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Opelka’s Precision Downs Mmoh in Intriguing Eddie Herr 18s Final
18 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Bradenton, FL — Reilly Opelka was stunningly impressive in neutralizing the red hot Michael Mmoh 64 64 to win the prestigious Boys 18s title at the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships competed at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The match was high quality throughout but it was the six-foot-ten Opelka’s precision and all court shotmaking under pressure which were the undoing of Mmoh, in the first All American boys 18s final in tournament history.
Mmoh has won 27 of 29 of his last matches, including a Grade A in Mexico and a $15,000 Futures event. But Opelka’s Isner-like serve and baseline steadiness were just a little too much for him to handle yesterday before a standing room only crowd at the IMG center clay court.
Mmoh, 16, competed fiercely, earning a break of Opelka, 17, in the second set – only the second break of Opelka’s serve all week – and also saving six break points of his own in the second game of the second set. But Opelka, who did not lose a set all week, always seemed to have the answer, whether from the baseline, at net, coming up with important volleys or key aces. Match point was an ace but he also made two wondrous and difficult volleys earlier in this final game of the match.
As expected, Mmoh battled with frustration at having to play against such a unique style as Opelka, but he never threw in the towel. He made Opelka work until the bitter end. After losing another break point chance in the second set, when Opelka’s shot hit the net cord and dribbled over for a winner, Mmoh muttered to the skies, “I get one chance and that happens.” After another perfect Opelka volley, Mmoh, who has some nice court showman charisma, commented for all to hear, “He hasn’t missed a volley since birth.”
Opelka’s court demeanor is very serious and focused, but he will also make comments, such as the typical come ons, or sarcasm, like after a miss into the net, “Good!” All in all, these two combatants were very professional and it’s very easy to envision them someday competing for ATP titles.
At the net handshake, both embraced each other and they also embraced later after doing media interviews. Two impressive players by both their playing abilities but also sportsmanship qualities.
Post match quotes:
Mmoh: “He was definitely hitting his spots. He wasn’t just serving and hoping for the best. He kind of was serving and knowing where I was going to hit the return, playing with a gameplan with his serve and very tough. Even sometimes I’d get a return in and he’d play a great point. So he was putting a lot of pressure on me and he was really hitting his spots well.”
Opelka: “I built my way into the match with my serve, and put pressure on him any chance I could, he’s an unbelievable competitor, and I knew that coming in… It’s hard to be in the finals four tournaments in a row, especially the ones he’s played in, so I had to stay on him. It’s great, I’m just going to enjoy winning this event today.â€
***
In the girls 18s, #7 seed Dalma Galfi (HUN) upended #5 seed Elena Ruse (ROU) in straight sets to end her season on top, as it was her first singles championship of the year. At 16-years of age, it was also Galfi’s first time playing in the Eddie Herr 18s division. Both Galfi and Ruse stayed to watch some of the Mmoh-Opelka final.
“It feels really good to win here, because it’s such a nice place to play and so many people came out to cheer for us,†remarked Galfi after the match. “It was tough all week, but I feel like I played really well, and I was able to get to the final without losing a set.â€
Other notable titles included Anastasia Potapova (RUS), who took home her second straight Eddie Herr title in the Girls 14s, dispatching Caty McNally (USA), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the only singles final that went to a third set on the day. Potapova, who survived a 3-hour plus semifnal the day before, won the Girls 12s division nearly one year ago to the day. Meanwhile, the fifth time was a charm for Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia who has been competing in the Eddie Herr since he was nine-years old. Now 14-years old, Mejia finally captured the elusive Eddie Herr championship on his fifth attempt in the Boys 14s division when he defeated Brian Shi (USA), 6-3, 6-3.
The full results from the singles finals:
Boys 18s: Reilly Opelka (USA) def. #2 Michael Mmoh (USA, IMG Academy), 6-4, 6-4
Girls 18s: Dalma Galfi (HUN) def. Elena Ruse (ROU), 6-4, 7-5
Boys 16s: #1 Sam Riffice (USA) def. Patrick Kypson (USA), 7-6(3), 6-1
Girls 16s: #2 Sofia Sewing (USA) def. #4 Dominique Schaefer(USA), 6-2, 7-6(5)
Boys 14s: #12 Nicolas Mejia (COL) def. Brian Shi, 6-3, 6-3
Girls 14s: #1 Anastasia Potapova (RUS) def. #6 Caty McNally, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Boys 12s: Jungwon Park (KOR) def. #1 Zane Khan (USA), 7-5, 6-2
Girls 12s: #1 Himari Sato (JAP) def. Helene Pellicano (MAL), 6-0, 7-6(5)
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Dan Markowitz · December 8, 2014 at 9:32 am
Nice reporting, Scoop. Do you know who won the 65’s final between Turville and Mayotte?
Wow, didn’t know Mmoh is only 16. Interesting, I thought he was African-American partly, but he’s actually Saudi Arabian.
ASHOKE GANGULI · December 8, 2014 at 9:50 am
Hi Scoop,
Ned and I enjoyed meeting you and sharing a lot of good tennis stories.Great coverage of the tournament by you,Be well
Scoop Malinowski · December 8, 2014 at 1:35 pm
Turville won his final easily. So did Wilder Dan. Mmoh turns 17 in Jan. I was told. He looks a lot like Kyrgios who also looks black but actually is Greek and Malaysian.
Scoop Malinowski · December 8, 2014 at 1:36 pm
The pleasure was mine Ashoke, looking forward to hitting in Siesta Key later this week my friend.
bjk · December 9, 2014 at 10:23 am
Looking at some Mmoh, I don’t like his forehand at all. I can’t say what’s wrong with it but I don’t like the take back or his tendency to hit off one foot. Interesting to find out which is his strongest side.
dan markowitz · December 9, 2014 at 1:57 pm
I don’t know, bjk, it looked pretty clean to me. No big take back, fluid, good balance. What else do you want him to do on his forehand?
Andrew Miller · December 9, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Mmoh’s groundies to me are clean. Nice takeback too, doesn’t mess around with the shots. Not super accurate like ATP, but looks sturdy.
bjk · December 9, 2014 at 3:08 pm
I was looking at a younger Mmoh. He’s changed his form. Looks good on both sides.
Andrew Miller · December 9, 2014 at 4:59 pm
bjk, you might like this about Tiafoe’s new forehand. Improving isn’t fun, but it is the difference!
“When he’s traveling alone, he doesn’t always get those things done because he wants to have fun. But fun isn’t what’s going to take him to top 10 in the world and achieve his dream”…”So far, from all appearances, Kouznetsov and Salazar have been able to put their differences — and perhaps their egos — aside to make the coaching tandem work. They began by reconstructing Tiafoe’s forehand. “His hands were separating too early,†Salazar told me, making an exaggerated opening of his arms to show what Tiafoe was doing. “He wasn’t staying connected with the unit turn, so he wasn’t getting enough rotation on the ball. That was a big part of his game that we changed. Now it’s his best shot.†The process was long and hard. “It was probably the worst eight months ever,†Tiafoe said. “I hated both of them very much. They were making me hit with girls, with a short court. I had to pull out of a lot of events. I tried a lot of different things at first, but it wasn’t working or I wasn’t comfortable with it. I’m just happy it’s [done] now, because just thinking about it is killing me.â€
http://grantland.com/features/francis-tiafoe-tennis-future/
Scoop Malinowski · December 9, 2014 at 6:41 pm
Mmoh’s form works and it gets the job done. He does not have the perfect tennis physique but that does not really matter. Isner Seles Rochus and many others did not have the perfect tennis bodies. But they all knew how to play and battle. Mmoh is that kind of player. He can play and he gets the job done. He wins. As for Tiafoe, I was told he’s taking some time off to work on improving his serve. Rublev Mmoh and S Kozlov are playing Orange Bowl, Opelka is not. Boris Kozlov is playing the 16s, he is 14.
Dan Markowitz · December 9, 2014 at 9:01 pm
When and where is Orange Bowl?
Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2014 at 7:17 am
Right now in Plantation, FL.
Dan Markowitz · December 10, 2014 at 8:20 am
Wow, I didn’t even know there was a younger Kozlov. Boris, geez, talk about sticking someone with a bad first name. Boris Kozlov sounds like a mad Soviet scientist.
Why would Stefan Kozlov play the Orange Bowl? I thought he turned pro.
bjk · December 10, 2014 at 8:48 am
Compare 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqGjubp1qlM&feature=player_detailpage#t=20
with 2014 and see if there’s a difference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qUbPlc37D3Q#t=10
Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2014 at 11:42 am
Thanks for sharing these videos BJK. I watched some of the Mexico final. One thing that popped out as how Mmoh seems to come up with big serves down break pts. I noticed he saved a lot of BPs in the Herr final vs. Opelka. He did the same thing in the first game of the match with Rublev. Mmoh is a tough smart competitor. I guess you can say it’s not a good sign that he’s facing all those break pts, he’ll need to fix that. But I like his form and movement and ability to win. Like Red Ayme told me last week, “I’m not a big stat guy the only stat that matters is if you get the W or L.” Mmoh’s doing a good job of bringing home the W’s.
Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Here is Tim Mayotte’s tweet reply to me about Opelka. Sense is that Tim really likes The Big O: Mayotte 18m18 minutes ago
@scoopmalinowski He is a real prospect! Great hands. Hard worker. Perhaps does not serve as well as Isner. Mov’t key as always with big guys.
Dan markowitz · December 10, 2014 at 2:27 pm
How does Tim Mayotte know Opelka’s game. Tim has been based in Queens and now Boston. I doubt he’s ever been on same court as Opelka or seen him train.
Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2014 at 6:34 pm
Tim Knows Dan Tim Knows.