Opelka Breaks De Minaur, And Duck, In Cincinnati

By Chris Oddo | Sunday August 10, 2025

Reilly Opelka turned a lost cause into found confidence on Sunday at the Cincinnati Open.

tennis express pro player gear
tennis express pro player gear

The bomb-serving American earned his first career win over Alex De Minaur in six tries, and he did it in decisive fashion, coming through 7-6(6) 6-4 to set a third-round clash with Argentina’s Francisco Comesana.

“I didn’t serve as well as I’d have liked to, but everything else was working,” said Opelka, who hadn’t faced De Minaur since 2022. “My forehand helped me a lot and my backhand, playing with a lot of offense and I was pretty consistent from the baseline the whole match.”

73rd-ranked Opelka is now 2-1 against the Top-10 in 2025, after defeating Novak Djokovic in Brisbane at the start of the season.

After starting the season at 283 in the rankings due to an injury hiatus that forced him off the ATP Tour for nearly two years, 27-year-old Opelka is now up to 65 in the ATP live rankings. He had hip surgery in 2022, then right wrist surgery in 2023.

Shelton's Top-10 Debut Makes Three Americans in the ATP's Top-10 for the First Time Since 2006

The Americans could have four in the coming months. Andre Agassi

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday June 16, 2025

American men’s tennis continues to grow its momentum. After landing two men in the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros for the first time since 1996, the American men now have three players ranked inside the Top 10 for the first time since 2006.

Tennis Express

Enter Ben Shelton, who reached the semifinals last week in Stuttgart, and enters the Top-10 for the first time in Monday’s ATP rankings.

Shelton, 22, is the first American man born in the 2000s to achieve the feat.

Shelton is joined by Taylor Fritz, who returns to No.4 after winning the Stuttgart title, and Tommy Paul, who is at No.8, thanks to his quarterfinal run at Roland-Garros.

The last time three American men held Top 10 rankings at the same time was April 17th, 2006, when Andy Roddick was No. 4, James Blake was No. 7 and Andre Agassi was No. 10.


Shelton is the fourth ATP player – and second American, along with Paul – to make his Top-10 debut in 2024. The other two players are Jack Draper and Lorenzo Musetti.

Diallo Cracks Top-50

Canada’s Gabriel Diallo, 23, cracks the Top-50 at No.44 thanks to his title at ‘S-Hertogenbosch. Diallo became just the second Canadian to win a grass court title on Sunday, and the first since Greg Rusedski in 1993.

Italy’s Flavio Cobolli also cracks a career-high at No.24.

Zizou Bergs (+14 to No.49) and Reilly Opelka (+12 to No.75) were also among the big risers in this week’s ATP rankings. Opelka has risen over 200 spots since January. He played Brisbane at No.293 this year.

Bergs, who lost to Diallo in the ‘S-Hertogenbosh final, is back at his career-high.