable position mannequin for not simply myself, [but] Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul. All of us say the identical. He’s been an unbelievable competitor for a very long time.”

Opelka and Isner typically joke with each other that they’re “Servebots” — or “Bots” for brief — who’re solely identified for his or her serving. However there have been 13 break factors within the one-hour, 50 -minute match and 5 mini-breaks within the second-set tie-break, with the conflict coming all the way down to returns and passing photographs within the essential moments.

Opelka, who earned the lone break of the match within the first set, saved three set factors within the second-set tie-break, rallying from 4/6 down to assert his fifth consecutive win towards Isner. The youthful American now leads their ATP Head2Head sequence 5-1 and has received 11 of their 14 units throughout that stretch.

“We’ve performed a handful of occasions and you retain on beating me. I hate you for that!” Isner joked. “Nevertheless it was actually cool to play you in a closing. I feel that’s very distinctive. Clearly there are plenty of similarities between Reilly and I, however I’m a lot older than him and he has much more years forward of him on Tour, so for me to get to play you in a closing, I feel that’s very, very particular.”

Coming into the match, there had been no breaks within the pair’s three most up-to-date matches. The final break of serve of their rivalry got here on the 2019 Australian Open, when each males broke as soon as.

Isner had an early look to interrupt that streak when he lined up an inside-out forehand on break level, however he jammed himself and missed vast. Opelka took full benefit at 4-3 and Isner was unable to regulate to a tricky bounce on the forehand facet.

That ended up being the one break of the match, however each gamers put stress on their opponent’s serve all through the encounter. Opelka saved all eight break factors he confronted, as Isner struggled to place an emphatic return within the courtroom in these moments.

Opelka’s backhand return shone by means of when it mattered probably the most and though Isner confirmed braveness to hurry the online on large factors, his countryman typically was in a position to put the ball at his shoestrings to make issues tough. The 24-year-old transformed his first championship level when he hit a tricky backhand return on the serve-and-volleying Isner, who missed a backhand volley vast.

In his third closing of the season — good for second-best on Tour behind solely Rafael Nadal (4) — Opelka captured his second title of 2022. The 24-year-old additionally earned the winner’s {hardware} in Dallas. All 4 of his tour-level trophies have are available america, however this was his first on clay.

Isner was attempting to win his seventeenth ATP Tour title, and a victory in Houston would have marked his fifteenth tour-level trophy on dwelling soil. He received the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship in 2013 and by beating Opelka would have turn into the oldest champion on the event within the Open Period. That document stays with Andre Agassi, who was victorious aged 32 in 2003.