Opelka Upsets Anderson In Atlanta

Reilly Opelka continued to make waves at the BB&T Atlanta Open on Wednesday, knocking out No. 3 seed Kevin Anderson 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 in just under three hours to reach the quarter-finals. The 18 year old was a game away from losing at 4-5, Anderson serving in the deciding set, but swept the final three games of the match to score his first win over a Top 30 player.

Opelka fired 11 of his 20 aces in the opening set but lost the tie-break to fall behind. In the second set, the 6’11” American ended a streak of six consecutive tie-breaks played by securing the lone break of serve to even the match. Opelka held nine break points in the third set, converting on two of them to defeat the 30-year-old South African.

Next up for the 2015 Wimbledon junior champion will be either Tim Smyczek or Donald Young. Opelka is currently No. 556 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but is projected to make a big jump in the rankings after reaching his first ATP World Tour quarter-final.