By Scoop Malinowski
Reilly Opelka has returned to the ATP World Tour at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in Newport, RI after a near two year absence and has performed at a stunningly high level. The 26 year old American has beaten Constant Lestienne 61 26 76, defending champion Adrian Mannarino 64 36 64 and Mackenzie McDonald 46 63 64. Now Opelka is in the semifinals where he will meet 19 year old Alex Michelsen, last year’s runner-up.
After Opelka managed to beat McDonald I had the chance to interview Opelka…
Question: As a better version of John Isner, who was a top 10-20 range player for a decade, who you owned a 5-1 head to head series advantage over, is it possible you can be a top 5, Grand Slam, semi, final or title in your future?
Reilly Opelka: Top 5 year? I think a Grand Slam semi would be likely. But I don’t think I’ll have a top 5 year. Just not that many spots open. Who is gonna knock out Jannik (Sinner), Carlos (Alcaraz) or Novak (Djokovic) still? Who is gonna grab the fifth spot? I’m not the first guy who comes to mind [smiles].
Question: Happy with the level you’re at already here in Newport? Two years out and you’ve knocked off some of the big boys like Mannarino and McDonald.
Reilly Opelka: Yeah, I think we’ll see my real level in maybe a month or two. I’m playing with more adrenaline and more freedom now. We’ll see where my level is at in a month, if I had to say.
Question: Now here’s the curve ball question. What do you think of LeRoy Neiman as an artist? Familiar with his work?
Reilly Opelka: Not so familiar.
Question: How about Raoul Dufy?
Reilly Opelka: I’ve heard the name, not so familiar.
Question: You’re more of a contemporary modern art guy?
Reilly Opelka: No, I’m picky. I have a few guys I go really big on. Right now I’m nerding out to a guy named Luc Tuymans, from Belgium. I’m really fascinating with his work a lot. Another guy I’m super keen on is Bram Demunter. I do that. I take a couple of artists, I go really deep down the rabbit hole and I collect them in depth. And I kind of focus on those guys.
Question: Read books about their lives too?
Reilly Opelka: Oh yeah, totally. That’s the most important part. Paintings are just souvenirs that you get along the way. You’re collecting what’s in between the ears.
Question: What is the last art book you read?
Reilly Opelka: An interview, about a week ago, in a catalog of a great artist I got to interview, came out. I read his answers to my questions. The catalog of Rinus Van Develde. I got to ask him a bunch of questions. I read a lot about Albert Oehlen, German guy who I quite like. Very interesting how his process is. Same with Luc Tuymans. Luc starts a painting and most of the time finishes that day. So he’s not systematic. So I guess it’s why he keeps you guessing so much. Those are artists I really like.
Question: And of course, your buddy Friedrich Kunath, who is also your co-coach…
Reilly Opelka: The best. It’s funny, we’re such good friends, we speak all the time. We speak every day. Then there’s the occasional… I almost forget, because he’s such a good friend… then I’ll go to his studio and forget how much of a genius this guy is. Because we joke so much. He’s such a little trickster. We’ll go to a museum together and he’ll start breaking down a lot of the artists, why he loves (Paul) Cezanne and I just forget… it reminds me of how great this guy is.
Albert Oehlen · Fila · Friedrich Kunath · Infosys Hall of Fame Championships · Luc Tuymans · Newport Hall of Fame · Reilly Opelka
