Reilly Opelka: from considering retirement due to a tumor to beating the “best player in history”

stand up and fightthat’s what life is about and the American tennis player can attest Reilly Opelka (293rd), who this Friday defeated the Serbian 7-6 (3) and 6-3 Novak Djokovic (7th) in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane ATP 250, after passing through three operations, away from the circuit for almost 20 months and shuffling retirement like a professional.

“I definitely considered the option of retiring. There were times when I didn’t know if I would feel this again“, the former world number 17 had confessed in July 2024, when he returned to the Tour in a big way by reaching the semifinals at the ATP 250 in Newport.

The hip and the doll would be the main drawbacks of the one born in St. Joseph, Michigan, which would interrupt the activity in August 2022after losing in the round of 16 of the ATP 500 in Washington against the Australian Nick Kyrgios, and would suffer a frustrated return in October 2023 by withdrawing in his second match at the Charlottesville Challenger to further postpone his definitive return to the highest level.

Despite receiving the diagnosis of a benign tumor in his hip, the owner of four titles would solve the problem just in time at the start of the 2022 US Open: “The tumor was moving, getting stuck in my joint and literally I couldn’t move my leg. We delayed the surgery until some pieces broke and I couldn’t walk every time I got up. They injected me with a fluid and everything returned to normal, but there were still fragments in the joint. I saw an amazing surgeon, I can’t believe how good he was. My hip was at 150%.”

However, the right-handed giant, 27 years old and 211 centimeters tall, would receive the following season with new concerns after subluxating his tendon: “I saw a bad surgeon, she ruined it the first time. I got infected, I felt very bad pain in my arm and hand, and I couldn’t sleep at night.. “I needed a second operation, which led to more problems with putting on a cast and causing nerve problems.”

The injuries would not discourage the fan of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA, who would not grant interviews throughout his break, taking advantage of his free time to travel, visit different cities around the world and find enjoyment outside of the demanding calendar of white sports. .

After beating the Argentine Federico Gómez (137th), the Italian Matteo Arnaldi (37th) and the legendary Balkan, Opelka, in straight sets, he will face a player with similar characteristics like the Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (31st), in search of access to his seventh ATP definition, first since Houston 2022.