Opelka looks to exorcise his Indian Wells demons

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — It’s a good thing Reilly Opelka played those tiebreakers at T-Mobile Arena Sunday. It was good preparation for his opening-round match at the BNP Paribas Open.

The 28-year-old from Delray Beach, Fla., got to the championship  of the MGM Slam before losing to Joao Fonseca in three sets. Wednesday, Opelka was ready when his second set against Ethan Quinn went to the tiebreak. But unlike his Vegas experience where it was first to 10, this was the traditional first-to-seven and Opelka took control at 3-3 and won the next four points to advance to the second round at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, 7-5, 7-6.

“It helped me a lot,” Opelka said of his Vegas stopover en route to the California desert. “I treated it like I did Sunday, a 10-pointer. At 7-3, it was over.”

The All-American opening round matchup on Stadium Court 1 saw the 21-year-old Quinn battle hard. The former NCAA champion who played for Georgia and grew up in Fresno around a different group of Bulldogs, hung in despite being blitzed with 16 aces off Opelka’s racquet, including four straight in the opening game of the match.

But he was unable to win the biggest points as he couldn’t leverage the 6-foot-11 Opelka, who showed good dexterity, digging the low shots and often returning them to stay or win the point.

“I thought I served well and returned all,” Opelka said. “I think I’m a different sort of player than he’s used to seeing,” he said of facing Quinn, who is ranked No. 73 in the world and was probably hoping to make a decent-sized run. “I think my style of play is pretty unique.”

As the game’s current tallest player at 6-foot-11, Opelka can cut an imposing figure on the court. His challenge has been staying healthy long enough to have sustained success.

Opelka, who came to Indian Wells ranked No. 68 by the ATP, said history has not been kind to him here. His best showing was in 2022 when he got to the fourth round and lost to Rafael Nadal.

“I’ve never played well here,” he said. “I’ve never had a good result.”

Maybe that changes this year and he gets to go on a little run. Maybe his play in Vegas is the catalyst Opelka needs to spark him.

So how did he celebrate winning $200,000 Sunday in the MGM Slam? Did he give back some of his winnings to the casino?

“Nope. Don’t gamble,” he said with a smile.

He even was spared picking up the tab for dinner Sunday night when he, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud went to Cote, the Korean steakhouse at the Venetian. So who paid?

“Ruud,” Opelka said. “We invited him along and he took care of the check.”

Will his luck last? Opelka will have to face eight-seeded Ben Shelton, a big hitter in his own right in the second round. Win that and perhaps Opelka exorcises his desert demons once and for all.